UPDATE:The Decision between Penn and Northwestern, Wharton and Medill
I would like to premise this by saying that both Penn and Northwestern, and more specifically Wharton and Medill, have world class programs and what I feel are the best undergraduate opportunities in their respective fields (business and journalism).
In differentiating between the two schools, there were several factors. In terms of how much I enjoyed the campus, the surrounding city, and other student life – I felt both schools were excellent (the big city I was looking for) and on an equal playing field. In terms of cost of attendance, fortunately both schools offered me similar financial aid packages. So, this decision was solely made on which program I felt was best for me.
I chose Wharton over Medill for several reasons. After consulting several friends, including a few professional journalists, I was unready to commit to a career in journalism, and while going to Medill is far from making that commitment, the curriculum at Medill would primarily prepare me to be a journalist alone (whether it be print, broadcast, or whatnot). Within Wharton, I felt there was a greater variety of career paths available to me – as of now, I am most interested in the social dynamic aspects of business (part of their marketing department), but if this changes, there are a multitude of options available to me within the field of business. Also, I felt that if indeed I feel journalism is my calling, with the Daily Pennsylvanian, and the Kelly Writers House, Penn provided an environment which will enable me to continue my interests in writing – and business journalism is a large facet of the field.
Each school has infinite opportunities (and both stress interdisciplinary learning – i.e. I will be still receiving a great liberal arts education) and I was truly lucky to have the opportunity to choose between them. I am not advocating that one school is better than the other in any way, merely stating the Penn was the right “fit” for me.
I’d like to thank everyone who has helped and talked to me about this decision. I tried to be as methodical as possible and in the end, I am very excited about my decision and look forward to the next four years of my journey….as a quaker.