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I'm going to be a freshman at the University of Pennsylvania, College of Arts & Sciences in the fall. If I obtain a high GPA there, I'll have the chance to do a dual degree with the Wharton School (B.A. in the College and B.S. in Wharton) or just simply transfer into the Wharton School and forgo my degree in the College (but I'm not considering that, just the former option).

I see myself entering management consulting after college and then law school (maybe b-school concurrently) at the age of 24 or 25. My goal is to get into M&A at biglaw and then perhaps switch over to M&A at a BB ibank.

I think that the Wharton degree would help my employment prospects in management consulting but would also bring my GPA down, compromising my profile for law school. What's the right move to make (Wharton or not)?

As a closely related question, do you think graduating summa cum laude from Penn's college and graduating with a less outstanding GPA from Wharton (something like 3.3) is significantly worse than graduating with just the B.A., summa cum laude? I'm talking in terms of setting up a good profile for law school, of course.

Any good advice is welcome.

For law school, your GPA is all that matters. Wharton=East Bumfuck U.

For life, IDK, you have to make your own decisions.

In terms of law school acceptance, the Wharton thing is irrelevant.

In terms of life, you'll have to put up with Wharton kids for four years.

Choose wisely.

Pad your GPA freshman year and transfer into Wharton.

It's a great school, with incredible professors, talented classmates, and incredible name cache going forward (College of Arts and Sciences is great too, the perfect thing to do is double major and get both).

ThePennKid wrote:I'm going to be a freshman at the University of Pennsylvania, College of Arts & Sciences in the fall. If I obtain a high GPA there, I'll have the chance to do a dual degree with the Wharton School (B.A. in the College and B.S. in Wharton) or just simply transfer into the Wharton School and forgo my degree in the College (but I'm not considering that, just the former option).

I see myself entering management consulting after college and then law school (maybe b-school concurrently) at the age of 24 or 25. My goal is to get into M&A at biglaw and then perhaps switch over to M&A at a BB ibank.

I think that the Wharton degree would help my employment prospects in management consulting but would also bring my GPA down, compromising my profile for law school. What's the right move to make (Wharton or not)?

As a closely related question, do you think graduating summa cum laude from Penn's college and graduating with a less outstanding GPA from Wharton (something like 3.3) is significantly worse than graduating with just the B.A., summa cum laude? I'm talking in terms of setting up a good profile for law school, of course.

Any good advice is welcome.

You're already talking about summa cum laude? hahaha

See how you do freshman year, and then make a decision. This kind of speculation before you move into your dorm is rather useless.

Anyway, if you really want to pursue a career in business (a la consulting), then it would be hard to pass up Wharton. You could even work at a consulting firm (or another business) after undergrad, and apply to law school (or even better, a JD/MBA program) a few years down the line. However, don't assume that your GPA would drop as a result of being a business student at Wharton. I don't know why you even though up that hypothetical.

Just curious -- what would you major in if you were to stay in the College of Arts & Sciences? If it is a major that you enjoy/excel in, and you are certain that you want to pursue a JD (or JD/MBA), then you might want to stick with that. Law schools will eat up a Penn grad with a high GPA (Wharton or not).

If you want to be a lawyer then ditch the Wharton and focus on getting the highest GPA you can get. You're already at an Ivy, so there's no need to compromise your GPA. Get some decent softs in too.

@rv11 - It's not like I said I will graduate summa cum laude. Relax yourself.

@BioEBear201 - You're right, it is hard to pass up Wharton. I'm almost certain that my GPA would drop in Wharton because they curve grades rather harshly. But you're right, who knows, I could do very well there. My major will be Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (that's one major) but I might change it to one of those component areas.

I think I'll just take a Wharton class and if I compare favorably with the Wharton kids (at least get an A), I'll do the dual degree.

Any more comments?

Wharton provides better chances at landing a top consulting job and a more prestigious name than Penn CAS but I won't be able to enjoy those benefits if my GPA drops too much... that's my dilemma in one line if you're not a fan of reading long threads.

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So you're not in college yet and you're on a law school forum?

Yes, that's right Ildeuce.

"however, if you do get into wharton and actually still decide to do law as opposed to banking or asset management, my faith in all of mankind will be severely diminished."

Why?

This is a silly question. You don't know how well you will do at Penn, and you want to make a decision based on the possibility of transferring into Wharton?

Let me put it this way. Would anything anyone told you affect the year of your life going forward? Absolutely not. Either way, you are going to try to get the highest grades possible while having the most fun possible. If you're at the junction where Wharton is an option, you can worry about it then. You may find that there are more variables in play at that point.

Eh, you're right. End thread.