[quote=AN][quote=flu]I think if a kid can get in for something like business or law or medicine, then there might be some useful aspects to it. UPenn has a great undergrad business program and placement to Wharton MBA is pretty high, not to mention connections to wall street. Ditto for Harvard biz and law.[/quote]But business, law, and medicine are graduate and not undergrad. No one are where you got your premed, prelaw, etc. from. They just care where you get your MBA, law, MD from. So, if money matters, it would be smarter to go to states school (maybe even easy ones), get straight A and finish in 2-3 years, then apply to grad school.[/quote]

Actually, for undergrad business on wall street, coming from UPenn does carry a lot of weight.
Because it’s one of the few undergrad programs that actually does have a reputable business undergrad program. Not saying it’s something for everyone, or everyone needs to go that path, but companies like McKinsey, Bain, Goldman, recruit at those select undergrad schools, if that is your thing. Berkeley happens to be one too. But not everyone needs wants/needs to go that career path.

Reality is that only a small percentage of the folks end up going into these sort of professions/opportunities for which the end career path might actually justify such a big school expense expense. I’d say about 90% of the rest of the folks, it wouldn’t make much difference.