USNA vs. UPenn (Wharton) NROTC

Lots of interesting opinions here....

Having the perspective of being married to a "Wall Street " guy I will give you another perspective.
My husband went to a NESCAC liberal arts college for undergrad and only got one job upon graduation.... at a bank where the senior vp also went to the same college.
Fast Forward a few years... the same bank sent him to NYU Stern school of B to get his MBA which they paid for. He in turn had to work for the bank for a set amount of years to pay the bank back.

A few years later he went to another bank where none of his undergrad or MBA school connections helped. We have been riding the Wall Street roller coaster ever since .. jobs have come and gone and never has he had to rely on his connections from undergrad or business school. All of his connections have been from his dealings in business and the connections through his own job .

Wall Street has changed a lot lately ... there are so many new regulations that "making bank" is not as easy as it once was.

Another note.. my husband usually interviews and hires interns from college prior to their senior year. Those college seniors usually had some sort of connection at the bank that was not related to their current school.

My guess would be that you need to have your heart in it if you are going to USNA or it will be miserable.
 
Just my $ .02. there are a lot of kids that get in to the academies that "will have no problem" with it. These are kids that were the best and brightest in HS. Out of the approx 1,300 that started at USAFA with my son, there are approx 1,000 left. It is not for everyone, and if you want to be a banker, go to Penn it is a pretty good school.
 
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Thank you for all of your responses so far.

I just want to make clear: for those that say in order to go to USNA I need to be completely passionate about the Navy, I need to want to be an officer, etc - I know. I have considered all of these things. And I am not concerned with it. At my summer trainings for the Sea Cadets, I spent 2-3 weeks at military bases living the base life style. I went to NASS and did CVW at USNA two times. I know how the life is, and if I attend USNA, I know that I can do it.

My reason for posting this (although many of you don't like it) was trying to figure out which school would help me achieve my goal of making the most money (and I guess receiving respect.) Please note I'm not just considering Wharton, I'm considering USNA vs. NROTC.
 
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One school over the other is not going to determine how much money you make. YOU will determine how much money you make... your work ethic and drive . It is not the school you go to , it is what YOU make of it.
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@ ASCOTHINK

Does Upenn have a 5 year program where you can get your Bachelor's degree and MBA? I know a lot of the schools are moving in that direction as it saves $ as well as time.
 
@mjm
I am pretty sure they do.
And to your other post: I guess I meant which school would grant me more open doors in the finance world in terms of respect and being taken seriously?
 
I would seriously consider a 5 year program at UPenn if it is available.... given your ultimate goal . That way you would have both degrees upon graduation and could go right to work.

You mentioned that you got some financial aid money for UPenn? If that is the case .... the need for the free USNA should not be a factor.

Go with your heart... you will regret it later if you don't . I told you my husband's story ... well it was not his dream but what he was "supposed" to do ... and he wishes he had gone with his heart 35 years ago!!
 
From what I've read, I can't figure out why you want to be in the Navy at all.

Penn seems like the better choice, from what I've seen here.
 
@mjm I think I'm currently lacking in the "go with what your heart" department haha. I don't know where my heart lies.
 
@LineInTheSand
Because I want to serve my country. And because the military would give me skills probably unattainable elsewhere.
 
I quit reading on page three.

Why are all of you wasting your time?

I think pleber has the right idea. Maybe OP should go do another weekend and run his "options" past some current mids.

OP is just having fun.
 
ascothink said:
@LineInTheSand
Because I want to serve my country. And because the military would give me skills probably unattainable elsewhere.
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If you want to serve your country, cool. But the military does not give skills that are unattainable elsewhere, it just lets you try them out a little earlier.
 
@cb7893
No, OP needs help with a big decision and was hoping he could get some useful feedback. So far he has been.
 
ascothink said:
At my summer trainings for the Sea Cadets, I spent 2-3 weeks at military bases living the base life style. I went to NASS and did CVW at USNA two times. I know how the life is, and if I attend USNA, I know that I can do it.
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You do not "know how the life is" until you live it. USNA is not the fleet. At all. NASS is a good program but it is very much a "let's make the academy look at awesome and badass as we can" and is basically a sales pitch. CVW's are also great but they provide you a VERY small glimpse into the lives of midshipmen. The academy has some amazing opportunities, and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else, but it can also be extremely difficult sometimes. And this isn't an attack on you. It's a reality check from personal experience. Before I came here, and even into Plebe Summer I had a very similar mindset, that I knew what I was getting into and knew I could get through it. And the reality? There were a lot of things that blindsided me about this place, and there were days that I wanted nothing more than to quit. For some people, it's too much. Even the most motivated people. You and anyone else even considering coming here needs to know that.
 
acothink - I went to Wall Street after MBA school working in corporate coverage/advisory and have been hiring, training and managing new hires directly out of undergrad and MBA school to a certain extent for about a decade. A few thoughts:
Wharton Undergrad
1.) Wharton is a great feeder to Wall Street from under grad and opens doors at all of the bulge-bracket, big name banks (Goldman, Morgan, JPM, etc.).
2.) As an analyst fresh from undergrad you have no life for at least 3 years, are at the bottom of the totem pole and get very little perspective on the world other than the skewed view of your peers. You learn a TON because you are working 70-100 hours a week and that experience will serve you well whether you stay in banking or, like most, branch out to something else in the corporate or start-up world.
3.) Wharton undergrads are everywhere on Wall Street - that's good and bad. Good because it's a pedigree, bad because it isn't really a differentiator there.
4.) If you are planning to go the NROTC route and do 5 in the Navy, I don't think Wharton gives you a real advantage vs other undergrad schools of the same class (Ivies, Stanford, Chicago, Northwestern, etc.). You have to go get an MBA to get into banking after your stint in the Navy. Again, it's a 'club' so you do really need to go to a top 10 - 15 MBA school or "know someone" if you go to a school outside that small group.

USNA
1.) You get leadership experience that is not available anywhere in the private sector.
2.) The network among USNA grads is very strong. My sister-in-law, brother-in-law and father-in-law are all USNA grads so I've seen as an "outsider" how that connection is life-long, regardless of whether friends did "five and dive" as you referred to or did 20+.
3.) USNA pedigree is definitely well regarded on Wall Street. Everyone knows the work ethic that will come from the men and ladies from that background.
4.) Still need to get an MBA after your 5 before you can get to Wall Street. Same comments as above in terms of which MBA schools to attend.

If I were your age thinking about the same decisions you are and knew what I know now, I would go to USNA, take advantage of the opportunities to see the world, save a decent chunk of coin from deployments and other extras and then go to B-school.

Sorry for the long response......hope that helps.
 
I think this is a useful thread because it brings up something that isn't usually talked about too much on here. I think this will be a useful thread for future candidates who have a similar situation to the OP.

I can't really give any advice, considering I haven't even applied to USNA yet. However, I think something the OP should consider is that if money is his goal, will he remain motivated enough throughout his time at USNA to do well and graduate? Pleber said there were days when he wanted nothing more to quit. OP, will the motivation of money get you through those days? NROTC is a fine program, nothing wrong with doing that if you really want to serve in the Navy, and Penn is obviously a great school.

What school you go to won't determine how much money you make. Nothing's set in stone. I personally know someone who's worked his way up the corporate ladder over the past few decades and makes a lot of money--and he never went to college. I also know someone who has a degree from a great state flagship, and while they have a nice job, they don't make anything near what the first guy I mentioned makes.

Also, out of curiosity, why are you so hell-bent on making money? I guess that's most people's goal in life, but still, most don't first want to serve in the Navy. For this decision, I suggest that you stop considering the money aspect for a minute and think about where you'd be the most content at.
 
ascothink said:
@MemberLG
Were you in NROTC? Can you tell me how it would be different from USNA in terms of marketability in finance?
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I did AROTC for one year than graduated from USMA. My experience might be little outdated (looking for a civilian job after leaving the Army as a junior officer and doing a part time MBA), but probably many things haven't changed. When I was getting out, a fortune 500 company had an internship program where you did several rotations within the company than they paid for your MBA. For the program, they only interviewed SA grads and a few selected colleges. When was I getting out, headhunters/placement firms were very active. I don't recall too many financial companies. They looked at what you did in the military and your degree. So if you have some sort of finance degree and worked in a finance field, you might be more marketable.

A top MBA programs are similar to SAs in a sense that they are looking for a diverse group, not applicants that just scored 700+ in GMAT, all with consulting background, finance background, and etc.

I knew bunch of officers that had similar plan as you - get out after the service obligation, attend law/business school, make $$$. Some have and some stayed in the military, some took different paths.
 
@JShawshank
Thank you for your thorough response. You mentioned that USNA pedigree is highly regarded in the workplace. Is NROTC as well? As in being an officer.

& a question for USNA grads: I heard that the network post-graduating USNA is very strong and power-based. Based on your personal experiences thus far, does this seem to be true?
 
@Melitzank
You asked why I was so "hell-bent" on making money. If you must know- for starters, my parents came to the U.S. before I was born, and ever since I was born, they worked/lived for me. I love my parents and want to give back / make them not regret the decision to come to the states. Also, money = power here haha.
 
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