Columbia or Penn

[Anonymous]

Asking for a friend whose kid got off Columbia WL but already committed to Penn.

[Anonymous]

Both too God damn woke for me.

[Anonymous]

Penn unless wants to be an NYC lifer

[Anonymous]

To study what?

[Anonymous]

Undecided but probably STEM in college or cas

[Anonymous]

Both great...keep in mind that the College has the Core. That may or may not be appealing to a STEM person. I'd say the Core and location are deciding factors.

[Anonymous]

They are peers …

[Anonymous]

Columbia

[Anonymous]

I think it really comes down to location. I posted in the other thread but my son decided against it in RD because he ultimately wasn't sure that living in Manhattan for college was his thing and it seemed that most Columbia students are all-in on this and for most it is their absolute dream location.

I don't know much about Penn (I've never visited) and certainly it's also in a city so maybe it's apples and apples in this regard. In my son's case he was deciding between a more traditional college campus and Columbia and decided that the former was what he preferred.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Undecided but probably STEM in college or cas

Premed, Penn.
Finance, CC is better than non-Wharton.

[Anonymous]

Another thing is that Columbia College and Columbia Engineering (SEAS) are very separate and you can't easily switch between them in either direction (it's basically the same as applying as a transfer from outside the university). SEAS students take a modified Core (vs CC students) and they start taking engineering classes from semester 1. There is total flexibility within each side of the institution (i.e you can choose any engineering major and don't declare until sophomore year).

My DC wasn't entirely sure he wanted to do engineering and didn't want to get stuck doing a 5th year if he ended up deciding against it (and we do not want to pay for a 5th year!)

PENN may be exactly the same... I simply don't know anything about it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Both too God damn woke for me.

Penn, a school filled with wannabe investment bankers, is too woke for you? What, are you Bama, hillsdale, and liberty or bust?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Undecided but probably STEM in college or cas

Premed, Penn.
Finance, CC is better than non-Wharton.

Even now? Isn't Wall St cool towards Columbia grads?

[Anonymous]

Penn unless living in NYC is their dream.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Both great...keep in mind that the College has the Core. That may or may not be appealing to a STEM person. I'd say the Core and location are deciding factors.

This. They are peer institutions-Columbia is slightly more selective. But Columbia has a common core (lots of diverse requirements, which provide a terrific liberal arts education, but isn't something that every kid enjoys, particularly if they're very focused on a particular subject). I prefer NYC to Philly, but to each their own.