Columbia or Penn

[Anonymous]

If you have lots of spending money then NYC is great…but Philly is a great city for the average kid. Easy to get around and much cheaper.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you have lots of spending money then NYC is great…but Philly is a great city for the average kid. Easy to get around and much cheaper.

NYC is a lifestyle decision. If you want to be there, Philly is not a substitute.

In olden times, kids who "only" got into Penn had wanted to go to Harvard or Yale.

[Anonymous]

Stick with Penn. Columbia’s administration just seems a mess right now. They’re on their second president after Shafik resigned and it doesn’t seem like a great place to go to college in general and more so under the current Presidential administration. Penn has been somewhat insulated (perhaps because it is Trump’s Alma mater), has a new president with relatively broad support, and has a much larger endowment to insulate itself from the federal budget cuts. There’s a reason why Columbia seems to be going really deep into their waitlist this year.

[Anonymous]

Penn is the more selective one for seas and wharton and has been for a while. Penn seas is the most selective program at penn, other than the engineering dual degree programs. Columbia college used to be more selective slightly than penn CAS but not the past 3 cycles, based on the unhooked students selected for each. Penn has the edge.
Penn is not in the city like Columbia is; it is a bigger greener campus and is not in center city.
Columbia in 2010 would have been the no brainer pick for all but wharton/seas; today Penn is likely the no-brainer pick. It is certainly the preferred school for cross admits from the schools I know

-Private school college counselor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Stick with Penn. Columbia’s administration just seems a mess right now. They’re on their second president after Shafik resigned and it doesn’t seem like a great place to go to college in general and more so under the current Presidential administration. Penn has been somewhat insulated (perhaps because it is Trump’s Alma mater), has a new president with relatively broad support, and has a much larger endowment to insulate itself from the federal budget cuts. There’s a reason why Columbia seems to be going really deep into their waitlist this year.

+1

[Anonymous]

Penn seems like a better undergraduate experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Penn seems like a better undergraduate experience.

According to what? Beware such blanket advice--Op's kid can decide what works for their field of study, and personal preferences. They're both excellent schools.

[Anonymous]

The number of columbia core requirements is really restructive. It's not like typical gen ed requirements- you have little choice for the main ones. Penn is more flexible and allows more interdisciplinary learning. I would stick with pann. You can live in ny after graduation... (I did undergrad at Columbia, and wish I had more opportunity for electives, dual majot etc.)

[Anonymous]

UPenn all day long.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Undecided but probably STEM in college or cas

For an undecided STEM, I would pick Columbia. Columbia is more selective and other than Wharton, Columbia’s academic offerings are typically are better than those of Penn and NYC offers better opportunities for internships in all disciplines than Philly.

[Anonymous]

In the long run, PENN. Columbia is permanently TO, PENN is test required. Student quality at PEnN will be far better than Columbia.

[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 is the answer

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The number of columbia core requirements is really restructive. It's not like typical gen ed requirements- you have little choice for the main ones. Penn is more flexible and allows more interdisciplinary learning. I would stick with pann. You can live in ny after graduation... (I did undergrad at Columbia, and wish I had more opportunity for electives, dual majot etc.)

They’re going to withdraw your degree for having made 4 simple spelling errors in one post…unless you’re drunk posting.

[Anonymous]

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

Why would the friend ask you?

[Anonymous]

Columbia accepts one student per year in our school in the past. This year they accepted seven. One out of seven is attending.