Help us decide between Northwestern and Penn

[Anonymous]

Penn is an Ivy. We can't trust rankings these days with all the manipulation going on, but we can trust the ivy brand. You know you will get a great education, networking, ROI, at all Ivies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No question Penn. As long as you don’t stray Philly is a nice city. Other quality schools near by like Villanova if you wind up not liking Penn and they don’t abuse their cheerleaders https://dailynorthwestern.com/2023/09/24/campus/judge-allows-sex-trafficking-claim-against-nu-cheer-to-proceed/

Being on the Penn campus feels like you’re in the wilderness surrounded by places you don’t want to go. There’s a reason cops are so prevalent. Northwestern is in a really safe area where you can focus on your studies & not worry about other things.

Penn’s campus is safe but your kids need to be able to navigate a city safely if they are going to explore Philly beyond the immediate surroundings of campus. Would also be true for leaving Evanston and exploring Chicago.

That’s not really a good comparison. Penn is much closer to dangerous parts of Philly than Evanston is to unsafe parts of Chicago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No question Penn. As long as you don’t stray Philly is a nice city. Other quality schools near by like Villanova if you wind up not liking Penn and they don’t abuse their cheerleaders https://dailynorthwestern.com/2023/09/24/campus/judge-allows-sex-trafficking-claim-against-nu-cheer-to-proceed/

Being on the Penn campus feels like you’re in the wilderness surrounded by places you don’t want to go. There’s a reason cops are so prevalent. Northwestern is in a really safe area where you can focus on your studies & not worry about other things.

There are clearly folks on DCUM that are afraid of cities. Not sure why you need to weigh in with stupid posts.

If you are fine with going to college in the equivalent of Bethesda (= Evanston) with respect to DC…that’s great. Many kids would find that fairly boring.

Penn is a short walk from the edge of downtown Philly…you walk across the river and that’s where it starts. Plenty of kids are making this walk or scootering.

That said, the locations of the two schools and the suburban vs urban environment are the easiest things to figure out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No question Penn. As long as you don’t stray Philly is a nice city. Other quality schools near by like Villanova if you wind up not liking Penn and they don’t abuse their cheerleaders https://dailynorthwestern.com/2023/09/24/campus/judge-allows-sex-trafficking-claim-against-nu-cheer-to-proceed/

Being on the Penn campus feels like you’re in the wilderness surrounded by places you don’t want to go. There’s a reason cops are so prevalent. Northwestern is in a really safe area where you can focus on your studies & not worry about other things.

Penn’s campus is safe but your kids need to be able to navigate a city safely if they are going to explore Philly beyond the immediate surroundings of campus. Would also be true for leaving Evanston and exploring Chicago.

That’s not really a good comparison. Penn is much closer to dangerous parts of Philly than Evanston is to unsafe parts of Chicago.

If you don’t want your kid in a major city, then just say that. LA, NYC, SF all major cities have the same issues.

Keeping them in rural / suburb areas is fine. At some point you have to admit that navigating a city is a useful skill though.

[Anonymous]

If the choice is based on the better city to be near-Chicago, no question!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If the choice is based on the better city to be near-Chicago, no question!

The choice is whether to be in the heart of the city vs be near a city. I place a ton of value on being to walk to things or taking a 5 minute Uber vs a 30 minute commute (from NU to the heart of Chicago).

Honestly, I don’t quite get what is uniquely better about the city of Chicago vs the city of Philadelphia. I like them both…fairly equal in my book.

It’s nice to have the lake…but only in nice weather. That means September…and maybe by May.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No question Penn. As long as you don’t stray Philly is a nice city. Other quality schools near by like Villanova if you wind up not liking Penn and they don’t abuse their cheerleaders https://dailynorthwestern.com/2023/09/24/campus/judge-allows-sex-trafficking-claim-against-nu-cheer-to-proceed/

Being on the Penn campus feels like you’re in the wilderness surrounded by places you don’t want to go. There’s a reason cops are so prevalent. Northwestern is in a really safe area where you can focus on your studies & not worry about other things.

Penn’s campus is safe but your kids need to be able to navigate a city safely if they are going to explore Philly beyond the immediate surroundings of campus. Would also be true for leaving Evanston and exploring Chicago.

…..or even some parts of Evanston which aren’t particularly safe

Right, because Northwestern students are all so eager to go out exploring the west side of Evanston.

Or getting off at the Howard stop and walking the 1.5-2 miles back to campus thru the "not so nice parts of Evanston" , Instead of switching trains.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If the choice is based on the better city to be near-Chicago, no question!

The choice is whether to be in the heart of the city vs be near a city. I place a ton of value on being to walk to things or taking a 5 minute Uber vs a 30 minute commute (from NU to the heart of Chicago).

Honestly, I don’t quite get what is uniquely better about the city of Chicago vs the city of Philadelphia. I like them both…fairly equal in my book.

It’s nice to have the lake…but only in nice weather. That means September…and maybe by May.

When you are in college, it's not like you are going out to do things Monday thru Sunday...it's typically Fri and Sat nights. Otherwise Evanston has everything you could want for grabbing food, etc during the week. It's not like you are working a 9-5 job, it's college.

In reality, the schools are similar and you can't go wrong with either. So pick for "best fit" and what location your kid really wants. If they feel the need to be IN a city, then Penn. If being a 20 min uber/train ride away, while living a lively vibrant town (first town "outside the city limits) is good for them then NU

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No question Penn. As long as you don’t stray Philly is a nice city. Other quality schools near by like Villanova if you wind up not liking Penn and they don’t abuse their cheerleaders https://dailynorthwestern.com/2023/09/24/campus/judge-allows-sex-trafficking-claim-against-nu-cheer-to-proceed/

Being on the Penn campus feels like you’re in the wilderness surrounded by places you don’t want to go. There’s a reason cops are so prevalent. Northwestern is in a really safe area where you can focus on your studies & not worry about other things.

There are clearly folks on DCUM that are afraid of cities. Not sure why you need to weigh in with stupid posts.

If you are fine with going to college in the equivalent of Bethesda (= Evanston) with respect to DC…that’s great. Many kids would find that fairly boring.

Penn is a short walk from the edge of downtown Philly…you walk across the river and that’s where it starts. Plenty of kids are making this walk or scootering.

That said, the locations of the two schools and the suburban vs urban environment are the easiest things to figure out.

Going to school in Bethesda would be great if DC had as much to offer as Chicago. It doesn’t come close.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Penn is an Ivy. We can't trust rankings these days with all the manipulation going on, but we can trust the ivy brand. You know you will get a great education, networking, ROI, at all Ivies.

It’s honestly the other way. The top non ivies tend to be extra exceptional since they succeed on their own and build a brand instead of riding the coattails of Harvard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No question Penn. As long as you don’t stray Philly is a nice city. Other quality schools near by like Villanova if you wind up not liking Penn and they don’t abuse their cheerleaders https://dailynorthwestern.com/2023/09/24/campus/judge-allows-sex-trafficking-claim-against-nu-cheer-to-proceed/

Being on the Penn campus feels like you’re in the wilderness surrounded by places you don’t want to go. There’s a reason cops are so prevalent. Northwestern is in a really safe area where you can focus on your studies & not worry about other things.

There are clearly folks on DCUM that are afraid of cities. Not sure why you need to weigh in with stupid posts.

If you are fine with going to college in the equivalent of Bethesda (= Evanston) with respect to DC…that’s great. Many kids would find that fairly boring.

Penn is a short walk from the edge of downtown Philly…you walk across the river and that’s where it starts. Plenty of kids are making this walk or scootering.

That said, the locations of the two schools and the suburban vs urban environment are the easiest things to figure out.

Going to school in Bethesda would be great if DC had as much to offer as Chicago. It doesn’t come close.

Explain…give examples of what Chicago offers that is so unique or better.

More importantly, give examples that would resonate with any college kid.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks everyone. This has been instructive but is also now devolving! I got what I was looking for. The thread can close as far as I am concerned but some of you may wish to consider duking it out!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No question Penn. As long as you don’t stray Philly is a nice city. Other quality schools near by like Villanova if you wind up not liking Penn and they don’t abuse their cheerleaders https://dailynorthwestern.com/2023/09/24/campus/judge-allows-sex-trafficking-claim-against-nu-cheer-to-proceed/

Being on the Penn campus feels like you’re in the wilderness surrounded by places you don’t want to go. There’s a reason cops are so prevalent. Northwestern is in a really safe area where you can focus on your studies & not worry about other things.

There are clearly folks on DCUM that are afraid of cities. Not sure why you need to weigh in with stupid posts.

If you are fine with going to college in the equivalent of Bethesda (= Evanston) with respect to DC…that’s great. Many kids would find that fairly boring.

Penn is a short walk from the edge of downtown Philly…you walk across the river and that’s where it starts. Plenty of kids are making this walk or scootering.

That said, the locations of the two schools and the suburban vs urban environment are the easiest things to figure out.

Going to school in Bethesda would be great if DC had as much to offer as Chicago. It doesn’t come close.

Explain…give examples of what Chicago offers that is so unique or better.

More importantly, give examples that would resonate with any college kid.

The food scene in Chicago is world renowned and you can eat really well for a reasonable price if you know where to go. Culture-music (there is an outdoor venue called Ravinia that is like Wolf Trap only better), great Jazz scene (Kingston Mines), sports (Wrigley so fun in spring and summer), museums (Field and Shedd aquarium), Navy Pier, great shopping (Michigan Ave)-should I go on? Plus, a great place to live in your 20’s as a young professional in Lincoln Park or Lakeview with lots of other young people starting their careers.

[Anonymous]

OP-come back and let us know what your child decides!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No question Penn. As long as you don’t stray Philly is a nice city. Other quality schools near by like Villanova if you wind up not liking Penn and they don’t abuse their cheerleaders https://dailynorthwestern.com/2023/09/24/campus/judge-allows-sex-trafficking-claim-against-nu-cheer-to-proceed/

Being on the Penn campus feels like you’re in the wilderness surrounded by places you don’t want to go. There’s a reason cops are so prevalent. Northwestern is in a really safe area where you can focus on your studies & not worry about other things.

There are clearly folks on DCUM that are afraid of cities. Not sure why you need to weigh in with stupid posts.

If you are fine with going to college in the equivalent of Bethesda (= Evanston) with respect to DC…that’s great. Many kids would find that fairly boring.

Penn is a short walk from the edge of downtown Philly…you walk across the river and that’s where it starts. Plenty of kids are making this walk or scootering.

That said, the locations of the two schools and the suburban vs urban environment are the easiest things to figure out.

Every time the subject of safety comes up, this lady^ feels compelled to screech about how suburbanites are uncool for not embracing the excitement of campuses which need a cop on every corner.

She herself probably spent about 2 days in a rough neighborhood before her parents moved her into a safer location. But she’s spent the rest of her life berating everybody who dares prioritize personal safety.

Nobody who has actually resided in a dangerous neighborhood thinks there is anything noble or glamorous about it. Indeed this lady would probably crap her Spanx if her own daughter wanted to enroll at Temple. But for some reason she’s on a crusade to make sure everybody else feels bad about caring where their kids live.