Quarter system (Northwestern) vs semester calendar (Penn), Midwest suburb vs urban campus. I think there is a lot of crossover interest between both schools but there are clear differences. I think most top schools have a preprof vibe these days. I hear the same from kids at every school that business clubs are hard to get into and internship frenzy is real at every school from slac to flagships to ivy. If u like both equally, look at your high school data to see how your kid matches up against previous admits from your hs. At our school, Northwestern is an easier admit vs Penn. Also, this yearr Northwestern apparently went deep into waitlist due to yield miscalculations. so I wonder if ED to northwestern could be easier this year? Ask your school counselor... I know happy kids at both schools. My city-loving, humanities kid is happy at penn and we know kids happy at northwestern as well.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone that has a current student at any of these schools along with their top peers knows they are nearly identical in quality and peer group. The "best" is the fit preferences like location, weather, sports, etc.

Anyone who has participated in hiring also knows that you don't really consider rankings. When I'm hiring a recent grad I'm going to weigh grades, internships and activities far more than school rank. The main thing we use school for is we look up grade averages in that particular sometimes sonwe can be aware of grade inflation. I care much more about what a 22 year old did when they were 20 and 21 than when they were 16 and 17.

For a more experienced hire I'm generally looking at employment history and not looking at school performance at all.

Exactly, furthering my point this is all so silly. Go to #4 school and sit in your room or party all the time, good luck. Go to a #14 and seize it all, much better outcome. No one is looking at ranking minutiae, they are looking for what you did while there. It’s so ridiculous, the same college when you applied could be a much different ranking when applying for jobs….gasp!

Anonymous wrote:Anyone that has a current student at any of these schools along with their top peers knows they are nearly identical in quality and peer group. The "best" is the fit preferences like location, weather, sports, etc.

Anyone who has participated in hiring also knows that you don't really consider rankings. When I'm hiring a recent grad I'm going to weigh grades, internships and activities far more than school rank. The main thing we use school for is we look up grade averages in that particular sometimes sonwe can be aware of grade inflation. I care much more about what a 22 year old did when they were 20 and 21 than when they were 16 and 17.

For a more experienced hire I'm generally looking at employment history and not looking at school performance at all.

Anonymous wrote:Anyone that has a current student at any of these schools along with their top peers knows they are nearly identical in quality and peer group. The "best" is the fit preferences like location, weather, sports, etc.

100%

Weird trolls here lately.....makes me want to avoid any commentary.
Where are the normal discussions that don't involve troll bumping due to boredom?

Anyone that has a current student at any of these schools along with their top peers knows they are nearly identical in quality and peer group. The "best" is the fit preferences like location, weather, sports, etc.

Anonymous wrote:It matters.

There are 8 Ivies

Northwestern ranks above all but 3 (Harvard Yale and Princeton).

Think of Northwestern as more like Stanford MIT Duke or Cal Tech (top schools that are as good or better than most Ivies.)

Nah. Hard pass.

Anonymous wrote:It matters.

There are 8 Ivies

Northwestern ranks above all but 3 (Harvard Yale and Princeton).

Think of Northwestern as more like Stanford MIT Duke or Cal Tech (top schools that are as good or better than most Ivies.)

So if a magazine starts ranking ot lower then will you change your mind? Awful way to consider school fit.

It matters.

There are 8 Ivies

Northwestern ranks above all but 3 (Harvard Yale and Princeton).

Think of Northwestern as more like Stanford MIT Duke or Cal Tech (top schools that are as good or better than most Ivies.)

Anonymous wrote:If it matters for this discussion, Northwestern is ranked above Penn, Brown, Dartmouth, etc.

OP's kid is now a college sophomore, so I don't think it matters anymore.

If it matters for this discussion, Northwestern is ranked above Penn, Brown, Dartmouth, etc.

Anonymous wrote:Northwestern is a FAR BETTER, MORE RESPECTED university than Penn. I have long fought to have Northwestern replace Penn in Ivy League......then...Trump comes along. If the way that idiot speaks, thinks and carries himself isn't evidence enough that #1 their standards were so low they let him in and gave him a degree or #2 they let him "buy" a degree at their institution

Why bump a thread from over a year ago just to post this? You are a troll.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Penn has a top 3 med school, top 3 mba program, #4 ranked law school. Top undergraduate business school. Currently ranked #6 national university. USNWR.

The only comparable universities are Harvard and Stanford with such broad strengths.

Penn is broadly strong in ways that Northwestern isn't.

And Penn is on elite recruiting target lists that NU is not. Penn has better premed by far, with its hospital right on campus. Philly is a great city, Penn is a 2mile walk to center city/rittenhouse shopping/reading terminal market: all nice areas! Penn is not IN the city. NU is in Evanston, 35 min from chicago, not at all the same vibrant setting.
Penn is more intellectually focused, NU is more sports focused.
Penn has paid research opportunities for all undergrads; NU only more recently jumped on the undergrad research bandwagon, but for premeds the medically related research is not on campus like it is at Penn.
Almost all students who get into both chose Penn. NU has a lot of chip on the shoulder just missed out on ivy mindset.