Am I crazy???

<p>Hello everyone,
Finally, I decided to join you!
I just received a likely letter from Penn. I couldn't be more excited. I guess dedicating 15 years to my favourite sport really paid off.
Anyways, I never taught I get into Penn and now I have a really difficult decision to make.
Before receiving the likely I had my mind set up on Northwestern(full ride). But now, I don't know what to do. I am an international student and I will be applying for financial aid if I decided for Penn. So my questions is: is Penn worth paying 10000-20000? (I expect to get at least 30000 from fin aid).
I want to study international relations and french.</p>

<p>Thanks everyone!</p>

<p>Did you get a likely letter from Northwestern as well?</p>

<p>For athletes is completely different. And for a D1 school like northwestern, all I had to do was talk to the coach and show him my current stats. If he thinks my stats are sufficient for admission then we have a verbal agreement.
For ivys I had to do the same process as everyone else.</p>

<p>Penn is worth it. It’s the social ivy where you truly get the best of both worlds. If you want to spend your money on schooling, penn is a great deal.</p>

<p>I still feel like if you had your heart set on Northwestern, don’t sell yourself short! Go for NU! It’s probably on par academically and if you don’t go and you’re in love with the school you’ll always ask ‘what if’, which is the worst feeling in the world.</p>

<p>Actually my heart is set on Penn.
But my parents thinks I am crazy for wanting to spend additional money for another university other than NU.</p>

<p>I love Penn. Like a lot a lot a lot. I honestly think its one of the best schools out there.</p>

<p>That said, you would be a fool to turn down a full free-ride to one of the best universities in the country. Unless you have a dying passion for Penn, take NU and be happy with the 80k you save and the free tier 1 education you receive.</p>

<p>UPENN does not send likely letters to international candidates. Nice dream.</p>

<p>Take the full to NU</p>

<p>@ IVPARENT: I think you misread. o_o it states he applied as an international relations major, not that he’s an international student. lol</p>

<p>@ Iamsun: follow what your heart believes would be best for you</p>

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<p>i am inclined to agree with him. northwestern is in the same conversation as upenn. however, if money is not an issue (as little an issue as thousands of dollars lost can be), then i don’t know. upenn is more prestigious, ranked higher, etc. still same conversation though =]</p>

<p>@Jsung, no?

</p>

<p>Lol, you misread. ;)</p>

<p>I think you have a lot to consider! My first recommendation is that you not make your final decision based on the advice of people on College Confidential. Cliche as it sounds, the only person suited to make the final decision is you because you know yourself best.</p>

<p>That said, I think you might want to re-evaluate what it is you’re looking for in a school. Northwestern and Penn are located in very different parts of the United States, giving them very different local cultures. Also, Northwestern, though it’s close to Chicago, is actually located in Evanston, IL and has a more suburban feel than Penn’s West Philly campus. The schools also differ in their departmental strengths; you might want to do a little research on the reputation of your prospective major(s) at each school.</p>

<p>Additionally, the international population at Northwestern in considerably smaller than that at Penn. Northwestern’s undergraduate body has just over 8,000 students, only 6.3% of whom are international. Penn enrolls just about 10,000 undergrads, 11% of whom are internationals. This makes for a much larger group of internationals at Penn. From Penn’s website:</p>

<p>A total of 4,390 international students applied for admission to Penn’s undergraduate schools for Fall 2010, and 411 (9.4%) received admissions offers. More than 11% of the first year class are international students. Of the international students enrolled in the Class of 2014, 9.2% were from Africa and the Middle East, 50.2% from Asia, 1.1% from Australia and the Pacific, 15.5% from Canada and Mexico, 4.8% from Central/South America and the Caribbean, and 17.7% from Europe. Penn had 3,895 international students enrolled at all levels in Fall 2010.</p>

<p>You really can’t go wrong with Penn or NU, but I hope this post helps you begin to make a final choice. Both schools have great reputations and offer great educations, but they are both unique and you should take their differences into account before making a final choice. Congratulations and best of luck!</p>

<p>If you really love your sport, you need to consider the possible advantages of playing in the Big Ten. On average, the Ivy League does not compare with the Big Ten in most sports. Since you didn’t elaborate on which sport it is, it is impossible for those on CC to compare the schools in that respect.</p>

<p>Having said that, Penn is great school. You should probably have a frank discussion with your parents about money and come to a decision mutually with them.</p>

<p>oh baloney, i thought it said he was going into international relations. yup, my asian eyes failed me =P</p>