congrats evelynne!!! it may be because you are president’s scholar too. a lot of those apps tend to move quickly. is Temple your first choice? if you have any quesitons about Temple, philly, or the states in generaly, please feel free to ask
@ctl987 how does fox compare to pennlps in terms of post grad opportunities, specifically grad school preparation/admissions and professional opportunities?
@ctl987 Thank you for your offer 
Temple is my first official acceptance (that is also affordable) so even though it was not my first choice, I’m definitely very much interested now. I was also invited to join the Honors program, so I’m wondering if living in the Honors dorm is a better option for me in general? Do you know if there are Honors kids who choose to live in normal dorms?
Thank you again for your help!
ccp, ask lenaliK your questions too. she has posted on other Temple threads and is in the business school so she will have better information than me. My son is in the Communications school so im not super up on Fox or business programs. for starters, i am not even sure what pennlps is. however, if you are talking about U Penn, then, my very broad opinion is the connections you can make at an Ivy league are some of the best connections out there. i would say if i was on a grad schoool admissions committee, my eyebrow would go up for anyone coming out of Penn and esp if it’s the business schoool, which i understand is very well acclaimed, although i am not sure whether that is the undergraduate or the graduate business program. Still, i am seeing Penn on an application and my thoughts(I assume) would be smart and well trained.
Re Fox, from what i understand, it is also considered a top notch program, which to me suggests there will also be options to forge good connections at Fox and it will look good on a grad school app. i have heard that Fox can be very competitive internally; some will consider this a plus, others a minus. And the hyper competition issue is heresay only. i have never talked in person to a Fox student or alum who verified whether that is an accurate rumor. still, take this info into account or research it more for yourself. i don’t think i would enjoy a very competitive program but everyone is different. and for all i know, Penn may be insanely competitive internally.
i can say if you are talking about Penn, the cost difference between the 2 schools is astronomical if you are paying full price at Penn. i don’t think paying full price would be worth the extra connections you might make or prestige of program as a grad school applicant. however, if you got a robust financial aid package to the point that the costs were comparable, if i was in your shoes, i would lean toward Penn. i will post more later as to why. need to run now,
and evelynne, yes, i recomend living in honors housing, again, more to follow as to why but i strongly think that would be best option for international student unless you are a student who has lived a lot in the US already.
ccp. sorry a bit long winded on last post, my bottom line is that if you are talking about Penn and the costs are similar, r after financial aid, i would go for Penn. if it costs more than $10000 total more to go to Penn, then go to Temple. it’s not worth more than that just to go to Penn since both schools are reputable in their business depts. i think both schools will be helpful for grad school admissions and connections. You likely need a good GPA if you are coming out of Fox. i don’t know how Penn grades and by this i mean, they may use a more generic grading system so that a kid with the 3.6 does not look worse on paper than the kid with the 3.79. i don’t know how the schools prep you for interviews and presentation, which would be key in the business field. i hope this helps. Ask your current professors the same questions, talk to the student i noted above and see if you can get any other contacts in the business depts at Fox and Penn to ask questions to.
evelynne, my son lives in the honors dorms. He likes it there. it seems like most kids do. Basically, the honors freshman who choose to live in honors are mostly on the 3rd floor of the dorm “1300” and broken up into 4 wings. My son knows everyone on his wing and his wingmates are very friendly. He is quiet and keeps to himself yet has managed to make connections just because they all see each other so often and the more outgoing ones venture out and meet people on the rest of the floor, and likely the rest of the campus. so he also gets to meet friends of friends too. his room is fairly quiet. he has a friend who lives at either the Johnson/Hardwick dorm. those rooms are smaller and as my son put it, the walls seem thinner so it gets a lot louder. He worked with a friend on a project so he spent a few hours in Johnson/Hardwick while working on this project and realized how lucky he was to be in 1300. Also, although the honors kids like to party too, they are perhaps as a whole, less rowdy than you might find on other dorm wings. With you being from Vietnam, everyone will be curious and want to meet you, Yes, there are Honors kids who choose to live in normal dorms and they seem to like it too. but back to the honors dorm, another plus ties into the honors classes. my son has found the honors classes to be great! one even met in his dorm, which was extra convenient. plus, many of the kids in his honors classes also live on the third floor of 1300 so seeing the same kids in class and either on his wing or at least on his floor gives him an even greater oppurtunity to get to know these kids better. he has gotten to do a couple of volunteer projects in his field all ready just through word of mouth connections he made through honors. Take care!
Thank you so much for your insight @ctl987. I was a bit hesitant about the Honors dorm because the price tag will be a bit higher, though my parents can still manage. The thing is I’m still waiting for other decisions and likely will not commit to any college before May 1st. As you once said in another thread, the Honors dorm is guaranteed for the scholars and most dorms will be occupied by then. So if I decide to go to Temple at that time, I’ll probably end up in the Honors dorm, which is great but somewhat a burden on my parents. Luckily, off-campus housing will be much cheaper so I can reduce the costs after freshman year.
off campus housing is risky due to area. u will have better idea of where to live and not live once you live on campus for a year though. please confirm with Temple honors that they still have guarenteed housing, you can do this through email to honors dept. please let your parents know from another parent that if they can swing the higher price tag for honors dorm, that is def way to go. Esp with you being international. You will have enough on your plate getting used to living in US and in a major city. living in reliable housing, which you should get in honors, can add peace of mind for them. you might be fine in other dorms too but you run the risk of a ok but not great living situation if you pick another dorm. I can’t promise honors will be perfect but i do believe your best chance of great first year housing will be to live in honors dorm.
@ctl987: I have to swing in here for my side of the argument in regards to comparing Temple to Penn. I’d like to preface this (what will be a) rant by saying that I’m not trying to belittle Temple in any way, and I apologize if I do so.
With that in mind, you cannot compare the business programs at Temple and Penn. It’s literally a disgrace to Penn to do so. In terms of post-undergraduate job opportunities, Wharton (Penn’s undergrad business program) triumphs Fox in every way possible. In order to get an entry level job at any top company on Wall Street or the alike, you have to be coming out of an Ivy or the comparable (Duke, Stanford, etc.). No matter what job you’re applying to, you will be getting it if your resume is topped with “Wharton Class of 2019” and a upenn.edu email address.
I got into Fox + Temple Honors + Fox Honors + Full Tuition Presidential scholarship, and I would be beyond the point of shocked (literally, I will die) if I get into Wharton (and I’ll get back to you on that in late March when I get my decision). When it comes to business, 90% of it is who you know. And going to Wharton will guarantee you know the right people. And if you want to argue that after your first job, your school doesn’t matter, you’re right. The difference is that the first job of a Wharton alum is the equivalent of the sixth job of a Fox alum. Yes, there are exceptions, but that is a general principle.
And you are correct in talking about the financial barrier. But in that case, taking out loans becomes an option. If I get accepted to Wharton, I can almost guarantee that I will go there before I go to Fox, despite the fact that it will cost me around $200,000 more over the course of the four years. Despite the fact that I will go into debt. Despite the fact that I will have to take out student loans.
Because I can go to the CEO of any S&P 500 company, and they will know what Wharton is. Not only that, I can almost guarantee that all 500 of them will be impressed by Wharton. The same cannot be said about Fox. So no, the opportunities are not the same. They really are not even comparable. They are different schools.
james, appreciate your point of view, and i think it will be very helpful to the person who asked question too. however, let me tell you some of my own history. i went to a premier law school. not an Ivy but is in the top 10 and was at the time i attended there, very pricey, 30K a year a LONG time ago. i am coming up on my 25th reunion. i did not find the name recognition or connections i made there as valuable as i thought they would be when i appled to this school as a bright eyed undergrad. i could not find a job when i graduated because the legal market had fallen out. i did eventually but it took time. some of my friends who got hired at big name law firms were laid off within a year or two so they too suffered despite the big name law school degree. Today, my big name degree gets me some wows from anyone who knows law schools but that is about it. one of my jobs came about due to my undergrad school. a senior partner went to the same school. I got hired for another job because i had a friend who was a judge who gave me glowing recomendations that were in no way tied to my law school. admittedly, my big name law school also got their attention but i found out later it was the judge(and my ability to speak another lanuguage that many of their clients spoke) that got me the job. my third and current job came about due to good work experience i gained at job #2. again, people were impressed by the big name degree but it was not the key factor. the ivies are great for connections. there is no doubt about it. and you may be right about Wharton v Fox. however, i am passing along my own story for all of you as it may help you in deciding issues. From what i understand on Fox, it is a highly ranked business school. i want to say top 20, maybe it’s top 50 but i an pretty sure it is up there. past that, my info is limited as my kid is not a business major and clearly, as all of you now know, i do not have a business degree. i do however have life experiences, including undergrad and law school applications, and a legal career that enable me to give some good practical advice in if you will a related area. i aloso have a big name degree so i know the real world value of such a degree. i also know a handful of MBA students from my undergrad school(also a well known business school) who struggled to find work when they graduated. given the prestige of that school, one would not have expected this to be the case. if you can afford an ivy, go for it. if not, it is an individual decision about how much debt to take on.
and sorry, i looked up rank of Fox, it seems to be in range of 50 to 60. i thought it was higher. in that sense, you are right. a degree from penn will be more valuable. however, i still don’t think it is worth it to pay the full price tag. it looks like some of Fox’s programs are comfortably within the top 50 so it will also depend on what field you are going into. since it is a reputable program, i doubt it would work against you for MBA entrance with a strong GPA. You have a better shot at getting top notch jobs with the Ivy degree but there are no guarantees.
and my last point, as many of you may know already and for future applicants, Penn and in fact, many of the Ivies are VERY generous on need based aid depending on your family’s EFC. so by all means, if you have the stats and desire to go to an Ivy, apply and see what happens. if you have to take on a lot of debt to make an Ivy or any other school work, proceed with caution. some parents can easily afford the price tag. others, even with high EFC’s cannot. and a forgot to mention on note above. Fox seems to be a big enough program with connections that you can still find jobs and my guess is decent to good jobs. will you get the big job at Wall Street? less likely with a degree from Temple than Penn. Agreed. however, i assume there are still plenty of other jobs elsewhere. i am aware of a recent undergrad business student from another school which is well regarded who has options they are happy with when they graduate. my guess is students from Fox who apply themselves will make out similar to this individual.
@ctl987
I agree with everything you said, so yeah 
@ctl987 @jamesjunkers I appreciate response and insight. Penn lps is the non-traditional admissions program through penn. It’s part of the school of arts and sciences. I didn’t apply to Wharton, so the Fox to Penn comparison isn’t quite apples to apples. I would either major in urban studies or PPE (Philosophy, politics, and econ). The urban studies and real estate programs are in conjunction with Wharton, but the degree is SAS not Wharton.
Because lps is non-traditional the sticker price is about the same at penn as it is for temple, however Penns financial aid seems to be far more generous for transfer students than Temple. I haven’t received a financial aid package from either school yet, but I think temple gives 5k max for transfers.
ccp, if you can go to an ivy for the price tag of a public or less than a public, by all means, jump on that oppurtunity!!!
In addition, when it comes to need based aids, the Ivys are probably the best - their endowment funds are many times higher, and they have more money to give out.
totally agree with James. my kid had no interest in going to Penn but had he been admitted, his costs would have been comparable to Temple, at least according to the net price calculator,(NPC) i was the crazy parent running NPC’s on every school and could not believe how generous the Ivies were. as James noted, they have the endowments to do so and they all began a trend i guess within the last few years(maybe longer) to reduce the amount of loans students would have to take. ccp, if you have been admitted to penn, congrats!!! that is not an easy thing to accomplish!
ccp, you orginally asked how fox compare to pennlps in terms of post grad opportunities, specifically grad school preparation/admissions and professional opportunities? now that i know you are going a urban studies or PPE (Philosophy, politics, and econ) route, the Penn degree will look better on paper. my guess is it will provide more oppurtunities but as i noted above, paying the full price at penn(and by that i mean 60K a year) would not be worth it, However, with similar price tags, then Penn is the wiser choice. it is an Ivy, which looks good on any grad school app. and as James and i have mentioned, the Ivy connections are great to get.
Re Temple, I assume you can or have gotten into Temple honors. if so, i am very pleased with the classes and education my son is getting in honors. He wanted the big school experience, which is a big reason why he is at Temple. By being in honors, he can pick either honors or regular classes for most subjects.he loves this flexibility and has found the honors classes to challenge without exhausting him. He also likes the intellectual stimulation he gets interacting with the other honors kids and they have their own internal networking. so even though it does not have the name brand recognition of an Ivy, he is still getting a good solid enjoyable education. and for him, Temple, including the honors dept, is a wonderful college fit. The honors dept at Temple goes out of its way to work with the kids and help foster them into the best they can be and it is like a smaller more exclusive school in the middle of a mega school. i assume Penn would be similar in many ways and presume it would be even better in the above areas.
so truly, i think both options are good ones but Penn is in many ways the wiser one. i would suggest you try to visit both schools so you can get a feel where you would be happier at. if that ends up being the same, go for Penn, especially since the costs are comparable. not everyone gets that oppurtunity and you don’t want to let a great chance like that pass you by. also, real estate is an issue. Temple is in a dreadful area so you have to live either on or very close to Temple. Penn’s surrounding area(depending on the direction) is also bad but i don’t think quite as bad as Temple. Still, my guess is you would want to live on or close to campus at Penn too. so i would look at housing costs closely in making your decision as well. Penn is very close to the Philly train station(it might even be walking distance) and maybe a little bit better for overall public transportation but both schools have easy subway and bus access. i liked the area around Penn(re resturants, etc) more than Temple which would be another good reason for you to try to visit the schools if you can swing it.
and evelynne, if you are up for sharing, where else are you looking? and what are you hoping to get out of your time in the States and your college experience? since most of us live in the states( i think) we may have some good feedback on where you might be happiest studying here.
Thank you @ctl987. Since I’m an English/Creative Writing major, I’m interested in mostly small liberal arts colleges. Right now my top choices are Amherst, Reed and Bryn Mawr. Temple is great (I have a friend who is studying there), and the opportunities that are available at a big city like Philadelphia as well as the offer from Temple are quite tempting to reject. However, since I still prefer a small, intimate environment (I’m not quite comfortable at a place as big as Temple even though I’ll be in the Honors program), I’m praying that I’ll have many options when April 1st comes. And most Temple students in the admitted student group study either business or nursing (out of perhaps 100 comments, I’m the only one that majors in English!), so I’m a bit hesitant about the English department at Temple in overall and the Creative Writing program in particular.