<p>Hi, usually I just read the posts on CC but I'm having a hard decision here, so I hope you can help...</p>
<p>I'm an OOS (Georgia) student with a Regents' scholarship of about 14k a year in the engineering school.
Then there's UPenn (also engineering) with a scholarship of 20k.
Financially, they come out to be <em>about</em> even...</p>
<p>So... can someone help me compare the two of them? I'm thinking in terms of education, student body, environment, prestige beyond their respective states, getting a job...?</p>
<p>Well, for starters, why don't we consult US news? While controversial, it should give us a rough idea of how highly regarded each program is:</p>
<p>"US News and World Report:
Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs (At schools whose highest degree is a doctorate)</p>
<ol>
<li>Massachusetts Inst. of Technology 4.9</li>
<li>Stanford University (CA) 4.7 2. University of California–Berkeley * 4.7</li>
<li>California Institute of Technology 4.6</li>
<li>Georgia Institute of Technology * 4.5</li>
<li>U. of Illinois–Urbana-Champaign * 4.5
.
.
.</li>
<li>Duke University (NC) 3.6</li>
<li>Ohio State University–Columbus * 3.6</li>
<li>Univ. of California–San Diego * 3.6</li>
<li>Univ. of Maryland–College Park * 3.6</li>
<li>North Carolina State U.–Raleigh * 3.5</li>
<li>University of Florida * 3.5 29. University of Pennsylvania 3.5</li>
<li>Univ. of Southern California 3.5
.
.
.
"</li>
</ol>
<p>Berkeley is tied for second place, while Penn is tied for 29th. A rather large difference, if I do say so myself.</p>
<p>I'd go with Berkeley. A rank 2 school vs a school in the upper 20s.</p>
<p>And yes, Berkeley's environment is competitive, but if you could gain admission to the college of engineering (most competitive college in the school) out of state, and get a regents scholarship, I am sure you're perfectly capable of handling the difficulty.</p>
<p>Even though UPenn is an ivy, it's probably the <em>least</em> well-known or regarded. The only thing well known is their business school, beyond that I don't think they are better than berkeley. Also, the berkeley environment is either a love-hate thing, so you gotta check it out before you decide</p>
<p>Can you visit both schools and see for yourself? They are very different. UPenn has a reputation of being very social. Berkeley has a reputation of being liberal and with large classes. You need to take into account your personality and where you feel the best fit.</p>
<p>Go with Penn. The school is far more prestigious at the undergrad level. Penn has several strengths (including the top medical and health schools in the country, as well as several depts. in arts/sciences and engineering, and Communications, Business etc.)
The reason why Penn engineering is ranked in the 20's (along with most other Ivy League Schools, save for Princeton and Cornell), is that the engineering school is small in comparison to Stanford, MIT etc. This doesn't mean the quality of the school is lower, just that the research output is lower because of the size of the school. This makes absolutely no difference at the undergrad level. Many of Penn Engineering's depts. are ranked at or near the top of their fields: e.g. Bioengineering and Nanotechnology. Penn has also been investing heavily in other depts. </p>
<p>At Penn Engineering, you will have smaller classes, less grade inflation, and access to some of the best liberal arts and business classes in the country. Penn Engineering is also historically important: ENIAC was built here, leading to the birth of the Information Age...the first computer science classes, the first computer company...perhaps one of the most significant technological innovation of the century?</p>
<p>I recommend that you visit both schools. Undergraduate rankings aren't really a good measure of how much you'll learn or how likely you are to get a high-paying job after graduation.</p>
<p>saasaa, actually UPenn is one of the more highly regarded Ivy. You might be thinking of Cornell or Darthmouth. And Business school is not the only thing well known about them. Penn is quite prestigious and has more tradition than Berkeley.
I suggest the OP visit both campuses and explore more before deciding.</p>
<p>University of Pennsylvania has students from the whole country. The vast majority of Berkeley students come from California. This is an important difference.</p>
<p>Bekeley engineering is probably better, if you are talking about EECS it is probably much much better. But I wouldn't base my whole decision on that.</p>
<p>thanks, everyone! you've given me a lot of good things to think about when i'm making my decision.
i'll be visiting both campuses, since everyone describes them as very different environments, and i'll be researching more on what undergraduates do and where they go after graduating...</p>