<p>Im having trouble deciding between Brown and Upenn. My main concerns about Penn when compared to Brown are the prevalence of fraternities/sorities, lack of diversity, and competition. Does social life at UPenn revolve around sports and Greek life? Also, while Brown seems to be very eclectic in its population, the UPenn population seems to be a much more preppy, J-Crew wearing, future businessman crowd. Is their diversity on campus, and if so, is it very cliquish? Final question…how is the student competition at UPenn, particularly in Arts and Sciences.</p>
<p>J Crew? What? When were you on campus and where did walk?? I cannot quite agree w/ your assessment. Wanna be businssmen? I certainly would love to talk you into Penn but it sounds to me as if you have posted your reasons for choosing Brown and that is okay with me. Brown sounds like your kind of place, more competitive and all.....have fun in Providence.</p>
<p>diddo.
I was in the same predicament, but quickly came to my senses when I realized I didn't want to go to school with a bunch of hippies (Brown)! Peace, brother! :)</p>
<p>I found Brown's P.C. atmosphere to be stifling.</p>
<p>Penn is filled with far more daring and offensive people, and as an offensive person myself, I much prefer it.</p>
<p>Though it clearly sounds like you want to go to Brown, so toodleoo. Enjoy Providence!</p>
<p>(ooooo I feel so Harvardian when I've reached the point of not giving a hoot whether people apply or not)</p>
<p>I was in your same situation when I was choosiing where to attend, and I ultimately came to Penn for several reasons.</p>
<p>1) Penn is in fact much MORE diverse than Brown, both ethnically and culturally. As something of a left-winger I felt quite at home in the atmosphere at Brown, but at the same time it bothered me that the population was so homogeneous in their view; being political is no fun if you have no one with which to argue. I also felt that the people in Brown were much less in touch with reality than the ones at Penn, this may have been due to Penn's preproffesional atmosphere or Brown's rather cloistered position atop a hill in Providence, I'm not sure, that was just my impression.</p>
<p>2) To more of an extent than the other poster's, I agree with your assesment of Penn as being a bit J. Crew, but certainly no more so than Brown or similar insitutions.</p>
<p>3) There is no way, and I mean absolutely no way, that Brown is more competitive than Penn, though I don't think that's really what you were asking. I think Brown is pretty non-competitve outside of the PLME program, given it's open curriculum and lack of highly prevalent preproffesional programs. Competition at Penn varies a lot depending on your school and what your major is. Anything in the sciences eithern in Engineering or the College is incredibly competitive, as is Wharton; the same is not true of the Nursing program or humanities majors in the college.</p>
<p>I'm a center-right winger and it's certainly more fun to be a liberal when I'm around than when you're in a liberal echo-chamber in Providence...</p>
<p>Call me out-there but I don't see a lot of JCrew......I think many of the fine lady Quakers might be offended to be thought of as wearing JCrew....anybody else? I will say the class of frosh this year is some fine stuff.</p>
<p>JCrew is so last year. Where is your Lacoste shirt?</p>
<p>I actually scored one in Buenos Aires on the Penn Glee Club trip for $40. Now I wear it whenever I want to fool people in to thinking I'm wealthy.</p>
<p>If we are assuming the position here......is that collar flipped? One thing is clear.......we at Penn are cliche. Is that shirt pink? Are you a true Preppy guy?</p>
<p>Sadly, no on both counts. It's a lovely shade of blue (not even pastel blue...boy did I screw this one up), and the collar is in firm compliance with gravity.</p>
<p>Though I did buy a fake pink polo shirt in Hong Kong (I get around--thanks to Penn and not Brown). Unfortunately, it's of such low quality that the collar fabric isn't sturdy enough to be popped!</p>
<p>How would we ever recognize each other, both wearing shirts of the same shade, carrying a briefcase and then there is the sidewalk.......no green, everyone rushing to class......we are just at the wrong place.</p>
<p>Funny how things come full circle. When I was at Penn 25 yrs ago, Lacoste was hot. So hot that several Wharton students had side businesses selling irregulars (this was before knock-offs). Then came Polo and alligator shirts were out.</p>
<p>Anyway, I visited both Brown & Penn recently. Brown seemed more "alternative" (piercings and tatoos) and Penn more preppy. I'm sure there's considerable overlap, though. Both are great schools and you can always find your niche.</p>
<p>I am not sure about the overlap........from my prep there were few who applied to both.....Brown/Dartmouth perhaps but not Penn/Brown. It could have just been my school.</p>
<p>I wore Lacoste back in the 80's, but I'm glad to see it come back again. You could also throw in a Brooks Brothers shirt, as well, in sticking with the conservative/prep theme.</p>
<p>Thanks to those of you who answered my questions. I based my observations only from what I've heard from other people. Unfortunately when I visited both schools, classes weren't in session. </p>
<p>Again, how big is Greek life at Penn. Are there enough options to socialize outside of it? Also, does if there is a lot of inter-student competition in programs such as International Relations or Polysci?</p>
<p>ahh, just go get yourself a pair of destroyed Albecrombe & Fitch destroyed blues. That might really freak them out...LOL</p>
<p>Bravery, I hear that for maybe the first 1-2 years, a lot of social life is revolved around frat parties, etc. But have you talked to students? There's so much stuff to do on campus that I would think you would have trouble finding the time to do things and not the other way around. Plus, once you get comfortable enough with the city, that's a whole other world to explore. I would not consider social life a problem at either of these schools. I would seriously consider the environment and the academics more. For me, the beautiful isolated campus in the middle of one of the largest cities in the US just blew my mind. And my interest in business also had influence on my decisions. I was a bit turned off by Brown's "nothing in the world matters" attitude. Everyone seemed too out of touch with reality. And of course, I found that the open-curriculum probably won't serve me too well. And about your concern with "preppiness," if you're applying to any top 25 school, you cannot escape it. It's probably even there at your HS. But with 10000 kids, I doubt that you'll have trouble fitting in.</p>
<p>When you're a freshman, Greeks seem cool. Then as you get older, you realize that it's far more fun to go downtown or hang out with friends in a bar or even in your own off-campus house.</p>
<p>But even then, every once in a while you get a craving for the Animal House party and it's great to know that Penn's greeks have your back :-)</p>
<p>Best of both worlds. Pop my Lacoste collar, pledge.</p>
<p>How's the rap/hip-hop scene at Penn/Philadelphia?</p>
<p>Too bad Cassidy is in jail...</p>
<p>How much do sports influence the social scene at Penn? And can anyone comment on the International Affairs program at Penn?</p>