Columbia Social Life vs. Penn Social Life

Can any current students or recent grads from Penn or Columbia help compare and contrast the social lives at these two schools? Looking to make a decision about ED.

There exactly the same…for all relevant purposes.

From my kids friends at Penn and my own at Columbia. Penn seems to be more of a traditional rah rah college experience with the football games and Greek life. Columbia seems to be somewhat more geared towards things like concerts, plays, lectures though there are parties and silliness too (and a small Greek presence if you really want that). The city and all it’s offerings are so mingled in the Columbia experience it’s hard to separate that aspect out but it does change the college experience somewhat because there are so many cool things a subway ride away from campus where at Penn the majority of the experience is campus focused.

Can someone compare campus life between Tufts and Haverford?
My son has been recruited by both but thinks he would prefer Tufts. I believe that Haverford is a better school.
Prettier and less factory like than Tufts which seems a group of some of the ugliest buildings including the newly minted sports center.
Am I wrong? Please I’m open to all dialogue.

@158Westwood May I suggest that you are indeed wrong, but not in the way your question intends. You may find Haverford prettier and more bespoke (which is the best contrast I can think of to “less factory like”), but you aren’t going to college. Your son may care more about other aspects of campus life, like size, vibe and location.

Campus visits will help him decide. Having just gone through this process, I would say fit (for him, as he sees it) is the most important factor in this process.

Good luck.

@158Westwood I see you are new to CC. In the future when you have a new question of your own please start a new thread instead of hijacking another person’s thread.

Thank you.

Penn’s is more centered around campus, although many go into CC on weekends to go to downtowns/concerts/clubs etc. I imagine Columbia’s social scene is more decentralized. NYC is obviously better than Philly but that is rather pointless considering an undergrad won’t have access to most of what NYC has to offer, being under 21.