<p>i was totally thinking columbia.</p>
<p>should i reconsider this, now that i'm a benjamin franklin scholar?</p>
<p>I would say Penn. Being a BFS will be pretty nice and you get some distinction when you graduate. You will easily get the same job after school, if not better coming from Penn, so don’t worry. Penn provides a more traditional college experience with a perfect balance of academics and social life.</p>
<p>I would say Penn regardless of BFS simply because Penn provides a much fuller and enjoyable undergraduate experience and opens the doors to all the same fantastic job and grad school opportunities.</p>
<p>BFS just makes Penn even better for you :)</p>
<p>thanks for the responses!</p>
<p>and what exactly are the benefits of being BFS?</p>
<p>[Center</a> for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships | Benjamin Franklin Scholars](<a href=“Penn CURF”>Penn CURF)</p>
<p>Basically the university devotes extra resources to you to ensure you get a LAC-style advising and academic experience. Funding grants for your research projects. Also some swanky BFS-seminars. Pretty spiffy stuff.</p>
<p>(though it should be noted that all the resources are there for a “normal” non-BFS student who is willing to seek them out…lord knows I found them all)</p>
<p>I’d like to know what about Columbia made you want to go there over Penn. Because it’s unlikely that being a BFS will change that factor. Is it the location (NYC)? A certain department or professor you want to study with? The lower rank? (j/k).</p>
<p>Think seriously about it. The schools are essentially equal in most ways: urban, elite, highly regarded departments across the board (Penn has slightly stronger social sciences, Columbia has slightly stronger hard sciences), vibrant student body, high rank, etc. Columbia’s acceptance rate is lower, but their actual selectivity in terms of SAT averages (Columbia = 2170, Penn = 2175) and HS rank (Columbia = 96% in the top 10%, Penn = 99% in the top 10%) is essentially the same.</p>
<p>Think about these factors, and get back to this thread.</p>
<p>
Glad I’m not the only person who notices that acceptance rate != selectivity!</p>
<p>muertepablo, why would OP care about any of that stuff? how is selectivity or 5pt differences in SAT averages, really relevant to a 17-year old trying to to choose where he/she will spend the next 4 years in life? </p>
<p>you are not doing a very good job of selling Penn if all you can bring up is stats and rankings, which are basically a wash between the two schools.</p>
<p>to the OP: both schools are great academically. what you should be looking at is personal fit. i have the same dilemma as you. i’m not BFS, but i’m choosing between Penn SEAS and Columbia SEAS. i’m going to do overnights at both campuses, talk to people, etc and then make my decision. </p>
<p>you can’t decide between these two schools over a messageboard. you have to actually go there and see for yourself.</p>
<p>I would second what blu_g8orade has said. I also believe muerteapablo’s question of what you like about each school still stands.</p>
<p>I chose Penn SEAS over Columbia SEAS when I applied ED, simply because I preferred the atmosphere and flexibility of Penn. You should visit both, as has been advised.</p>
<p>again, thanks for the helpful responses. </p>
<p>basically, i’ve been leaning columbia because of nyc. and because, at least by reputation, it’s less pre-professional. how intellectual is penn’s student body? yes, they talk about the balance between the social and academic aspects of penn, but do kids like to sit around and talk about interesting ideas? </p>
<p>i’ll visit, but still would like to know, would it be idiotic to turn down BFS? does it “open doors” for the future, or just make getting research grants a bit easier? or somewhere in between?</p>
<p>
Not a good place for college. Overwhelms the campus</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Yes, they do. At least I did. Of course with 10,000 undergrads you can find pretty much any group of people.</p>