The deadline is almost here and the kid still can not make up his mind.
Columbia or Penn for premed?
You can major in something and apply to medical school from just about any college. Do you want to live in Philly or NYC?
The answers won’t change from the last time you asked:
What does your son want?
Right…what took Amherst off the table??
Hurrah! Hurrah! Pennsylvania!
But I’m prejudiced. One advantage, as a person who went to Penn undergrad, not a science major, then went to med school, was that the hospital was right there on campus - both CHOP and HUP, which made it really easy to volunteer at each. Columbia doesn’t have its hospital that close by, although one can subway to hospitals easily.
Penn has a larger campus that is self-contained (although anyone can walk on campus at any hour). Columbia is in the better city, by far, in my opinion, but Philly isn’t bad at all. Penn’s sports are right on campus - very easy to go to basketball and football games.
Other than that, it really comes down to whether one wants to be in NYC or in Philly. They’re even both about the same distance from the center of the city.
I’ve spent a lot of time on both campuses, in both cities. Overall, I think that Penn is a tiny bit less “urban” in its campus feel. But he really cannot go wrong with either choice.
2 Likes
What’s his vibe? Penn definitely is known for having more of a preprofessional vibe. I suggest he read students reviews on Niche, which utilizes student feedback.
1 Like
I should provide an update on this. Thank you for all the helpful suggestions. S finally decided to go to Penn. All these schools are great but he can only go to one. It was a hard decision. I am just really glad this entire college application thing is over:)
5 Likes