<p>i recently got into upenn, and got waitlisted at uchicago and columbia.
assuming i get into all 3, which should i go to?
my interests are (in order of importance)
1. math
2. physics
3. writing/lit
4. philosophy
5. pre-med</p>
<p>Chicago is way ahead of Columbia and Penn in terms of math.</p>
<p>They're all good. For the strengths of the departments, you could look at the US News grad school ratings for a rough estimate. </p>
<p>math: chicago: 6, columbia: 9; penn 18
physics; chicago: 8, columbia: 11, penn 13
eng lit: chicago: 6, columbia: 8, penn 10</p>
<p>But minor differences like the above don't really matter much for undergrad (or even grad school where it all depends on the exact specialty you're studying). For undergrad especially, it's more important to look at the quality of the other students and how much you like the campus, location, etc.</p>
<p>choosing a school soley based on some department's rankings don't make much sense for undergrad, esp. when all these schools rank pretty high. I say choose based on your fit, cost, and the atmosphere that you like better.</p>
<p>I say it should come down to New York v. Philly v. Chicago.</p>
<p>Personally it would be a choice between New York and Chicago, for me.
I recommend Chicago, it's a beautiful city with an amazing culture.</p>
<p>I would take a different tack on the cities.</p>
<p>I would say that NYC is unquestionably the best city out of all of them--but I would also say that is why you shouldn't go there for college. The attractions of the city drain the energy and community from campus. You can look up a fellow by the name of slipper1234. He started out at Columbia and transferred to Dartmouth.</p>
<p>I can't speak for Chicago; I've never been. But As a Penn student I can say that Philadelphia is a great college city. For starters, there is the sheer multitude of colleges and college students. The Philadelphia region has more than 80 institutes of higher education (colleges, universities, trade schools, specialty schools) and 300,000 students. 120,000 of those are within Philadelphia city limits.</p>
<p>That's second only to Boston.</p>
<p>On a more Penn-specific note, it is the only school of the bunch in which the main downtown area is within walking distance of the campus (a tad long walk to be sure, but not at all unreasonable).</p>
<p>Go to Chicago. It is much better in math and in physics. Also, remember that Chicago has access to the Fermilab and accelerator. Also, chicago has a very good philosophy program. GO TO CHICAGO.</p>
<p>My friends son graduate from Penn in math and is making over 150K/year after being hired by a Wall St. firm.</p>
<p>If I got into Penn and was waitlisted at the other two, I would go to Penn and not give the others the time of day.</p>
<p>Yes, actually being admitted (aka in) vs. waitlisted (aka not-in) is also a rather important consideration....</p>