<p>Hey! I'm absolutely torn between Penn and Columbia, and will apply ED to one of them.
Could you compare/contrast them in terms of academics, social life, campus, cutthroat-ness, etc. </p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>If you don’t know enough about them to know which one you like better, how do you know enough about either to know that you’d want to apply ED???</p>
<p>It’s perfectly okay to come to CC looking for advice. I’m just questioning the apparent paucity of research here. Do you know ANYTHING about them other than the fact that they’re famous and hard to get into?</p>
<p>Yes I do.
I have researched them thoroughly, but I want like personal experience</p>
<p>BOTH are two of the best colleges out there. just go for the college where you will feel comfortable.</p>
<p>The social life will be very different. Columbia does not have a pervasive greek scene and much of the social life is focused off campus because of all that NYC has to offer. Penn on the other hand has a third of its undergrads participating in greek life. The social scene during freshman and sophomore year revolves around the frats and sororities. In general I think you will find much more classic college partying at Penn. Columbia students seem to exist outside the college bubble because of the school’s locale.</p>
<p>I agree with HarvestMoon and would extend the response a bit. Penn feels like more of a self-contained campus. It is in Philadelphia, but the campus could be dropped into any major city and feel pretty much the same. Columbia on the other hand flows into the city - it is difficult to define where the campus ends and where the city begins. Columbia would be significantly different if it was located any place other than NYC.</p>
<p>Sports at all levels (varsity, club and intramural) seem to be more popular at Penn and are almost an afterthought at Columbia.</p>
<p>Both have excellent business and engineering undergraduate programs. Penn is the only Ivy that offers Nursing as a major.</p>
<p>I’m taken aback by the assessment of the two previous posters. Upenn is very much a unique “Philadelphia” institution. It evolved with the City from its very early days. And many many very social and active students are not involved in the greek scene.</p>
<p>I encourage you to post your question on the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia forums. See for example: [University</a> of Pennsylvania - College Confidential](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-pennsylvania/]University”>University of Pennsylvania - College Confidential Forums). The question has been asked before on those forums. Try a google search of “college confidential Upenn vs. columbia”. Best is to get the reply from current students. Better still is to visit the two universities on a school day.</p>
<p>rmldad, Columbia doesn’t have an undergraduate business program.</p>
<p>Wharton has an undergraduate program - combines liberal arts with business.</p>
<p>I’m also surprised by descriptions of Penn and Columbia. I would have thought Penn’s campus as open to the city (except for the college green) while Columbia has a better defined campus area. However both are very urban.</p>
<p>I think of Columbia as a liberal arts college of intellectuals whereas Penn has a very preprofessional bent to it. Almost everyone is pre-law, pre-med, pre-vet, pre-something, or in Wharton or the engineering school. </p>
<p>Both are excellent schools with smart, ambitious hard-working students. Visit, talk to the students and it’ll become clear which one is better fit.</p>
<p>This discussion definitely points to the importance of visiting a campus. Two people can have vastly different impressions, and even reach opposite conclusions, based on what is important to the individual, as well as innumerable other factors.</p>