Cornell vs. Penn ED

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
1

<p>Rising senior here and debating between these to schools. I've finished my supplements for both, and I'm having a hard time choosing. Aside from the academic reputation, I want to know more about the social atmosphere. I am leaning towards Penn, I like Philly and the ability to double major between colleges and a few other things. However, I feel that Penn will be a bigger reach compared to Cornell (not many kids have applied to Penn from my school). Cornell has the better engineering department, but I like Penn better overall. My stats:</p>

<p>Male, from competitive public HS in MA (class of ~400, about 15-25 to ivies each year)</p>

<p>GPA: ~3.84 UW, 4.6 W (6 APs by graduation plus 2 college classes) - this would be a 3.9+ had it not been for freshman year (upward trend)
Rank: My HS does UW ranks, so I get penalized a bit. I'm around the top 10%- give or take 3-5 spots, so definitely top 12%
SAT: 2010 (retaking later in nov/dec, but will use ACT)
ACT: 33 (36 M, 35 Science, 31 Writing, 31 Reading)
Subject Tests: 790 and 770 on Math lvl 2 and Physics subject tests.
Intended Major: MechE, EE or MSE</p>

<p>Extracurriculars: I'm not going to go in much depth but I have a fair amount of ECs related to engineering and science. I have leadership positions in clubs, have gone to state/nationals in competitions and have worked in labs (I intend on sending an additional rec from mentor and/or research abstract)</p>

<p>I'd eventually like to work in tech/silicon valley, and perhaps even do something entrepreneurial.</p>

2

<p>Read the threads here and then decide for yourself.</p>

<p>But, in engineering, I don’t think any Ivy is as good as Cornell.</p>

3

<p>^ Except for bioengineering, in which Penn is the best Ivy and one of the top 5 or 10 schools in the country.</p>

4

<p>Please read the other threads here before deciding you “like Penn better overall.” Penn’s admissions office is very good at marketing Penn and hiding its numerous flaws.</p>

5

<p>^ There she goes again. :)</p>

<p>And after only 5 total days on campus and 1 total day of classes. :rolleyes:</p>

6

<p>IMO: Penn is better for entrepreneurial applied engineering. Cornell is better if you want to do something cutting edge and get a PhD later- it would also be more intense/difficult academically.
I think you would be happier at Penn. It’s Engineering school doesn’t have the annoying red-tape bureaucracy that the college has and if you take a larger courseload you can even “submarticulate” and get a bachelors/masters together.</p>