<p>I need help choosing. I'll be visiting both Cornell and Penn within a few weeks, but wanted other people's insights as well. I'm mainly torn between Penn and Cornell. I always thought Penn was my first choice until I got my likely letter a few weeks before the official notifications from Cornell. It kinda got Cornell in my head early on, and the fact they thought I'd make a great fit for the school makes me thing I might be as well. I'm planning to be an english major while being pre-med and possibly minoring in art. I just got off a web chat with Cornell students and now I went from leaning to Penn to in the middle/leaning to Cornell.</p>
<p>So, any one else want to throw their own opinions/thoughts into the ring? I'll probably post this in Penn's forum later to be fair (since I figured people who favor a certain school will stick to a certain forum and it might be a bit bias...but yea)</p>
<p>Any insights? Pros/Cons? (I know the general philly vs ithaca. etc etc)</p>
<p>Wow, I was in the exact same position. I was all UPenn my sophomore and junior years of high school. Cornell and Brown were definitely lingering in my head around #2 and #3. I visited all 3 and I really just didn’t get the lure of Brown at all. That said, I was torn between applying early decision to Cornell or UPenn. Something about Cornell pulled me in that direction eventually and thats where I will be going next year. Both are awesome they are still my 2 favorite schools… there’s just something about Cornell thats alluring</p>
<p>Yea. I can’t put my finger on that Cornell allure either. I thought I was getting a message to go to Penn last thursday because I met a Penn alum who absolutely loved it and made me really excited about Penn. Then I went on the web chat today and I don’t know, I got pulled the other way.
The only huge turn off for me about Cornell is the cold, because I deal badly with cold weather. But, I figure I can wear a heavy coat and dealt…And just stay inside.</p>
<p>The weather is going to be cold at all three schools. I would just choose based on your personal preferences. For me, I chose Cornell over UPenn.</p>
<p>It sounds like Brown is out of consideration, for now.</p>
<p>And frankly, I don’t think there will be much of a difference, academically speaking, between the experience of a pre-med English major at Penn and a pre-med English major at Cornell. Both schools have very strong English and pre-med programs, although Cornell might be a bit stronger when it comes to creative writing. </p>
<p>So your decision should probably boil down to whether or not you would like to attend a laid-back school in a rural setting or a pre-professional school in an urban setting. The choice is yours!</p>
<p>Let me know if we can help answer any questions you may have about Cornell. The winters will be marginally worse in Ithaca, but I don’t think it should be a game changer.</p>
<p>Penn is a stronger school, with statistically stronger students. (But who cares, they’re all pretty smart :))</p>
<p>Philadelphia has milder weather (spring will come a month earlier), and offers vastly more to do. Philadelphia has world-class museums, restaurants, shopping, bars, entertainment, and company opportunities. And yet Penn also has a real, complete campus with a tremendous social scene with something for everyone. It may be the only top school that has a balanced and rich on and off-campus life. There are no limits at Penn.</p>
<p>Heck you can even go to NYC, DC, and Atlantic City–all of which are close by because you’re right in the middle of the northeast corridor–the most historic and densely populated region of the United States.</p>
<p>Plus we get mocked as “the crappy Ivy” a good deal less than Cornell ;)</p>
<p>If you have any questions about Penn and its awesomeness, PM me!</p>
<p>I am stuck between Cornell and Brown. Even though I already visited, I’m going to visit both one more time and try desperately to find a way to stay overnight before I make my decision. I think you should do the same!</p>
<p>It really says something about Penn when someone defending it has to pull out the Crappy Ivy argument (which comes up considerably less than “Penn=Penn State”) and the “Cornell students have worse stats” argument (which is not true in A&S, which is the school the original poster would be in).</p>
<p>Congratulations on three wonderful acceptances. All three schools are fantastic and you are going to receive a phenomenal education wherever you end up. This is a can’t-lose situation, so have some fun choosing. Tens of thousands of exceptional folks would love to be in your shoes!</p>
<p>Cornelians, don’t worry, I’ll try not to think any less of you from my impression of EATYOURCEREAL. I understand he does not reflect Cornell :)!</p>
<p>Thanks Everyone.
I guess I should have added more background info about me. I’m already living in NYC, so I’m used to an urban environment. I really wanted a campus with grass, different than the concrete I’m used to, which both campuses have. I like that Philly is a distinct city, different from NY, but that Penn also has it’s own really great campus. However, I like that Cornell is it’s own bubble in Ithaca…(I found out Ithaca has a mall in the web chat! So I can live without a ton of other stores.) </p>
<p>Brown isn’t really out of consideration. It’s just I really don’t know much about it. I’m going to try to visit it before I make my final decision. I’m also visiting both Cornell and Penn back to back overnight, so I hope to make up my mind by then.</p>
<p>@Doby Thank you =)! I’m really grateful to be able to choose. I appreciate your congratulations. @MyOpinion I don’t really care about selectivity since that doesn’t indicate what level of education I’ll receive. They’re both great schools. I’m just trying to figure out which will fit me best. @Everyone else Thanks for your input!</p>
<p>I wouldn’t recommend going to UPENN.
First, I live in Philly, and the Neighborhood in West Philly is not perfect. The Campus is only 5 blocks in all directions to high crime areas.
I wouldn’t recommend ever stepping out of your dorm.</p>
<p>Second, I heard from UPenn Alumnis that they don’t pay much attention/devotion to their undergraduate classes. What I mean is, they just teach out of the book and that’s it. UPENN is much better if you were a graduate.</p>
<p>On the light note, Philly isn’t a horrible place if you don’t visit West/North Philly. Nightlife is great and the weather is moderate throughout all seasons.</p>
<p>For Brown, I have a friend who is going there. Seems content, but not that happy. Dunno why.</p>
<p>For Cornell, well, I don’t know about it yet, just that it has a lot of majors to choose from, and a mid size college town is more welcoming.</p>
<p>My experience with many people from Penn (not all) is that the culture there is one that tends to carry a lot more of that machismo swagger and highlight ultimately shallow, meaningless things as if they define oneself (note the earlier post and the general pre-professional angle on the school). There’s just something different about Cornell - perhaps the allure to which you alluded.</p>
<p>You can’t go wrong with any of your choices, but based on your posts I’d recommend Cornell for two reasons:</p>
<ol>
<li> You already live in NYC. You know what city life is and you’ll probably go back to it after college. Cornell provides the quintessential “college” experience with the large quads and the prominence of the school in Ithaca, as well as the funky, quirky, artsy city of Ithaca itself.<br></li>
</ol>
<p>The natural beauty of the gorges and waterfalls in and around campus provides an environment where you can truly experience something completely different than what you’re used to in NYC in a way that can define your college years as a unique and separate period in your life. In the end, cities are cities. Philly and NYC are somewhat different, but the same things you do in NYC you’ll do in Philly.</p>
<ol>
<li> I’ve found Cornellians are a rather unique bunch, perhaps attributing to Cornell’s unique purpose and structure amongst its peers. While you can get everything you want to study at any of those schools, Cornell has always struck me as a place where it’s part of the culture to mix seemingly incongruent disciplines and is a place where people meld the practical with the liberal arts rather comfortably.</li>
</ol>
<p>But, again, I went there so I can’t speak objectively. Just my opinion based on my experience.</p>
<p>of the three schools brown is the hardest to get into by a significant margin and most students who have the choice, choose brown over cornell and penn</p>
<p>more substantive advantages exist for each school and you’ll probably have a better guy idea of where you want to be after visiting. in brown’s case, you will have one of the best english and art departments (along with the ability to take classes at RISD – the most prestigious art school in the world), combined with the flexibility to be pre-med at the same time in a low stress environment.</p>
<p>^^
By that logic the College of the Ozarks should be a far superior school to all of them since it has the lowest acceptance rate and the University of Chicago or Northwestern should be joke schools because they have a significantly higher acceptance rate.</p>
<p>Brown’s a great school, but just know that a lot of Cornell’s programs are very specialized so they will naturally attract fewer applicants and more acceptances for each individual program.</p>
<p>It’s dangerous to base one’s decision on acceptance rates, especially when there’s a 2% difference between Penn and Cornell and a fundamentally different mission and purpose for existing between Brown and Cornell. You really can’t compare the two.</p>