ED Upenn (CAS) vs. dartmouth vs. cornell

College Search & Selection
1

<p>i'm probably gonna major in economics (if not, finance)...even though both are in the direction of business, i'm leaning towards dentistry or even pharmacy/veterinary. i know that sounds a little wack but as long as i take the required courses to get into those grad schools, it doesn't matter what i major in...or so i heard. i don't want to get locked down into one field b/c i'm really open to change. </p>

<p>i'm not gonna apply wharton b/c no way in hell i'm gonna get in. so i'm looking into it's econ department. for dartmouth, the same. but i love the fact that it's a really tight and small liberal arts school, which means that the profs (generally the school itself) pay more attention to the undergrads (no need to compete w/grad students). and for cornell, i'm looking into its econ and business program, and possibly veterinary as well. i heard that cornell has the toughest work load in the ivy league (the easiest to get into, the toughest to stay in)...scared me off a little. </p>

<p>two kids at my HS are apply ED to cornell, one to dartmouth, and i have no idea for penn. tell u the truth, i'm nervous about ED to cornell since there are already 2 ppl doing it.....also terrified of the work load haha.</p>

<p>anyway, i'm chinese female...NJ suburban (literally 4.5 minute drive from manhattan) high school...2100+ (will retake next month) SATs, toughest schedule at school (8 APs and all honors), my ECs include key club officer, consumer bowl cap (champion), newspaper editor, math league, FBLA, and chorus. the last three still waiting/hoping for positions. </p>

<p>other:
teaches chinese
telemarketing
soon-to-be assistant for a Prudential agent
chinese instrument (plays very well and probably will send a tape or something) + calligraphy (not a lot of young ppl do this nowadays and i absoltuely love it)</p>

<p>sry for the looooong post. any suggestions? penn or dart or cornell</p>

<p>**PS. penn has a 7yr bio-dental program that gets u BS and dental degree at once. my question is, which is better, a continuous program (like Penn's) or a noncontinuous (major in w/e u want and then take the DAT to enroll in a diff dental school)? how's penn's rep for the program?</p>

2

<p>anyone please??? i want to come up with a final decision by tomorrow....i know u guys r the best!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!</p>

3

<p>Probably the strongest major in the College outside of the sciences is Economics.
You can take finance courses in Wharton even though you are part of the College (penn let's you take classes in other schools).</p>

4

<p>i assume dart is the hardest to get into out of all 3 and i DO want to make the best of my ED app. by that i mean NOT applyin to a school where it is virtually impossible for me to get in. but then all 3 are big reaches. plus a couple of ppl are applying to D and C...</p>

<p>anymore suggestions guys? comment on the 7yr bio-dent program? how hard is it to get in? lol it probably accept 10 ppl each yr</p>

5

<p>There's not really that much of a difference between applying to Penn's CAS and Wharton anymore. Is it harder to get in to Wharton? yeah, probably. Ludicrously so? Hardly.</p>

<p>If you really want Wharton (though I'd advise against it, especially since their symbiotic cash cow just imploded this weekend), apply to Wharton.</p>

6

<p>nah...not wharton. that's just like handing money to the school. don't have a shot.</p>

<p>just found out one person is applying ED to penn! haha! ugh.</p>

<p>can anyone suggest which school is the best for me if i decide to major in econ and eventually go to a dentistry grad school? i want to know pros and cons of each schools that i don't know about...=)</p>

7

<p>I would say Dartmouth and Penn are more selective than Cornell, but you're talking about three extremely selective schools. I think it comes down to fit. Do you want a community atmosphere with lots of study abroad and tightknit classes (Dartmouth), a larger school in a city thats less LACy (Penn), or a large research university in a small town in the mountains (Cornell)?</p>

8

<p>by ur definition, i'd choose dartmouth. but even though i don't really favor large cities, i DO kinda give their schools the big props b/c in my mind cities offer lots more opportunities. that's why i'm in a love/hate relationship w/NYU haha</p>

<p>now i'm just narrowing it down to dart and penn...i checked my school's record. 3 ppl applied to dart in i have no idea how many years, and none got in...i'm so torn!!</p>

9

<p>Be very careful where you apply early decision because if you get in, that is where you are going. Some kids change their mind in the spring. Also, some schools give little or no financial aid to early decision. The schools you have in mind are all very different. Have you seen them? You need to visit before you apply to be sure this is where you want to study. No one can tell you where to study except yourself.</p>

10

<p>Penn has a school of dental medicine. It's obviously not an undergrad school but would no doubt be pretty convenient for you to be near. You could probably take some classes in it too if you want.</p>

11

<p>penn has a 7yr biodental program i think...which gets u Bachelor and masters i think. and u apply for freshmen yr i believe</p>

12

<p>Your mad that one person at your school is applying ED to Penn? My school has 9 already and the deadlines still a couple months away O_o imagine my pain.........</p>

13

<p>If you don't have a clear first choice, (or if you need financial aid), you have no business applying ED to any of them.</p>

14

<p>My old high school had more than 30 kids applying to Penn last time I checked. Double the number applying in my day. Man things were easier when I was your age...</p>

15

<p>not sure about the selectivity of Penn CAS vs Penn overall</p>

<p>Dartmouth 1330 1550
Penn overall 1330 1530
Cornell CAS 1310 1520</p>

<p>They are essentially the same in selectivity.</p>

16

<p>to the OP.
I am a Penn DMD/MD grad. My wife is a Wharton MBA grad. MY son is a Penn Bioengineering/Econ grad. And lastly, my younger son is at Cornell AEM/Sc. of Natural & Environmental Sys. program.So I feel I can be of some help to you if it's not too late.
Penn School of Dental Medicine is one of the top three if not the top program in the country. I have worked with and taught in different dental schools in the country. I can tell you the education you get at the SDM of Penn is unparalleled. With that said, if you can get into the 7-year BS/DMD program, and provided you are truly set in Dentistry, that'll be the best scenario. It is very competitive but not necessarily all dependent on grades. Your passion and experience will count heavily in the application. In the event you get into this program and change your mind about studying dentistry, you can always opt for the BS alone and apply to whatever grad school you want.
Penn CAS and Wharton actually has very similar selectivity. Again, passion and commitment count and will make the difference. In actuality, the engineering school has the highest GPA and SAT stat amongst its applicants.
Cornell CAS is also extremely selective, approximately the same as Dartmouth. It's actually the smallest of the student body for CAS amongst Penn, Dartmouth and Cornell. Cornell's ease of getting in is only because of the other schools it has which admit students heavily based on fit and not academics alone like the Hotel school. Cornell's official business program is in the College of Life Science and Agriculture. It is the AEM or Applied Economics and Management program and is one of the only two accredited business programs in the Ivy League other than Wharton. It only takes 90-100 freshman applicants. If you are OOS, it is extremely competitive also.
So my advice for you is do not let the relative competitiveness of the programs dictate which you would apply. Go with your gut and apply to the one that you like best and best fitted. Ultimately, that will show up in your essay and that will give you the best shot at getting in. The ADCOM are looking for the applicants that best fit and will benefit most from the school.</p>

17

<p>i don't really want to be fully related to business...probably only tangential. </p>

<p>is it better to do dentistry grad separately from undergrad or a continuous program like the 7yr that penn has?</p>

18

<p>Honestly? Visit all three schools and get a feel for which one you would be most comfortable at. </p>

<p>You might also be interested in the College of Human Ecology at Cornell, where you could combine a PAM major (economics, business, policy) with a major in Biology and Society to satisfy your pre-dental/pre-vet requirements.</p>

<p>If you are completely dedicated to being a dentist, a 7-year program would be the best choice. But if you want to keep your options open, it doesn't really matter.</p>

19

<p>You may want to consider Northwestern University for economics. Located on the shores of Lake Michigan in an upscale Chicago suburb, it offers the advantages of big city living without the typical negatives. As I do not know your stats, you should be aware that the SAT 25th percentile is slightly higher than those at the schools you are considering.
Northwestern University 1350
Dartmouth College 1330
University of Pennsylvania 1330
Cornell University 1290
But, assuming you pass this "threshold", the admit rate for Northwestern is a bit less than 27%. Penn is 16%, but much higher for ED. Cornell is probably the highest admit rate as it's stated rate of 21% does not include a substantial number given a guaranteed transfer option. Dartmouth is at 15% with a higher ED rate. The University of Chicago is as good as or better than even Northwestern University for economics and the admit rate is a friendly 35% with a threshold 25th percentile SAT of 1330. Not certain, but I believe that Northwestern University & the University of Chicago offer cross registration privileges.
Northwestern is on a busy quarter system that makes double majoring easy due to the sheer number of classes taken over a normal four year period=48 courses vs. 40 on the semester system.
Northwestern's medical school is located on a separate but equally spectacular campus in Chicago on the shores of Lake Michigan within walking distance of the Magnificent Mile shopping, dining & entertainment district.
If you are afraid of a heavy workload, than Cornell, Chicago & Northwestern may not be for you.
Contrary to earlier posted ,well intentioned advice, I think that you should apply ED/EA to one of these schools to increase your chances for admission as they are all ultra competitive regarding admissions.</p>

20

<p>To answer your question as to whether it's better to do a 7-year predental-dental program from the same school or go to different school for the dental, let me reiterate the fact that Penn has one of the very best dental school in the country. If you can get in through the 7 year program, you are very very lucky. Even if you go to a different undergrad predent, it will be and should be one of your top choices. Now on the flip side, you can do the 7 year program and still apply to a different dental school if you choose to, though I don't see the point of doing that.
Ultimately, it's whether you are 100% COMMITED to doing dentistry that matters. If you are wavering between medicine and dentistry, then doing a regular premed program is better. In that case, GPA is of the foremost importance. It is the threshold that you need to pass before anything else in you app get considered. In that case, I would advise you to make sure you go to a school where you know you can do very well in. If you want the prestige and ease of grade inflation, Cornell and Penn are not good choices according to my family's collective experience. Brown would be the top choice. It's practically a grade machine amongst the Ivies. (you can check into their grading and class-drop policy and you'll understand.)</p>