Georgetown SFS vs Penn CAS

College Search & Selection
1

Hey everyone! So I recently got off the waitlist at Penn CAS and I’m trying to come to a final decision on whether to go there over Georgetown SFS. I’m leaning pretty strongly one way (won’t say which to avoid bias) but interested in everyone’s thoughts. I’m not sure what my major would be specifically at Georgetown within the SFS but it’d obviously be a variant of IR. At Penn, it would most likely be poli sci or history. I’m leaning toward learning Japanese in college if that changes the calculus at all. I also want to get involved with debate societies (think Philodemic/Philomathean), political discussion clubs, possibly activism, student government, and/or student publications while on campus. Not really sure at all of a career path but I’d be most inclined toward academia, policy, foreign service, or going to law school. Ignore the financials since I haven’t gotten my aid package from Penn yet.

Georgetown Pros:

  • Gold standard for my most likely major (IR)
  • Georgetown is “known” for the SFS, so I wouldn’t be at the bottom of the pecking order
  • I LOVE the SFS core, I like how it exposes students to a diverse range of necessary perspectives on IR (government, history, economics, philosophy, etc.)
  • Great language faculty? Not sure about this one compared to Penn but I want to start Japanese and I’ve heard Georgetown’s program is excellent
  • Student body has a distinctly political bent
  • I already have a wealth of connections to people in the Georgetown community for things like student government and organizations
  • Way better location for my interests (Capitol Hill, think tanks, Smithsonian, etc.)
  • I’ve already made a lot of friends at Georgetown that I value a LOT
  • Very collaborative vibes
  • I’m extremely invested at this point

Georgetown Cons:

  • Possibly a tiny bit weaker across the board than Penn is
  • Less known as a research institution
  • Facilities and food aren’t great

Penn Pros:

  • Possibly a tiny bit stronger across the board than Georgetown is
  • They have a PPE program which may be interesting to me
  • Better opportunities for research? Very important to me if I want to go into academia
  • Has the Penn Museum, which is phenomenal and which I'd really love to get involved with
  • Really beautiful campus, by far the best of all the schools I visited
  • Never lived in or near Philly before unlike DC (lived in the DC area my whole life) so a chance to explore somewhere new
  • I really vibed with it when I visited, it was my dream school for a while

Penn Cons:

  • Solid for IR but not as good as Georgetown, #4 vs #19
  • I’ve heard that Penn CAS often gets marginalized in favor of Wharton
  • Don’t have any connections in Penn or Philly
  • Penn has such a cutthroat reputation and a reputation for poor mental health

Thanks for any advice y’all can provide!

2

Based on its strengths in your primary area of interest, international relations, as well as in secondary areas such as history, Georgetown seems like your stronger academic and cultural fit.

Regarding Penn’s academics, its advantages, such as an available program in, say, geosciences, do not really seem to pertain to your interests. Penn would be strong for the study of econ, though.

Georgetown’s primary disadvantage with respect to your criteria is that it would not offer you the opportunity to explore a different city. If you can look beyond that, I think it represents your stronger overall fit.