<p>I have gotten into these schools (SFS and UPenn) as a junior transfer. Now, I have to decide which one to attend. I am thinking about majoring in international political economy at SFS and economics at UPenn. I have listed several factors to help you guys give me thoughtful advice. The location doesn't really matter since I live in Northen Virginia about 20 mins from SFS and 2 hours from UPenn. My post graduate plan is to attend a top 5 law school, so law school placement at each school really matters.</p>
<p>SFS at Georgetown</p>
<p>-Pros-
1. Probably the best undergrad program for IPE in the nation.
2. An entire school dedicated to international relations and an amazing faculty (Yeah, Albright is still teaching there along with her prominent colleagues).
3. Access to D.C. and Washington Politics (Possibly a better internship placement)
4. Talented students with whom I can share my passion and ambition.</p>
<p>-Cons-
1. I have to stay there for three years to graduate even though I am a junior transfer, because of the core requirements.
2. Loans ($3500 per year) and Work Study ($3000 per year) to cover the cost of attendance.</p>
<p>University of Pennsylvania</p>
<p>-Pros-
1. A great college town that's comparable to D.C. in my opinion.
2. No loans: I will have to pay 0 whereas Georgetown offered me some loans intead of full grants.
3. A renowned econ department.
4. A better reputation.
5. I get to stay there for two years, not three years!!!
6. A good law school placement although I believe that SFS has done a comparable or better job in placing its students in top law schools.</p>
<p>-Cons-
1. A weak politics department. I want to take courses that combine both politics and economics.
2. Less chance to get a really good internship.
3. A larger student body.</p>
<p>Please post anything if you have something in your mind.</p>
<p>personally,i would prefer Upenn~Most students pursuit law in grad school with a major in history and politics.but it seems more students major in econ pursuit law in grad school^.^Upenn has not only the prestigious,but the academic excellence in econ.and the strong alumni net will helps a lot in the searching internships^^</p>
<p>i think Upenn sounds better - a better reputation and the BEST business program in general.. i dont know how serious u are with politics though (you might change you never know). </p>
<p>also, the loans wont matter as much if you need to stay for another year at SFS!</p>
<p>i dont necessarily agree that upenn is a better school academically or has a better reputation...but the money issue seems important since both are academically top notch and have the prestige factor you need for law school.</p>
<p>Eluggj is absolutley wrong OP. Upenn is an Ivy league and is one of the best schools is in the world and has a VERY VERY high ranking. Don't even consider other schools to an Ivy (except Stanford and MIT). Besides Upenn has the best buisness program, you will make a lot more money, have a better reputation, and ultimatley matter more if you go to an Ivy.</p>
<p>Congratulations. If you don't mind, can I know your specs (GPA, Extracurricular, SAT, etc.)?</p>
<p>BTW, if your post-graduation plan is to attend one of the top 5 law schools, you can google the post-graduation survey results of Penn CAS and Georgetown SFS. You can see how many graduates went to what graduate schools.</p>
<p>My academic record is pretty mediocre among Penn's applicants, but I have a profound interest in Game Theory and its applicability. So, I took a grad course at my previous school in game theory and got an A+... My case is too specific and won't give out any useful information. But, I had a 3.7+ GPA at a top state university and a decent ACT score.... Also, I was a PD for a refugee-metoring program and applied to Penn as an econ major.</p>
<p>hahah supindy im transferring from cornell (ivy...woohooo...not). and i know, cornell is not a <em>real</em> ivy... but i was in the college of arts and sciences and that is real. and guess what, it wasnt really mind blowingly impressive. in fact, a lot of the people were mind blowingly dumb. so yeah, based on my experience, i say you're absolutely, ignorantly wrong.</p>
<p>oh yeah, and supindy...did you miss the memo that the ivy league is a sports league? thats really all it is. seriously.</p>
<p>Penn seems like a no-brainer from the cost and extra year factors. Also, if you like cobining politics and economics, look at the PPE department <a href="http://www.sas.upenn.edu/ppe/%5B/url%5D">http://www.sas.upenn.edu/ppe/</a> for some interesting courses. PPE won't be as intense as the econ department, but it can have interesting classes. Also, Wharton offers a bunch of opportunities for research and some interesting classes.</p>
<p>Blackmambakatana....you need to begin your own thread...
Hoosfor...I am an attorney and suggest you consider three factors: first, which university is LIKELY to help you become admitted to a top 5 law school like Yale, Chicago, Harvard, etc.; second, which of the two is likely to be better-suited to your academic interests NOW; and third, which undergrad is going to be more fun in your final two years? This assumes that your GPA and LSAT scores fall in the top 1% . . . To me, the choice is clear: become a Quaker!</p>
<p>Thanks, BarristerDad118... I am going to visit Penn this Saturday to finalize this difficult decision. I have visited Gtown several times, but its campus was not very impressive... People also tell me that the name value and Ivy status of Penn will be more useful and that I shouldn't pay too much attention to a school's individual department, but SFS is an entire school dedicated to IR which is my interest. I still have a little less than two weeks, so I hope my decision-making process will be productive in the upcoming weeks...</p>
<p>Wow all of YOU who say that ivy leagues don't matter are quite dumb. I mean these schools are prestigeous for a reason -people who graduate from them are generally (NOT ALWAYS) better, and more capable. Again - not always- there are several exceptions,but generally that is the case.</p>
<p>EluggJ, you are an idiot for transferring out of cornell (unless you got into MIT, Stanford, or another Ivy or equally prestigeous college).</p>