<p>Obviously everyone who on this forum will be biased.
Honestly, I visited Penn and it felt like it lacked diversity, students were too caught up in being a member in the ivy league, and the city of philadelphia is really not all that people make it out to be. You’ll be living in the ghetto area of philly btw. I think Boston is a LOT better, plus you’d be able to meet thousands of other college students from MIT, tufts, etc. Unless you’re going to Wharton, i’d say choose harvard.</p>
<p>Ditto SusieBra. ALso, Harvard has a really strong grad focus, which partly takes away from that ideal undergraduate experience (academic, social-- in all respects). Go to Harvard for grad school, not for ug</p>
<p>I would go to Harvard undergrad, unless accepted to Wharton. Then again, you could always go to Wharton for grad school. </p>
<p>Also, it’s about fit. Harvard’s social scene is L-A-M-E! Penn’s social scene is absolutely amazing for an Ivy League school. I remember visiting my friend from Harvard a while back and him going on and on about the parties. Naturally, he didn’t have anything to compare it to but I couldn’t help but laugh at what he thought was a party. The scene is that lame. </p>
<p>On second thought, it might be best to go to Penn for undergrad and then Harvard for grad school. The grad students know how to have fun. I’ve attended an HBS party once and it was amazing.</p>
<p>noob…you are exacly that. a noob. It might be best not to comment if all you have to offer is the “experience” of a campus visit. Penn may lack certain things ( I’m not going to blindly say it is the best school in the world…though it is definitely the best fit for me), but it does NOT lack diversity. I’ve met people from so many different places in the world, different socio-economic backgrounds, religions, sexual orientation, etc. it is by far the most diverse place I’ve been ( and I’ve lived in quite a deal of different places). Plus, philly is actually a pretty cool city once you get to know it. There are tons of small restaurants and byos where you can go, plus it is close enough to nyc so that you can go for some serious clubbing if thats your scene ( I was just in nyc last month for a guetta event at pacha). Plus, the social scene is a thousand times better… I can not even begin to explain how much fun you can have here, while still getting a first class education…</p>
<p>Penn is super diverse. I know kids from all over the world and it is mind boggling how many different types of people there are at Penn. </p>
<p>The opportunities for dual degrees, dual majors, submatriculation are endless at Penn. But it is your call. Do what your heart tells you.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice… But I’ve lived in Philly all of my life and loved it, but i wouldn’t mind leaving. Also I’ve been to UPenn for the diversity hosting weekend. It was okay… I met a couple of really cool people and a couple of real ###holes. I wouldn’t say that it affected what I thought of the place, but it did make me think a little. </p>
<p>I was in DuBois for the weekend and it seemed that all the Afr/Ams were in that house, which was cool but I don’t want to feel like I’m segregated from the campus for 4 yrs. I was speaking to the dean of the house who is amazing and she told me that a professor called DuBois the “intellectual cesspool” of the campus. COME ON… At an IVY she was receiving those comments I mean that’s saying something right. I mean since she’s been there she has made some great changes, and most of the people there were great but I don’t want to only hang with other Afr/Am for 4yrs I’ve already had 17 years of that. </p>
<p>However, i’ve heard some rumors about how Afr/Ams are treated in Massachusetts too, so I don’t know…</p>
<p>BTW You’re not in the ghetto in that part of Philly, honestly. AND most people are not in danger if they go to philly seriously, the crime rate is not that deep.</p>
<p>Oh and I’m was accepted to the College at UPenn Any more advice. Its Appreciated. I would like to hear anything that can change my mind about what I experienced during the weekend</p>
<p>First of all, as others have pointed out, Penn is in a great part of Philly, as I’m sure you know from living there.</p>
<p>It might be helpful for you to watch this video. Maybe it will show you some of the opportunities, diversity and openness that are really unique to Penn:</p>
<p>[YouTube</a> - “True Learning” - University of Pennsylvania](<a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGpOizUIY60]YouTube”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGpOizUIY60)</p>
<p>Also, don’t feel obligated to live at DuBois. The student who gave us our tour of Fisher was African American and she said she loved it. Lots of people, especially as upperclassmen, live in the highrises because then you can feel more independent.</p>
<p>The closest school to me was Princeton and I declined my addmission but not because of the location. It’s important that you don’t just choose a school in order to be able to get away. I knew that I wanted a cool environment- either a city or something like California.</p>
<p>I would choose Penn over again in a second even if it were two steps from my front porch because of the opportunities that you really can’t find anywhere else. It’s an amazing place. I almost went to California, to Stanford. I almost wanted an adventure. But then I decided that the greatest adventures aren’t always those that are the furthest away.</p>
<p>And, unfortunately, racism does exist at Harvard: [The</a> Harvard Crimson :: News :: Students Air Racism Concerns](<a href=“http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=518895]The”>http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=518895)</p>
<p>Penn, to me, seems very diverse and open-minded, on the other hand. Otherwise I would not have considered it.</p>
<p>DuBois is a cool spot. It’s a great place to chill for me. I have a lot of friends there and we as African-American students have a very strong sense of community. I, however, did not live there. There is no reason to segregate yourself if you do not wish to. If you live in the Quad or Hill and get involved on campus you will have friends with many different backgrounds. This has been my experience anyway.</p>
<p>If you’re going to think “I could have been at Harvard” and regret not going to Harvard, then by all means you should attend Harvard. But I have a feeling that you’ll fall in love with Penn once you get there and forget all about H ;)</p>
<p>about the prestige issue, it doesn’t help Penn that people confuse it with Penn State (an interesting topic I debated with my interviewer, actually).</p>
<p>That is a pretty shallow statement. Most people who I know who have attended Harvard and Yale say the went to school in Boston and Connecticut respectively. I personally couldn’t be bothered. I was originally extremely annoyed, but then I realized recruiters are gonna know the difference. The difference will also be pretty noticeable in my paycheck, so who cares?</p>
<p>Don’t trust Columbia people. They like to harp on the “Penn” technicality. Penn, UPenn, the University of Pennsylvania…as Excepted said, it’s all the same to employers. That shouldn’t be an issue.</p>
<p>Re: emyo: You never know if you’ll have regrets. I think you choose a school based on the premise that you won’t have regrets. Right now, I haven’t entered Penn and if my four years are horrible, of course I’m going to say I should have gone to Princeton or Stanford. But the point is I chose Penn because I thought and still strongly feel that I won’t have those regrets and because I think that I belong there.
You don’t want to have regrets, so choose where you belong based on fit not on name.</p>
<p>This question is ridiculous. Go to Harvard; It has a much greater prestige factor. </p>
<p>BTW, I’m attending Penn in the Fall.</p>
<p>I know that Harvard’s social scene is the whackest thing I have ever seen</p>
<p>honestly, at the level of penn/harvard etc, the difference in prestige among people who actually know about schools/careers is minimum. Granted, the dude at mcdonalds might praise you as the best thing since sliced bread for going to harvard, but your employers probably will be indifferent between either school.</p>
<p>who honestly cares… at this point you’re pretty much at the best of the best. We all argue about the top 10 out of what 3000-5000 colleges in the US? You’re in the top 00.5% as it is, so who cares? Go to a school based on preference. This thread is probably irrelevant now, but hopefully someone else reads this and realizes that at this point it doesn’t make a difference which school you go to.</p>
<p>Exactly. That’s why, all you can do is look within yourself and ask: “Where will I have the most opportunities? Where can I excel?”</p>
<p>For me the answer was Penn. You just have to decide for yourself.</p>