Hey Y’all! At this point, I’ve narrowed college acceptances down. I’m deciding between Columbia & UPenn. I’ve been accepted at both and plan to focus on the social sciences. Any thoughts on which one to chose? How does one decide?
Congratulations. Of course, Columbia is the self-evident superior choice.
There are tons of old threads on this - any of them will probably help you decide. I guess the way to start is to look at the most prominent characteristics of each school (Columbia is in NY, Penn is the “social Ivy,” etc. - I mean there are many more but those are two examples of the most cited ones) and think about how those’ll impact your education and your “college experience.” As far as I can tell, they’re pretty different, with Penn maybe being the more traditional college experience of the two and Columbia maybe being a bit more professionally-driven and individually-based. There are still large parties and stuff at Columbia, but less people attend them.
I’m a student here now, and if I were in this position, I’d probably choose Columbia again, but this is because of personal preference and my own area of study (music), so I can’t tell you what the right choice is. Just look at the major factors and let them inform you.
Both excellent schools so congratulations! Both urban campuses but real campuses (unlike NYU). Columbia has the core which does distinguish it from Penn and most other schools. I do think Penn has more of a social component and has a pretty big frat culture. Also, from touring both schools and talking to friends, I think Penn has more of a “networking” vibe vs. Columbia which has more of an intellectual vibe. But those are generalizations. Can you revisit and see where you feel more comfortable? You will get an excellent education at either.
Have you visited each? They are very different schools. Both great, but different. You’ll get a quality education at both and be set for options in the future with either. Do you love the Columbia Core or does it sound suffocating? Do you want to go to college a few blocks from Central Park or have a football stadium on campus and a team with traditions? There are no wrong answers to those questions, just personal choices.