<p>Poeme:</p>
<p>I agree that its tough to “stereotype” about schools that are as varied and diverse as Penn, but I do think its worth taking a stab at presenting some generalizations about schools, as there are distinctions between them. For an example of an apt approach to this, check out how JHS characterizes Princeton, Columbia, and UChicago here: </p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-chicago/1318030-columbia-vs-uchicago-vs-princeton.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-chicago/1318030-columbia-vs-uchicago-vs-princeton.html</a></p>
<p>Of course, not everyone at Princeton fits the bill as described in the post, and not everyone at Columbia is as “politicized” as described.</p>
<p>At the same time, all schools possess cultures and vibes, and that’s part of what makes the umbrella of elite schools so great - there’s something for everyone, and I don’t know if it’s productive to try and homogenize the top schools too much. </p>
<p>I don’t think it’s worthwhile to underplay this fact too much. Absolutely, top schools have cultures, and there are probably merited subjective differences between Princeton and Swarthmore or Duke and Brown. There are a whole bunch of similarities too, but there are still differences that remain worthy of discussion.</p>
<p>(And 45percenter, yes, Penn has a wealth of pretty sophisticated intellectual offerings on campus - Philo being an especially great resource.)</p>