<p>penn is an amazing school!!
just accept that fact and stop cribbing.
The USNR people put in extensive research and a hell of a lot of time into their ranking. Its is not just based one one or two things.</p>
<p>Penn is one the best schools in the country now and its getting better.I feel the reason for this is due to the growth of CAS and SEAS. (Some will argue that SEAS is ranked low in the engineering rankings but thats cuz SEAS’s international Faculty score is a 34 on 100. That causes it to drop 12 places, also it has only 410 ppl per class so that harms it again. Also note that Intl Facu Score is not considered for the whole university’s ranking. So that way SEAS is a HUGE boost for Penn as there is a lot of research going on it and the new buildings( I love the new bio medical building ) are boosting penn’s Ranking points.)
Nursing and Wharton are the best and CAS and SEAS have caught up (or are catching up).
Make your college decision wisely. What matters is how the college is perceived when you graduate (4 years later) not when you enroll. Penn is on the upward curve and will go even higher.
I feel it will overtake Columbia this year itself.
Please discuss :)</p>
<p>^ Actually, in terms of the US News ranking, Penn was ranked above Columbia for 13 straight years until the current ranking.</p>
<p>However, in my opinion, they’re comparable schools, and are fairly even in overall quality. And I said that even before Columbia jumped over Penn in the current US News ranking. ;)</p>
<p>Whatever. Columbia’s apps rocked Penn’s increase. We’re going to have a 7% acceptance rate which crushes you guys. The choice is now so easy.</p>
<p><em>sarcasm</em></p>
<p>I hope no one chooses between any of the top schools because of acceptance rates that change every year. Its totally ridiculous. Guess what when you graduate you will realize no one cares, all the top 10 or so schools are looked at in the same way pretty much universally, from employers to graduate schools.</p>
<p>Chelsearox, how about choosing a school you love instead of worrying about rankings that don’t matter at all after a certain level. You’re splitting hairs.</p>
<p>I went to Columbia and I know its many faults. I don’t think anyone who has actually graduated thinks there is any difference between a Penn, Columbia, Dartmouth, Brown, Duke, Amherst, or Williams grad. All these schools are pretty equal in my eyes.</p>
<p>I personally think Ivies are pretty equal. The reason why HYP(SM) have insanely low acceptance rate is that many unqualified (& uninformed) applicants will usually apply to either H/Y/P hoping to hit the jackpot (yeah, PowerBall baby!) That enlarges the pool.</p>
<p>@45 Percenter
Penn is becoming increasingly selective. Though selectivity is not the only thing that determines how good a school is.
And as for prestige, I think UPenn has solidified its position as a top school in the United States. Its peers, in my opinion, are Brown, Dartmouth, UChicago, Georgetown, and Cornell.
How are UPenn’s political science programs?</p>
<p>Rain202 - that’s an interesting group of peers you selected. As Penn is a large research university with a lot of varied schools (wharton, nursing, education, etc.), I don’t really see Brown and Dartmouth as its peers at all (B and D are more college-centric schools).</p>
<p>I’d say that Columbia, UChicago, Duke, Northwestern, and Cornell are certainly peers.</p>
<p>^ Also, in terms of political science, Penn’s department is quite comparable to the ones at the schools I mentioned (Columbia, UChicago, Duke, etc.).</p>
) are boosting penn’s Ranking points.)