Penn is more selective than Dartmouth

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
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<p>this.</p>

<p>10 char</p>

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<p>Is selectivity not the percentage of students who got in? I am sure Penn had a harder application that doesn’t change the fact that a higher percentage of the students applying to Penn got in. I honestly have no idea which is the better school, but I think you are ■■■■■■■■ for trying to prove something that is so obviously incorrect.</p>

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<p>I think you are ■■■■■■■■ for not understanding this simple argument</p>

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<p>Ruthless2009 - you don’t know what selectivity means. Selectivity is “the quality of choosing someone as the best or most suitable.” It is not related to quantity, but QUALITY. </p>

<p>Put another way: Caltech accepts 17% of all applicants. They are also the MOST SELECTIVE school in the country, despite the fact that their acceptance rate is 5 points higher than, say, Dartmouth’s. This is because the average QUALITY of their entering class is still higher than any other schools’, and this is the only metric that actually matters for SELECTIVITY.</p>

<p>Selectivity IS NOT EQUIVALENT to acceptance rate.</p>

<p>Do you get it now? Or are you going to keep saying the same thing, regardless of how many times I explain it to you?</p>

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<p>For what it’s worth, here’s how US News defines “selectivity” for its undergraduate rankings:</p>

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<p>[How</a> We Calculate the Rankings - US News and World Report](<a href=“http://www.usnews.com/articles/education/best-colleges/2008/08/21/how-we-calculate-the-rankings.html?PageNr=2]How”>http://www.usnews.com/articles/education/best-colleges/2008/08/21/how-we-calculate-the-rankings.html?PageNr=2)</p>

<p>Acceptance rate accounts for only 10% of the total “student selectivity” score.</p>

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<p>Penn’s numbers are higher, but here’s a thought: is the amount of athletes recruited by each Ivy is roughly the same? Because if so, Penn is more than twice the size of Dartmouth I believe, and athletes typically have lower scores, so at Dartmouth these lower scores would be weighted more heavily in the means than at Penn.</p>

<p>They’re bout outstanding schools, and it seems silly to try to put one above the other… I feel like it’s little things like what I mentioned above that cause some slight differences in numbers. Like, does Dartmouth value legacies more than Penn, maybe? Strange things like that. Idk, I don’t totally know what I’m talking about.</p>

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<p>FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, WHY ARE THERE NOW TWO THREADS ON THIS SAME TOPIC?!?!?!? (which were created as a response to a third thread on another forum)</p>

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<p>Geez, please get a life, people. Both are top notch schools, so what matters is which one fits YOU. Ugh</p>

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<p>I partially chose Brown because I felt the students at Brown were intelligent and ambitious, yet they are laid-back and know how to enjoy themselves. Same goes for Dartmouth.</p>

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<p>Sparklicious, did you even read my post?</p>

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<p>“Idk, I don’t totally know what I’m talking about.” </p>

<p>so mebe give it rest and go someplace else? at least us stupids can go to penn in peace</p>

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<p>hahaahahahaha</p>

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<p>Well sheesh, I was just trying to put forth a thought I had without being too obsessive or headstrong about it…</p>

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<p>Harvard University’s class size is larger than Haverford College’s class size. Does that make Haverford statistically harder to get into than Harvard?</p>

<p>(hint: no)</p>

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<p>Harvard University’s class size is larger than Haverford College’s class size. Does that make Haverford statistically harder to get into than Harvard?</p>

<p><em>SPOILER ALERT</em>
No.</p>

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<p>I got into both Wharton and Dartmouth and I believe that both are very, very good schools. I think that Penn is an amazing school with excellent qualities, as does Dartmouth. But each are just so completely different, in terms of environment, population, and philosophy that it would be hard to compare the two.</p>

<p>Even in terms of selectivity it is hard to ascertain whether one is harder than the other to get into…there will never be a right answer because the admissions process is so subjective and each school lets in the people they believe right for them. I think everyone can agree that both schools are similarly selective. One school may simply be more selective for a certain type of student.</p>

<p>And in terms of prestige and rank, Dartmouth is on par with Penn. Penn is in a two-way tie for 6th, three schools are tied at eighth, and then there’s Dartmouth right after that. I’m not going to choose my school based on a difference of two ranks.</p>

<p>I did end up choosing Dartmouth simply because it was a better fit for my personality. When I was at Penn I was in awe of its campus and its environment and I could see that it would be an amazing, unparalleled educational and social experience for many people. It indeed is one of the best schools in America. However, it simply did not fit me.</p>

<p>So that’s why it is almost impossible to say one school is more selective than another, especially when both are so similar in prestige and selectivity. The two schools just have fundamentally different philosophies about education, which is why the typical Penn student would have a harder time getting into Dartmouth, while the typical Dartmouth student would have a harder time getting into Penn.</p>