<p>I realize that, rankwise, Cornell engineering is superior to Penn. However, is Penn more or less selective than Cornell engineering? How about in comparison to Columbia engineering?</p>
<p>At this level the quality of the programs is a moot point. Try to figure out the other differences between the schools. For example, do you want to be in Philadelphia, Ithaca, or New York? Are their special programs that appeal to you, ie M&T at Penn that would affect your decision?</p>
<p>Of greater significance, do you see yourself actually working in a "traditional" engineering job upon graduation (ie designing engines/HVAC systems/etc) or do you see yourself applying your analytical abilities to other fields? </p>
<p>Penn tends to stress the whole interdisciplinary approach to engineering. While this is good for fields such as robotics, it does tend to result in a lot of engineering students going into fields other than engineering. Don't get me wrong, you can still go into a traditional engineering job (a friend of mine will be designing helicopter motors next year). However, there will be a significant percentage of your classmates going into finance, law, medicine, etc.</p>
<p>Also note, if you're interested in bioengineering, choose Penn without any thought. Otherwise, then you should probably give some thought as to what you see yourself doing in 4 years.</p>
<p>yeah lol penn is finishing up construction on a new bioengineering building.</p>
<p>I think admissions wise, they're all pretty similar. Acceptance and test scores seemed to be the same across the board. I had to decide between the two and I went with Penn because it was closer to home (nyc) and because of the whole flexibility thing. Also I was uneasy about being stuck in ithica. Visit both campuses, I think that'll be one of the more important deciding factors</p>
<p>You have to also consider the frequent phrase that "It is easier to get into Cornell than into Harvard, but much harder to graduate."</p>
<p>Thus the suicides and stuff. Also, I think (based on what I've seen of people who have applied and stuff) Cornell has a slightly easier acceptance than Penn.</p>
<p>I think that graduation comment is bs though. Cornell has a much larger engineering program than Harvard. Naturally, engineers have tougher times GPA-wise.</p>