<p>How is penn's physics department? I plan to major in physics and love penn, but the reading I've done has contained mixed opinions of the physics department at penn (relative to other strong programs like princeton, MIT, etc.). Im worried that Ill have to choose between program strength and loving the atmosphere of the school, if I can even get into the schools in the first place. I know this is a fairly unspecific question, but any general comments or comparisons to other schools are greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>I’m having the exact same problems as you, just with engineering.</p>
<p>Being in the Ivy League, Penn Physics can’t possibly be bad, but as you said, there are better places like MIT, Princeton, Stanford, and UChicago.</p>
<p>You would probably be fine whichever decision you choose.</p>
<p>We should all be so lucky to have to choose between MIT and Penn.</p>
<p>Penn physics is actually excellent: it was ranked 13th this year in US News, which was just .1 points on their reputational score outside of the top-10.</p>
<p>Penn physics is good. There are a handful of places that are better. This might affect you negatively if you are a PhD candidate. As an undergrad you learn almost the same stuff (some upper level courses might be different at different schoools) and have great research opportunities at Princeton or MIT or Penn.</p>
<p>If you’re not confident about getting in to MIT/Princeton/Stanford, Chicago and Cornell also have top programs.</p>