<p>Any thoughts on Penn CAS v. U of Chicago? Two good schools, but Penn seems more pre-professional and Chicago more intellectual.</p>
<p>Thoughts?</p>
<p>Three words: Search the forum.</p>
<p>I would look specifically at the majoral departments you are interested in. Both are great, IMO, I can’t say anything to push you either way.</p>
<p>On a side note, I am at Penn now but hoping for Chicago for Grad. So you called my two dream schools.</p>
<p>I attend Penn and have visited UChicago this past spring. My best friend is at UChicago and visited Penn two falls ago. We both concluded that Penn is a lot more fun. In terms of academics, both are equally strong with UChicago having slightly more difficult courses. Penn is very preprofessional and UChicago has more pre PhD students than your average undergraduate population. Penn is just a funner place to be as an undergrad in terms of having more parties, having Center City a lot more accessible than downtown Chicago, and a more relaxed fun loving atmosphere. </p>
<p>I’m with NeuroFox as well in the sense that I would kill to go to UChicago for grad school, but I’m very very happy I chose to go to Penn over UChicago 2 years ago.</p>
<p>Thanx for the responses. I’m interested in chemistry, math and poli sci and for the moment am leaning to poli sci as a major. And I’m not really interested in Dr/Lawyer/MBA, so it sounds like Chicago may be the place. Although I like a party as much as the next guy.</p>
<p>There are plenty of kids at UChicago who are on that Dr/Lawyer/MBA track and there are many kids at Penn who wouldn’t dream of doing any of that. The prevailing feeling you get on campus though is that more kids at Penn are preprofessional leaning and seem to have a better idea of what they think they want to do with their lives. As a student who is strongly considering getting a PhD after undergrad, I can honestly say that going to Penn hasn’t dissuaded me from that goal. Just because fewer of your peers have the same post college goals as you doesn’t mean you won’t fit in better at Penn.</p>
<p>You will hang out with the kids that are more like you regardless of where you go to school. If you are very preprofessional you will hang out with the very preprofessional kids at UChicago. If you are very intellectual and not into partying, you will hang out with those kids more at Penn. </p>
<p>The main difference is that it’s easier to have fun at Penn than UChicago. I can give many reasons as to why Penn facilitates having fun compared to UChicago. The large number of frats and the fact that most off campus housing is within a few blocks of campus makes parties very easy to come by. Penn is a 15 minute and $10 cab ride from Center City while it takes a lot longer to get to downtown Chicago from Hyde Park. Penn’s campus is a lot more alive at night than UChicago’s campus. People really aren’t that out and about at UChicago at night aside from going to the library.</p>
<p>As others have said, there are at least a few other threads on this issue. That being said, I went a bit in the opposite direction than some of the other posters here, as in I did Chicago for undergrad and UPenn for grad work. </p>
<p>Chicago definitely has a more “intellectual” vibe, and Penn does indeed have a more pre-professional feel. Having so many undergrad pre-professional schools (Wharton, Nursing, Engineering), means Penn will always feel a bit more practical. In terms of one school being more “fun” than the other, that very much depends on what your definition of fun is. Penn certainly facilitates a classic, collegiate meaning of fun - lots of frat parties, easy accessibility to downtown to go to bars and clubs, lots of pre-gaming, etc. You’ll find some of that at Chicago, but certainly not as much. Chicago I think has a bit more of a “hang-out” culture - think lots and lots of coffee shops, browsing a bookstore w friends, having a ton of people go to the on-campus student-run movie theater for a Friday night movie. It really depends on what you want, but don’t think Chicago isn’t an enjoyable place - it is, just not in the traditional college way of thinking. </p>
<p>In terms of academics, both schools have great departments, but I’d give Chicago the slight nod for some of the subjects you want to study - namely math and poli sci. Penn is certainly good in these areas, but Chicago is generally stronger. </p>
<p>Finally, location should be a considerable factor to consider before making your final decision. I do think Philly is a bit more “college friendly” than Chicago, but I prefer the city of Chicago to Philly overall. Chicago has more of a “wow big city” feeling, ad I just preferred the friendlier vibe of a midwestern city to the grittiness of Philadelphia. Definitely worth visiting to see what you prefer.</p>
<p>Oh one other note - size. Penn is a LOT bigger than Chicago. I think Chicago has around 5k undergrads, Penn probably has around 10k+ undergrads now. This just makes for a significant difference in campus atmosphere and vibe.</p>
<p>Chicago has 5,030 undergrads, while Penn has 9,800.</p>
<p>Interesting Muerte - are the Penn classes shrinking a bit of late? From the UPenn website, it looks like there are 10,275 undergrads there now.</p>
<p>[Penn:</a> Facts and Figures](<a href=“http://www.upenn.edu/about/facts.php]Penn:”>http://www.upenn.edu/about/facts.php)</p>
<p>Maybe this is out of date? </p>
<p>Chicago does have around 5k total undergrads now. Overall, Penn is twice as large - so the schools are fairly different in terms of size.</p>
<p>You would be CRAZY not to go to Penn. Penn is more pre-profession and has limitless opportunities. I’m going nuts right now because I’m dying to go to Penn but I have to consider Stanford because of money but I’ll still probably go with Penn or ask them to match Stanford.</p>
<p>Seriously, Penn is amazing.</p>
<p>Haha easy Susie - Penn is a great school, but congrats on Stanford - that’s an outstanding school as well! I don’t think that’s necessarily a cut-and-dry decision, unless you’re really interested in business and are considering Wharton. (Even then, Stanford has great placement too I believe.)</p>
<p>Any time you’re looking at top colleges (Stanford, Penn, Chicago, Duke, etc.), its best to consider each choice carefully. There are pretty significant differences between all the top schools.</p>
<p>No, I am CAS. Stanford, I’ve found, is not so much a great school as it is a great name. To me, a great school implies tons of opportunities- Stanford has incredibly few compared to Penn. The only cool thing is that’s it’s Ca.</p>
<p>Penn opens its doors to all graduate and professional schools. Everything is at your fingertips. I would feel like an idiot to give that up.</p>
<p>Susie - interesting… what makes you think Stanford has “incredibly few” opportunities in comparison to Penn? By any study or measure, I’d think Stanford grads do extremely well across all sorts of fields - from business and finance to academia. Frankly, you’re the first person I’ve ever heard say Stanford does NOT offer good opportunities for its grads. What leads you to believe this?</p>
<ol>
<li>The Romance Language Department doesn’t allow you to get your masters even if you are fluent. (I would graduate with my masters and my B.A. from Penn). </li>
<li>No good summer study abroad programs</li>
<li>Really difficult requirements, unlike Penn’s which are practical and can be applied to any field. I was looking to see the list of courses that could fulfill the different types of requirements at Stanford but I couldn’t find them. To me, that’s burdensome and more like high school. </li>
<li>I like the BFS program because it allows you to be more pre-professional. Stanford seems more like the immediate: like a good, albeit hard, college experience…but then what?</li>
</ol>
<p>I applaud SusieBra for looking beyond US News and prestige to see which college works best for her. I did the same and loved Penn. Stanford just isn’t my bag.</p>
<p>I am deciding between Penn and Stanford myself… (in term of applying) I will think that Stanford provides plenty of opportunities - basing its reputation and prestige. </p>
<p>One thing’s for sure, people who go to Stanford generally “love” it. I think it’s named as one of the “Happiest Students” campuses in Princeton Review.</p>
<p>Why don’t you just apply to both and maybe you’ll get into one and not the other =P
That always helps make decisions</p>
<p>Well for one thing, I went to stanford for a summer program and the campus was a heck of a lot better than any other campus I’ve visited (about all of the ivies). Pretty a good environment. Both lively enough to enjoy life and peaceful enough (since its so big) to think without too many distractions. Personally I love it and stanford grads are placed quite well too (especially for business). I don’t think I’m suited for such the kind of overtly laid back atmosphere there though (I got rejected btw but meh, wharton was 1st choice anyways). </p>
<p>Just saying though, don’t discount stanford, great location and I don’t think you’ll be any worse off in opportunities than if you went to penn.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>That total counts the older adults enrolled in the LPS undergraduate degree program.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Regarding happiness, the 2006 Kaplan/Newsweek College Guide put Penn as “Hottest for Happy To Be There.” </p>
<p>[Kaplan/Newsweek</a> Guide: SCAD is Hot - Education News - redOrbit](<a href=“http://www.redorbit.com/news/education/218122/kaplannewsweek_guide_scad_is_hot/]Kaplan/Newsweek”>http://www.redorbit.com/news/education/218122/kaplannewsweek_guide_scad_is_hot/)</p>