<p>I've been accepted to both schools.</p>
<p>I'd rather go to Penn, though it would involve some significant debt for me, which I am willing to accept, particularly leaving school with a mechanical engineering degree.</p>
<p>Since I'm a resident of Michigan, UM is much more affordable.</p>
<p>Any opinions on attending Penn w/ debt vs. attending Michigan without it?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Penn is good in business, law and medical, but for mech. engr. Michigan is better if you wants to be an engineer.</p>
<p>Michigan is better for engineering. If it’s cheaper go to Michigan</p>
<p>Academically and reputationally Penn is as good as Michigan. However, overall, Michigan is better than Penn. Even my uncle, a Wharton alum, recommended I attend Michigan over Penn…and I majored in Econ! Ann Arbor is easily much nicer than Philadelphia and campus life at Michigan is unbeatable. </p>
<p>Now, in Engineering, Michigan is actually slightly better than Penn and Mechanical is arguably Michigan’s strongest Engineering speciality. </p>
<p>Of course, when you factor in the fact that Penn costs $100,000 more than Michigan over 4 years, the decision is clear.</p>
<p>If you want to go into business, I’d choose Penn without a second thought.</p>
<p>if wanted to go into business and also wants to go to penn, why isn’t he doing wharton?</p>
<p>op, what are your long term goals and how much debt would you have to take on to go to penn? </p>
<p>you said you’d prefer to go to penn? what about it appeals to you? the campus atmosphere?</p>
<p>in the end, you really cant go wrong with either choice. unless the costs are pretty similar, i’d personally go with michigan in your situation.</p>
<p>“If you want to go into business, I’d choose Penn without a second thought.”</p>
<p>I did not realize there was such a difference between #1 and #2. I agree that Wharton is a better B-school than Ross, but the difference isn’t that pronounced. And for a Michigan resident, the difference in quality between Wharton and Ross is not worth $25,000/year unless her/his family is loaded.</p>
<p>At any rate, the OP is not considering Wharton vs Ross, he is considering Michigan Engineering vs Penn Engineering.</p>
<p>I just got admitted into Umich’s econ department. Is there any possibility that I could get into Ross if I applied after I am in the school?</p>
<p>Reputation-wise, I’m sorry…but U of M isn’t even close to Penn. There’s a reason it’s Ivy League.</p>
<p>Michigan is a nice place–and you’ll get a top notch education–but let’s not kid ourselves. If money isn’t an issue, go to Penn and it will pay off for the rest of your life.</p>
<p>Well, you should pick Penn to clear up a spot at UMich 
(haven’t gotten my decision yet, sorry)</p>
<p>Just kidding, that is a tough decision to make. Penn has the reputation though, and reputation seems to trump all.</p>
<p>Better reputation according to who? A bunch of high-schoolers? Hundreds of professors, scientists, researchers, university presidents (all of whom I trust far more than a bunch of delusional teenagers) seem to believe that Michigan and Penn are academic equals, as evidenced by Peer Assessment scores.</p>
<p>^^Believe me, I am totally with you CC (Mich is my dream school). But it is hard to pass up a chance to go to an Ivy League if given the opportunity. For some reason, its all about those rankings that US news publishes yearly.</p>
<p>Do you really want to goto a gunner trade school? (Upenn)</p>
<p>LOL. How would Upenn pay off for the rest of his life? Starting salaries are the same. More companies recruit at Michigan Engineering than Upenn SEAS. If anything, he should be paying more for Michigan Engineering.</p>
<p>es2642,</p>
<p>Peer Assessment scores are a part of the methodology USNEWS uses to rank schools, but all people really look at is the final ranking, which is dumb. I could easily formulate my own rankings based on a completely meaningless set of criteria (i.e. best food or best frat scene) and title it “College Rankings”. People would look at the rankings without even attempting to understand the methodology behind the rankings and take it as fact. My point is is that one needs to understand the methodology behind the ranking before one uses it to make important life decisions (like choosing a college).</p>
<p>^^CC, you are preaching to the choir, I am completely on your side. Believe me.</p>
<p>“Reputation-wise, I’m sorry…but U of M isn’t even close to Penn. There’s a reason it’s Ivy League.”</p>
<p>Sux2BUCuzUNotMe, Penn is an Ivy League because it fits the profile, as do 7 other old, respected and athletically minded Northeastern universities. Reputation obviously played a role in the selection process, but there were other important factors, such as commitment to athletics (back when the conference was actually formed in the early 1950s) and geographic location (all Ivies are located in the Northeast) that played a major role in determining which universities would make up the Ivy League conference. Why are Georgetown, Johns Hopkins and MIT not members of the Ivy League? Why aren’t Chicago, Michigan and Northwestern? And why aren’t Cal, Stanford and UCLA? </p>
<p>The truth of the matter is, Penn is as reputable as Michigan…no more and no less. From 1983 until 1997, Penn was generally ranked between #13 and #20 by the US News. That changed when a Penn alum took over the reigns at the USNWR and magically turned the ranking around.</p>
<p>And like I said, for Engineering, Michigan is actually slightly more reputable than Penn. In Engineering, Michigan is ranked #7 and Penn is ranked #28. That is not a major difference, but it is worth noting. A 21-spot gap in the ranking of a single discipline is more significant than a 21-spot gap in the ranking of an institution overall. There are, afterall, relatively fewer universities that specialize in any given field or discipline.</p>
<p>es2642, I actually turned down 4 Ivy League universities in favor of Michigan. My mother (a Columbia alum) and uncle (a Wharton alum) both encouraged me to attend Michigan. Can’t say that I regret my decision. I would do it again if I had the chance to do things over. I did go to an Ivy League for grad school though. From my experience in the academic and professional worlds, there is no distinction between the Ivy League and other elite universities such as Cal, Chicago, Duke, Johns Hopkins, MIT, Michigan, Northwestern, Stanford and a few others. High school students are impressed by the USNWR. Most parents are too, since the majority of them either never went to college, and of those that did, the majority attended second rate universities. But in highly educated circles, as well as in most senior corporate settings, the Ivy League brand does not over-impressed. Yes, the Ivies are recognized, as are dozens of other colleges and universities.</p>
<p>Without a doubt Upenn is an excellent school. If I was a premed or business major or even maybe an LSA major I would definitely head over to Upenn just for the ivy name sake, but Engineering? If you are sure that you will do mech. engineering, I would highly recommend Michigan. If you come out of Upenn with an engineering, you would be hired for sure for the name sake, so you have a limit on how high of a position you can get to. So if you are absolutely sure that you wil do engineering, come to Michigan.</p>
<p>just as something for you to think about, i declined wharton (which is hands down the best school within Upenn) to come to michigan. just saying.</p>
<p>I know another person who turned down Wharton for Ross. She didn’t care for the campus and couldn’t justify the additional expense.</p>
<p>just FYI the “reason” Penn is an Ivy League is because it was created during a certain time period when there were only so many schools to form an athletic conference. nothing more…</p>