<p>Hey guys, I know this is super late in the game, but I have a little over a week to choose to attend one of the two schools above, a decision Im torn on. I'm cross posting in both forums, so hopefully any bias will be canceled out. :)</p>
<p>Anyway, I was fortunate enough to be accepted in to Penn CAS, and Wesleyan. I'm a public school girl and I'm potentially looking at environmental studies and doubling that with either another major in biology or economics. </p>
<p>I'm indifferent to drugs and alcohol. I know Penn's a big party school, but I'm more worried about Wesleyan's reputation for being a pothead school, so I wonder how much truth there are in those stereotypes? </p>
<p>I'm also a little apprehensive about Wesleyan political culture. While I'm solidly liberal myself, I'd prefer to have diversity in perspectives, and I'd rather find myself challenged by other people's thinking. But I've also heard that Wesleyan students in general are very accepting, whereas Penn students in general might not be as nice (I care about this when it comes to conformity in material aspects). </p>
<p>I don't know what a pre-professional atmosphere feels like; I'm ambitious but I definitely prefer to be in a place where competition among students isn't blatantly overt.</p>
<p>All in all, I feel like Penn's the safer bet and it might put me in a better place post-college, but I feel like I might really enjoy (or really dislike) time at Wesleyan, and though I might make more out of an education there.</p>
<p>Thoughts? </p>
<p>Thank you so much!</p>
<p>This is REALLY a matter of personal preference and fit. Nobody can tell you which is best for you. You have to decide for yourself where you’d like to be every day for the next four years. They’ll both provide a fantastic undergraduate experience and education, each school in its own way, but the feel of these campuses–and their locations–are so different from each other that it’s really hard to compare them.</p>
<p>One thing I’d caution you about, however, is to avoid stereotypes and generalizations abut the students at either school. For example, there are 9600 undergads at Penn, and the Admissions Office goes to great lengths to put together a student body that is quite diverse in every way–in terms of geographic, cultural, social, economic, and ethnic backgrounds, but also in terms of interests, personality types, and long-term goals. By sheer size alone, and the presence of a much greater breadth and depth of academic programs and offerings, you’ll find a much wider variety of undergrads and interests at Penn than you will at Wesleyan. And of course, with Penn’s “One University” policy, you can take courses outside of CAS, in the other three undergraduate schools (Wharton, Engineering, and Nursing), and also in most of the graduate and professional schools (Annenberg School for Communication, School of Design, Graduate School of Education, School of Social Policy and Practice, and even the Law School). You would DEFINITELY find your niche at Penn, both academically and socially. And of course, Philly has a lot more going on in terms of culture and nightlife than Middletown.</p>
<p>Again, they’re both fantastic schools, and you can’t go wrong either way–but they’re very different, and you’ll have to decide for yourself which one is better for you.</p>
<p>45 Percenter, thank you for your advice. Yes, one of the aspects of Penn I’m definitely drawn to is the myriad of educational opportunities and types of people there, given that it is such a big school.</p>
<p>I suppose it’s the enormity of the decision I have to make that’s also kinda terrifying. So I guess, rather than which school is better (because I agree, it’s so difficult to to compare them), are there pros/cons/quirks to either school that might be less known to someone not attending the schools?</p>
<p>^ Again, this is something that will vary tremendously among the individual students at each school depending on major, extracurriculars, social circles, off-campus activities, predisposition and background, etc.</p>
<p>You really need to visit both schools if you haven’t already done so, and rely on your gut feeling as to which would be better for YOU, again keeping in mind that you’ll be spending every day at one or the other for 9 months of each of the next four years. Just go with your gut and don’t look back. You can’t go wrong either way. :)</p>