<p>so right now, i'm going back and forth between Penn and Columbia.</p>
<p>i know both schools are equally great academically, so it's ultimately going to come down to which school is the better fit. i'm going to visit both Penn and Columbia obviously, but in your opinion, how do they compare in terms of social life and general campus atmosphere? can anyone do a compare/contrast of these two schools?</p>
<p>Well from what I know Penn has a more active student body. I mean Penn is called the Social Ivy! Also, Penn has an urban and therefore lively campus while Columbia’s campus is fenced?..That said, Columbia is in NEW YORK CITY.
Yeah, go see both and decide which school is more your “type.”</p>
<p>I have the same dilemma. I got into SEAS at both and I’m trying to decide.</p>
<p>Haha, I’m going through the same problem right now. I’m going to visit Columbia again next week, but I’m leaning heavily towards Penn.</p>
<p>Here’s what I wrote to another person in the same situation:
"For me, it’s a choice of collegiate feel and a scholarly yet social atmosphere. People spoke of the supposedly intellectual sphere of Columbia, but I found Penn to be just as stimulating. Columbia felt choked by both the core and congested, urban campus. Penn is urban, but it’s also OPEN! I don’t think Penn is any less selective, either; it had an off year, but its SAT averages and stuff are equal to Columbia and its peers, and its been significantly higher-ranked for like 10 years. In my opinion, all Columbia has is NYC; and frankly, I’ve had enough of that.</p>
<p>Plus, you have to love the quad. "</p>
<p>woot, quad!! Even better when they put it to good use during SPRING FLING ;)</p>
<p>Ivy in a NYC…paradise. I wish I was in Columbia.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>A filet mignon in Godiva chocolate sauce…paradise.</p>
<p>Two things that are exquisite on their own do not necessarily make a good combination…</p>
<p>To compare the two schools academically, I’ll use the departmental rankings. The most popular majors at Penn and Columbia, according to their websites, are: Psych, Econ, Bio, History, English, Biomedical Engineering.</p>
<p>Psychology:
Penn = 8
Columbia = 17</p>
<p>Economics:
Penn = 8
Columbia = 12</p>
<p>Bio Fields:</p>
<p>Physiological Biology:
Penn = 3
Columbia = 10</p>
<p>Neurobiology:
Columbia = 6
Penn = 10</p>
<p>Molecular Bio:
Columbia = 11
Penn = 16</p>
<p>History:
Columbia = 5
Penn = 12</p>
<p>English:
Penn = 8
Columbia = 9</p>
<p>Biomed Engineering:
Penn = 5
Columbia = off the charts (ranked lower than 40)</p>
<p>So, for the intents and purposes of nearly all students: yes, it appears as though Penn is on par with Columbia, wouldn’t you agree? </p>
<p>Of course, if you’re going to be one the 30 students/year that major in Linguistics or Anthropology, Penn is number 5 and Columbia is 20 - and if you’re going to be one of the 30 students/year that major in Physics or Math, Columbia is number 5 and Penn is 20. But that is not the majority, and it seems pretty clear that for most fields, both are incredible.</p>
<p>columbia = much more prestigious than upenn…</p>
<p>i would **** myself to go to school in NYC, best damn city in the whole wide world…</p>
<p>what are you interested in? that would likely help your choice quite a lot. for business/finance, choose wharton hands down, if thats the school you applied to. For other areas, iirc columbia is great at law (but don’t quote me on that) and I’d assume politics as well but penn has a great biomed program. with regards to prestige… columbia is not necessarily any more prestigious. it really depends on the program. wharton is definitely above columbia but the other schools are comparable with columbia maybe having a slight edge. Honestly, between these two schools prestige is not an issue. The difference in negligible.</p>
<p>yeah just flip a coin…seriously</p>
<p>i’d say maybe UPENN. Because it is better in more programs and has a better social life</p>