<p>Hi all,
thank you for the spirited discussion and interesting commentary... I hope to offer some guidance when I know more about the college admissions process.</p>
<p>So I was wondering which school would be better as a pre-med and prospective chemistry major. In US News, the two schools are ranked about the same in chemistry. At Penn I could apply to the Vagelos program, which seems very cool.</p>
<p>Also, how much of an advantage is it (besides less paperwork) to apply early?</p>
<p>By way of background, two semesters of college math past Calc BC (through multivariable calc and linear algebra) and four semesters of chemistry past the AP (orgo I and II, inorganic and physical). Plan to take ODEs and PDEs this year. My college credit is at the flagship campus of a state university- 3.9 college GPA.</p>
<p>Completed the Physics C exams, biology and computer science AB. All exams with 5s. </p>
<p>Unranked at a private school in the NE, I would guess top 5%. Our school doesn't participate in external math or science contests.</p>
<p>Also part of the all-state orchestra, 2350 on the SATI and four 800s (math IIC, US history, chemistry and physics) and a 780 in writing. </p>
<p>(Big) negatives- don't play sports, no summer job (classes instead) and am Asian. </p>
<p>upenn because princeton has more grade deflation so would hurt your med school application. Also, upenn gives you a chance to start med school early.</p>
<p>I had to deal with this issue not too long ago (although I’m not pre-med). Penn and Princeton are two completely different schools. At Penn, you don’t need to do Vagelos to be Pre-Med. Many Pre-Med kids to CAS. Vagelos gives you a lot more than you need for pre-med and it’s usually great if you’re interested in making a career of scholarly scientific pursuit. Penn is also great because we have lots of research funding and the Medical School and University of Pennsylvania Hospital right there. </p>
<p>You can be pre-med anywhere. I mean my doctor went to Princeton and then University of Illinois College of Medicine, and he’s a good doctor. But I’m going to have a doctor in Philadelphia now that I’m living in Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania Hospital is amazing.</p>
<p>My doctor always complained about how hard Princeton was and that’s why he couldn’t go to a better med school. That didn’t influence my decision though because he was there pre-grade deflation, so whatever he went through must have been nothing. That said, my mom’s cousin was at Princeton and was pre-med and had to transfer to Hopkins because she said it was way too competitive and she used to cry all the time and make her parents come from Long Island to visit her. When people used to study, others would purposefully not return the books so that others would have to wait. Even after having to transfer, it worked out well for her in the end because now she’s a cardiologist at Hopkins.</p>
<p>But you also have to consider the environments, which are very different. You might like the environment at Princeton- it’s a very large suburban campus. Or you might prefer the environment at Penn- a medium-sized campus that’s kind of like a “bubble” within the city. It’s in a very safe area of the city. But, it’s going to depend on what you like, ultimately. </p>
<p>I liked the one-university policy at Penn because I would have access to the law school and other graduate schools. Additionally, I liked the flexibility with living- you can have the traditional dorm scene at the Quad or enjoy apartment style living in Harrison through Freshman Experience.</p>
<p>I also liked CURF and all the amazing research opportunities.</p>
<p>Penn was for me, and is for many pre-med students, but in the end, the choice is yours. It’s a very personal decision.</p>
<p>And finally: Early Decision- it does give you an advantage because it shows the utmost interest because in applying ED, you are telling Penn that it’s your first choice.</p>
<p>While I can’t tell you much about pre-med (except that Penn has a top 10 hospital/med school ON campus as Princeton doesn’t have any med school), I can comment about the cultures of the two schools.</p>
<p>Penn is a vibrant, exciting place to be. You will NEVER (repeat: never) be bored. If you are, you can walk down Locust Walk and have 50 students shove fliers in your face with speakers, dinners, and performances for that week. You really get immersed in college life and the time goes by really quickly.
Princeton seemed exactly the opposite (but not in a bad way!). It was extremely laid back, with people lounging out on the grass and reading books and napping. Personally, it felt too much like summer camp (except with really smart people and lots of homework). School spirit seemed more of a “look at us we’re the best school in the country” whereas at Penn it was more “look at us we’re Penn yay go us.” This might be a result of Princeton being ranked #2 and Penn #6 (i.e. if Penn ever moved up to #2, I can’t say that students here would be any different).
Penn’s campus is also much more activist-oriented. There are people debating/advocating everywhere and all the time. This might be a result of it being in a city environment, since there are people besides students that clubs can affect and voice.</p>
<p>Overall, I’d say if you want an exciting, challenging, high-paced 4 years, apply to Penn early (much easier to get in early than regular). You will always go to bed each night exhausted… but exhausted in the “wow I had a super full day and now I’m sleepy!” kind of way (not the “can’t… move… need… sleep…” kind of way).
If you want a relaxing, dreamy, challenging, and nice 4 years, apply RD to both.</p>
<p>Even if Penn somehow had Rank #1, I doubt the atmosphere would change much. Princeton feels so much more enclosed than Penn does, which is plugged directly into the city. It doesn’t feel like you’re stuck in an ivory tower, here.</p>
<p>Princeton is very isolated and stuffy. Penn is open and welcoming. College p r-o-w-l-e - r (all one word, it can’t be written on here) really reveals the difference. People express their love for Penn. One person even wants to go to the law school so that he can stay, but writing about Princeton, someone said that it’s just too demanding too enjoy. I didn’t want that out of a college experience.
I mean I’ve seen a lot of colleges and there’s no place where I’d rather spend these four years. It’s kind of difficult to describe but Penn seems almost magical. Sometimes I’ll just get on the train, transfer three times, over a 3.5-4 hour ride, just to get to Penn. Even though the hustle and bustle of the campus aren’t present, I feel almost like I’m in Oz.
Even the alcohol survey that we had to do was infused with life and began with Penn students singing Michael Jackson: “my mother always told me be careful what you do. don’t go around…”</p>
<p>Penn is arguably the best place for premeds. We have great advising, strong admit numbers, several hospitals on campus for you to volunteer at, tons of research opportunities (I got a life science one and I’m not even a bio major), and no outright grade deflation so you can still do well in competitive premed classes. One of the more experienced posters in the premed forum who went to Duke and is now in a top 10 med school (bluedevilmike) claimed that Penn was the best place for premeds because we have a lower average GPA for admitted students into med schools (meaning you don’t need a 4.0 to get into med school from Penn). Most of my premed friends were able to get year round research positions (some funding, especially over the summer) and volunteer positions at the different hospitals.</p>
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You don’t need to do M+T to apply to med school or business school. You shouldn’t apply to business school right out of undergrad unless you are the son of God or planning to go to one a lot lower ranked than Wharton. You can be an Africana Studies major and get into a top 10 med school then a top 5 business school. If you do M+T you’ll need to take the premed requirements to apply to med school (same as any student at any school at Penn) and work a few years before applying for business school.</p>