<p>I'm having a hard time deciding between Penn and Williams. I don't really care about either school's setting except for employment / internship opportunities - both campuses are nice. I'm mainly interested in math/finance/chemical engineering, of which I'll choose one depending on where I end up going.</p>
<p>I got into Penn Engineering, but by the end of freshman year I plan to transfer into M&T or at least attempt to get a normal dual degree in Engineering/Wharton. I think that Penn offers more undergraduate experiences such as internships due to 1) name recognition and 2) being in the city. I also got into the Rachleff Scholars program, which will guarantee me research opportunities every summer, making Penn's STEM research better for me than Williams if I decide to go along that path.</p>
<p>Williams offers an amazing education that is, to my knowledge, slightly superior in quality to Penn's with its tutorials and such; however, I've heard the difficulty is extremely high, probably a bit harder than Penn. I'm planning on majoring in math or chemistry and attempting to get a job in finance or studying math/chemical engineering in grad school. Also, along with the difficulty, I feel that since Williams is in "the middle of nowhere", it will be harder to get opportunities until after I graduate. And since I'm neither a big athlete nor a drinker, I fear that I won't fit in well.</p>
<p>I'm visiting Penn for Quaker Days and going to Williams Previews this month.</p>
<p>Please correct anything I said you believe to be false - these sentiments are a compilation of what i've heard, read, etc. so your advice will be greatly appreciated!</p>
NOT superior–and not necessarily “harder”–just different. Both schools offer phenomenal undergraduate educations but, of course, their campuses and campus life couldn’t be more different. Penn offers A LOT more variety, breadth, and depth–in academics as well as in activities, social life and, of course, surrounding city.</p>
<p>You can’t go wrong with either of these two choices–it’s really a matter of personal preference and fit. I suspect that once you’ve attended Quaker Days and Williams Previews, your personal preference will be clear to you. So don’t worry at all about the overall academic quality and reputation of these two schools–both are stellar on both counts. Just follow your (well informed) gut, and choose the school at which you think you’d be happiest, and would best thrive both academically and socially. Doing well at either school will get you where you want to go.</p>
<p>Based on what you say you want during and after college, I don’t think that going to an LAC would be a good fit for you. Penn has much more in terms of research and other opportunities in math and science than even schools like Harvey Mudd (I met a kid through an REU and he said there weren’t many serious research opportunities there).</p>
<p>I don’t think Penn’s upper level math and science classes are in any way easier than those at Williams. The chemistry department is notorious for being very intense and the math department has some incredibly smart undergrads and grad students. Very serious math students will have taken several grad courses before the graduate which are not available at schools without grad programs. </p>
<p>thank you so much!! yes, I was a bit skeptical when I heard about Williams being harder than Penn - thanks for clearing that up. after visiting both i’ll probably understand where I fit. :)</p>