Please Advise!! Penn vs. Wellesley!!

College Search & Selection
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<p>Greetings!</p>

<p>I must decide between UPenn (CAS) and Wellesley and I'm totally torn! I prefer Penn's urban location, but like Wellesley's size and campus better. I think I'd like the all-women aspect of Wellesley but think I'd also enjoy the party scene at Penn (which Wellesley lacks). Is Penn more prestigous than Wellesley? I know it's harder to get into...will a Penn degree serve me better in life? Wellesley was my dream school last year (WL), but now that Penn's on the table I don't know what to do. I think it'd be easier to get good grades at Penn but that I'd learn better w/Wellesley's small classes. Grad school? Which would you choose, why?</p>

<p>Cheerio!</p>

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<p>Well, here are my thoughts (for transperancy: Obviously, I'm going to Wellesley. However, I have nothing against Penn--I didn't apply--besides the fact that it didn't excite me enough to send off an app): Is Penn more prestigious? Yeah, probably. Certainly I'd think that it is more well-known. I doubt that it offers a better education or that having a Penn degree would vault you way ahead in life over having a Wellesley degree, but it probably is an advantage. I think grad school placement would be great at both schools--I don't think that in general grad school people are anything like as OCD about what particular school the applicant comes from as we are. Would it be easier to get good grades at Penn? I have no clue...Wellesley is certainly known to be a place where the students work hard, but I'm not qualified to guess as to how grading is at Penn. </p>

<p>Unless the two schools are absolutely matched in other ways, I think that it would be silly to choose based on prestige, being that they both offer a great education. So, I would say that you really have to decide whether you want to live in the city, or whether close is close enough. Whether you see yourself happier living on Penn's campus, or Wellesley's. Whether you would like to have easy access to a party scene, or whether you'd like (or be able) to seek out a party scene but not have it come on campus very much. Obviously, I would choose Wellesley--Penn was just a bit too extroverted for me--but that's just me. Can you visit again (have you visited again)? I'm a supporter of gut feeling--is there one school that you get more honestly excited about, or that you feel sad if you think you might not be going there? That would be the school to pick.</p>

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<p>...bump....Any input greatly appreciated!</p>

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<p>i would highly recommend choosing Penn. I have friends that go there and everything about it seems amazing. It offers a great curriculum, a great location, and most importantly i think a great degree. A degree from UPenn is far more prestigious than one from Wellesley. Maybe because Penn will offer you many many connections (their alum network is insane) and its history is rooted in excellence in education. Wellesley is great too, but Penn has a stonger foundation i think. Plus, the party scene is terrific! Its definitely considered one of the more fun Ivy's. So in my opinion, Penn hands down!!</p>

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<p>I don't think I agree with the previous post. I think Wellesley is more prestigious. The prestige of a school really only serves to get your foot in the door of certain opportunities. You ultimately have to land those opportunities on your own merits. The prestige is usually not as important as the quality of the education you receive and what your real capabilities are.</p>

<p>Nonetheless, Wellesley is indisputably the very best women's college bar none. Each year some women reject Harvard, Yale or Princeton to go to Wellesley because of the unique educational opportunities. When someone finds out that you went to Wellesley, you're automatically viewed as intelligent at an elite level. In the space of women's colleges, you are at the very top. I would argue that while Penn is indeed an Ivy, that unless you have a specific program in mind like for which it is in fact "the best" like Wharton, Penn does not have the same "wow" factor because it isn't the very best in its class. Few people turn down HYP in favor of Penn. People argue about which is the best Ivy, Harvard, Princeton or Yale, but Penn is never in that league. In other words, on a resume, Penn says "Smart, but couldn't get into Harvard". Wellesley doesn't automatically say that. If I'm an employer and want the "smartest", I certainly would look through the resumes in the Wellesley pile before the Penn Arts & Science pile. Again, people from both piles probably get interviews, so its only a small distinction.</p>

<p>This is not to say that Penn isn't prestigious or excellent, its both, its just that where the prestige of a school actually matters, I'd give Wellesley the edge because there is no better substitute.</p>

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<p>As a college professor, I can tell you that the most professional support I've ever gotten was from other women. This goes beyond the issue of prestige and asks who is going to exert themselves the most to see that you succeed. The data sets show that women who have attended women's colleges out perform women who haven't. I believe you can find this info. on their various websites.</p>

<p>Because achieving women need to support each other I find statements that compare Wellesley to other wolmen's colleges unattractive. There are stastical markers that promote all the schools: Wellesley is highest ranked in USNWR, Barnard is most selective, Smith has most Fulbrights, Bryn Mawr produces most Ph.D.'s and Mt. Holyoke has most international diversity. These are peer institutions that in a spirit of feminism should support each other, not compete bwith each other.</p>

<p>If you prefer Penn go to Penn. However, if you don't all statistical evidence indicates Wellesley will be more instrumental in promoting success.</p>

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<p>IMO, Wellesley is the best undergraduate institution for female on this planet.</p>

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<p>In the west coast perspective, Wellesely is more well-known than Penn. I'm not sure why, it just seems that Wellesley has that much more of a California reputation.</p>

<p>But if that's the decision you're making, maybe you should spend time rethinking what you want out of college. Both places will serve you equally well; it's just a matter of joining the students who you want to spend four years with and meet at alumae reunions. </p>

<p>Plus Wellesley isn't exactly isolated from social life in terms of location. But the location makes it easier to study when there's not a party going on upstairs, IMO.</p>

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<p>If there's a difference in prestige, I don't think it's enough to make much difference. I used to work for a pretty darned snooty investment bank, and they interviewed at Wellesley, as well as Penn. If you can get an interview you have a chance to get in, if you're good enough. That's all you can hope to derive from any school's "prestige".</p>

<p>My own impressions, from D1's college hunt is: you might have to work harder at Wellesley, and quite possibly have a worse social life. But D1 didn't really mesh with the type of kids she saw heading towards Penn, from her school and elsewhere. She clearly would prefer Wellesley; didn't even apply to Penn.</p>

<p>Different strokes.</p>

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<p>Thanks so much for all of the input!</p>

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<p>you are GETTING A LOT OF BAD advice</p>

<p>Wes is a fine school. However, it is no where near as famous as Penn. Penn is an ivy league school. It accepts under 16 percent--it is virtually impossible to get into. Most people have no idea where Wes is located. I cannot even spell it correctly to be honest with you--hence, I use Wes. These parents are giving you very bad advice. Penn is leagues ahead of Wes. One is a small women's college. And one has an international reputation for excellence. It has better grad placement, better recruitment, higher SATs, and is just overall a better school. This thread is an utter joke with utterly bad comments in support of Wes. Go to Wes if you like. Do not go there thinking it is better than Penn.</p>

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<p>"In the west coast perspective, Wellesely is more well-known than Penn."</p>

<p>hmmm...Penn each year has over 250 kids from California in ONE clear year. This is probably larger than the entire size of Wes. That assertion is just not credible.</p>

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<p>Wellesley:</p>

<p>1310-1470</p>

<p>Penn: 1330-1510</p>

<p>gee, Penn's entering class is LARGER than all four grades at Well. And Well cannot even get enough high scoring individuals despite its small class to outmatch Penn....</p>

<p>This thread is again a joke in my opinion.</p>

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<p>Penn accepts 16 percent and Wes accepts over 35 percent....</p>

<p>Penn has 94 percent in top 10 percent</p>

<p>Well has less than 86 percent in top 10 percent</p>

<p>all of the statistics favor Penn. And Penn has a far better reputation where it matters.....</p>

<p>Do we need to compare the alumni from each school?</p>

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<p>Wellesley has a great reputation for excellence. Honestly, don't feel like you are getting shortchanged in terms of prestige (like the other posters are implying) if you go to Wellesley. </p>

<p>Have you visited both schools? Go where you feel most comfortable socially.</p>

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<p>Wellesley is a great school. While Penn is Ivy League, this distinction is not as important as it may seem (most people still don't know it is different from Penn State!!!). I would say they are equal institutions and the choice should be based solely on your preferences. If you want a large research university, pick Penn. If smaller classes and a small school appeal to you, and you don't mind the all women factor, pick Wellesley. While Wellesley might not have a party reputation, it is close enough to Boston that you will meet people from tons of other great schools.</p>

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<p>I looked at the OP's post history, and I see she is transferring from Colgate--a very fine school. </p>

<p>Well is a great school. However, make sure u can "tolerate" an all woman's college. It is an entirely different experience. I have friends who went to Barnard and loved it. I had others who absolutely hated it. But unlike at Well, Barnard girls have the advantages of going to school across the street from Columbia.</p>

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<p>While Barnard girls can go to Columbia, Wellesley girls can travel a short distance to the HUGE number of great colleges in Boston.</p>

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<p>Wellesley is a significantly wealthier school than Penn, on a per-student endowment basis. Penn’s 2006 [url=<a href="http://www.nacubo.org/documents/research/2006NES_Listing.pdf%5Dendowment%5B/url"&gt;http://www.nacubo.org/documents/research/2006NES_Listing.pdf]endowment[/url&lt;/a&gt;] was estimated at $5.4 billion in 2006, while Wellesley’s was $1.4 billion. But Penn has about 20,000 students, while Wellesley has about 2,300. This translates to about $600,000 per student at Wellesley, compared to less than half that at Penn. Wellesley is one of the wealthiest schools in the country by this measure, while Penn is not.</p>

<p>Furthermore, Wellesley puts all of its ample resources into one thing: undergraduate instruction in liberal arts. Penn has fewer dollars per student, and those dollars are spread thinner, because they have to support many, many things that Wellesley doesn’t -- like the engineering school, the medical school, the business school, the law school, PhD research in all disciplines, and Division I athletics. </p>

<p>The bottom line is that Wellesley has much more money to throw at undergraduate liberal arts majors than Penn does. I haven’t been to either campus in recent years, but you should check them both out. I suspect you’ll find better facilities (e.g. dormitories, cafeteria food, landscaping, etc) and better undergraduate instruction (smaller classes, no grad student TAs, friendlier professors) at Wellesley. </p>

<p>You might have trouble distinguishing the average Penn classroom, cafeteria, or dorm from a Penn State classroom, cafeteria, or dorm. But I suspect you will be able to identify the Wellesley classroom, cafeteria, or dorm (and not just by the absence of men). Wellesley spends more on their undergraduates, and if you compare the two schools, I think you'll find that it shows.</p>

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<p>"While Barnard girls can go to Columbia, Wellesley girls can travel a short distance to the HUGE number of great colleges in Boston."</p>

<p>The difference:
-located right across the street + 30% shared classes and 100% shared clubs, teams & extracurriculars,
vs.
-40 minute bus ride and far smaller %, or in most cases no, shared classes, far fewer common extracurriculars;</p>

<p>seems to be quite significant in practice.</p>

<p>It seemed like the most guys that show up there were from Babson; otherwise the girls have to go to these MIT frat parties. Seemed a little demeaning to us.</p>

<p>My D1 came away quite concerned about social life there, following her overnight & second visit.</p>