<p>First off I am not trying to be offensive, but I was recently accepted to both, great schools. I was just wondering if there is any reason for a person with an undecided college direction or career in mind to attend Vanderbilt over UPenn?</p>
<p>You should visit both and decide which is better for you! Both schools have a great reputation and I assume both offer the program you want, so it’s up to you!</p>
<p>They’re very similar academically. Vanderbilt probably has a more active social scene, though UPenn carries a bit more prestige.</p>
<p>Honestly, Penn is on a completely different level. I’d choose Penn, unless you feel that you have some very strong ties to Vandy.</p>
<p>Penn is not on a completely different level. They aren’t ranked much higher. Vanderbilt had a lower admit rate this year. Vanderbilt’s class of 2016 has a higher 50% SAT and ACT than Penn. They’re very similar academically.</p>
<p>Penn has more gunner/selfish types, it’s a far more cut-throat environment. At Vanderbilt, people would rather be your friend than beat you on a test. Better weather, safer area, D-1 sports, nicer campus, bigger festivals, and more attractive student body are other bonuses.</p>
<p>go to the Accepted student days and make a gut based decision…there is little difference in the talent level of the student body but notable differences in history and setting. I personally like Philly and like Nashville a lot more than I ever expected to really like it. Nashville has a creative buzz and is an extremely friendly city. Vanderbilt and Nashville have a strong positive synergy and Vanderbilt is a rather warm sort of friendly campus culture. compare departments and majors if you have clarity there. You can’t really go wrong</p>
<p>Pancaked, where do you find that kind of information? Is there a thread on CC that shows acceptance rates of various colleges?</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>Pancaked is correct; Vanderbilt’s admit rate was 12.02%, Penn’s was 12.3%. Just google the student newspapers, go to the school’s web pages, etc and you should be able to find the stats.</p>
<p>here is the info for Vandy’s admission statistics</p>
<p>[Class</a> of 2016 Regular Decisions Mailed Today | The Vandy Admissions Blog | Vanderbilt University](<a href=“http://admissions.vanderbilt.edu/vandybloggers/2012/03/class-of-2016-regular-decisions-mailed-today/]Class”>Class of 2016 Regular Decisions Mailed Today | The Vandy Admissions Blog | Vanderbilt University)
Also, you could find information about UPenn admission result as well as other Ivies here</p>
<p>[The</a> Daily Pennsylvanian :: Admit rate holds steady at 12.3 percent](<a href=“http://thedp.com/index.php/article/2012/03/admit_rate_holds_steady_at_12.3_percent]The”>Admit rate holds steady at 12.3 percent | The Daily Pennsylvanian)</p>
<p>[U</a>. accepts 2,760 to class of 2016 - The Brown Daily Herald - Serving the community daily since 1891](<a href=“http://www.browndailyherald.com/u-accepts-2-760-to-class-of-2016-1.2722116#.T37RzvA9WIU]U”>http://www.browndailyherald.com/u-accepts-2-760-to-class-of-2016-1.2722116#.T37RzvA9WIU)</p>
<p>I believe that Vandy and Penn are not in much different levels now. Of course each school has its own strong departments, programs, etc…
Hope it helps.</p>
<p>Another point – I’ve always felt that Penn’s reputation/US News ranking/etc is based largely on the awesomeness of Wharton, with the rest of the college tagging along for the ride and not quite being at the same level of excellence, prestige, and so on and so forth. If you got into Wharton, go for it and don’t look back. Otherwise, Vandy’s the way to go.</p>
<p>I’m a freshman at Vanderbilt in the college of arts and sciences, and I love it here. However, I have no delusions; I do believe that Vanderbilt is an amazing school, but it is not at the level of UPenn.
UPenn’s reputation is deserved. It is top 3 in business, top 5 in medicine, and top 10 in law. It is strong across a number of PhD disciplines.
As far as undergraduate colleges go, however, Vanderbilt may be a peer to UPenn. I don’t mean to suggest that UPenn is better in every aspect, and I personally would not to go UPenn over Vanderbilt for undergrad because Vanderbilt is probably more enjoyable.
OP – I would go to whichever college you feel fits you better. I don’t think that UPenn will grant you an advantage over Vanderbilt for your undergraduate career. Although there is little doubt that UPenn is the stronger institution, institutional strength is not wholly indicative of undergraduate college experience.</p>
<p>Choose Vandy if you are into DIV 1 sports, love the south, or if you are into country music. If you think Vandy has better weather, remember that humidity and temps in the 90’s are common for August, September and April. Vandy has much better dorms. </p>
<p>Choose Penn if you are looking for the prestige of an Ivy league degree, love the north east,and want a school with a sense of history. Penn has colder months for sure (January, February and March) but this past winter was so mild, its weather is less of an impact than ever. Penn has better food options too.</p>
<p>Both schools have great academics, although Wharton is a class unto itself. I have been to both Nashville and Philadelphia, both are underwhelming; although I would rather be in Philadelphia where I can hop on a train in 90 minutes and be in New York or hit the road and sun at the beach.</p>
<p>All 3 of my kids would choose Penn over Vanderbilt, and this comes from an alum of the school. No matter how much Vanderbilt moves up the rankings, it’s hard to beat the prestige of an ivy.</p>
<p>If you got into Wharton, go, no questions asked. I have problems when people try to lump all of the Ivies together, though. Harvard, Yale, Princeton are in a class by themselves with prestige, yes. UPenn is a school much of the general public still commonly mixes up with Penn State. Visit both and see what’s a better fit, yes – but please don’t pick Penn for the sake of prestige, because 1) that’s a stupid way to choose a school, and 2) the difference between Penn and Vanderbilt is negligible at best.</p>
<p>I don’t think loving the south or country music are particularly reasons to pick Vanderbilt. Both those things exist in Nashville. Not so much on campus. You’re playing into stereotypes that don’t actually exist. Vanderbilt is in a bit of a bubble. It has a culture all its own.</p>
<p>I agree with speechie, there is a gap in prestige between HYP and lower Ivies like Penn and Cornell. Vanderbilt is increasingly more selective than the lower-Ivies and has equally intelligent students.</p>
<p>If you want to work in finance on the East Coast, Penn will give you an edge. Otherwise, Vandy is a way better college experience for most. Academics are comparable, the campus is infinitely nicer. The student body is much more social. Nashville is also way cheaper, safer, and nicer than Philly in every way. Penn will open a few more doors if you love the Northeast and want to stay there, that’s about it IMHO</p>
<p>Every university is a bit of a bubble, except somewhere like NYU maybe. Vanderbilt’s reputation as being Greek-crazy is diminishing some. Because of its great programs and subsequent rise in rankings, it is attracting kids from all over the world. One of the great things about it is the beautiful campus (an arboretum) that is surrounded by city - the best of both worlds for sure. </p>
<p>Nashville is amazing for young people, SEC sports are great to follow, travel to and from is easy. I’ve had 2 kids graduate from there and they get “wow” looks when they are asked where they went to college. They wouldn’t have looked at Penn for many, many reasons. The key is to pick what’s best for you as an individual. Going to an Ivy League school doesn’t guarantee success. A college degree is what you do with it - a high social IQ is also really important. The only thing that matters is the last thing you did.</p>
<p>I’ll say from firsthand experience that going to an employer for an internship and saying you’re a student at Vanderbilt University is going to impress them just as much as if you said UPenn or Columbia or Cornell or Brown. They aren’t going to sit there and say “Isn’t that school only ranked #17 while school x is ranked #13?” They’re going to say “Wow, you’re at one of the best schools in the world.”</p>
<p>It’s pretty absurd to think there’s some significant difference in prestige. Obviously it’s a little different than name dropping MIT or Harvard, but it’s essentially exactly the same as dropping the name of most top-20 schools.</p>
<p>^I agree! The ONLY people obsessed with rankings are people applying to college - and their parents…I know someone who wants her son to go to Harvard only because the admission rate is ridiculously low. She admits that… If a kid works hard and is rewarded with admission to Vanderbilt or Penn, he/she should go and enjoy it - mostly make the most of the opportunity.</p>
<p>Our last S is at Cornell in engineering - I would say the “wow” factor is equal to that of Vanderbilt for people we know. we do live in the south…the goal is to find a career that makes you happy and GET A JOB!!!</p>