<p>im a legacy at rice and for other lucky reasons i have a good shot at getting in at rice. i like rice's residential college system, small size= opportunities for more sports like lax and getting to know people better, but i live in houston, and though i would love to stay close to my family, it might be cool to move out i dunno</p>
<p>penn- it has beautiful architecture in a really pretty city, it is extremely exciting to walk through the main campus and see all the protests and clubs, the campus is jaw-droppingly pretty, rice's is too, but not like this</p>
<p>so which one should i ed to, im leaning to towards rice</p>
<p>oh yeah, im also open to suggestions about schools i should apply to, my "stats" are good, so tell me about schools that are like penn and rice</p>
<p>more than likely, what strangers tell me won't actually impact my decision
but i wanna hear what people have to say, and maybe someone will give me good advice.</p>
<p>If you can't decide, don't apply early to either. What I did to figure out where I want to apply to early was start writing the "Why X" essays you have to do. The one that was easiest to write was the college I ended up applying early to. I had a lot to say about that school, which probably showed why it was my first choice. There were some schools I just had nothing to say about.</p>
<p>As a Penn student, I would tell you that if it is important to you to be close to your family, stay close to home. It is very nice to have home accessible if you ever need to go back for whatever reason. You could always finish both apps by November 1 and press submit on the one you decide on the deadline.</p>
<p>at penn do you feel like you are kind of "one in a crowd?" </p>
<p>I mean, a big school would be cool in the fact that you have lots of opportunities to meet people, go to lectures, etc., but I like smaller communities because it feels more cozy and you see familiar faces.</p>
<p>but maybe that doesn't really matter even if you go to a school with 10,000 undergrads, and you have fun with close friends anyways.</p>
<p>please tell me what it's like as a penn student, your classes, your likes/dislikes, the size of your classes</p>
<p>This depends so much on what you want to major in. I'm from Sugar Land, and I'm applying to Penn, but not Rice. I won't be applying anywhere ED because if I don't get enough financial aid those schools could both easily put my in six figures of debt before I'm done. If I stay in-state I'll go to UT Austin because they offer some programs Rice doesn't and are actually better than Rice for me - at least for undergrad. This is a really tough decision, assuming you have money out the wazoo (lucky you), you could either apply as a legacy at a great school close to home (again, lucky on that Rice legacy!) or a beautiful Ivy league in the northeast.</p>
<p>Seriously though, you need to tell us your major because both schools are wonderful, but known for different programs.</p>
<p>i really like philosophy, english, us and modern middle east and other types of history, psychology, paleontology, astronomy</p>
<p>I am not especially interested in math, most sciences, and foreign languages.</p>
<p>but people tell me that in high school they hated math and science, but in college they fell in love with one of them because in college they can study different aspects of one of them or something like that.</p>
<p>i think that most people don't know what they want to major in, and many of those that do not always stick to that major.</p>
<p>yeah, im lucky, especially because just today the lineman coach told me that I am varsity's starting defensive tackle</p>
<p>if i didnt ed, i'd still have a good chance, but it wouldn't be as good.
plus then if I get in I could laugh at all of my fellow students who are anxiously awaiting their letters jk but it ould be nice to get it over with.</p>
<p>Penn has large lectures by LAC standards. I have friends at Swarthmore and UChicago whose largest classes are 50 or less. My largest class was 200 people (this is nothing compared to Texas). Aside from that, my large lecture classes have all been 100 students or less. If you sit in the front and are proactive you can make the class feel smaller than if you sit in the back and zone out. I have taken 8 classes. 2 have been 16 students or less and one has been 30 students, but that was by choice. I opted not to take a freshman seminar. My first semester I opted to take 3 large intro lectures out of my 4 classes. If you choose you can have almost all of your classes be small discussion based lectures. For most majors you will probably need to take a few large lecture classes, but they really aren't as evil as some people want you to believe. </p>
<p>About Penn being 10,000 people, my high school class was 550. I heard a bunch of new names at graduation. I had been with some of those kids since 9th grade and never met them. Thats why a class of 2400 didn't bother me, but it bothers some people. You will not meet everyone in the class of 2013. However, you will meet a lot of them and form some good strong friendships. You have hallmates, ECs, classes, your frat (if you choose), and other places to meet and make some really good friends.</p>
<p>
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but I like smaller communities because it feels more cozy and you see familiar faces.
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When I walk down Locust I almost always see a familiar face. However, with the size of Penn and the accessibility of Center City, if I want to escape from everyone and be alone, I can. That sort of stuff isn't easy at a rural LAC. At Rice you have Houston, so it might offer you some escape. Do you really want to know everyone in your class before senior year or would you find it exciting that in some class you take or just randomly you'll meet another senior for the first time? The one problem I have with a school that is large is that it tends to be a little cliquish whereas at a smaller school you sometimes get the impression that the social scene may be a little more freeflowing than everyone sticking to a few groups. </p>
<p>I really like Penn and would encourage you to come if Penn meets your needs as a student. My only real problem is that I'm no longer sure if it has my major, but that's a different story.</p>
<p>please tell that story I'd like to hear it.
When I visited Penn the woman who talked to us said that Penn is great at letting kids choose interesting majors like a cross between philosophy, psychology, and economics or something like that.</p>
<p>About my major, I think I want to major in Operations Research/Industrial Engineering. At Penn I'm slated to do Math and Econ as a double major. My two options to pursue OR are to either pull up my grades, take a bunch of business classes, and maybe transfer to Wharton for an OPIM concentration or transfer to engineering and major in Systems. My problem with Wharton is that it's a ton of hassle, I'll have little flexibility, a concentration is 5 courses but the whole major tacks on a bunch of business classes I'm not too interested in, and I don't want to take Management 100. My problem with Systems Engineering is that it's in the Electrical department and I hate Electrical engineering and Physics E&M and Physics and that sort of stuff. I'll figure it out though.</p>
<p>
[quote]
If you can't decide, don't apply early to either. What I did to figure out where I want to apply to early was start writing the "Why X" essays you have to do. The one that was easiest to write was the college I ended up applying early to. I had a lot to say about that school, which probably showed why it was my first choice. There were some schools I just had nothing to say about.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I disagree, most colleges are very very similar with small differences. The why college essay is always one of the hardest and I am having trouble with all of them, including my top choice. The truth is its not a 1 school is a perfect fit situation, but for most people simply a case of a group of schools that are good fits...so go with the best one out of them. In your case Penn is a better school, so if your stats are good enough to warrant sacrificing a legacy chance at Rice than I say do it. I did find it interesting that you thought Penns campus was beautiful though, I found it very underwhelming and I was not impressed after seeing Princeton, Yale and Harvard. So basically, if you like the schools equally apply to Penn ED since its a better school and will provide more opportunities in the long term(people will debate this, but trust me). If you don't think your chances are that great, than go to Rice and know its also very good.</p>
<p>
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I disagree, most colleges are very very similar with small differences.
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I dug deep and found stuff unique to Penn that I really liked. The essay was very easy to write and very free flowing. For Duke I had 0 to say even though it was a top choice of mine based on programs and what I thought of the atmosphere. For NU, Cornell, and Columbia, I had some to say, but nothing really special about any of the schools. Trying to write those essays helped me see that Penn was my #1 choice. IMO, if it is very easy to write the "Why X" essay, maybe X is right for you. If it is very tough, maybe it's not the place to apply early.</p>
<p>
[quote]
In your case Penn is a better school, so if your stats are good enough to warrant sacrificing a legacy chance at Rice than I say do it... So basically, if you like the schools equally apply to Penn ED since its a better school and will provide more opportunities in the long term(people will debate this, but trust me).
[/quote]
For what the OP wants I would say Rice is the better school, but it's ultimately up to him. If he wants to work in Texas or the South West upon graduation rather than going to NYC Rice will take him a lot farther. There really isn't anything concrete to say that Penn is better than Rice for the OP></p>
<p>I find it really hard to believe that a Penn undergrad degree would make any difference in regards to job employment when I get older. I mean Rice accepts like 22 percent and Penn accepts like 16 percent that's not that big a difference.
Seriously, what evidence do you have that a Penn undergrad degree would make any difference in employment opportunities. At the moment I don't really plean to become a rich stock broker, lawyer, real estate salesman, etc.
What stats are worth sacrificing a legacy chance? 2250 sats, valedictorian,?
Also, rice for some reason gives some sort of favor to applicants to our school, because it's among the top 2 high schools in texas or something like that, which would also help my chances.</p>
<p>I didn't like Princeton, but the idea that you can think Penns campus is better than its is so ridiculous. Its buildings are ugly and have no continuity. Some are one color and architecture style and some are totally different. Harvard also had a an amazing campus with all the red brick. I love Penn, but the campus was nothing special. O and op Penn is more highly regarded for employers, make of it what you want. The options are better for grad school and jobs, but I am not saying its absolutely gigantic. Make of it what you want, it depends on your career path</p>
<p>yeah I don't find Harvard's campusthat pretty, it seems so spread out, and the red bricks aren't that incredible, sorry. Penn has pretty buildings.</p>
<p>Did I really create a thread like this? oops</p>
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Its buildings are ugly and have no continuity. Some are one color and architecture style and some are totally different. Harvard also had a an amazing campus with all the red brick.
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</p>
<p>Continuity is only one way through which a campus can attain beauty (the best example of this being Columbia). Penn's wildly varying architecture makes for a richer visual feast. Through the evolution of Penn's campus you can follow the history not just of Penn (and its journey from a predominantly technical school serving the needs of Industrial-era Philadelphia into a preeminent research university serving the world), but even the ebb and flow of the great American city.</p>
<p>See how Van Pelt is built to face inward towards a campus courtyard at the expense of pedestrian engagement on its opposite Walnut street side. See how just down Walnut Street the Penn Bookstore/University Square development and the Annenberg School entrance sought to reverse this trend by embracing their urban location, and the evolution in thought this represented.</p>
<p>See the remnant rowhouses on Locust Walk that hint it was once a street that the University since grew into and beyond.</p>
<p>Heck, look at the 1960s modernist eyesores and see the mix of technological hubris inherent in modernism, and the perils of financing construction projects with state money--which in itself was a necessity of Penn's almost going bankrupt, another chapter in the ongoing Penn saga.</p>
<p>Penn's campus is not the prettiest, but it is certainly less boring. Any campus can have a series of similarly fake Gothic buildings (yes, all of Yale's and Princeton's are fake. Yale even threw acid on them to make them look ancient). And many other campuses DO have endless pretty gothic buildings. But there can be only one campus that tells a story like Penn's.</p>