<p>my only dislike was not being able to get into the quad during fling. goddamn security guards trying to keep kids from being raped wow its just BS if you ask me</p>
<p>So…dirty/cramped/infested housing and disgusting food? And the pictures of a packed Palestra are from a different era?</p>
<p>Really?</p>
<p>not gonna lie… everyone’s posts on this forum (especially barca’s) are really making me second think applying to Penn at all, let alone ED…</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>ok obviously this is all just personal opinion, so I can’t refute anything that you’re saying but my personal experience with these schools was quite the opposite.</p>
<p>I’m not the person to care about aesthetics at all, but in my opinion, Columbia had a sort of nyc filthiness to me. Cigarette buds all over, a lot of litter in general, the sides of buildings have been darkened/discolored, etc. I thought the campus was waaaaay too compact and cramped and my BIGGEST pet peeve: the grasses/lawns are ALWAYS CLOSED. I went to POD and the students said that was the first time the grasses were opened in a looong time (to attract prefrosh). Personally, my high school has a really nice campus and I looove to just hang out on the grasses and lay down, do work, and frisbee/hacky sack and I think it would just be ■■■■■■■■ if you weren’t able to enjoy that in college</p>
<p>I also visited penn and found it to be very integrated. I don’t know where you were, but I def met several non asian/white engineers… AND us CASers were separated from the engineers most of the time (oohh, maybe it’s because I went to multicultural scholars and you just went to the preview?? ooooo I just solved my own problem. generally, all minorities want to come to multicultural weekend and they are much more likely to attend that than to attend just the previews… that’s prob why you didn’t encounter many)</p>
<p>and finally to your point about name recog/prestige… I live in the northeast and people know penn in the northeast (it helps if you say upenn or wharton)</p>
<p>I mean, I guess everyone just has a different experience with college decisions and it sounds like Columbia was the better place for you</p>
<p>I’m trying to decide between UPenn and Cornell and this is kind of pushing me toward the latter, but I appreciate that people are being so honest.</p>
<p>I was there for the multicultural weekend, and I’m still trying to decide how I feel about it. One thing I noticed was that the security personnel weren’t all that friendly (I smiled at one and she just stared at me). I don’t know if this is always the case, though…</p>
<p>Maybe we need a “Things you dislike about Cornell” thread</p>
<p>Professors are hired based on their research, not their teaching ability. As a result, many professors are terrible teachers.</p>
<p>Ny0ker and NJKitty,</p>
<p>Not to sound offensive, but you kind of have to be unintelligent to let a couple of cc posters plus one security person sway your college decisions…</p>
<p>if we had a ‘what do you dislike about cornell thread,’ you would be saying the opposite</p>
<p>grow some decisiveness</p>
<p>
that can be said about most ivies/top 20s though… that doesn’t mean it’s not an academically terrific school</p>
<p>ok guys, I am glad that we have this thread; I think it’s informative/necessary, but I just think some posters need to be more conscious about how others are responding</p>
<p>Yikes, I do appreciate the original intention of this post, but after reading some of the responses (twice), I’m pretty shocked. As a ‘Proud Penn Parent’, I have to tell you that Penn has been pretty amazing for my son who is a current freshman. More opportunities than you can possibly take advantage of, great academics [yes, Math can be a nightmare, even for the highly math-skilled], and supportive environment. My son ended up with his last choice of housing, which at first seemed quite disappointing, but in reality what he got was a HUGE room, in a very clean dorm, and great spirit amongst the study body. The multi-level advising at Penn has also been very helpful. </p>
<p>I’d have to say now that my son is on the home stretch towards completing his first year, it has been a very exciting, and thoroughly challenging first year. He is an engineering student, so his experience might differ from those attending the College, or Wharton, in regards to level of challenge [and party life participation].</p>
<p>NJBkitty, please don’t use this post alone to decide between Penn and Cornell. Hopefully you will or have returned to both to attend the Preview Days for Accepted Students, as that really helped to seal the deal for my son. He was accepted to 7 great schools and chose Penn over all of them. He has not regretted that decision. </p>
<p>As a parent, I’ve been very happy with everyone at Penn thus far, from Admissions to Financial Aid, to Alum groups, and yes, even sporting events; everyone is very helpful and friendly. And I will add that Penn gave the ‘best package’ of all the schools my son was admitted to as well, if that matters to anyone. </p>
<p>I think if there’s anything my son doesn’t like, it would have to be that he has not been able to take advantage of being in Philly very much this year, as he’s just been a bit over-extended with academics and ec’s. I’m sure he’ll be able to balance better next year, as alot of students seem to enjoy the city quite a bit. On a positive note, he has been able to become an independent seasoned air traveler, as it is very easy for him to get to the airport and take shuttles home, as it is easier and cheaper than taking the train, or driving 6 hours back and forth to get him. We’re very happy about that as well. Other colleges aren’t so easy to get in and out of, as Penn is, including those in Ithaca and NYC!</p>
<p>Best of luck to those of you who are deciding. I think there would be more posts here if students weren’t in the middle of preparing for finals. </p>
<p>Bagels, are you really gone?</p>
<p>I too am deciding b/w Cornell and UPenn (Wharton), but mines is mostly a financial decision.</p>
<p>Off of my visit, here are things I disliked about both schools:</p>
<p>UPenn:
- campus didn’t give me the same “college” feel (totally opionated)
- non-academic extra-curriculars werent as diverse as cornell
- students seemed more uptight (maybe I’m confusing for ambitious?)
- overall not as prestigious (I don’t really care but its just a general observation, but obviously anyone in the workforce would recognize the name)
- comparatively to Cornell, people weren’t overall as friendly
- To be honest, I thought housing sucked.
- Ditto for food (last two were worst for me)</p>
<p>Cornell
- more stuck up rich kids (could be just some of the people I encountered)
- smaller campus
- some of the classes were rather large
- no major city nearby
- LOTS of people doing things with limited space (extra-curricular wise)
And on the contrary to Penn, food and housing were KICK-ASS.</p>
<p>Again, almost everything said in this post (including my own observations) is EXTREMELY subjective. For example everyone told me I would hate Ithaca and that it was in the middle of nowhere, but I loved it way more than Phili. People also told me Penn wasn’t diverse and was a bunch of rich/jockish white guys, and I also found that to be completely false, as many people were really down to earth.</p>
<p>In the end, visit, contemplate, and do what you think is right for you.</p>
<p>After reading some stuff up there, some other stuff came to mind:</p>
<ul>
<li>Phili airport is the best one I’ve ever been to, and I live in LA. </li>
<li>Didn’t get the same vibe of school spirit I did at Cornell at Penn.</li>
<li>Weather at Cornell can suck. </li>
<li>Just from my visit, I liked the upper-level staff (advising) at Cornell better.</li>
</ul>
<p>
</p>
<p>Actually I do find this offensive. I’m taking all things into consideration, and to say I’m “unintelligent” for doing so is uncalled for. I wasn’t planning to let the posts on this forum alone - or any forum for that matter - dictate exactly where I should go. And I’m actually going to either make such a thread or find one on the Cornell forums, so I get both sides of the story. Thank you very much.</p>
<p>And I’ll admit that I’m an indecisive person. It’s not something that I’m trying to hide. And while I would love to just “grow some decisiveness,” it’s not that easy for me. I’m working on it now, but just because I don’t know exactly what I want for my future doesn’t make me stupid.</p>
<p>He has an excellent point actually. If a few morons will push you one way or the other, then you shouldn’t be researching colleges on CC at all. What counts are your own subjective opinions that you develop from seeing the campuses yourself as well as the objective data you find via research that may favor one school or the other. The subjective opinions of ■■■■■■ on a college forum are not adequate sources.</p>
<p>I just think it’s interesting to see different people’s perspectives on the schools I’m considering. That’s all. And of course my own feelings are paramount, but there was only so much I could absorb from Penn after staying there only one (very rainy) day. Also, I definitely plan to do a lot more objective research for both Penn and Cornell.</p>
<p>Of course I understand hcvops’s and your point, and I agree with it to an extent; I just don’t appreciate some of the former’s other comments.</p>
<p>i don’t see anything wrong with doing a bit of informal research on these boards, but it’s helpful to differentiate the experience-based opinions of current students from the limited or nonexistent experience of aspiring or matriculating-in-the-fall students</p>
<p>and of course students with experience at both schools are even better; personally i am a senior at penn and my brother is a freshman at cornell, so i can speak a little better than most to both schools, and some here have transferred between the two, etc.</p>
<p>but yeah trust your own independent judgment first</p>