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But at the undergraduate level, most of it doesn't really matter.
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<p>Bingo. It should be about fit. And the two are very different schools in very different locales.</p>
<p>And on that note...</p>
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Yeah, when I think of an all-star city, Philly comes to mind
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Your mind and the minds of developers putting up hundreds of millions of dollars worth of downtown condos, and the buyers that make Philadelphia along with New York among the few places in the country not crushed by the real estate meltdown. Get with the times, Philly is not the Philly of Rocky anymore...</p>
<p>^^
Well, all urban centers are experiencing a revitalization. Even in Michigan and metro Detroit, where a one state recession has bottomed out real estate, major redevelopment projects, lofts, and condos are going up in downtown Detroit. That's just the reurbanization and shift in the American Dream going on there, not really something unique to Philly and New York.</p>
<p>Having had to make the same choice (between Cornell and Penn) I chose Cornell. I really don't see a difference between the two but I found Penn reallly focused on Wharton and not so much on its other schools. The food here is also exceptional as others have pointed out.</p>
<p>Ithaca has a lot to offer and is a great place to go to undergraduate especially for people who come from or plan to ultimately live in a city. But anyone concerned about spending 4 years in Ithaca because it is a small city instead of a big city should remember to account for the time that students aren't in Ithaca. They don't spend 12 months of the year there. In addition to the 3 month summer (when students can do an internships in a big city) and the 4-5 weeks for winter breaks (and the other 3 breaks), most kids spend a semester abroad or do a co-op somewhere else.</p>
<p>And I believe that more kids choose Penn because of the notion that it is somehow "better" to be in a big city, a point that is highly overrated for most everyone. Also, high school kids and their parents do rely on US News rankings. There is a lot of discussion among the high school set and their parents about who is going where and being impressed with the higher ranked school, even if it is only by a few points. Just read some of the CC discussions and you will see how many people really base a lot of their college choice on US News rankings.</p>