<p>I plan to pursue either some field of Biology OR International Relations (I enjoy far too many things and am extremely indecisive). Which school do you think would be better for my mixed interests? Also, I do plan to take as many years as possible in Mandarin or Korean, then studying abroad my junior year. </p>
<p>There is also University of Chicago and Northwestern...</p>
<p>Thanks for all of the assistance.</p>
<p>I would decide between Chicago, Penn or Brown. These are very different places, cities and you should try to visit them all if you can. Don’t underestimate Chicago, it is on par with HYPS. I would put their faculty and students up against any in the country and that would actually be my personal choice.</p>
<p>If flexibility to explore a varied set of interests is the most important factor for you, then I would go with Brown. Penn is just so bleh, and University of Chicago is somewhat rigid.</p>
<p>“Penn is just so bleh”</p>
<p>How so? Care to elaborate? Sorry!! And thanks!</p>
<p>Penn has great academic and research programs just like any Ivy. If you’re into business or the biomedical field, it’s great. Neither UPenn nor its area of Philadelphia have ever done anything to excite me. It’s not tremendously unique. There aren’t many fun quirks. The food is all right. The cultural is all right. The entertainment options are all right. The social life is all right.</p>
<p>Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong. Penn is a phenomenal institution with opportunities you don’t find elsewhere.</p>
<p>If Philly is “all right” then Providence would be “a joke.” Philadelphia is a major American city (5th or 6th largest depending on how depopulated Phoenix is after the housing bust).</p>
<p>Another great advantage of Penn is the “One University” system. Penn is the only Ivy to have all of its schools on the same campus (and in close proximity to another at that), which allows for cross-disciplinary opportunities that you just don’t get at most other schools. As an undegrad at Penn, you can take classes schools and grad schools that Brown doesn’t even have (law, communications, business come to mind as being relevant for a potential IR. For biology, You also have 3 hospitals in the immediate area (2 of which–CHOP and HUP–are world-renowned) at which to do research, and a preeminent bioengineering program.</p>
<p>I loved how I have friends who are in all the liberal arts, in business, in engineering, in nursing, in law, dentistry. While liberal arts are at the core of my own undergrad education (and should really be at the core of anybody’s), the experience of meeting, befriending, partying, road-tripping, discussing life, and more were greatly enriched my undergraduate experience (to say nothing of how it broadened my alumni networking).</p>
<p>I double majored in East Asian Studies and International Relations at Penn, and I can speak with authority on both of them. PM me if you have any questions about why I picked Penn (and was very very happy for it)</p>