<p>Not that this should be determinative in your decision-making, but if you’re really grasping for SOMETHING to push you one way or the other:</p>
<p>In terms of prestige and reputation in the ACADEMIC world, Penn generally trumps Georgetown (with notable exceptions such as SFS). For example, in the last ranking of Ph.D. programs by the National Research Council (from the 1990s and a bit dated, but still one of the most respected rankings of its kind), Penn ranked in either the top 10 or the top 20 in the nation in something like 25 different areas (Penn was among the top 10 universities in the country in that regard), whereas Georgetown broke into the top 20–and BARELY at #19–in only ONE area (Linguitstics). Just scan through the rankings to see what I mean:</p>
<p>Again, I point this out not to suggest that it should be determinative of which school you choose for your undergraduate education, but just to provide you with another data point since you seem to be desperate to find something objective on which to hang your hat. :)</p>
<p>Also, keep in mind that many–if not most–people who think of themselves as pre-med before they enter college, end up NOT going to medical school and entering another field. So it helps to be at a school with tremendous breadth and depth in the quality of its academic offerings. And with Penn’s vaunted and long-established “One University” policy, all undergrads are encouraged to take courses in Penn’s undergrad and grad schools other than their own–e.g., Wharton School, School of Engineering and Applied Science, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Law School, Annenberg School for Communication, School of Design, School of Public Policy and Practice, Graduate School of Education, etc.–providing a rather unique opportunity to explore far beyond the traditional undergraduate liberal arts curriculum.</p>
<p>I have to agree with 45 percenter that it seems that overall, Penn’s academic programs are more highly ranked/regarded than Georgetown (other than SFS). For example, here is the Gourman ranking for undergraduate biology–Penn is 18th and Georgetown isn’t on the list:</p>
<p>Caltech
MIT
Yale
Harvard
Wisconsin
UC San Diego
UC Berkeley
U Colorado
Columbia
Stanford
U Washington
U Chicago
Duke
Wash U St Louis
UCLA
U Michigan
Cornell
U Penn
Purdue
Indiana U
UNC Chapel Hill
U Utah
Johns Hopkins
Northwestern
Princeton
UC Irvine
Notre Dame
UC Santa Barbara
UVA
Brown
U Illinois Urbana Champaign
U Pittsburgh
Vanderbilt
U Oregon
SUNY Stony Brook
U Rochester
Tufts
U Minnesota
SUNY Buffalo
U Texas Austin
Florida State
Michigan State
USC
U Connecticut
UC Riverside
Rice
Iowa State
SUNY Albany
Case Western
Boston U
Ohio State
NYU
U Iowa
Penn State
Emory
Brandeis
U Kansas
Rutgers New Brunswick
Tulane
US Air Force Academy
U Missouri Columbia</p>
<p>And here’s the Gourman undergraduate ranking for chemistry–once again Georgetown isn’t on the list</p>
<p>Caltech
UC Berkeley
Harvard
MIT
Columbia
Stanford
Illimois Urbana Champaign
U Chicago
UCLA
Wisconsin Madison
Cornell
Northwestern
Princeton
Yale
Purdue
UNC Chapel Hill
Ohio State
Texas Austin
Iowa State
Indiana Bloomington
UC San Diego
Minnesota
Notre Dame
Penn State
Brown
U Rochester
Carnegie Mellon
U Penn
Rice
Michigan Ann Arbor
U Washington
Colorado Boulder
Texas A&M
USC
U Pittsburgh
U Florida
UC Riverside
dartmouth
UC Santa Barbara
UC Irvine
Johns Hopkins
UC Davis
U Utah
U Oregon
Duke
Michigan State
RPI
UVA
Florida State
Vanderbilt
Case Western
u Iowa
Georgia Tech </p>
<p>There are numerous other examples like this. Obviously, you should make your own choice based on fit, finances etc., but I believe that Penn does tend to have stronger undergraduate departments.</p>
<p>Where did you get that info? Last week or so, a person said he/she “heard” that Brown’s placement rate was 90% too; I looked and found that the actual number is 81%, according to Brown’s website.</p>
<p>I haven’t heard much about the advising at either school… I have heard though that Penn doesn’t offer as much opportunities as Georgetown. I don’t know if that’s true, though.</p>
<p>You may want to double-check (call/email the premed advising). I seriously doubt GT has 90% med school admit rate. It’s a bit strange that a school not known for sciences or medicine would have such high rate. Even schools like WashU/Duke/Northwestern have 80-85%. Another poster just said the tour guide he/she had said it’s 75%. In fact, I vaguely remember I saw some of its data when they were available and they didn’t seem to place anyone into the top med schools. They took out the link that got 2003-2007 placement (there’s a link you can click but nothing is there).</p>
<p>It is very difficult to figure out the acceptance rates for undergraduates applying to medical school as many schools don’t report them. The best I could find from Georgetown was a statement saying “The overall Georgetown rate of acceptance to Medical Schools is very high.” I doubt that its 90%, but I don’t know and I doubt that your student guide knew the exact figure either.</p>
<p>My bottom line is that Penn probably offers a better overall education in the sciences and has volunteering and research opportunities that are at least equal to and probably better than Georgetown. If you were making a decision strictly on academics, you should probably choose Penn.</p>
<p>However, Georgetown is located in a very nice area of DC and Penn is located in a not as nice area of Philly, Georgetown doesn’t have frats and Penn does, Georgetown is a Catholic school, Penn is not and there are other social/geographic and general differences. If you prefer one over the other, you should go to that one.</p>
<p>glasstiger50 - have you posted this request/question on the Georgetown thread? That would be a great way to get some perspective from more Georgetown-acclimated folks… Just a thought! Good luck!!</p>