UPenn vs Columbia Engineering?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hey guys,</p>

<p>If you don't wanna read this long background just check out the questions i posted at the end. Thanks in advance!</p>

<p>So i'm having a hard time deciding which school to apply ED. For EA, i'm applying to MIT and U of Mich (and most likely CalTech, i'm not sure yet). Because MIT is my dream school and i don't really have a high change of getting in, i was planning to ED somewhere, and it came down between UPenn and Columbia. </p>

<p>Yes, I know both schools aren't known for the engineering program, and that i would have a better match with Cornell and whatnot. But I'm just not hooked to Cornell, it's a wonderful school but i would rather apply to UPenn or Columbia. And other prestigious school's have a SCEA. </p>

<p>But there's a slight problem.</p>

<p>Although both engineering programs are similar, I think Columbia has a slight edge. So if i was purely going for an engineering program, i would apply ED to Columbia. But i'm really interested in the Jerome Fisher (M&T) program at UPenn, which is extremely difficult to get into (50 students per year). </p>

<p>So basically, in the order of my preference Jerome Fisher>Columbia Engineering>UPenn Engineering. That is, let's say if i got into all 3, i would enter the Jerome Fisher program right away. I'll have to give up either Jerome Fisher or Columbia, and i don't know which one to. </p>

<p>So I guess the questions are....</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Columbia vs UPenn: only looking at engineering</p></li>
<li><p>Jerome Fisher vs Columbia: which one to ED? I'm strong math/sceince wise, not so much business wise however (no DECA or those clubs, i just took AP Micro and Macro and got a 5 on both). </p></li>
</ol>

2

<p>Do not apply ED to a school that is not your first choice.</p>

<p>What if you get in ED to that school and get in EA to your actual first choice (MIT) but are now required to attend the ED school?</p>

3

<p>I love Columbia University as a whole but UPenn Engineering is stronger than Columbia Fu. Particularly, Penn has great Chemical Engineering and Materials Science. UPenn Engineering is No. 2 or No. 3 in the Ivy League, after Cornell.</p>

4

<p>@ucbalumnus‌ haha yea i already thought about that, those 2 schools i wont mind going to even if i do happen to get accepted to MIT. I know MIT is exceptionally better but as of now MIT is just a dream.
@LakeWashington‌ oh really? i actually thought Fu was a better overall choice, cuz Penn’s engineering school hasn’t been around that much or something. </p>

5

<p>Probably depends on the engineering discipline; but Ch-E and MatSci are great at UPenn.</p>

6

<p>@‌ LakeWashington
D was accepted to Columbia, and Penn for Engineering (CS) this year. Really, I do not think that you can pick a bad one. </p>

<p>She spent time at all of them, and in the end, she chose Penn, but you really need to make that decision for yourself. Visit each one and think about what you want. She did and initial (pre-application) visit, and and admitted student visit to both schools.</p>

<p>She was confident that she would get an excellent education at both places. It really came down to a few details. </p>

<ol>
<li>The Columbia scheduling is very complex and constraining. At the admitted students days for Penn they gave us a typical 4 year schedule for a student in your selected major. She could see that she would have a good level of flexibility to choose some electives that fit her interest.</li>
</ol>

<p>In contrast, Columbia has the Common Core. The courses seem very interesting, but are largely preset. The requirements are so complex that the advisor she met with was unable to produce a similar sample schedule to Penn’s after working on it for an hour. She did say that for a student who does not have AP credits, they would have only 1 open elective in their 4 years at Columbia, and that was assuming only one major and no minor. D was interested in the common core classes, but thought the graduation requirements were too complex and constraining. </p>

<ol>
<li><p>Still Columbia almost carried the day because she was interested in their Operations Research major specializing in Financial Engineering. Then they told her that she could not just choose that major she has to apply separately to get into it after she had been there for a year (I think). They also said that it is very difficult to be admitted.</p></li>
<li><p>She liked the more traditional campus feel of Penn. However for many, Columbia’s location outweighs its small campus.</p></li>
<li><p>At Penn, she liked the opportunity to add a minor in Engineer Entrepreneurship from Wharton. Minors are common at Penn and more rare Columbia. </p></li>
<li><p>She is an athlete and wants to participate in Club swimming, and Columbia only has an old pool that is small and underground. She went to see it and said it was a “dungeon.” Penn has a newer modern pool that is not underground. </p></li>
<li><p>She did not like that Columbia seems to have grade deflation, but only in Engineering, she was told that Engineering grades at Columbia average about 0.5 lower that Columbia College, even though the students coming in have better grades and test scores that their liberal arts peers. I think she said that the average gpa in the college is about 3.4 and the average in engineering is about a 2.9. Certainly Penn will not be easy, but the grading did not seem as disparate in engineering. </p></li>
</ol>

<p>In reality, all of those issues may be completely irrelevant to your interests. For you, Columbia could be better. You really need to visit them and decide what matters to you. :)</p>

7

<p>The other issue is, why are you even considering ED when you are not even clear on which potential ED school you prefer (in addition to neither being your clear first choice)?</p>

8

<p>@Much2learn‌ thank you so much! i really appreciate the answer, it helped a lot. Just a quick question, do you really have to apply to your intended major sophomore year? So there’s a chance that you won’t be able to major in something you want to?
@ucbalumnus‌ well MIT is my dream school, but looking at my stats i have a low chance of getting in. If i just keep MIT as my first choice and give up an opportunity to ED at either Columbia or Penn, which is easier to get into than MIT EA, i feel like i’m wasting an opportunity.
Basically, yes, lets say i got into every school in the world i would chose MIT, but just because MIT is my first choice doesn’t mean i want to give up an opportunity to ED at another school. Even if i do get into MIT and my ED school (whether it be Columbia or Penn) i won’t be that disappointed. </p>