Upenn vs. Princeton

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
1

<p>Hi Guys!
I have recently been accepted to both Upenn and Princeton, and im having a really hard time deciding. I know both are great schools, which is making this extremely difficult! Here are some things about me…</p>

<p>i looove chill/easygoing people who are intelligent but still like to have a good time</p>

<p>i love diversity (I am an african american female, so if anyone could tell me alittle about any discrimination or whatnot that goes on on campus that’d also be great)</p>

<p>I basically want to go someplace laid-back but with stellar academics, a close-knit and warm community, and an active social scene. </p>

<p>Im also alittle concerned about Princeton’s eating clubs, are they really as exclusive as they sound? I’d appreciate anyone’s feedback, thanks again!</p>

2

<p>area of study?
Honestly for most, speaking on a purely academic basis Princeton will trump Penn, especially with it's more undergraduate focus.
On a more social focus... I'm not qualified to speak on that, so I'll leave that to others.</p>

<p>Congrats on the very nice acceptances!</p>

3

<p>eating clubs are sinister. my little brother goes to princeton. He likes it, but he is a straight white male and an innately elitist one at that.</p>

<p>and congratulations.</p>

<p>And "trump" is a rather strong word. Snob-appeal, it may trump, but for academics, it's not clear cut.</p>

<p>For example, my own major (Asia studies) blows at Princeton. I flipped through my brother's course catalogue and they had no Korean studies. Ridiculous.</p>

4

<p>Agreed.... "area of study"
My wording was certainly pretty bad, no it's not necessarily clear cut. However, I think it's fair to say that on average, Princeton tends to be better academically known than UPenn. Just wait and see what she's studying I suppose</p>

5

<p>Speaking from first hand experience of Penn, and stories and rumours of Princeton, Penn has a much more diverse and accepting campus, with a wider array of people.</p>

<p>Penn has a very diverse campus, and one of the things I marvel it is how many different languages I can hear being spoken around me as I walk to class each day.</p>

6

<p>Princeton's Korean department might be small, but the Chinese department is probably one of the best known of the Ivies. Lots of Princeton students major or get certificates in East Asian Studies.</p>

<p>How elitist can the eating clubs be when some two-thirds of the student body is in them? Also, the clubs have their own buildings and parties are often open to all students, which I find is socially less awkward than at schools where parties are mainly held in dorms (e.g. what if I don't know the people who live in the big dorms?).</p>

7

<p>Speaking from first hand experience of Princeton, and what I hear from my friend at Penn, Penn and Princeton are both diverse and accepting and have a wide array of people.</p>

<p>One of my suitemates can speak six languages (from Portuguese to Mandarin Chinese) and I can speak three different dialects of Chinese myself. We have language tables for Swahili and Serbo-Croatian.</p>

<p>Princeton and Penn are both very diverse campuses.</p>

8

<p>Having a good Chinese department isn't hard. Harvard, Columbia, Penn, Yale, and Princeton are all Ivies with stellar Chinese departments.</p>

<p>And I can't speak for other schools but Penn doesn't hold parties in dorms. There are fraternities. (wooo!)</p>

9

<p>WO HUI SHUO ZHONGWEN, NI NEEEEeeeee?!111oneone</p>

<p>Being the only white kid in your Chinese language class is scary as fsckizzle</p>

10

<p>i've been there</p>

11

<p>Ok I know Princeton much better than I know Penn because I live just a few minutes from the former (I chill there with friends, took classes there, go to meetings there, and have friends at the university and stuff), so I'll comment mostly on that.</p>

<p>First, I'm not going to comment on academics because (1) Penn and Princeton are both obviously fantastic institutions, (2) I don't think you specified what you want to major in, and (3) even if you did, your major might change in college.</p>

<p>Second, you definitely won't have a problem finding intelligent people at Princeton (duh), and from what I've seen most people are very easygoing and sociable.</p>

<p>Third, as for diversity... Princeton Township is nowhere near as diverse as Philadelphia. Although, if you go to Princeton, almost everyone you see will be a Princetonian, because the campus is in its own little bubble; Penn, on the other hand, is right in the city. Suburbia in general is a pretty sheltered place to live, but Princeton is practically the epitome of suburbia. Let's just say that, if you ask an admissions officer what people do on weekends, they'll say they can go to Philadelphia or NYC. I've talked to students who go to Princeton, and they hardly ever go that far because the commute is annoying. Sure, the campus has a ton of events and activities, but that's all you're going to get; the township won't offer you much/anything. If you actually live IN Philadelphia, on the other hand, downtown Philly is just a few minutes away. I have to admit, though, that Princeton is incredibly safe. I mean, I don't know much about safety at Penn, but since absolutely NOTHING happens in Princeton it's a really safe place. I would feel comfortable walking there late at night - both on campus and down Nassau. Still, the township is pretty elitist and WASPy. All I see when I walk down Nassau is old white people. I assure you, the university is more diverse than the township. But the stereotypes of Princeton students (preppiness and elitism) are truer than most Princetonians will admit. Especially the preppiness.</p>

<p>Nonetheless, if a close-knit and warm community is extremely important to you, then Princeton is definitely a great school for that. But that means you'll have to sacrifice the connection with the outside world that you'll get at a school in a city.</p>

<p>Oh and I know Princeton Review says Philly and NYC are 45 minutes away, but they're not. They're almost an hour and a half away. To get to NYC you take the Dinky to the Princeton Junction train station, switch to the Northeast Corridor line which takes you to NYC. To get to Philly you take the Dinky to the Princeton Junction train station, then switch to the Northeast Corridor line which takes you to Trenton, then switch to the SEPTA which takes you into Philly. It's not as quick, or as cheap, as they make it sound.</p>

12

<p>Tsktsk, na ni yinggai sha niziji. It's simply too crazy after a certain point, however fun it may be</p>

13

<p>As someone who basically spent freshman year at Princeton due to having a girlfriend there:</p>

<p>theoneo is right that the people are smart -- that's a given. If you want to master a subject, Penn and Princeton will both get you there. The people are nice at both but I like the people at Penn better. There's a lot less pretension and more diversity. Being in the city helps this sort of flow as well. Princeton's too secluded and incestuous for my tastes.</p>

<p>People at Pton do not travel that much -- getting from Penn to Princeton by train (costs maybe 25 bucks round trip) takes an hour and a half, and maybe an extra hour to get to NYC. Princeton is also totally WASPy, I don't care who says otherwise -- I've seen it firsthand.</p>

<p>Close-knit communities are present at Penn too, and so are big open social scenes at Princeton. They're both really fine options, but the stereotypes about Princeton are pretty much true. The Penn stereotypes I find to be a little misguided (most Whartonites actually help each other and aren't as cutthroat as they are made out to be).</p>

<p>Also, who wants to spent 45k for a year where you will be forced to spend it writing a huge senior thesis at Princeton?! That's right, nobody. At least at Penn you can wiggle your way out of that little cluster.</p>

14

<p>Also, just to preemptively answer this because I KNOW someone's gonna ask it:</p>

<p>But this idea of Princeton being a huge undergrad focus... sure, it's true. But that doesn't mean Penn doesn't offer that either. I never understood why this notion is such a huge selling point for Princeton because you find that at other schools as well. The "fact" that Princeton offers this focus exclusively is totally a myth.</p>

15

<p>if you want to do anything Business related.
Wharton "trumps" Princeton handsdown</p>