UPenn vs. UChicago vs. Brown

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
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<p>So I've been accepted to these 3 schools and I am really confused as to where to go. I am seeking some advice and here's what I know.</p>

<p>UPenn: Cross-Departments or Not?
In Penn, I believe I can take courses outside the school I was accepted, College of Arts and Science. It has a city-campus and Philly is a metropolitan area with easy access to other cities like NYC, Newark, New Haven, Providence, DC, and Baltimore. It also has lot of school spirit and athletics. Out of all of them, it is currently ranked the highest, though correct me if I am wrong, it is mainly because of Wharton.</p>

<p>Brown: Open Curriculum
I get a lot of flexibility in my scheduling, small city, and overall athletic school spirit feel. Of all these 3, I believe it has the strongest undergraduate department?</p>

<p>UChicago: #1 Economics and Core
In Chicago, I get an intense, strict schedule with roughly 1/3 of my courses bound to the core. Chicago is stereotypically tagged as a school where fun comes to die and where students study all day all weeks. Nonetheless, it has #1 Economics, which I intend to pursue and Chicago is my favorite city in America.</p>

<p>So as you can see, I don't know where to go.
My Interests:
I want to study Political Science and Economics. I like cities, but I also want to have the community feel (I think all 3 are fairly even in this respect right?). I like athletics feel, which Chicago is missing, but it's not really a top concern for me. What do you guys think? Are my impressions a little bit wrong of these schools?</p>

<p>Which one has the strongest undergraduate program, criteria being determined by "ranking" and reputation?</p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

2

<p>Regarding Penn:</p>

<p>For several decades, Penn has had what it calls its "One University" Policy. Under that policy, Penn strongly encourages all undergrads to take courses in more than one of the undergraduate schools (College of Arts and Sciences, Wharton, Engineering and Applied Science, and Nursing), as well as in eight of the graduate schools (including the Law School, Annenberg School for Communication, School of Design, School of Social Policy and Practice, Graduate School of Education, etc.). Penn is very serious about this "One University" policy, and views it as a uniquely defining feature that sets Penn apart (similar to how Chicago and Columbia view their cores and Brown views its open curriculum). It really gives undergrads an unparalleled opportunity to pursue a course of study of extraordinary variety, breadth, and depth, far beyond what they could experience in a traditional liberal arts curriculum.</p>

<p>Penn's high ranking is NOT mainly because of Wharton. While Wharton is obviously a major component of Penn, Wharton consists of only about 1850 undergrads out of Penn's total undergraduate population of over 10,000, with the College of Arts and Sciences having about 6400 undergrads, the School of Engineering and Applied Science having about 1600 undergrads, and the School of Nursing having about 500 undergrads. Obviously, based on those numbers alone, Penn's US News ranking in the range of 4-7 every year for the past 11 years could hardly be attributable mainly to Wharton.</p>

<p>Further, many of Penn's liberal arts departments (including Economics) are ranked in the top 10 in the country, and many others are ranked in the top 20. In fact, in the last National Research Council (NRC) ranking of Ph.D. programs, the most respected ranking of its kind, Penn was one of the top 10 schools with the highest number of departments ranked in the top 10. Additionally, in the Top American Research Universities report issued by the Center for Measuring University Performance (based on 9 objective measures), Penn is ranked in the highest tier, tied with Columbia, Harvard, MIT, and Stanford:</p>

<p><a href="http://mup.asu.edu/research2007.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://mup.asu.edu/research2007.pdf&lt;/a> (see page 8)</p>

<p>So as you can see, there is quite a bit more to Penn's outstanding academic reputation and high ranking than Wharton. Nevertheless, as an Economics and/or Political Science major, it could be interesting to also take some classes in the business school with the best undergraduate business program in the world, and with the largest and most published business school faculty in the world. Again, under Penn's "One University" policy, you could easily expand on the traditional Economics/Political Science liberal arts curriculum by taking classes in Wharton, the Law School, the Annenberg School for Communication, the School of Social Policy and Practice, etc. It's an amazing opportunity for an undergrad and is, as I said, unparalleled anywhere else.</p>

<p>And speaking of Penn's city-campus, if you haven't already done so, you really ought to go visit it and hopefully spend a couple of days there. While it is relatively near Center City Philadelphia and all of the amazing cultural, historical, entertainment, dining, and nightlife opportunities it has to offer, the campus is quite lovely with beautiful greens, shaded paths, quiet courtyards, and a unique collection of historic and quirky buildings with a lot of character (lots of gargoyles, "Ivy Stones" placed by every graduating class going back to the early 1870s, etc.). In many parts of the campus, you really can almost forget that you're in the middle of a major city.</p>

<p>Good luck with your decision! You really can't go wrong with any of the three schools.</p>

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<p>I spent my summer in UPenn last year and while it didn't really "charmed" me, I can really picture myself studying at Penn and being a student there. Truth be told, I don't know what I feel about Penn and I don't want to make the mistake of attending it based on rankings... Do rankings really matter for career finding? I mean, is there really much of a difference between saying "I graduated from Penn, Brown, or Chicago"? Or they tend to have the same effect on employers? I know college shouldn't just be about jobs and I really value the gift of academics. But in the end, all these 3 provide fairly the same academics (right?) and jobs always matter.</p>

<p>Thanks for the feedback :)</p>

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<p>Did you get into Wharton or CAS?</p>

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<p>When you were at Penn last summer, did you get to fully explore the campus while you were there? E.g., inside the Quad, Locust Walk, College Green, Perelman Plaza, the University Museum, The Engineering Quad, the Bio Pond, etc.?</p>

<p>Also, I think the Fall and Spring are the nicest seasons on the Penn campus, for what it's worth.</p>

<p>In terms of your general decision, as I said before, you really can't go wrong with any of these three schools--they're all excellent and will equally help you get wherever you want to go. It sounds like you have a pretty good feel for what each one has to offer. Even though you've been to Penn before, I'd recommend that you visit all 3 again (if you're having a hard time making a decision), ask a alot of questions, see which one "feels" the best--i.e., just generally "kick the tires." 4 years is a long at this point in your life, and it's worth spending a few extra days this month to make sure you feel comfortable with where you choose to spend those 4 years. But again, I'm sure you'll be happy and successful at any of the three, so relax and enjoy!</p>

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<p>I got into CAS... and yes I did get the general feel of Penn because I was in there for 6 weeks in a summer program :)... I know I can't go wrong, but it's every single little detail that counts right now :P</p>

<p>I was also wondering, does Penn have a "core" curriculum like Chicago? Or is it more of a blend between Chicago Core and Brown Open?</p>

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<p>Yes, Penn does have a core curriculum. In fact, it is the reason that I'll be graduating with a BA in Chemistry and not a BS in Chemistry. It's not as heavy as, say Columbia's, but it's no lightweight either.</p>

<p>Take a look:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.college.upenn.edu/curriculum/2010/index.php%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.college.upenn.edu/curriculum/2010/index.php&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>small bump</p>

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<p>Some random tangential replies:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Brown has 'athletic school spirit feel'....huh? news to me</p></li>
<li><p>I echo what 45 percenter said about Penn being awesome as a whole</p></li>
<li><p>BIOPOND!!!!</p></li>
<li><p>As an econ/polisci major, Penn's One University policy would be a significant advantage for you, as it would give you access to Wharton and Penn Law classes, both of which have courses that are highly relevant--many College majors at Penn (such as my own IR major) accept wharton and law courses as part of their courselist!</p></li>
<li><p>Penn does NOT have a Core curriculum. A core curriculum is a list of courses that everyone must take. Penn has "distribution requirements" which require you to take a certain amount of courses in math, language, science, history, social studies. </p></li>
</ol>

<p>A Core says "you will take THIS history course"
A distribution requirement says "you will take A history course"</p>

<p>This is for the end result of ensuring everyone has taken classes that might go outside their "comfort zone." Having gone through it, I can say that I'm glad I did. There are courses that I never would have taken if I wasn't forced to (including psychology, art history, molecular biology), and they have expanded my viewpoints.</p>

<ol>
<li>Oh, and pick Penn! :)</li>
</ol>

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<p>Thanks for all the feedback. How about, the overall social-life and mood at Penn? Would you say it's more relaxed and less stress than other top universities? Are parties fun and frequent? Is Penn more relaxed than Brown?</p>

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<p>penn is definitely less stressful than uchicago as a whole, as the proportion of uber intellectual kids is lower because of the business school and also more party kids in general. i have a friend at uchic who confirmed this.</p>

<p>between penn and brown, I think brown is definitely more liberal(more weed), maybe somewhat more intellectual(depends on what kind), then brown should be more relaxed than penn given the kind of student body they attract with the unlimited number of pass fail classes. Brown is in a quieter/more boring city however you want to look at that. once again, it depends on what you want to make of the education. </p>

<p>one quick hypothetical is that a kid at a flagship SUNY school could very easily get a more intense/better education than a lazy Penn kid(and there are many believe me) if they sought out all the rigourous/rewarding opportunities at a solid but not excellent state school. </p>

<p>best thing is that penn is so big that you have the opportunity to find large numbers of people like you, versus, sayk, the mere 1500 collarpopping jock smarties at amherst.</p>

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<p>I'd say it's pretty relaxing except for midterm season...</p>

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<p>brown-very flexible curriculum options fit your needs well-they're committed to this as well. also very good school overall for majors in that area</p>

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<p>“between penn and brown, I think brown is definitely more liberal(more weed)”</p>

<p>Now i’m definitely applying brown ED cuz of the weed</p>

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<p>There’s plenty of bud at every college so if you’re being serious, you might want to reexamine your reason to apply to Brown</p>