I was accepted to UPenn, Williams, Middlebury and a few more, and am having a hard time deciding.
All of them are of course, very good schools with a strong academic foundation and learning environment, but I have specific qualities I am looking for in college!
Hope any of you can help me decide
I am interested in Chemistry/Biochemistry/Chemical Engineering, so a school with a well-funded STEM curriculum would be great.
I am looking for a school that offers great freedom in terms of studying: a wide variety of courses and flexibility in major choices.
Academic stress isn't really a big deal for me-- but I just want to know how rigorous each courses are at each college!
As an international student, I am not too familiar with Greek life. How important is Greek life to students at each college, and can international students also be part of a fraternity?
This post got pretty long, but I would really appreciate it if you could help!
@macaronii Congrats on all the great college acceptances.
In terms of actual departmental strength in biochem/biology/chemical engineering/bionengineering there are not any real differences, esp at the undergrad level. One thing in favor of Penn is that it has one of the best medical schools and hospitals right on campus and there are many research opportunities offered through them which are available to undergrads.
In terms of overall funding/resources Penn is a richer school than Cornell and Williams on a total endowment basis. On a per student basis Willliams is the richest (much fewer students), followed by Penn and then Cornel. However Williams, being a LAC, does not have the research capabilities, grad schools, prominent faculty of a top research university.
Penn has a very flexible curriculum and it is rather easy to change majors, double major etc. Penn is known for its focus on interdisciplinary education and it very much encourages that amongst its students. As an undergrad at Penn you can take classes in almost any undergrad and grad school of the university and the variety of classes offered is huge.
All three schools are very rigorous. Don't think that because Williams is a LAC it is going to be more chill. In terms of grade deflation, Cornell and Williams are a bit tougher than Penn (tougher to get a high GPA), but Penn has no easy grading either, you will have to work very hard.
Greek life is prominent at both Penn and Cornell. I can speak for Penn specifically. While Greek life is prominent is far from dominant, most people are not part of frats and their social life does not revolve around frats. Being practically in the city there so many things to do. At the same time Penn has a distinct campus so you get both the offerings of the city and a cohesive famous atmosphere.
I feel you should think about fit quite a bit. Williams is a LAC while the other two are major research universities. What kind of environment do you want for you college experience?
For the Penn vs Cornell choice, most people choose Penn, but again fit plays a major role in this decision as well.
