URGENT: Penn vs. Princeton

As a former BFS scholar at Penn (to get my bias out of the way), I think the real issue here is not prestige or ranking or any of that. These are two incredibly different schools! Penn has city streets running right through campus, with the subway underneath - Princeton is in one of the wealthiest suburbs in the country and has a fence around it. Penn has a few islands of green space but is largely paved, while Princeton has grass, trees, etc. all over. Penn is very social, but some of the energy gets drawn off by the surrounding attractions, while Princeton has less to do but a tighter knit community because of it. And there are many more. These schools arenā€™t quite polar opposites, but they are close. If they werenā€™t in the same athletic league, they would rarely be grouped together.
Too bad you canā€™t go sit on each campus for an hour during a school day, If you could I think you would immediately know which one feels like home. Congrats on two great options, though.

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And at Princeton you can stand in front of the house where Einstein once lived and feel smarter just by soaking up the good karma. :sunglasses:

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When my son was considering colleges a few years ago, Princetonā€™s grade deflation policy had just ended, but the negative stigma still existed.

As a recruited athlete, he had LL offers from most of the Ivys and we took the Amtrak Northeast Corridor train to visit all the schools before making our decision, starting from the north at Harvard, seeing Yale and Princeton and ending at Penn.

My son really liked Princeton but was very concerned about the grade deflation. When we were on the Penn campus, I took my son to the Wharton MBA admissions office (where I am an alum) and I asked to speak to an admissions officer. An officer was kind to meet with us and we asked if Princetonā€™s grade deflation hurt their undergraduates chances of being admitted to Wharton at the MBA level.

Her answer still reasonates with me. ā€œWe are very aware of Princetonā€™s (and all the top schools) grading policies and take it all into consideration in our admissions process. Generally speaking a 3.4 at Princeton is equivalent to a 3.7 at Harvard, and depending on the major, it can be lower (than a 3.4). We know Princetonā€.

While business school is not medical school, this answer gave my son the inspiration to chose Princeton, which was the right decision for him. He graduated before the pandemic started and had no trouble finding a job and starting a career in techā€¦As an aside, these days tech careers are so lucrative the opportunity cost of grad school can be too high and he may never applyā€¦

Good luck with your choice. In my opinion you would be crazy not to chose Princeton.

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Both schools are undoubtedly top tier so you canā€™t go wrong with either choice. Though, I believe that Princeton takes the crown with opportunities in the future. In addition, itā€™s cheaper, slightly lol. Though, I think if weā€™re solely comparing prestige, Princeton has consecutively been ranked #1 in the nation these past few years, I think thatā€™s an opportunity you canā€™t decline.

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Though, based off your pros and cons, you seem to be leaning more towards UPenn. Obviously an incredible choice, so I think you should choose what YOU want. I think you will be successful in whatever you choose, two top universities in the world, how can you go wrong?

All I ask is that the OP come back and let us know what the decision is!

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Based on OPā€™s pros and cons, OP appears to be more informed about Penn than about Princeton rather than indicating a meaningful preference for one over the other.

I view OPā€™s pros & cons lists as a request for information, not as a statement of intent.

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Iā€™m not sure you can compare Business School admissions with Med and Law school but Iā€™m not super informed in that area but Iā€™ve been led to believe that Med and Law school admissions is driven more by GPA and MCAT/LSAT score no matter where you attended.

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Well, pros and cons are undoubtedly subjective and it appears that OPā€™s Pros are significantly more favorable for one school than the other.

According to the deadline shared in OPā€™s original post in this thread, the decision has been made.

OMG thank you guys SO SO much for all of your help! I really cannot even put it into words how much I appreciate it! :slight_smile: You guys are literally Godā€™s gift on this planet! Sorry I havenā€™t been able to like/reply as often!

I visited both campuses (Penn and Princeton) yesterday and got back home a bit late. Campus wise, I really enjoyed Pennā€™s since itā€™s in the heart of the city, access to everything, while Princeton is a bit secluded-- but that shouldnā€™t be a driving decision.

From everyone that Iā€™ve spoken to, it seems that Princeton is moreover a ā€œclear-cutā€ winner-- I really love both schools! I realized that there is at least a possibility (though a slim one) to go to Penn after undergrad while the possibility of doing that for Princeton is a bit lower (since Penn has so many grad programs as opposed to Princeton).

Though Iā€™d prefer to be in a city, career wise and such, I feel like Princeton is a smarter decision to make for the long run. When I really thought about it, the only thing really deterring me from Princeton was the location. Location isnā€™t getting me an education. Iā€™m committing to Princeton! :slight_smile: Thanks guys!!

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Congratulations. Youā€™re a Princeton man now!

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Although this may sound a bit corny, Princetonā€™s real location is as much a state of mind as it is a geographical area.

I think that you made a wise decision & showed courage to extend a bit beyond your zone of comfort.

Both Penn & Princeton are world-class learning environmentsā€“so there was no wrong choice to be made, but, still, I am delighted that you made the right choice.

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Thanks!!

Aww thanks so much!! Iā€™m for sure nervous, worried, and scared. But Iā€™m hoping that stepping out of my comfort zone will help me grow as a person and so this seemed like a better decision. Thanks for all of the help tho!! :slight_smile:

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CONGRATULATIONS! :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:

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The prep school that I attended several decades ago sent & still sends many students to the University of Pennsylvania and not many to Princeton.

I know many graduates of both universities. Placing the Wharton School aside, my impression is that those who attended Princeton University had a seemingly unique and highly satisfying experience which yielded a lifetime of benefits.

Yes, we are comparing two Ivies & two of the best undergraduate schools in the world; nevertheless, there is a difference and you are going to enjoy the demands & benefits of that difference.

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Congratulations and welcome! S21 is headed there in the fall too!
Itā€™s also really easy to get to NYC from Princeton, just hop a train and youā€™re there!

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Congrats and smart choice.

My youngest deferred last year and will be joining you in the class of 2025.

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Ooh thatā€™s awesome, thanks! Canā€™t wait to meet him!

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