<p>I seriously don't have a clue which one I want to pick..
On one hand, Penn is an ivy, and pretty prestigious.
However, if I go to Penn, chances are I won't be at the top of my class..
On the other hand, Echols sounds really cool... no course requirements, and chances are I will be more toward the top of the class. Also there are supposed to be special guidance staff for Echols Scholars...</p>
<p>1) In terms of graduate school acceptance and job opportunities, which would you guys recommend?</p>
<p>2) In terms of college experience, which would you guys recommend?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>At UVA and UPenn, graduate school placement and job hiring has more to do with how well the student performs. That is to say, with equal effort at each school, you'd probably fare about the same. I don't know if I'd think about it in terms of being more average at UPenn vs being at the top of the class at UVA. There are very talented people at both schools and top recruiters recruit from both.</p>
<p>In terms of college experience, I'd pick UVA. The experience here is just so well-rounded - from the social life to the wide-ranging extracurricular opportunities to the strong academics. I am an Echols Scholar and, in my opinion, the program pales in comparison to what the University really has to offer. I had the option of applying to Penn in HS and would have been extremely competitive. I visited the campus on my way back from visiting Princeton, but we decided to leave before we even got out of the car. The area around it is a gutter! Needless to say, I didn't apply. I'd consider Penn for graduate school, but as an undergraduate, campuses like those at W&M, Princeton, UVA and Duke seem a little more cohesive and collegial.</p>
<p>Hahaha actually, for more than half my life I lived within walking distance from Penn... I think it's "ghetto" reputation is a bit exaggerated by many, however you are right... the area isn't exactly pristine. Now I live in the suburbs of Philly.</p>
<p>So do you get any special attention as an Echols? Like they say in the letter that there are special staff/guidance people.. is that really true? And how stringent are the course requirements at UVA (aka how much would I be getting out of if I took the Echols).
Thanks, it's really helpful to talk to a current student.</p>
<p>To each his own, I guess. Some people might enjoy that kind of urban environment. I certainly wouldn't.</p>
<p>You don't really get any special attention as an Echols Scholar. That's actually indicative of something I feel is very positive at UVA: professors, older students, graduate students and others are always willing to help you out. I've never had a professor turn me away if I had questions or was seeking guidance. If you seek out mentorship from a professor, whether it's strictly academic or even related to extracurricular pursuits, you can find it. There are always opportunities to get involved.</p>
<p>The course requirements aren't bad at all. Unless you're some sort of aspie who ardently refuses to venture out of the CS department, you'll probably find yourself taking all kinds of courses. My main interests are in economics (my major), math and the natural sciences, but I've taken courses in history, philosophy, musicology, psychology, education and russian. Just taking courses that interested me, I've hit all areas that the distribution requirements would make me hit. It would take a tremendously small-minded, stubborn, lazy and unintelligent person to have trouble meeting their distribution requirements.</p>
<p>Thanks for your comments... I'm staying the night and going to day on the lawn/penn preview day on the 11th and 14th respectively, so hopefully the visits will make the decision much more clear.</p>
<p>Yeah Penn is a city campus and UVA is a small-southern-college-town campus so that would be the big difference. Size wise they're about the same number of students (20k grads+ugrads). I think the atmosphere at UPenn (northern, Ivy) is also different than UVA (state school, southern) so visiting will be the best way to see where you fit in best.</p>