<p>OP, you have three excellent options. If possibile, visit the ones one more time where you won’t graduate with debt and then go with your gut. You have NO bad choices here. Congratulations.</p>
<p>It would be a mistake to turn down Penn IMHO-it’s the stronger school academically with the stronger student body and the better job opportunities for a liberal arts major.</p>
<p>You can major in any subject at Penn and still get a good job afterwards-the same can’t be said for UVA if you’re not in McIntire.</p>
<p>I’m going to reverse sides here and now go with UVA because it’s free and it’s your dream school. Why spend a quarter million undergrad when you can go to your dream school for free? </p>
<p>That silence you almost hear is the sound of no one having a response to the logic of that, except for ennisthemenace.</p>
<p>I have no horse in this race. </p>
<p>“Penn is going to cover everything except $1,200 per year, but about $3,500 is work-study.”</p>
<p>I would go with Penn (the “One University” concept offers more opportunities academically for a liberal arts major; greater employment opportunities after graduation; “Social Ivy”). However, if the OP is more comfortable at UVA, then UVA.</p>
<p>jkeil: for once we disagree… UVA and Penn are both free, except OP would have to work at Penn, which I think is actually a plus (it takes away some time, but you gain a lot if you select your work study well, and at worst as long as you have a “paid to study” job, you learn how to manage your time more quickly than freshmen who don’t, as long as the job isn’t more than 10h/week.)</p>
<p>OP: you get to visit another area of the country and live in an awesome city, for free, for 4 years. 
it’ll be easy to return to Virginia, but the reverse (living in Philadelphia for free) won’t happen again.</p>
<p>It doesn’t sound like the OP is from the Charlottesville area (but could be wrong) so even going away to UVa could be living in another area. Lots of the kids at Penn may very well be from no further away from home than many of the kids are from Virginia that go to UVa. Virginia is a big state and many kids grew up 3, 4, or 5 hours away from Charlottesville. The OP certainly could live in Philadelphia or any other area of the country she chooses in the future. There is nothing to prevent that. She has her whole life ahead of her . Good luck with the decision, VAgirl. All good schools . You can’t go wrong with any of your choices so go with what feels best. </p>
<p>Congratulations! If you love UVA and it’s free, that’s a great choice for you. I do suggest that, if at all possible, you visit UVA and Penn or Brown. See how you feel at the different colleges, meet some of your potential classmates. This will help you from having future questions or regrets about your decision and also help you sense which school is the best fit for you. My son had a similar decision dilemma, visited an Ivy and a couple of really good small liberal arts colleges. At the accepted students days it became clear to him that one of the small liberal arts college was the better match for him. He’s remains happy with his decision. UVA, Penn and Brown are all excellent schools, you must be a talented student with great potential, pick the school where it feels right to you.</p>
<p>How did I miss this?</p>
<p>“frazzled1, my financial aid package from Penn is significantly better than UVA. UVA’s covers everything, but $9,000 per year is loans. Penn is going to cover everything except $1,200 per year, but about $3,500 is work-study. I haven’t received my offer from Brown yet. There are a lot of regional scholarships I’m applying for in hopes of covering $9,000 or $4,700 per year.”</p>
<p>So even with the full ride from UCVA, now it looks like they’re roughly even in cost. I now will reverse myself again and go with Penn for the reasons I stated first (and because MYOS is usually a lot less confused than I am). </p>
<p>“Brown, Penn and UVa are peers.” - this may be true for certain companies and industries, but in others an Ivy League degree - including UPenn and Brown - will clearly increase your options.</p>
<p>This needs to be the OP’s decision based on fit. You may like Penn more but the OP may or may not. I was just on Penn’s campus last month for a basketball game (not really that well attended). Nice campus and I like Philadelphia but personally would prefer Charlottesville and UVa’s beautiful grounds and bigtime sports if I were choosing a college for myself. . But that would be my preference. Again, VAgirl, try to visit again and go with what feels best. Don’t let prestige and rankings muddle things as they are all good schools. You can’t go wrong with any of them. Good luck with this difficult decision. </p>
<p>Penn basketball has been down for several years now and the interest has waned. When Penn’s team is doing well (as it had historically), the Palestra is filled and there are few better places in the country to watch a game.
<a href=“Lots of memories hidden all over the Palestra - ESPN”>http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/10298258/lots-memories-hidden-all-palestra</a>
<a href=“http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/at-the-palestra-one-thing-is-clear-theres-nothing-like-playing-in-this-place/2014/01/22/d66c4694-8374-11e3-9dd4-e7278db80d86_story.html”>http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/at-the-palestra-one-thing-is-clear-theres-nothing-like-playing-in-this-place/2014/01/22/d66c4694-8374-11e3-9dd4-e7278db80d86_story.html</a></p>
<p>Virginia’s basketball program is way up (ACC Champs!; #1 Seed in NCAA tournament).</p>
<p>As far as football is concerned, Ivy League football isn’t big time anymore. Franklin Field was built when it was (holds about 60,000) and it looks empty even if there are 10,000-20,000 in attendance. A decent team for the Ivy League, toast throwing and the toast zamboni pull in that much. It fills up for the Penn Relays.</p>
<p>The Palestra was cool! </p>
<p>The Palestra experience is still cool.</p>
<p>We did enjoy the basketball game there. My nephew plays for one of the other 7 schools so we were there to support him. Penn does have a nice campus.</p>
<p>Here is a link to the 2013 career placement survey for Penn’s College of Arts and Sciences: <a href=“http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/files/2013CASFinalReport.pdf”>http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/files/2013CASFinalReport.pdf</a></p>
<p>Lots of information broken out by major.</p>
<p>^ And just for the sake of completeness, here are both the Career Plan Survey Reports and the Summer Internship Survey Reports for Penn’s College of Arts and Sciences, going back several years:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/reports.php”>http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/reports.php</a></p>
<p>OP, were you invited into UVA’s Echols scholar program? If so, it’ll make the flexibility of course selection comparable to Brown (no Gen Ed distribution requirements). Furthermore, you’ll have priority registration and honors housing. Many students often choose to be a Jeff Scholar, or member of the Echols/Rodman honors programs over higher ranked schools including ivies. I know my daughter did four years ago and had never regretted her decision. She will graduate next month and is already lamenting having to leave. It’s been a very rewarding experience. All three are great schools so you really can’t go wrong. Choose the one where you believe you’ll be happiest. </p>
<p>OP, if you can, try to visit the school’s accepted student days to help you decide. </p>
<p>I would also suggest that if you are close to indifferent, that you take this opportunity to attend a school that is not made up of a high percentage of students from your home state. I think you would learn more from the experience of a move diverse peer group with more students from other states and other countries. </p>
<p>Much2Learn, UVa has plenty of OOS and international students, as well as students from all over a pretty large and diverse state. Many kids are also from the DC area and are well travelled… This kind of statement always is interesting. Most kids want to stay within a couple of hundred miles of their home. Lots of kids that go to Harvard, Yale, Princeton,Brown, Penn,etc. are from the Northeast or Mid Atlantic. The “other states” thing is funny. A kid from Vermont going to school in New Hampshire to Dartmouth is getting more from college because they crossed a state line?</p>
<p>No, but a collegen outside New England, absolutely. A kid from NH should choose UVA over Darmouth for the same reasons it’ll be more enriching to attend Penn for a VA student. It’s easier for a Virginian to return to Virginia after college away, than to pick up from Virginia to go to a city where they’ll have to pay to live in, figure things out on their own, and work.
This is especially important because OP is from a small town and should not be discouraged from travelling out of state. UVA is a great university but the opportunities that Penn will afford a student not from a big city are bigger in terms of personal development.
OP: I come from a small town and going far may seem “too much”, but once you’ve taken the step, it’s invigorating. :)</p>