<p>This choice is reallllly difficult. Being from the East Coast, I have a bit of a bias and don't know all that much about how Wash U is perceived in other parts of the country (here it's virtually unknown).</p>
<p>Could anyone offer insight into these two schools?</p>
<p>I'm majoring in biology and hope to attend medical school, by the way.</p>
<p>Star_s - I know I sound like a broken record to those who read this stuff a lot, but please, don’t worry about how it is perceived. First of all, if you stick with your plans to go to med school and are successful in getting in, no one will care where you went undergrad. I can ABSOLUTELY assure you that the admissions commitees of ALL of the med schools know Wash U very well and respect it very highly. Look at the stats of the Wash U student. You think they won’t respect that? Second, the research at Wash U is first rate also. So put that “recognition” factor out of your mind, is my advice. Sure, you will get some strange looks from your East Coast friends when you tell them where you go to school. You can just quietly laugh that you know about an absolute gem that they do not.</p>
<p>I hope you have had a chance to visit Wash U. Given what I said above, the real question is where do you feel more comfortable? I can sure tell you that Wash U is a much nicer campus in a much nicer part of St. Louis area relative to Penn and Philadelphia. Other than that, just try and decide which is a better fit for you. If you don’t think you can get past the nameplate issue (although I am sure you would), then choose Penn. They are both great schools with extremely high level peers, but Wash U is more midwest in character. I think that is a good thing, but it drives some East Coasters crazy, lol. Only you can cdecide that. But please, make it about what suits you best, not what others think or even recognize.</p>
<p>I currently go to Penn.</p>
<p>Wash U was my #1 choice in HS. I was waitlisted, and didn’t apply Early Decision. i should have, in retrospect… but I didn’t realize how much I wanted to go to Wash U until I was on the waitlist and got accepted at other schools. Some of my family also went to Wash U, so I feel like I know it pretty well. </p>
<p>I do like Penn a lot, but know that I would have been much happier at Wash U. I’m not so unhappy where I want to transfer from Penn, and know that Penn is a good school and I’m enjoying it enough. It feels really big at times with so many undergrads, Philly isn’t what I thought it was, and the campus has an odd mixture of being really nice and really dingy. I’ve found a nice group of close friends, but so many of the “general” Penn students are too uppity. But, I guess you’ll get that at most Ivies… and Penn probably has it to a lesser degree than some of the other Ivies (except Brown perhaps). Yet, that elitist/yuppie feeling just pervades campus too much at times. I think it’s the large size of the student body I like least, though. </p>
<p>Sometimes, I really wish I was at Wash U. I’ve been happy here, but there’s always that “What If” that goes through my mind from time to time. Wash U 100% matched what I wanted in a college, whereas Penn matched about 80% of my preferences. Not bad, but it’s no Wash U. I don’t see how anyone could not like Wash U. </p>
<p>I’m only one person, but take it for what it’s worth.</p>
<p>star_s: I don’t know what you mean about Wash U being virtually unknown on the east coast. I go to school on the east coast, and a large portion of my friends applied to Wash U (and they live on the East Coast). From what I gather, Wash U has near equal representation from the Midwest and East coast. Wash U may not have the same “cachet” in the general public as Ivy League, but for anyone that matters in life, Wash U is very highly regarded.</p>
<p>for what it’s worth - my D’s roommate’s boyfriend is transferring from Penn to WUSTL next year. Probably to be closer to her but it still says something…</p>
<p>unfortunately, WashU is very unknown in my town as well… for some reason, a few of the surrounding towns know it really well. Actually, I am relatively sure of the reason: my town is probably 95% Christian, whereas the others have a strong percentage of Jewish students. I’m positive that’s not the only reason, but it plays a part considering the Jewish numbers at Wash (I am as well, just to clarify). Plus the name and recognition gets passed on through the grades. People in my town hear state schools (not that there aren’t a few great state schools) and go, “Oh wow! Excellent job!” and WashU gets a blank stare. Whatever haha. I completely agree with fallenchemist: “You can just quietly laugh that you know about an absolute gem that they do not.” However, pretty much half my grade knows about WashU now though because of me raving about it 
I honestly expect applications to WashU to jump in my school a little next year haha.</p>
<p>Way to go, newprov!!!</p>