I really need as much advice as I can get on this. I want to do something in government/diplomacy/international relations. My top two choices now are UPENN (I was accepted to the Philsophy-Politics-Economics program at the College) and Wesleyan.
I’m not sure where to go because I love both schools so much. I especially like the Wesleyan liberal/leftist, highly intellectual approach to everything, but I’m afraid of passing up the chance to attend an Ivy league. Most people tell me I should go to Penn, but I’m not sure…
<p>Going to a second tier Ivy is not as advantageous as you might think. I went to Penn for law school and my advice is, unless you are headed for Wharton, be prepared for a whole lot of HYPMS-rejects complaining about how if they had only scored 50 more points on their SATs, their lives would be completely different. It's really insidious and unlike the mild rivalry Wesleyan enjoys with Brown, the intra-Ivy thing never lets up.</p>
<p>In terms of government and poltical science, you think it would be better at Wesleyan. Where did u do ur undergrad? I'm a city boy and Im worried that If I go to Wesleyan the rural scene mite be a turn off</p>
<p>If you are especially turned on by a leftist/liberal approach to government and poli-sci, Wesleyan is ground zero, very much the obvious choice. When you go to interview for a position in the Hillary administration they will be much more impressed that you went to Wesleyan than Penn.</p>
<p>I would definitely go for Penn edbtz. Hands down. Penn is wayyy better than Weselyan even though Wes is an excellent school, no doubt about that, but still, Penn is Penn and that degree will always look more impressive than Weselyan..my very sincere advice, as I got rejected from there..<em>tear</em>..,but life moves on...</p>
<p>Edbtz - I completely cop to being a Wesleyan alum. But, I think I know both campuses pretty well. As far as Government is concerned, yeah Penn has some interesting experts in the field of urban renewal and criminal justice policy you may want to look into. But, you can't do much better than Wesleyan when it comes to small college faculty. Robert C. Wood, who died yesterday, was a former Sec'y of HUD, President of UMass, and President of the Boston School Board among other things, and he spent the last eight years of his professional career teaching Government at Wesleyan. There are people teaching in that department today with equally impressive credentials.</p>
<p>As for being a city kid, people seem to make the adjustment pretty well. Middletown may look rural, but it's anything but isolated; you're about ten minutes away from I-95, the major N-S hub and from there--New York, Boston, New Haven and Hartford are no more than a few hours away. Not that you'll be spending that much time traveling; like most LACs, a psychological bubble descends on Wesleyan almost from the moment you arrive on campus; just about everything you experience from that point on will be more interesting simply because you are doing it among some of the most interesting young people in the country.</p>
<p>Let's face it, Penn and Wes both have name recognition problems, so that shouldn't be the determining factor here. You can always go to an Ivy graduate school (in fact, if you go to Wesleyan it is highly likely you will); unfortunately, it's much harder to get into an LAC after you've gotten your bachelors at an Ivy.</p>
<p>Thanks a lot, johnwesley. I am so caught between the two right now, that I'm not sure what to do. At the end of the month, I hope to see both campuses and check everything out and then make a final decision. A lot of people close to me (i.e. family, friends, teachers) hear of this, and i think because of the reason that they don't know Wesleyan, they just assume I would end up goin to Penn...</p>
<p>I am a parent of a ED1 student at Wes. I love reading JohnWesley replies because they are so pro Wesleyan.. My first thought was to go to Penn.. after all ivy is ivy.. but then again it's really about fit too. I would suggest you visit Wes if possible during Wesfest and speak to professors in the area your are interested in, I would also talk to students. I've found the campus to be extremely friendly with bright well spoken students. I would also advise to visit Penn, and do the samething. Try and take the Ivy out of the equation and be true to yourself where you would most happy. The next 4 years will not only be about studying but about growing up and becoming a better person. You must see which does that for you. Only you can determine what feels right.</p>
<p>In my last post I stated, that Wesleyan "is about ten minutes away from I-95". That's not true. I should have said, I-91. Interstate 95 splits off around New Haven and heads further East towards R.I. Ninety-one will take you further North and once you reach Exit 18, you're about ten minutes away; just follow the signs to M'town.</p>