If your parents have the money and are willing to pay for Penn and you manage to get in, I don’t see why you shouldn’t apply there.
If you don’t get into Penn, apply to NYU.
As for grad school, I agree there won’t be a difference - the difference isn’t in outcome, but in experience. Living outside one’s familiar surroundings, discovering another city, gaining independence, is worth a lot if you can afford it.
Any PHD program worth attending will be funded, by the way. If you’re talking about law school or med school, then it’s different.
You should apply and go where you believe you will be happiest. I think a lot of people either overstate or understate what going to an Ivy means. Getting a degree from an Ivy doesn’t automatically get you a job or entrance to grad school. In fact, time and again studies have shown that if you are a dedicated student who is capable of earning acceptance to an Ivy, the college to which you choose to matriculate will not have a huge impact on whether or not you are successful.
At the same time, there will be differences. Attending an Ivy+ could have an impact on whether or not you’re invited to the interview or given the salary you want. Some companies only recruit at Ivies which means they’re the only campuses on which you can have access to certain opportunities. If you compare the post graduate outcomes surveys of ivies and non-ivies, the Ivy grads have higher average starting salaries even in the same industries and they have higher percentages of their classes taking high-paying jobs or very prestigious lower-paying jobs. The ivies also send larger numbers and percentages of their graduating classes to the best graduate schools (many of which are already on Ivy campuses). This means that career services has experience connecting students to these grad programs and that you will have upperclassmen mentors who are easily accessible and capable of sharing valuable knowledge about the processes involved from a student perspective. Will the differences between a school like NYU and an ivy be so large as to create insurmountable obstacles for NYU grads in attaining similar success? Nope, probably not. But the differences do exist and in some instances the greater resources at an ivy in terms of classes, professors, campus life, networking, job placement, and more will make a difference that really does matter at the end of the day for some students.
Another post-grad difference you might find is simply social. The Ivies are more than members of an athletic conference, they’re a network. On linkedin you can join “Ivy Only” professional groups where jobs are posted and announcements about opportunities are made. The young Ivy alum groups and random organizations alike host parties for recent ivy grads to socialize (example: http://allivyrooftop.splashthat.com/). While you can frequently bring your non-ivy friends, those friends may not otherwise be aware that these events are happening because they aren’t necessarily part of the network. The Ivy alumni clubs also host events exclusively with one another like wine tastings, lectures, and more at which only Ivy grads are permitted to attend. I was shocked by how many opportunities for Ivy grads to mingle, network, and socialize existed once I graduated but I was grateful for the way it expanded my social and professional network.
At the end of the day, going where you will be happiest and most fulfilled will be most conducive to your personal success. There are indeed differences beyond what I’ve just mentioned between ivies+ and non-ivies but if you feel you’d fit in better elsewhere, no amount of resources or prestige is worth sacrificing your personal happiness and well-being. That being said, you seem to want to go to Penn so I’d suggest applying early and seeing where the chips fall.
good luck!
Thank you so much for all the responses so far! @mamaedefamilia Thank you for your input; it’s really helped me see from another perspective. I appreciate you taking the time to help me see the value of NYU! @ucbalumnus Yes, the schools I’m looking for are all pretty good at my possible intended majors (the range is pretty wide though among humanities/social sciences). @MYOS1634 My parents want me to go to med school, which is expensive. I may or may not get to med school though. (I’m looking into psychiatry but I don’t know if becoming a doctor is the life path for me!)
Personally, with NYU being so affordable and such a great school-the only way I’d go to another school is if it were ranked similarly and cheaper or an Ivy.
Now that it’s late November, I wanted to bump this thread! I have applied ED to Penn and EA to UChicago as my early schools, and crossing my fingers for an acceptance.
However, in the (likely) chance I don’t get into Penn, I am faced with a problem. Should I apply ED2 to NYU just to be sure that I’ll get in? I think my stats are high enough to get in Regular Decision (I have my stats posted in some threads if you search me), but I’m afraid of the slim chance I won’t get in. But then again, I am tempted to just apply RD to NYU so I can have some other options…