<p>I can't choose between Cornell and Penn. I mean ive looked at everything and for me their both tied, so as a tie breaker i think im going to go to the one with a better social life. I wanna know which school has hotter girls, better parties, and is overall more "fun". Don't get me wrong i know im going to be working my ass off where ever i go, but im a work hard, play hard type of person. So which one, Penn or Cornell?</p>
<p>I heard that Penn is a very social school but so is Cornell. Cornell has one of the largest Greek scenes in all U.S. colleges. I would be surprised if there is any school that is more social than Cornell in the Ivies, except I don't known in detail how social Penn is. If you decide to go to Cornell, I can guarantee that you won't be disappointed with the social life here as long as you are outgoing and willing to meet new friends. I, unfortunately, haven't thought too highly of the ladies here in regards to their attractiveness. But, I highly doubt that Penn is any better than Cornell in that regard.</p>
<p>I think in all those aspects, especially girl wise, they'll be tied.<br>
BUT
Penn is a lot closer to a lot more schools. That opens up the social scene quite a bit as well as the massive city to explore.</p>
<p>I created a thread last year talking about top schools and their social life and how they ranked. U Penn pretty consistently outranked Cornell according to those who posted a ranking. Here is that thread and maybe this will help you sort it out a little. </p>
<p>hawkette:</p>
<p>out of curiosity, how did u come up with that list? I am a bit surpised that Cornell isn't near top 5 on your list. I do agree that Vanderbilt is #1 and Duke and NU being top 5.</p>
<p>patlees,
I wrote a lot in that thread, including the following which describes how I came up with my "ranking" </p>
<p>"I'm flattered that you think that there is some kind of method to the madness of my rankings above, but I must admit that this is pretty much a total guess. While I do have some feel for the social life of many of these schools, more than a few of my rankings reflect the opinions of others. Probably most important is that a good social life means different things to different people. This ranking is just my opinion and nothing more and I'm sure others will differ (as they have above). </p>
<p>If you are asking about my personal preferences, I listed in the OP the ten factors that I consider important.
(1) The students are the personality of a school and I think it is essential that students be in an environment with others that they respect, they can learn from, and that actually enjoy being with.
(2) I am a music fan and this is often of interest to students so I included that.
(3) On the issue of major sports programs, which you asked about, I think that these activities can have a very strong positive impact on a school environment and the overall student experience. If you have ever attended any of the following-PAC 10 football game at Stanford or Big 10 game at Northwestern, ACC basketball game at Duke, SEC baseball game at Vanderbilt or any game at Rice-then you understand how different that is from attending almost any Ivy League football or basketball game (U Penn basketball might be an exception but still nowhere near the level of intensity you'd find at Duke, Stanford, Vanderbilt, Northwestern).
(4,5,10) The Greek life is bit more controversial as lots of folks love it and others loathe it. Same is somewhat true with the overall "party" scene, but generally I think that going to school in a universe of socially outgoing students is preferable. Having said that, I’m NOT a fan of huge alcohol abuse and the drug scene scares me.
(6) Size, diversity and cohesiveness are increasingly important in today's multicultural college environments and I think it is desirable that students should mix with other ethnic groups or students from backgrounds with which they are not familiar. And not only mix, but actually work with regularly and constructively.
(7) I'm a big fan of good weather and probably so are others and this does affect what types of social activities take place on a college campus (and when). Stanford's weather is truly magnificent while it's not too shabby either at Emory, Duke, Vanderbilt, or Rice.
(8) I also am a lover of the arts so I like being close to cities that have some cultural attractions, eg, symphony, art museum, visiting exhibitions or artists, etc.
(9) Finally, I think a school should have a ton of student activities that appeal to and involve a broad cross-section of students. There should be something for everyone so that students don't isolate themselves and spend all of their time in the library or in front of their computer. The best learning at college often comes outside of the classroom."</p>
<p>hawkette: </p>
<p>a well-thought out list. However, I see that you have a bit of bias in favoring schools that are encompassed in urban setting, since you are a fan of the cultrual opportunities that the cities would provide you. This one is a tricky one for the students to consider since schools in rural areas have students that don't go out to the cities, but instead everyone stays on campus and the social bond, as a result, is very strong. I heard from my friend that Emory's social life, not in terms of the cultrual opportunities that Atlanta offers to the students, but in terms of how "social" students are with each other on campus, isn't very good. Same thing could be said of Columbia, which is in NYC. I also heard that NYU, surprisingly, isn't very social since many students do their own things for fun in the city, not as a group. Obviously, it may also depend on the city in which the schools are located at that may make a difference, but in the case of Penn, Philly isn't really anything for the college kids to get excited about.</p>
<p>Well, that's not entirely true as I ranked Notre Dame in my top ten. But among the USNWR Top 20, only ND, Dartmouth and Cornell are in locations that could be considered rural. Every other school is either in a city, on the edge of a city or in a setting that may not be urban, but still is pretty heavily populated. I don't think anyone would think that South Bend, Hanover, or Ithaca are densely populated or have a great music scene or are close to great arts & entertainment venues.</p>
<p>hawkette, I get the impression that most college kids define good social life as how "social" student body is in general more so than going out to a city and hanging around museums or art festivals. Of course, I respect that people have appreciation for these cultural activities and opportunities among cities, as I myself am fond of going to those type of places. But, I think that typcial college kids would care more about parties, greek life, how intimate the social groups are, the school spirit, athletics, dating scene, and others.</p>
<p>I would say Penn has a more active social life, but it lacks some of the "warm and fuzzy" spirit that goes along with going to a school in rural new england like Cornell. My experience with Cornell is that a small percentage of the student body goes out, but those that do have a good time.</p>
<p>I'd say Cornell. It has such great vibe, and I adore Ithaca. It's just the coolest place ever.</p>
<p>
Think again:</p>
<p>Penn</a> Admissions: Philadelphia: Penn's Urban Advantage</p>
<p>Philly has one of the largest student populations in the country, with over 300,000 students attending over 90 colleges and universities. Plus, the city has some of the greatest museums in the country, world-class cultural institutions, unparalleled historic sites and neighborhoods, the largest urban park in the world, hundreds of great restaurants (over 200 sidewalk cafes in Center City, alone), a large and exceptionally active college and professional sports scene, and lots of clubs, concerts, and nightlife aimed at those 300,000+ college and grad students.</p>
<p>I'd say they're both about equal. If you're more into city life, go for Penn but if you want a more typical college experience of going to a larger school in a college town, Cornell is perfect.</p>
<p>I don't know if you would include this under social life, but Smoke&Mirror's point is pretty important I think. Throughout the semester I see/visit all my friends who go to schools in Philly, NYC, and New Jersey, whereas I only saw Cornell friends over winter break.</p>
<p>Otherwise your social life is ultimately what you make of it, but there is definitely a very active social scene here at Penn.</p>
<p>U Penn is better.</p>
<p>Penn is more ruckus filled than Cornell.</p>
<p>Penn is more known for being the "social" Ivy.</p>
<p>bump (10char)</p>