Which school is more up and coming? Penn or Columbia?

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I would go for which school has the better living environment and program for you. The reputations for both are damn good, so you really need to start considering other factors.

Reply 21

TimeDivided09

Bmoody

I would go for which school has the better living environment and program for you. The reputations for both are damn good, so you really need to start considering other factors.

Well I am looking for more international reputation.

Both programs I am applying to are about equal and both schools are in a major urban areas. There is nothing to compare except overall academic reputation.

Reply 22

wordartist

If you are female, then Penn might be a lot scarier than Columbia - regardless of the level of academics.

I know someone whose husband used to be an assistant professor there before they moved to Maryland. She would barely drive into the neighborhood and said that she would never, ever let her girls go there.

Another friend I know pretty well often visited relations there. She said that you had to be careful to lock your doors while driving, because you could be robbed at a stoplight. She also noted that many girls disappeared from around the campus and then showed up dead in a dumpster later. Penn does not really publicize these incidents, as I, living on the West Coast, really had never heard that Penn was a dangerous place.

I can't say how safe an area Columbia is in, but you might want to look into the concept. Personally I figure that if I am killed or damaged at whatever school I go to, it doesn't really matter how great it was. Go to the best school you can without sacrificing safety.

This being said, if you're a guy, the problems might not be as big. I'm not sure, since I've never personally lived there. I've just heard this coming from several different locations from firsthand experience.

Reply 23

katsika

As an American, I'll tell you that in the US, neither is considered better. They are both ivies. They are both amazingly difficult to get into and I don't think a degree from Columbia, here at least, would be better than one from UPenn.

I would consider the campuses -- Columbia is in New York but it's got an isolated campus, whereas UPenn is more in the heart of things and, though everything is in the same place, anyone can go walking through the campus at any time.

Also, do you know about Columbia's core curriculum? You're expected to obtain credits in all subject areas, including, I think, physical education. At UPenn I expect you can get out of certain classes if they don't have anything to do with your major.

Columbia also strikes me as being more political-activisty and liberal (Ahmedinejad getting booed when he spoke there, for example). Penn strikes me as more business/engineering. These are all sweeping generalizations though based off the feelings I got when I visited Penn, and what my friend's told me about Columbia (he's headed there next year).

Reply 24

HarryUS

Columbia is certainly the better option in terms of reputation, academic and otherwise, resources, and location.

The core/p.e. requirements at Columbia are quite distinct for the school of engineering, but the breadth of offerings there is so fantastic, and really must be a huge draw.

Beyond that, I was in Morningside heights last week and if I take it from your approach to this topic that you're sufficiently academically curious and ambitious that that element will take care of itself, other factors can play into the decision. The students seemd phenomenally friendly, bright and genuinely happy to be there, which was very important to me when I was choosing a university in the States.

It's worth elaborating on the "isolated" nature of the campus, too. Its a healthy balance, as the campus has enough of it's own section of New York to be accessible, manageable and welcoming, but is at the same time part and parcel of the City's life, which I think is brilliant. It can be everything or nothing to the student.

All in all, I was impressed and I would go to Columbia in a heartbeat.