Stanford vs. Penn

SusieBra · 05-13-2009, 06:01 PM

I got into Stanford off the wait list too which was weird because I just stayed on for the heck of it and wasn't really that interested. My dream school was Harvard (I was wait listed) because it's urban and it's Harvard but then I fell in love with Penn (CAS).

Well, since I wanted urban, pre-professional and somewhat social, I rejected Brown, Princeton and Wellesley for Penn but there's something about California- even though it's not an urban campus.

I think I'm still going with Penn because fit matters more to me than rank, but am I making a mistake?

maineparent · 05-13-2009, 08:15 PM

Susie,
palo alto is not urban.... Stanford is a beautiful campus..... and it is large, but it is not at all like Penn/Philadelphia....with its access to Wash DC and or NYC....understanding that Stanford would afford you access to San Fran or LA potentially......

I really liked Penn also when we visited....which was twice.....as my son is a track guy.. and Penn is the Penn Relays.... I thought the kids all looked really happy and healthy at Penn and falling in love with it is very understandable.

It seems like most of your schools were East Coast..... except Stanford.... I think you really need to give thought to putting down roots so far from your geographic home base. Do you really want to have most of your lifelong college friends be from the west coast? Do you want to fall in love with someone from CA and deal with the conflict of where to settle? Do you want to experience wonderful year round weather when you might end up living on the east coast the rest of your life.....

You get the drift..... Stanford is a wonderful worm on a hook for you.... think long and hard before you bite...... cause the hook could be sharp...... I do think your mistake was staying on "for the heck of it and wasn't really that interested." Now you have to deal with a choice you may not have wanted.

Good luck....... these are not bad choices.......

SusieBra · 05-14-2009, 01:27 AM

Well I got my financial award and I was amazed. It's by far the best of all of my schools.

Grade INFLATION sounds incredible. How does it work?

One of the reasons that I turned down Princeton was their grade deflation. Penn curves but it won't help you, but it won't hurt you either (unless you're in Wharton, I think)

My hestitations:
-Do you HAVE TO ride a bike on campus? At least the campus is kind of like a city, even though I still don't like rural...
-What about the threat of earth quakes and are wild fires near the campus?

uneverknow · 05-14-2009, 03:44 AM

@Susie- Not everyone rides a bike on campus, and if you're up to it, you might actually like walking. Plus, I'm not sure whether there's an intra-campus shuttle at Stanford.

Wildfires and earthquakes shouldn't be a cause for concern either. The last time the campus was hit by an earthquake (almost a century ago), the University undertook a billion dollar project to reinforce all the old buildings. As for wildfires, they've never been close enough.

But all these aside, I think you should still head off to Penn. you've had your mind to it, and you really can't complain, can you? That, plus, you should go there because your "Heck of it" fling hurts us people dying to get into Stanford... just check out the waitlist threads.

You should still check out all your options, including locations (Which couldn't be more different) and financial aid packages. Just make sure that whatever decision you take is a well-informed and firm one, and not just another impulse

Hippo724 · 05-14-2009, 04:22 PM

If being in an urban upbeat environment is important to you then Stanford is definitely not the way to go. The campus is very, very suburban and is often described as being a bubble. It has a very natural feel to it and so it may even seem a bit rural even though its smack dab in the middle of high tech silicon valley.

SusieBra · 05-14-2009, 09:05 PM

I heard that it's almost like a mimi-city because it even has a police station. But, do you know how the 4 quarter system works? Do you take 16 courses, instead of 8 per year? And do you get a break between each quarter? I don't know if that makes it more or less stressful.

Bescraze · 05-14-2009, 10:33 PM

not many people would turn down Stanford for Penn. Other than the urban piece (and philly kind of sucks anyway) there is little edge that you could give to Penn. Stanford is supposed to be every bit as if not more social, has for the most part superior academics and school spirit and not to mention wonderful weather. Don't get me wrong penn is an awesome school, but I would seriously think about Stanford. Sometimes its good to have a new experience, like being from the east coast and going out west. I am from the east coast and lived there all my life and am excited about the prospect of going to CA.

SusieBra · 05-14-2009, 11:04 PM

Well I could care less about name, so that's not a factor to me.

I love Philly, and would love to go to Penn. I wanted an urban environment but Ca. is an incredible experience as well. I'm from Westchester, NY... But it would cost sooo much to get my stuff to Stanford.

And I'm still worried about understanding the math/science options for non-math/science people as well as understanding what the quarter system is.

Please advise.