<p>There are legitimate criticisms of Columbia, but I don’t think Penn is any better. They’re both schools in the city, and neither have the “Ivy” feel of Harvard. But Columbia generally ranks better and offers more opportunities, being in a more prestigious city. Certainly Columbia isn’t Amherst; it’s a big school and you’re bombarded with different opportunities, which means that you have to work in order to get a group of friends and find activities and academics that you’re passionate about. I honestly don’t know what Penn is like (though I’ve heard it has a similarly decentralized social structure), so I can’t comment on that. But I don’t think Penn has more “community” or more of an “Ivy” and “traditional college” feel than Columbia. If anything, Columbia is closer to that than Penn.</p>