Middlebury vs Dartmouth vs Penn

PennCAS2014
Mon, 07 Mar 2016 15:40:43 +0000

Hi there! I hope you get into all three and have the luxury of choosing between them. That being said, if you are looking to combine an engineering degree with components of an outstanding liberal arts education, I genuinely believe Penn would be a great place for you to matriculate. Because Penn has 4, distinct undergraduate schools, each one is robustly funded and supported by individual faculties and administrations within the context of a very well integrated research university. It is thus uniquely positioned to allow you to take advantage of all that an undergraduate education could have to offer. The College of Arts and Sciences (the College) and the School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS) are particularly well integrated as students in each school are permitted to take on a second major in the other school without having to actually be enrolled in both schools. From the school website:

https://www.college.upenn.edu/major-options
“The School of Arts & Sciences and the School of Engineering and Applied Science have agreed to make their majors available to undergraduate students in each other’s school. College students are now able to complete a major in one of several Engineering departments. Engineering students are able to complete any of the majors offered in the School of Arts and Sciences.”

Additionally, Penn’s language and study abroad options are also outstanding. When I was an undergrad they frequently told the story of three Penn students who wanted to learn an African language not taught at the University, so they paid for a professor from a nearby university who did teach that language to offer a seminar to these three students. Penn not only has the resources to connect you to the opportunities you’re seeking but the institutional support necessary to make that a reality. If fluency is your goal, Penn is a great place to study.

Additionally, studying abroad and in the class room is essential but the opportunity to speak conversationally with native speakers all year round is important too. At Penn, because Philly has such a huge Muslim population, there are opportunities to volunteer as a tutor in Arabic speaking communities or to teach English as a second language to Arabic speakers while also making connections with whom you can practice your language skills. I have a close friend who tutored at a nearby mosque and was able to make friends with Arabic speakers who helped them practice outside of the classroom. Philly’s Chinese population is a little bit smaller but there is a thriving Chinatown and there are probably similar opportunities to be had there. I don’t know about Philly’s French population though… The point is, Philly is a classroom unto itself and as a Penn student you will be able to benefit from all that it has to offer.

Finally, I don’t think you will find a major difference in the quality of teaching between places like Penn and Dartmouth. There will be differences, however, in how much research is done at each institution by virtue of the size of the school, their research budgets, the breadth of disciplines studied at the university, etc. Both Penn and Dartmouth do a ton of research but Penn does quite a bit more, especially in the sciences/health sciences and engineering. If you are hoping to be surrounded by a very high level of research activity in which you can actually participate as an undergraduate, then Penn is definitely a great fit for you!

That being said, all three schools are absolutely incredible and you can’t go wrong choosing between them. Though, while you mentioned the location doesn’t matter too much to you, it might be important to consider some of the ‘soft factors’ like whether you like a lot of greek life, some greek life, or no greek life. Whether you want to be walking distance from some of the largest art collections in the world or walking distance to some of the best hiking trails and ski slopes America has to offer. It might not seem like it matters until it’s Saturday night and you really want Ethiopian food… Just some ‘food for thought’

Please let me know if you have any questions about Penn- I’m happy to answer them. Good luck!