penn v. yale

mancune
Thu, 26 Aug 2010 14:46:04 +0000

I did undergrad at Yale and grad school at Penn. The vibes of the two universities are VERY different. Yale is much more intellectual at the undergrad level, artsier, with, I think, a much more intellectually diverse student body. The college system is just WONDERFUL. I hated the frat-centric nature of Penn. Yale’s got a $16billion endowment supporting 11,000 students; Penn’s got a $6 billion endowment supporting 20,000+ students – it makes a difference in what the two universities can offer.

If you really fell in love with Yale (and I am not clear that you did) then go for it. If you are a competitive candidate for Yale or Penn’s early rounds, then you will be competitive for Penn’s regular round if Yale doesn’t work out.

And yes, Philly is a better city by leaps and bounds but, in reality, you will spend most of your time in and about the Penn campus in West Philly, not in Center City. I preferred the amenities and atmosphere in and around Yale than I did to West Philly where I lived. I always found West Philly kind of depressing, even creepy. The number of incidents of things happening to students in my class at Penn (theft, muggings, a stabbing) left me with the impression that West Philly is more threatening than the area right around Yale.