Penn vs. Brown vs. Duke [PPE major, pre-law]

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I’m lucky enough to have been admitted to all of these, but am having trouble choosing. My admitted students days aren’t for another week (or two for Brown), so I’m trying to get some opinions ahead of time.

For reference, I’m planning on going to law school, although this could change.

Penn:

Pros:

Location; I love being able to walk to Philly and the school has connections with 3 major cities (good for internships)

The PPE major brings a lot of flexibility for what I do after college (having some econ opens up opportunities if I’ve heard correctly)

I vibed well with the people I met there

I’m interested in BFS (I probably wouldn’t get in but it would be cool if I did)

I’ve been told I’d get into the Classics Club, which is more active at Penn than other places (if I’m not mistaken)

I have a close friend at Penn

Cons:

Competition for clubs outside of Classics

Overall cutthroat culture? I’ve heard mixed things about this.

I’m worried that I’d be overwhelmed socially/academically (I like to be social but it can get overwhelming)

Brown:

Pros:

More collaborative/laid back than Penn

Professors care more about teaching than research

Open curriculum would let me take classes outside my major

Cons:

I’ve heard that there’s a weaker alumni network

Possibly less of a social life than Penn/apparently you have to know athletes to get into parties (is this true?)

Less structure/guidance, which I feel like I need (I’m good about reaching out for support though, so if academic advising is strong I’d probably be fine)

PPE center is funded by Charles Koch

Duke

Pros:

Between Penn and Brown in terms of competitiveness

Pretty campus

FOCUS courses seem cool

Strong PPE concentration

Strong school spirit

Cons:

I’ve heard it’s cliquey

Disaffiliated Greek life (driving 40 minutes to parties isn’t ideal)

Isolated/Id rather be in a city

Considerations:

Greek life: I like the idea of joining a sorority since it pretty much gives you friends + social events/parties to go to. However, if I could get that without Greek life, that’d be fine as well

I’d say competition within reason is good, but I’d rather it not be over the top (like people sabotaging others, etc.)

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My two cents is I think Penn CAS sometimes gets unfairly lumped in with Wharton when it comes to culture/vibe reputation. My sense is CAS is normally-collaborative/friendly for a selective college, but you could try politely raising this with some Penn students during your visit.

And for that matter, I think Brown is also more normal in this sense than it is sometimes suggested. Not in an unusually bad way, but there are still a lot of ambitious kids at Brown competing for selective next steps. But normally such students are still collaborative and supportive, and I actually think that would be true at all of your choices.

Generally, I think you can let visits help you make the final decision. But I do think Penn and Brown might sound a little more promising in your case due to the urban settings. Then you could also consider whether the open curriculum versus Penn’s distributional approach is a major plus for you, or more neutral, or actually a negative (some people do in fact find it helpful to have a little more structure).

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I think that you are comparing excellent with excellent with excellent. Assuming that you can afford all three, and with that you can still afford law school, I think that it would be hard to go wrong whichever of these excellent schools you choose to attend.

Attending admitted student day at each school is a very good idea.

Personally I like the idea of the more open curriculum. For me this would not be so much to take classes outside of my major, but would be more to avoid those classes in areas that I am not as good as (I was fine for classes in my major). If you want to maximize your GPA to help with law school admissions this might not be a terrible idea.

I would not worry about this at all. You cannot control every person who ever donated funds to a school that you will be attending. I once had cancer treatment at a place named for Donald Trump’s uncle (who donated a lot to cancer treatment). What happened? My cancer became undetectable (and has been undetectable every since, at least up to now).

There will be some competition and some cooperation pretty much everywhere. I still remember once as a freshman in university (this was a long time ago) forgetting to write down the homework assignment for a physics class. I asked a “friend” (note the quotes) what the assignment was, and he replied essentially “I won’t tell you because you are competition and I want to do better than you in the class”. Fortunately two actual friends overheard this and told me what the assignment was.

I think that this would be true. Note that some economics classes (not all) include at least some math. For example I remember econometrics depending quite a bit on linear algebra. Even as a math major econometrics had me reaching for a math book on a Saturday afternoon to make sure that I fully understood the underlying math. I liked it quite a bit, although not quite enough to take it up as a career.

I think that you have three great options here, and visiting each of them is a very good idea.

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Congrats!! What wonderful options. This is truly a case where three reasonable people could make three different choices.

Right now it seems to me you have the most “pros” for Penn. I’d suggest you attend the accepted student days and then going with your gut. Once you make a choice, never look back.

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I might go the day b4 or after accepted student day - a second day of normal traffic vs big groups. Stop kids on campus. Go another day just to see the normal flow. Some accepted days are very polished sales events so you can get a better chance to see the real day to day.

Law school can happen from anywhere - not just these three. And I would not choose a school based on alumni. All three will have and you never who can or cannot help.

Go visit all three - where feels best. Assuming all are affordable, that’s your answer.

Ps - one advantage of Duke is big time sports but it’s only an advantage if that interests you.

And I don’t think a sorority pretty much gives you friends. It often does but many often don’t vibe but can happen anywhere.

The biggest concern should be can you afford these three and another $300l plus for law school. If not, these are too pricey.

Best of luck

Congrats and good luck.

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Another vote for all three of these are fabulous options and you can achieve your goals from any of them. On top of that, your goals might change in college (many, if not most people’s do), and all of these schools have great options and supports if that happens as well.

The key thing is to figure out which one feels like the best environment for you. Where do you think you will thrive, enjoy learning in that place, and even be happiest? That would be what I’d focus on in making a decision. All of them can get you great outcomes. So, figure out which journey sounds most exciting to you, and go there. There are enough differences amongst the places, locations and cultures, that hopefully one of them speaks to you after your visits. Congratulations!

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Based on what you have shared, U Penn appears to be the front-runner, while Duke seems to be your least favorite. However, accepted students day at each school may have a significant impact on your decision. Because you like Duke the least, it may surprise you leading to an over-sized rebound type reaction.

Also, consider the effect of primacy versus recency (with respect to revisits for accepted students day).

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where did you decide?

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Penn!

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Congrats! Hope you have a fantastic experience (coming from an alum)!

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Thank you so much! Anything I should do to prepare/get ready?

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Yes, graduate from high school.

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I was there years ago. Your acceptance tells me that you already have the tools you need to succeed at Penn. My best advice is to manage your time well – then you’ll be able to succeed academically and have fun.

Hope you have a wonderful four years! Go Quakers!

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