<p>Excluding Wharton, how would you compare Penn to Harvard?</p>
<p>substantial differences in housing. Both have great restaurant scenes! Academic depts. would need to be compared head to head I think.</p>
<p>substantial differences in housing?</p>
<p>Academically they would have to be compared by department, but I think most would agree that Harvard would come out ahead overall. From what I’ve heard from people at both schools, Penn has the better social scene. As far as job placement, Harvard clearly wins at name recognition, but I doubt there is ultimately little difference in the success of the schools’ graduates. Overall, Harvard obviously wins a huge percentage of people accepted to both because seriously…who can turn down Harvard? Very few people. But as far as experience I don’t think you can put one above another.</p>
<p>On campus housing at Penn is pretty horrible. I’ve heard it’s very good at Harvard.</p>
<p>[Harvard</a> College](<a href=“http://www.college.harvard.edu/student/houses/history/index.html]Harvard”>http://www.college.harvard.edu/student/houses/history/index.html)</p>
<p>Penn does NOT have this system. Penn on campus is NOT all terrible but many Penn students do choose to live off campus after first year.</p>
<p>penn housing is pretty bad unless you get the quad. However the off campus offerings are wonderfully diverse from Victorian rowhouses to the shiny new Radian and Hub apartments</p>
<p>Harvard is Harvard. While it will probably have “better departments” c
the professors at Penn are no less distinguished and probably more likely to give a fig about undergrads.</p>
<p>Moreover, while I am not in Wharton (nor would I want to be, I think undergraduate business education is a terrible idea), I view it as a tremendous asset for Penn undergrads of all stripes. Some Wharton classes are useful, interesting, and even fun (negotiations!). It also offers a broader perspective on issues of the day. While any school has an anthropology department brimming with faculty that will tell you the evils of the WTO, only Penn has management faculty that will not only tell you the other sides, but actually show you how it works. The most profound criticisms of the WTO that I have heard came from these Wharton profs. And you just can’t get that at Harvard.</p>
<p>Doesn’t Penn offer some kind of residential college house option? Du Bois, Fisher Hassenfeld, Gregory, Riepe et al. Anyone have any experiences with one of these?</p>
<p>Penn’s College Houses:</p>
<p>[College</a> Houses and Academic Services](<a href=“http://www.collegehouses.upenn.edu/]College”>http://www.collegehouses.upenn.edu/)</p>
<p>First, comparing Penn to Harvard for a student will depend on what you want to study. Harvard, overall, outflanks Penn’s Arts & Sciences, but in specific departments Penn may be better. Fit will also offset any small differences between the two.</p>
<p>I’m trying to help you out because Penn and Harvard were my top two choices for college. I decided on Penn though, and was accepted ED. I was looking for which school would prepare me more for my intended career path. As someone who is pursuing a career in public service (in government or in politics) Penn was more attractive to me at the moment. I will be at Wharton, studying Business & Public Policy. Studying there, as ilovebagels said, presents a whole other side to the issues of today, which Harvard definitely can not give on the undergraduate level. Yes, Harvard has the Kennedy School and the Business school, but your access is cut off for four years. While you try to separate Wharton from the College in this comparison, Wharton is an integral part because Penn allows you to branch out of your specific school to taste something you’re interested in. That’s why I chose Penn, and why I put Harvard (Law School/Government) on hold for four years. And I don’t regret the decision.</p>
<p>As far as housing, others have directed you to more information than this high school senior can tell you.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone! Very helpful information!</p>
<p>harvard = too many TAs teaching you… better for grad school</p>
<p>one of my best friends chose penn (cas) over columbia, stanford, princeton, and a bunch of others… once you’re at that kinda caliber, i think you need to choose where you think you’ll find the best fit… this may largely encompass social aspect… penn’s social scene is probably unbeatable w/in the ivy lg</p>
<p>Of course, “most social ivy” is kinda like “tallest midget”</p>
<p>But I love Penn. There is no institution quite like it. Top academics, great social scene, location in a major city, great school spirit, the opportunity to take classes at the business school, law school, etc… A lot of schools have SOME of these things but when it comes to the magic that results from having all of them, there is truly no place like Penn.</p>
<p>penn is amazing, but you definitely feel like you are second-class students if you are not in wharton.</p>
<p>wharton students (or 98.9% of them) definitely have an elitist attitude and think they are better than non-wharton students.</p>
<p>i kind of wish that i went to h,y,p, or s considering that they don’t have undergraduate business schools.</p>
<p>There seem to be so many conflicting impressions of Wharton students at Penn. Some people feel they’re a huge issue, while others feel they’re just a small percentage in the larger Penn population. Hard to know.</p>
<p>Chi-town, your ideas sound great but don’t assume you’ll get into Harvard grad school for anything. I think I know exactly 3 Whartonites with over a 3.8, which is what you need to be shooting for Harvard law/Kennedy school. </p>
<p>Overall, I think the presence of Wharton is a good thing. CAS does a lot of buisness-oriented things for its students. I don’t think without Wharton CAS would churn out as many analysts and consultants as it does (and even from non econ majors). Rather, for something like consulting, an offbeat major (e.g. Classics, Anthropology, I even know someone who did Arabic) combined with only a few Econ and Wharton classes can be very attractive to firms.</p>
<p>That’s not to say that business is the best thing to get into, but there’s a trickledown and many people try the hardest they can to break into their desired field. For example, people who want to get into academia start research early.</p>
<p>That said, there’s people at Penn who aren’t preprofessional. For me, after 5 semesters at Penn I’m very happy I went here, because if I went to State U or an LAC I feel like I would be more lost about what I want out of my future, and I probably wouldn’t have been inspired to resume-build like I have here.</p>
<p>Actually, I wasn’t assuming I would get into Harvard for grad school. I’m just working towards Harvard with that goal in mind. I know that it is largely a numbers game with Harvard and I know maintaining a 3.8 GPA is going to be close to impossible at Wharton, but I still think I could put together a good package. I have to learn more about the admissions process first, so I can know exactly what I must do at Penn. And if it doesn’t work out, I could always go to another great school.</p>