Princeton too isolated and subarban-y?

rhandco
Mon, 14 Sep 2015 19:52:53 +0000

“too isolated and subarban-y?” Sort of - NJ is not known for public transportation. Isolated? Not really, not like rural would be.

Penn was not that Greek-y when I was there. Yes, the Greek presence is obvious, but it was and is about 25% of the undergrads at most, and there are strong ethnic/racial bent fraternities and sororities which attract a very high percentage of those in the group.

I will tell you one thing - pretty much if you go to one, you will be inculcated to hate the other.

My son loved the spreading of the Penn campus, in terms of restaurants and shop. Living in NJ we have been to and through the Princeton campus, and it is totally different.

I don’t know anyone who had serious mental health issues at Penn (yes, there are recent articles about suicides), but I do personally know several people who had serious mental health issues at Princeton.

All in all, my understanding is that for engineers and scientists in particular, Penn is much more applications-based, and Princeton is much more theoretical. I suggest you research the departments you are targeting, and see which fits you better.

(and I want to note, to say Penn is an “urban campus” is not really fair, it is not like Temple in that Penn has a real campus and students do not feel at all like they are “in a city” except for the resources available close by - never had an issue with crime or malingerers - the campus feels like a college campus)