Princeton too isolated and subarban-y?

midatlmom
Mon, 14 Sep 2015 21:52:03 +0000

Rhandco - If I were inclined to debate the issue, obviously Penn has had a recent spate of suicides http://chronicle.com/article/After-6-Suicides-U-of/228095/, but I think that suggesting that either school is worse for mental health issues is misleading (and frankly, I’m not sure why you raised the issue at all). Anxiety is an increasing problem in many universities and colleges are grappling with how to deal with these issues. Princeton is no better or worse than similarly situated schools - I’m sure it could do more about these issues just like Penn could.

In terms of academics, the OP is interested in mechanical and aerospace engineering. Princeton’s department is highly ranked - I don’t know if Penn has much of an aerospace program at all to be honest.

And finally, Penn is definitely urban. You know you’re in a city. I happen to think it’s a beautiful urban campus with tons of vitality, but it is not that set apart from Philly. Moreover, since a very large percentage of students live off campus, they are constantly aware of the city (which is not necessarily a bad thing, and I’m not saying that crime is rampant or anything like that, but I don’t see how you could go to Penn and not be aware that you live in Philly).