<p>You mention that one of the appeals of Columbia and Penn are their Greek life.</p>
<p>If that is actually something you care about, don’t go to Columbia. No more than 10% of the student body joins frats or sororities, and generally frat and sorority people are looked down upon as shallow and ditzy.</p>
<p>Penn, on the other hand, has a robust Greek scene. I think participation is closer to 30%, if I remember correctly. </p>
<p>Columbia athletics are also pretty dismal, and no one cares about the sports teams here. Penn has some pretty great teams, and people actually care about the sports teams there.</p>
<p>I don’t mean this post to be a dig at Columbia. I go to Columbia, and I absolutely love the fact that people don’t care about sports or frats here. Those were big selling points for me (as well as the city and the core).</p>