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</p>
<p>Based on WHAT? Penn has consistently been ranked higher than Chicago in:</p>
<ol>
<li>English (US News graduate ranking, NRC 1990s ranking, NRC 2010 ranking); </li>
<li>Comparative Literature (NRC 1990s, NRC 2010);</li>
<li>Linguistics (NRC 1990s, NRC 2010);</li>
<li>Romance Languages (NRC 1990s, NRC 2010);</li>
</ol>
<p>and Penn has at times been ranked higher than Chicago in:</p>
<ol>
<li>Art History (ranked one place higher than Chicago in NRC 1990s, and 4 places below Chicago in NRC 2010);</li>
<li>Classics (ranked 9 places above Chicago in NRC 2010, and 3 places below Chicago in NRC 1990s).</li>
</ol>
<p>Further, while not ranked as high as Chicago, Penn has consistently ranked among the top 10 in Music and Religion.</p>
<p>So it’s not accurate to say that “Chicago beats Penn in the humanities.” At the very least, Penn TIES Chicago in the humanities, with the edge going to Penn in several fields.</p>
<p>But the bottom line is that these two schools are quite comparable in terms of academic excellence at the undergraduate level, and the choice between them is really a matter of personal preference and fit. Look at the whole picture including campus and campus life, location, breadth and depth of academic offerings, etc., and then just rely on your gut as to which school feels like the best fit. Really, at this level of academic excellence, it’s that simple, and you can’t go wrong with either choice.</p>