I would not pick a college by its grading scale. When grad schools get your college transcript the grading system will be shown so your GPA will be reviewed in the proper context (just like when HS transcripts were sent to colleges). And FWIW I don’t think a ton of A+'s will be in the cards for most people at Penn or Cornell.
The factors I’d consider between Penn and Cornell are:
- Finances. The $20k difference could be important especially if you are considering grad school.
(and assuming both are affordable) - Program - look through the online course catalogs and get an idea of what courses you would be taking for the majors your are considering at Cornell ILR and Penn - see if one program is more appealing to you.
- Do you prefer an urban or a rural campus?
You can’t make a bad decision so whatever you choose never look back.
Not only is the 3+3 program not guaranteed, but you’re also still paying for three years of law school; you’re just giving up a year of undergrad. At Cornell you’ll get all four years of undergrad for what the three years would’ve cost you at Penn, with a bit left over. If you want a rich, interdisciplinary undergrad experience, why rush through? It’ll be over faster than you can imagine, even if you take the full four years. Cornell ILR has a great range of domestic and international internship and exchange programs; you wouldn’t have time for anything like that if you gave up a year of undergrad to accelerate into law school.
You applied to 17 different universities?
Unbelievable.
This is why I tell people never to argue that US universities are more selective than UK universities.
In the UK, you would have been restricted to 5 universities.
Anyway, out of those that have accepted you, Cornell seems to be the most prestigious.