HELP! UPenn or Columbia??

[izzy]

okay, so i just have a few days left to make my decision and i'm still torn between upenn and columbia. any input?

i have an undergraduate degree in architecture and have been working at an arch./planning firm for the past few years, so i definitely have most of my experience on the design side. i wanted a program that is rooted in a design school, but i've heard that columbia doesn't have much interaction with other departments. i also want a program that has strong internships/ties to the city. i like physical planning, but i'm also impressed with columbia's international emphasis.

i've been drawn to new york city for quite some time, but i'm not sure if that's enough of a reason to go for columbia. columbia's offering me a little more money than penn, but not enough to make the decision easy!

any ideas? thanks for the help!!

 

[rmulrew]

go to UPenn

columbia's offering me a little more money than penn, but not enough to make the decision easy!
any ideas? thanks for the help!!

But your interests are in physical planning/design because of your background. You'll like UPenn because its program is more in line with your interets. Columbia offers nothing design related and you may end up regreting your choice. Even with finincial aid grad school is a very costly endeavor, so don't make a descision you'll regret. Perhaps you should plan a quick visit to the school(s).

 

[Alfie]

Columbia and Penn

The people at Columbia are really good.. like Fainstein, Grava, Sclar. But they are simply NOT a physical planning oriented program (there's is only ONE studio, for example). If site-based physical planning/land use/urban design is important to you, then Penn might be more appropriate. If you want to make planning policy or run a government planning agency, go to Columbia.