Anyone apply to UPenn LPS too?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Columbia School of General Studies
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<p>Hello, </p>

<p>A conversation I had with my PTK president prompted a search which has lead me here. I was recently admitted into Penn’s LPS for the 2011 fall semester. I’ve had a pretty successful college experience thus far, granted that’s not saying much at the community college level. I applied and was admitted into a number of other colleges, but jumped at the thought of obtaining an IVY league education. My concerns–after having this conversation–are as follows: that there is some sort of deception at work, that I’m being victimized in assuming I’ll receive an education that is, for the most part, identical to that of one found within Penn’s CAS. Was I mislead, is there a real significant and tangible difference aside from having to live off campus? Will the probability of eventually becoming an attorney be diminished by continuing my study at such named institution? </p>

<p>I am a very dedicated student; I’ve had to compensate for a number of difficulties that have transpired in my young academic career. I’m willing to re-take classes, as I’m sure Penn LPS will not take the majority of my credits. I am however, not willing to re-take classes at an institution that, ultimately, is no different from going to an accredited state school that is forced to accept most of my credits. Furthermore, what if this education was free, tuition at least–does that make all the difference? Thanks in advance for the replies.</p>

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<p>Torp,</p>

<p>Firstly, having been through the UPenn transfer evaluation process, I’ll let you know in advance that is no joke - they don’t care! This is why I’ve decided, unless they give me a scholarship, not to go. I’d be setting myself back quite a bit.</p>

<p>Columbia is awaiting my grades before they make a decision. If I’m admitted, and they also don’t transfer my couses, I will not go.</p>

<p>I personally hate new york city and want to get back to cali as soon as possible. Philly is much better than NYC in my opinion, but I’m not down at all to extend my college career any longer - time to get things moving in the REAL WORLD. </p>

<p>As for UPenn LPS, your degree is granted by the College of Arts and Sciences, and is completely identical to that of a traditional undergraduate student, which is not the case for Columbia. I realize it may appear as though I’m insecure about Columbia possibly rejecting me or something of the sort, and you’ll have to take my word for it, but this is not true.</p>

<p>I’ve already recruited with companies that, even a Columbia undergrad student would aspire to communicate with. I beat out 15 CC kids for an internship at a private equity firm covering deal flow directly with the managing partner. I sound cocky, but I’m trying to prove my point. </p>

<p>I’m not going there because my current institution won’t offer me the same job that Columbia will (it actually may be the opposite, Stern is more heavily recruited, behind Wharton), but rather I’m lured to their new business program, and its affiliation with CBS, my dream business school (home of Graham and Dodd value investing). </p>

<p>Thus, if you love the idea of a real college campus, you like philly, and want an ivy league degree, DO IT! I just found out Penn rejected another course of mine, so I’m out of that game now :frowning: If Columbia admits me, I really do hope they transfer all my courses.</p>

<p>As for Tsars above post referring to Penn LPS not granting CAS but rather SAS degrees, I urge you to read this site:</p>

<p>[FAQ</a> | Penn LPS](<a href=“http://www.sas.upenn.edu/lps/undergraduate/ba/faq]FAQ”>http://www.sas.upenn.edu/lps/undergraduate/ba/faq)</p>

<p>LPS degree = UPenn College of Arts and Sciences Degree</p>

<p>Fascinating how someone attending a great university, hopefully being taught great methods of intelligent analysis, would state something about a university/program he/she knows nothing about, as opposed to doing a quick search to actually find the factual, unbiased real answer. </p>

<p>Also, another lure of mine to LPS was their new joint program with Wharton MBA (which is new because its new for CAS, and because CAS = LPS, well, you get it). If you kill it as an undergrad, in your senior year you can begin taking MBA courses and in 5 years have your BA/BS and your MBA = Rockstar</p>

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<p>Looks like you were right Philly, my sincerest apologies. It sounds a bit strange that a school conferring the same exact degree as CAS would not require test scores of any kind after x amount of time spent in college. But, upon perusing the link you provided, it sounds like Lps is a rather wonderful option. </p>

<p>On another note, I can tell you that GS was rather generous with my transfer credit, and I received the full 60 units. Thus leaving me with a still daunting 64 units to go. </p>

<p>I am still a bit shocked by Lps. Admissions doesn’t seem all that competitive, but it’s exactly the same degree, there must a catch somewhere (as there seemingly always is). Side note: In saying that admissions to Lps does not seem that competitive, I must qualify that I am only speaking in relative terms when compared with the “traditional” path to UPenn CAS. I might have to ask a few UPenn grads about the school.</p>

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<p>@phillyman123 move to cali, move to cali!</p>

<p>that is all.</p>

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<p>I think Penn LPS, like Columbia, has flexible admissions policies to allow for people with non-traditional backgrounds.</p>

<p>TSAR, this is great to hear. Columbia is an extremely attractive option but the idea of extending my college experience is just, blah. I need California love, sun, beach, mexican food, life, as liz states lol. Going home a week from this sunday, so stoked.</p>

<p>Random - totally agree with you.</p>

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<p>tsar, Cornell and Berkeley also dont require test scores from transfer students as well as a cult following of other respectable institutions.</p>

<p>Being aware that this is a GS forum, I just like to point out that its both a vice and a virtue to re-take courses at an Ivy-League institution in general. Yes, time, and money are always a concern but looking beyond that, I am sure that these institutions are trying to maintain a “reputation”; churning out top-notch undergraduates by running them through a gauntlet of rigorous courses at their institution.</p>

<p>I think this strategy will make students competitive against other ivy/top students and qualify them for graduate school if they do well. This also holds significant weight on GS/LPS/EW/RUE students because its absolutely necessary that these students need to quell any negative perceptions by excelling in ivy-courses.</p>

<p>At the end of the day, you are a Penn, or a Columbian and you will be representing the upper crust of private institutions. As such those institutions dont want their names tarnished with graduates that have taken more than half their core courses from questionable schools ( i.e community college; low tier universities ) mostly outside of their school. Makes sense to me.</p>

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<p>At phillyman - If I get accepted to Columbia… You will find me at my home turf, catching waves in Manhattan Beach for at least a week next month.</p>

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<p>Awww man . . . all this California talk is making this ex-Cali Columbian SERIOUSLY homesick. :-&lt;/p>

<p>I love Columbia, LOVE it. And I actually really love NYC as well. But there are days that I wonder what life would be like had I made my way to Berkeley instead.</p>

<p>I miss really good avocados.
I MISS PEET’S COFFEE!</p>

<p>Sorry, carry on . . .</p>

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<p>lol, MusaeumClausum. I havent been to Cali in about four years. Aside from the beaches, It sucks so badly for me because I am used to eating authentic Hawaiian food and a lot of the Asian mom and pop shop restaurants are what I miss the most. What I noticed is that korean restaurants in Cali taste ALOT better than the places I have been in K-Town and Fort Lee. I hate eating at chain store restaurants, which they have too much of in NYC. OMG I miss walking down the pier in Redondo Beach eating while watching people go fishing!!! Those were the best times. ‘Sigh’</p>

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<p>I appreciate the responses, really. I think people get too caught up in this college business, it’s just a platform after all. I’m curious though, would anyone know any statistics pertaining to LPS grads and law school? I realize this is the wrong thread, but I’m new to the site and lazy, very lazy, lol. Take care gentlemen.</p>

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<p>Seriously, bro?</p>

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<p>I doubt there are posted statistics, but call their advising department.</p>

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<p>Hi,
I’m the mom of a traditional student who will most likely be applying to some Ivy and other top tier schools. I’ve seen signs plastered around town that suggest that virtually anyone - YES ANYONE! can get an ivy league degree at penn by applying to LPS. A visit to the LPS website, confirms that anyone with a 3.0 GPA from HS and some college classes will be given “strong consideration.” The signs and website also state that your degree will be identical to a traditional student’s degree</p>

<p>So this has me wondering - if anyone with a 3.5 coming out of a community college can get into penn this way does that devalue a traditionally earned degree? I’m not saying that I would have my kid attend via an alternate route to the ivy league- but I see that my child works diligently and consistently and it makes me wonder why it is so difficult to get into penn through the traditional route -and so easy through LPS. In the end, resumes of students going through either program will read: B.A. University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA. Even if their is a note on the transcript expalining the difference, employers don’t typically look at transcripts after moving on from a first job out of college. </p>

<p>My son earns all A’s takes the most difficulat classses, has amazing achievements in and out of the classroom. Courses taken through LPS are less expensive than classes taken through other schools at Penn, although those classes are open to LPS students - they just pay the extra amount. I’m confused. If my son goes to a selective school, I would think that he would be in classes with other people who went through the same criteria to get in. I would expect that the value of the school’s brand would be manifest in it’s scarcity and selectivity. Why should he go through the rigorous process of being vetted for a top school - and why should I pay for a degree - that others can achieve by a much less selective process?</p>

<p>I really want to hear what people think about this. My son won’t be applying to school for another year - but all these “you too can have an Ivy league degree” posters plastered on commuter trains have me wondering.</p>

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<p>You might start your own thread to discuss this. I’m a non-traditional student, so obviously heavily biased. At Columbia, the GS (the Columbia non-trad program, you posted this in the GS forum) students have, in recent years, had about the same average GPA as traditional students. I think on a larger, diverse campus like Columbia’s the non-traditional students fit in well and benefit the campus, without taking anything away from traditional students.</p>

<p>A smaller, very traditional campus (say, Dartmouth) may be a different story.</p>

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<p>I was admitted into UPenn LPS and was planning on going after I saw the daunting transfer evaluation process.</p>

<p>Columbia GS website states essentially the same thing regarding having a 3.0 being a warrant for careful consideration. Don’t let this fool you. If you have below a 3.7 GPA and haven’t taken extremely rigorous courses, or cured cancer, you’ll probably be rejected. I looked into LPS heavily and found that students who were admitted typically also applied to Columbia GS and were admitted as well. On the other hand, I couldn’t find an instance where a GS applicant was rejected to be admitted by LPS. </p>

<p>Thus, the admissions process for each program seems very similiar, although I think Columbia’s name makes its applicant pool quite larger.</p>

<p>Some advantages of LPS are:</p>

<p>Discounted courses (optional, not mandatory at all) at night. Note though if you choose that route you will eventually be FORCED to take day courses at regular price when completing your major requirements. Note though you won’t be put in the back-burner for taking day courses with traditional students – YOU are a student of the College of Arts and Sciences at UPenn, not a different college</p>

<p>Diploma is 100% identical to traditional students. Hand in hand comparing a 22 year old’s degree to that of a 33 year olds will show no cosmetic differences, or difference in requirements what so ever.</p>

<p>Access to classes in Wharton, as well as being able to apply as a senior into the Wharton MBA program.</p>

<p>A lot more money available for scholarships than Columbia GS (verified from personal experience).</p>

<p>Downfalls:</p>

<p>Transfer evaluation process is horrific. At Columbia, the admissions staff determines the majority of what transfers and what does not. After which, departments will determine what meets core requirements (If you’ve taken a music course, the admissions staff will allow it to transfer, but for it to count towards your music humanities core it must be approved by the music department). At Penn, EVERY SINGLE COURSE must be reviewed by its respective department - PERIOD. If the department doesn’t give it the green light, its a no go. On top of this, the departments HAVE NO PROBLEM rejecting courses. So if you’ve accumulated 60 units, its very possibly for only 30 or so of them to transfer, or LESS!</p>

<p>If you’re not into Columbia as a school but are a non-trad student, LPS is great if your willing to suffer the possibility of an extended college stay.</p>

<p>Thus, LPS, like GS may APPEAR very friendly and open – but don’t let them fool you, getting in is no joke.</p>

<p>If you charged $70 bucks an applicant, wouldn’t you too want everyone with a pulse to apply, only to reject 85+% of them?</p>

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<p>I just wanted to chime in on this disucssion because I was accepted to both PENN LPS and Columbia GS and now am trying to figure out which school to goto.</p>

<p>In all honesty, at the moment I am leaning towards PENN LPS because it will be alot cheaper. What Phillyman said about tuition being reduced for night courses is true but what he didn’t mention was that once you’ve completed all the night courses that you can take and are forced to take day courses, you can take those day courses at the same price at your night courses through the use of a tuition reduction form. </p>

<p>To me, so long as you are not bothered by taking some night courses in your undergradutate career, PENN LPS seems to be a better deal, cost wise. My plans are for medical school in the future and I’m not too sure if being in 40k or more debt in my undergrad is going to be the wisest decision. Both schools are IVY leagues and both have great premedical programs. Columbia just seems to be more famous. </p>

<p>I don’t know. I’m still going back and forth on what to decide. I just received my acceptance letter yesterday from Columbia and have already secured an apartment in philidelphia, which I’ve given one month’s rent to. Another thing I shouild mention is that many of my transfer credits DID transfer so the idea that most of your credits won’t transfer is false. It’s just a arguous and tedious process to go through. So far though, all the faculty and staff members have been extremely helpful, especially the Professors. </p>

<p>I lived in NYC for 6 years and went to a community college there. A part of me strongly wants to go back but another part of me wants to move on to something different. Is it possible to derral your enrollment to Columbia GS and also attend another institution during that time and get credit for it? The Columbia GS site says no but at the same time the policy states that students should make the admissions committee aware if they want their courses to be considered for transfer and for their admissions to not be reviewed. If anyone could shed light on this, that’d be great. It’d be cool to attend PENN LPS for a year and then transfer. Not sure how bright of an idea that is in regards to establishing networking opportunities but doesn’t sound like too bad of an idea.</p>

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<p>Whenever the choice is between Columbia and Penn 10 out of 10 Columbians pick COLUMBIA.</p>

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<p>I also had to chose between Penn, Columbia, and Cornell Cals. Because all three institutions will provide a phenomenal academic education, I leaned on Columbia for completely personal reasons; I love the city, have an option to intern year round, and be near the ones I love. Having both a great education, and the comfort of loved ones to ease my stress from the rigors of an ivy institution is important to me.</p>

<p>I could of had better fin aid at Cornell, but I cant stand being in the middle of Ithaca, with about twenty snobby, over achieving classmates from my former community college passing by in the hallways on a day-to-day basis, with no where else to run to but your dorm.</p>

<p>However, I think Penn is great if you want a chance to transfer from LPS to SEAS, or Wharton, because the school gives you the opportunity to do so. But transferring to Wharton is extremely difficult ( 3.7 + GPA ), and if you are good at math, the engineering school should be a shoe in for a dual degree, or transfer. However, you can take 4 c.u’s at Wharton if you wish. However, if you stick with LPS, your degree is the same as CAS.</p>

<p>Also, Penn LPS has a great career services web site that I think is really good when it comes to international/national finance internships. </p>

<p>Overall LPS is cheaper if you take night classes, but if you take day courses, you are paying full price, and the tuition they provide only covers night courses, which sucks. I am not sure if the Fin. Aid office goes out of their way to find other forms of aid for you if you chose to attend during the day.</p>

<p>For me, I am taking courses during the day, and aim for a more traditional student experience( i.e clubs, sports, fraternities) which I think Columbia is better at when compared to LPS.</p>

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<p>@tlcmom: getting in isn’t the hard part, getting OUT is. If non-trad students take classes at Penn together with traditional students under the same standards and can graduate then what’s the problem?</p>

<p>Believe me, a degree from Penn still holds great values. Many unqualified non-trad students will drop out at some point. And also, the admission process at LPS isn’t as easy as the marketing people want you to believe.</p>

<p>I think both Penn LPS and Columbia GS are great however I second RandomAdmit that Columbia GS provides a better student experience.</p>

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<p>^ Precisely!</p>