<p>I’ve heard that Greek life is heavily prevalent there and normally adds $2,000-$3,000 to the costs of attendance. I’ve heard that there is a large Jewish population. I’m fine with diversity, but I’ve heard that the Jewish population and time can be very exclusive and clique-ish. Also, UPenn is very urban and only one year of housing is guaranteed; does anyone know if this is a serious concern?</p>
<p>Keasbey Nights - I recently took a class in C programming and I have a friend who is teaching me C++, I’m finding it really fun/interesting. Do you recommend studying up over the summer before I come to Penn?</p>
<p>@UnsureUndergrad: To be honest, the housing process can get very stressful after freshmen year. Many people want to get into the high-rises as sophomores and there are not enough rooms to accommodate everyone who wants to live there. Applying to residential programs certainly helps-I avoided the entire inter-house process this year by getting into a residential program in Harrison. In addition, if you live in one of the high-rises as a freshman, then you have priority when it comes to housing selection. In addition, there are many off-campus housing options such as the Radian, Hamilton Court, Domus, etc. Although the housing process can get stressful, there are definitely options!</p>
<p>What would you guys recommend to a guy who doesn’t really have any idea where he would like to pick for housing as a upcoming freshman? I like the idea of the STWing in Kings Court, but I’m not sure if I’d want to room there as a freshman. I’m thinking somewhere in the Quad at the moment.</p>
<p>It really depends on the experience you’re looking for. I highly recommend the freshman experience program in Harrison. As a freshman, you get your own kitchen, living room, and bathroom. The fresh-ex program has many, many events and trips to Center City and such, which is a lot of fun. If you have any questions about fresh-ex or anything else, feel free to message me.</p>
<p>The Quad is nice, but I’m personally not a fan at all of having to share bathrooms/showers with an entire hall…</p>
<p>Hi,
I just got into SEAS 2016!!! I’m super excited (the exclamation marks tell it all)! Anyway, over the last few months I’ve developed a strong interest in mixing Engineering (Biomed) and business/management. However, I didn’t apply to M&T. I wanted to know if it’s in any way possibile for me to mix these disiplines or get a duel degree even though I didn’t apply to M&T. If so, how difficult is it to get in and how difficult is it to actually do the work?
Many Thanks :)</p>
<p>bbear12, it’s very possible, that’s one of the highlights of Penn. UPennstudent1 is in the M&T program and can help you out with that. I’m in the same boat as you, although I was rejected from M&T.</p>
<p>Hi i was accepted into the class of 2016!
- I was just wondering what dance options penn offered? I’m looking for more extracurricular activities then classes (preferably ballet).
- how big are the arts, like photography, for example?
- Can you discuss the meal plan? Is the food good and are there vegetarian options?
- my fear is that penn may be a bit too pre-professional. i’m really undecided as to what i want to do and am looking for a nice well rounded liberal arts education with the flexibility to let me experiment with classes. Is this feasible at Penn?</p>
<p>Thank you!!! :)</p>
<p>
I’m always a bit amused–and somewhat perplexed–when I read or hear of the concern that Penn is too “pre-professional,” whatever that means. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>The College of Arts and Sciences, to which I assume you were admitted, is the largest single component of Penn, and is overwhelmingly larger than the 3 other undergrad schools put together with its 6400 undergrads. It’s also one of the finest liberal arts schools in the country, with lots of departments ranked among the top 10 or top 20 in the country (e.g., Anthropology, Art History, Classics, Communications, Comparative Lit, Economics, English, History, Linguistics, Music, Psychology, Regional Studies, Religion, Romance Languages, Sociology, etc.). Penn also is a pioneer in interdisciplinary studes (e.g., Biological Basis of Behavior), and offers (and strongly ENCOURAGES) undergrads to sample courses in other undergraduate AND GRADUATE schools of the university (Wharton, Engineering, Nursing, Education, Design, Social Policy and Practice, Annenberg School for Communication, and even the Law School).</p>
<p>So the answer is YES, abosolutely, you can get a well rounded liberal arts education at one of the finest liberal arts schools in the country. And, on top of that, you can supplement the traditional liberal arts curriculum with courses in an incredible variety of other subjects not available to liberal arts students at other schools. It’s entirely your call. But if you want flexibility and the abillity to experiment with classes, Penn is hard to beat in terms of the breadth and depth it readily offers to undergrads. That’s why it’s known for its famous “One University” policy.</p>
<p>
The arts–both performing arts and fine arts–are big at Penn, and are well funded and supported by the university. I don’t have time to provide detailed answers to your questions right now (perhaps some current students involved in these 2 areas can chime in), but you should explore these pages on the Penn web site:</p>
<p>[Penn:</a> Arts & Culture](<a href=“http://www.upenn.edu/life-at-penn/arts.php]Penn:”>http://www.upenn.edu/life-at-penn/arts.php)</p>
<p>[Platt</a> Student Performing Arts House](<a href=“http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/platthouse/]Platt”>Home - Platt Performing Arts House)</p>
<p>[Penn</a> Art Club](<a href=“http://www.pennartclub.com/]Penn”>http://www.pennartclub.com/)</p>
<p>[Performing</a> Arts Council](<a href=“http://www.dolphin.upenn.edu/pac/]Performing”>http://www.dolphin.upenn.edu/pac/)</p>
<p>In terms of dance, there are a good number of modern dance groups such as Penn Dance and Penn Sparks. There’s also Penn Ballet, which isn’t officially SAC-recognized yet, but I have a friend in the group.</p>
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<p>I recommend familiarizing yourself with Java if you plan on taking CIS 120, which I recommend. CIS 110 is the intro class for people who have never programmed before. CIS 120 is the intro class for people who have programmed before. The first half of the class is taught in OCaml, a functional programming language purposely picked because almost nobody has heard of it before. It’s a highly underrated language. The second half of the course is taught in Java, yet it’s sort of assumed that you have Java knowledge. The class is advertised to students with any programming experience, not just Java, but most students come in having taken AP Comp Sci A or CIS 110, both of which are taught in Java, and there isn’t a whole lot of time spent on the nuances of Java syntax. C syntax is pretty similar to Java at the level you’d be using for CIS 120, so that shouldn’t be a huge issue.</p>
<p>I think that CIS 120 is a really, really amazing class to introduce students to serious programming. But since I’m a TA for that class, I might be a bit biased hahaha.</p>
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<p>I don’t at all think that the Jewish population here is exclusive and clique-ish.</p>
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<p>I don’t think this is a serious concern in that you’ll be left without housing. However, if you are unfortunate enough to be given a really, really poor housing registration slot as an upperclassman, you might only have Hill or the Quad left, which many people do not want to live in after freshman year.</p>
<p>There are a few ways to have a better chance of getting housing that is not Hill / the Quad as an upperclassman.</p>
<ol>
<li>Apply to a residential program</li>
<li>Form a housing group with friends who already live in the high-rises</li>
<li>Pledge a fraternity or sorority that has a house</li>
</ol>
<p>Just got accepted to SEAS! Can’t wait to come. What’s the workload like for engineers? Like how many hours do you spend in and out of class each day on average studying and working on homework/projects? Do you have enough time for extracurriculars and hanging out in general? I’m not lookng to get smashed 5 days a week, but perhaps a few hours each night chill and a night off on the week end</p>
<p>Also, what are the students like on campus, especially in engineering? I’ve heard that many of the students tend to be very arrogant and cliqueish and that engineering students tend to stick with themselves. Is it really hard to meet new, non-jerkish people on campus?</p>
<p>RE: Greek Life</p>
<p>Around 30% of students join a Greek organization (there are around 30 fraternities and 8 sororities). It does play a large role on campus - fraternity parties are where most freshmen do their partying for the first two months of school, before getting familiar with campus groups that have their own parties. Joining a fraternity is usually pretty expensive - I’d estimate the average set of dues is $700 per semester, but most fraternities have some sort of financial aid program if you need help. </p>
<p>Greek life gets a bad reputation because of the media and certain anti-Greek folksaround campus; I personally thought I would never join a fraternity, but alas, I decided to do so sophomore year, and it was a great experience. I wasn’t particularly active in my fraternity, but it was a generally positive experience. Fraternities at Penn are often as much about academic success as they are about brotherhood and parties.</p>
<p>RE: Housing after Freshman year</p>
<p>Housing is actually NOT guaranteed to freshmen. Fortunately, the way the system works, freshmen are rarely ever denied housing (one friend did, however, need to live off campus freshman year… that was five years ago, so it may have changed). When you apply for housing, your preferences are ranked, and the system matches you with a group to determine your priority. </p>
<p>Priority for housing goes in this order:</p>
<p>QUAD HOUSES, HILL, KINGS COURT / ENGLISH HOUSE, STOUFFER and GREGORY
- Returning residents
- Freshmen accepted into a residential program
- Other freshmen
- Seniors
- Juniors
- Sophomores</p>
<p>RODIN, HARRISON, HARNWELL
- Returning residents
- Students applying to live with returning residents
- Students accepted into a residential program
- Seniors
- Juniors
- Sophomores
- Freshmen (not all houses accept any freshmen… my senior year, Rodin had no freshmen; other houses had a floor or two of freshmen)</p>
<p>SANSOM PLACE WEST
- Graduate students
- Seniors
- Juniors
- Sophomores</p>
<p>SANSOM PLACE EAST
- Graduate students
- If any slots are left, undergraduates get preference in order of seniority</p>
<p>After freshman year, you have a plethora of off campus options. The most common is to go in on a house with a bunch of friends - most of the houses just of campus have 4-6 bedrooms and cost between $700 and $900 per person per month for a twelve month lease (it actually winds up being cheaper than living on campus). Next most common is living in a near-campus apartment building (the Radian [$1,000-$1,300 pp per month], Hamilton Court [~$700 pp per month], the Hub [$750-$900 pp per month]). If you are thinking of moving off campus, the peak time for housing searches is between fall break and Thanksgiving (so, yes, you need to organize yourself pretty early!), though there will be places you can sign onto all the way up to the start of the fall semester.</p>
<p>I lived off campus for three years and was extremely happy that I did so. The freedom gained was tremendous, and it was great to have 180 sqft. in my bedroom (especially compared to the 96 sqft I had, with a roommate, in Hill)!</p>
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<p>Actually, it IS guaranteed now for incoming freshmen who submit their housing applications by May 1 (which, of course, would not include the 50 or so subsequently accepted from the waitlist):</p>
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<p>[University</a> of Pennsylvania Housing Services](<a href=“http://www.business-services.upenn.edu/housing/assignments/faqs.html]University”>Home | Penn Residential Services)</p>
<p>That’s good to hear. It seemed crazy that people coming from a thousand miles away had to figure out housing in a city they had never even visited, which is what my friend had to do!</p>
<p>What is the most popular club on campus? </p>
<p>How did you meet your closest friends at Penn?</p>
<p>Yeah, just to dispel a misconception–ALL FRESHMEN are guaranteed housing so long as they apply by the May 1st deadline.</p>
<p>Everyone should keep in mind that the housing system this year is RADICALLY different than years’ past. All upperclassmen have already selected housing (including quad-dwellers). I have a friend who lived in Hill who is already confirmed for Ware next year, so upperclassmen do have picks over incoming freshmen (though many rooms are reserved for freshmen, especially in the Quad).</p>
<p>Hey y’all. Got accepted into CAS and am ecstatic!!! </p>
<p>I’m most excited about studying abroad. Is it covered under financial aid? My financial aid package is really really nice and has very few loans - would this remain the same if I were to study abroad? What about over the summer as well?</p>
<p>Also, what summer opportunities are available exclusively for Penn students (i.e. internships, internships abroad, etc)?</p>
<p>And finally, what are the best work study opportunities for freshmen? While being a library assistant may have its perks, I’d like to look into something like working with the UN or a professor or anything out of the ordinary, actually. But then again, I don’t really know what’s an “ordinary” work study plan…</p>