<p>So I'm a legacy at Penn, but unfortunately I don't know much about Penn since my legacy connection passed away when I was little... before I even knew it made a difference which college you go to :P.</p>
<p>I know Penn tends to be really pre-professional but I don't know what I want to do yet. I also know there are so pretty good research opportunities, which is a BIGGIE for me! I'm thinking of going into Chemistry but I think International Relations sounds cool (maybe Patent Law in my future?). Theres also a really good chance that could change by the time I graduate college, or even graduate HS. Anyway, I haven't visited Penn yet so can you tell me some things YOU really like(d) about Penn (PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DON'T MENTION WHARTON!).</p>
<p>I thought I was interested in Brown and even did a summer program there which made me love it even more. Then I took a tour during the school year when students are there. The info session was HORRIBLE (2010-1979 does NOT equal 40+ years >.<... ps. 1979 is when the open-curriculum was founded), the tour-guide was kind of ditz-y and his reasons for coming to Brown seemed very superficial and were things you could find at most schools (other than the curriculum) and there were Brown students smoking at the steps of a building. It REALLY turned me off, it seemed like the school didn't feel the need to impress us since "It's Brown." I'm going to visit again... but anyway I'm kind of disinclined to Penn, but my Brown visit COMPLETELY turned my previous view of the school upside-down, so I'm trying to open my mind to Penn :) since maybe the same will happen, but in a good way.</p>
<p>I really LOVED Boston though and every school there (even BU :P)... would I like Philly?</p>
<p>My SATs are also sub-par (2070) but the rest of my app and SAT IIs reasonably strong (top 2%, a few research awards include Siemens semi-finalist... other stuff that I don't really feel like mentioning now).</p>
<p>Meh that was a rant... so would someone like me who doesn't REALLY know what she wants to do fit in at Penn? Why?</p>
<p>PS. Do people prefer Penn or UPenn?</p>
<p>I love Philly. Tons of people aren’t sure what they will do (I wasn’t). You’ll have a couple years to figure out, and there are tons of opportunities. It’s Penn.</p>
<p>Would you like Philly? Would you fit in at Penn? How in the world would we know? We’re not you. Only YOU can answer those questions.</p>
<p>That said, Penn is Penn. You could end up falling in love with the school, or you could end up downright hating it. No school will ever be perfect. You should seriously consider visiting.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>the open curriculum at Brown began in 1969. assuming your tour was in 2009, that would make it 40 years old</p></li>
<li><p>there are students who smoke everywhere. i’m currently at harvard med school and serve as a residential advisor to undergrads at MIT - there are always students loitering outside the dorm smoking at both places.</p></li>
<li><p>while your student tour guide may have had superficial reasons for choosing brown, you appear to have equally superficial reasons for being disenfranchised with it</p></li>
</ol>
<p>just saying…</p>
<p>@geekorathletic, it was more of a “If I like Boston, would I like Philly?”</p>
<p>@dcircle, well then the speaker made a mistake because she clearly said 1979.</p>
<p>K, I don’t have a ton of info about you and your particular interests, so I will wing my response off your title…and give you some “profiles” of different people you <em>could</em> be at Penn.</p>
<p>English-heavily involved with Kelly Writer’s House, taking a seminar’s class taught by Al Fileris where Joyce Carol Oates and other famous authors visit to discuss their work with you…OR you could work on The Daily Pennsylvanian for serious news and issues…OR you could work on Street, the funky arts/culture gossip magazine…OR…you could write for one of the numerous specialty journals (there’s Jewish-interest, feminist, science, etc that come to mind immediately).</p>
<p>Science-so many opportunities. Research or shadow doctors, take professors from people who have revolutionized their field. </p>
<p>Socially-you can be the big frat party person-there are definitely people who want that typical ‘college’ (you see on tv/movies) experience. On the other hand, you can chill in your dorm and be super active and social without any other ‘influences’.
You can stay on Penn’s campus, participating in events and activities every event, or you can go into Philadelphia to try new restaurants and see museum exhibits.</p>
<p>I realize this probably isn’t being so helpful. I will also try to tell you why people normally don’t like Penn (for reasons intrinsic to Penn):</p>
<p>-the size. sometimes it just really bothers people and they feel lost in the crowd. if you want a campus where most/many people know you, this isn’t it. That hasn’t been my experience-but I knew a big size was never an issue for me.
-the intensity of science classes. if you don’t want to work your ass off and want to be a science major, you probably are going to hate Penn.</p>