<p>I'm a freshman in the College at Penn, and I'd be happy to answer any and all questions you might have. </p>
<p>Fire away!</p>
<p>can you describe what your time there has been like so far? classes? people? parties? clubs? etc?</p>
<p>esp favorite thing and worst thing :)</p>
<p>yea I wanna noe tat too.
In addition how many hours of homework/ study do u do each night? but then tat depends on ur major...so wuts ur major?? n wut if ur major is biology?</p>
<p>Is it really that hard to type an h?</p>
<p>I've loved my time here so far! Penn was one of my top choices as far as applying and I was so thrilled to get in here. Teachers are all excellent, and classes have been so far manageable for the most part. I'm currently taking 4 classes (they limit 1st semester freshmen to 4): a language class, writing seminar, world history, and intro to international relations. Homework is pretty manageable, but can definitely pile up if you don't plan. College gives you a lot more spare time, but you really have to have good time management, especially in the classes that require a lot of reading. It's easy to procrastinate!! And of course, some professors are better than others, but they're all excellent at the very least. </p>
<p>People are awesome! They're all very smart, obviously, and very diverse in their backgrounds and interests. I've noticed that although there is a little racial self-segregation, it's not as bad as I thought it would be. People tend to work very hard during the week and then let loose during the weekend. The freshman social life tends to revolve around the frats, definitely. Every weekend they have parties, which are almost always open to anyone. (Drexel kids tend to come to Penn parties....apparently ours are superior!!). Frat parties are mostly people getting drunk off cheap beer and then dancing the night away. Beer pong is pretty common too. For non-drinkers, there's no overt peer pressure to drink, but some of my more straight edged friends have felt a little uncomfortable being the only ones not drinking. </p>
<p>I haven't been to a "club" per se, mainly because I don't have a fake ID. Philly's pretty tough on ID's (especially if you're a guy) so if you want to get into clubs you should get a good fake. I usually stick to frat parties, which can be really fun. </p>
<p>Best things?
-People
-Philly
-Social atmosphere. We're known as the "Social Ivy" for a reason!!</p>
<p>Worst?
-Weather can be less than perfect...muggy in summer and freezing in winter
-(doesn't apply to me,) but some premed/engineering/sciencey majors have to fight against tough curves, which causes them to stress out...but I don't think this is a Penn thing, all schools are like this.</p>
<p>Hello Steveo68,
You mention the 4 class limit for freshman, but my son a current engineering freshman is taking 5.5, and honestly he is not the young man I dropped off in August. I'm wondering how many other students are literally killing themselves to try and achieve their goals, from the starting gate. As a mom, I am concerned, but also stepping back. All of my friends kids are 'loving college' ...total woo-hoo, especially as seen on their facebooks. When I talk to my son he seems really down and overwhelmed, though managing, including a number of extra-curriculars. He's not the drinking/party type, but not anti-social either, and I'm wondering if he's not terribly comfortable, as you mention, going to parties and not drinking.<br>
Personally I think he needs a better balance, for his sanity, and also more socialization for his mental health. Could be that he is just venting more to me, as I am his mom, or that I'm just feeling the ache in my heart of his difficulties. He seems to have adjusted very well, gets along just fine, was hit hard by those curved mid-terms, thinking he flunked things, when his horrid grades were actually the class average or better. He's cordial with his roommate, but they seem to have very little contact due to schedules and interests that are very different.<br>
I'm hoping that he will seem happier after Thanksgiving, as some say happens. Is this familiar to anyone, or is everyone truly 'psyched and happy' about their freshman college experiences? Or are the parents I talk to covering up? Ugh...</p>
<p>the 4 class limit only applies to freshmen in the college; engineers generally take 5 or more their first semester</p>
<p>the adjustment period varies from person to person, and a big part of that development is gaining a sense of, and validating, one's identity - unfortunately, doing that can be very difficult for some.</p>
<p>Steveo68,</p>
<p>I am planning to write my short answer about a Penn professor and was wondering if there were any unique/fun/brilliant professors that come to mind (preferably in the fields of biology/chemistry/physics). Thanks for your help.</p>
<p>Thanks, t. Hopefully that validation of identity does not include public confidence, poise, and leadership, and private hermit isolation! I guess it is not my cross to bear, but as a mom, it's a tough spectator sport. And again, he's probably just venting woes to me, and though he's not complaining, he seems so down. Trying to keep him talking though, since without his good friends, a girl, or family, he's not one to 'share'. My mother-in-law keeps telling me how all of her kids had a hard time adjusting to college, and how normal it is. I'm just not seeing that, and I did not experience that myself. They were all brainiac engineers, so maybe that is the difference. I'm sure my son would be having a much better time if he was taking 4 credits, but he's fine with the work, just not used to staying up until 2am every night doing homework and trying to balance all the other activities he added to his plate. He is making a point to exercise, play music, and attend church (though not when most of the other students go, as it conflicts with meetings :(</p>
<p>Thanks so much, again.</p>
<p>CapeCodLady8, I can assure you that your son's situation and venting are not unique. My S experienced similar emotions his first semester. Part of it is really an adjustment to college and living away from home. Another part is that college (Penn)is really harder than high school and students who were stars in HS, become a bit discouraged when they put in more study time but feel insecure after exams.
I can assure you that things will improve and my S stopped complaining after the first semester. If you have more questions or need assurances,just PM me.</p>
<p>CapeCodLady8- I sent you a PM. I think freshman year at Penn can be difficult. I also think freshman engineering can be difficult. It's good your son is talking to you.</p>
<p>hey steve
i have another question
what are the people at penn generally like?
i heard from many tat penn's students were stuck up n arrogant?</p>
<p>Penn students come from all different backgrounds and are ridiculously diverse in interests and personality. I actually heard that Penn students were "stuck up and arrogant" too. Then I realized that not only was this not at all true, but that people tend to stereotype elite colleges as "stuck up and arrogant" in general. I've heard the same thing about Harvard, Yale, and Princeton students, and it's probably not true (although there may be a bit of truth to Princeton's).</p>
<p>Have you ever met anybody that you think shouldn't be at Penn? (I know his sounds harsh)</p>
<p>What are the research opportunities like, especially for underclassmen?</p>
<p>How readily available are classes? i.e. when you're trying to register, how often do you find that the classes you want are full</p>
<p>thanks cbreeze and momofwildchild. i talked to my son, rather 'chatted' on facebook yesterday. it was good. he's feeling pretty in control, just very overloaded, by his own choice. next semester he plans to do the same number of credits [5.5], though with a mix of classes so it will stimulate the humanities side of him...something he's missing right now with ALL science/math/eng all the time [and the crazy exams and curves]. he's looking forward to writing papers and having more 'intellectual' discussions next semester to keep the balance... physics and math discussions are rather dry! ;)</p>
<p>
[quote]
What are the research opportunities like, especially for underclassmen?
[/quote]
There definitely are a lot of opportunities to get involved in research, even as freshmen. There's CURF (Centre for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships) which can help, although their research database hadn't been updated for a while last I checked. </p>
<p>
[quote]
How readily available are classes? i.e. when you're trying to register, how often do you find that the classes you want are full
[/quote]
Depends on the class. For larger intro ones, it usually isn't an issue getting in because they're fairly big and usually several sections are offered each semester. Sometimes it might be hard to get into the section you want. Smaller seminar courses can be hard to get into due to their small size. The thing I like about Penn's registration system is that they have a period of about 2 weeks of "Advanced Registration" and as long as you submit your course requests during those 2 weeks, you have an equal chance of getting your courses (i.e. they don't open up course registration at midnight and fill the courses on a first-come-first-serve basis; I think it's more of a lottery-type system) You can always move classes around after the advanced registration period, but it makes things a little less stressful.</p>