<p>i’m only a freshman in highschool, but i plan on applying. so, here are my questions;</p>
<p>around how many students are in each class? </p>
<p>what’d you do in highschool to prep for applying? as in, clubs/schoolwork/etc?</p>
<p>thanks! :)</p>
<h1>21</h1>
<p>_Class size- Depends on the class. Intro, or beginner classes (Intro to Psych, Biology 101) are the largest. They could range from 160-300 students. The smallest class I’ve taken has been my writing seminar and that had 13 students. Language classes are also fairly small (~20 students). The most other common class size is around 50~60 students. However, most bigger classes or lectures have recitations that meet once a week. A recitation is basically a weekly review session for the course. The class is broken up into smaller groups (no more than 20 students) and that will give you the chance to seek more individual attention.</p>
<p>_High School- I went to a public high school in the city and participated in the IB (International Baccalaureate) Program. I had a 3.85 gpa and was top 5% of my class. I was Vice President of NHS, Secretary of Student Government, Youth Council for 3 yrs, Model UN, a local program called Operation Understanding and over 200 hours of community service.
My advice- Don’t stress yourself out too much in the earlier years. I didn’t do too well my Freshman year but what Penn is looking for most is an upward, not downward, trend in grades. The higher up you go, your grades should remain consistent or improve. Leadership and dedication in activities is important as well so choose a couple and stick with it. I couldn’t afford Test Prep classes so I bought the Collegeboard/AP practice books to help me with the SAT and ACT. The more strategies and tips for test-taking you know, the more prepared you will be.</p>
<p>In light of the release of RD Decisions (congrats everyone!) I’m bumping this thread. I’ve actually been sick all week so I have some extra time on my hands again. It sucks, but at least I’ll be healthy in time for Spring Fling lol. Anyway, I digress, ask away!</p>
<p>Hi, I have a couple of questions:</p>
<p>So hows the course load for pre-meds? Can I do any major with pre-med? I’m interested in middle eastern studies/pre-med, is that combo possible? How’s the food? Can I get “halal” (I’m Muslim) food at Penn? Can I get single-room dorms and one person/non-shared bathroom/shower?</p>
<p>Thanks for your time lol.</p>
<h1>24</h1>
<p>a) Pre-Med- Your Pre-Med experience is whatever you make it. It is not a major itself but rather a “track” to follow. This means that you can major in whatever you want so long as you fulfill the requirements to apply to med school (certain years of bio, chem, physics, and math). I myself am leaning towards a Psych. major with a minor in Africana studies. The reason why so many students choose I science major though is because it makes it easier to fulfill pre med requirements. For example, since I’m majoring in Psych. I have to take all the classes necessary to graduate with a degree in it while taking pre med classes, and none of them overlap, so basically it’s extra work. Not saying it’s not worth it, because it is, just stating facts. That being said, science/math courses at Penn are tough. They are usually rather large and curved, so you aren’t so much graded on how well you know the material but how well you know it compared to other students in your class.</p>
<p>b) Food- The food is dining hall food. Good some days, bad on others. There’s always pizza, burgers, fries, salad bar, and the comfort section fixes different, “home-cooked” things every day. I will say this, Dining Dollars are worth more than meal swipes in my opinion. Places like Houston Hall (which has stations for sushi, pasta, salad, burgers, and tacos), Einstein Bros Bagels, Au Bon Pain, and Shoppes at Commons (Burger Stop, Subway, Starbucks, and a grocery store) all take dining dollars, and the food at all these places are amazing. As far as basic dining halls go (1920 Commons, Hill, Kings Court)and Houston Hall there’s not much cultural diversity. I’m sorry, I’m not very familiar with Halal food but Steindhart Hall, in the Hillel Center which services Jewish students on campus, serves Kosher food, if that’s similar in any way. I googled a couple places and there’s restaurants around the city that serve Halal food, you can check them out for yourself and see how authentic they are-
-Saad’s Halal Restaurant (~5 blocks from campus)
-Kabobeesh (~3 blocks)
-Marrakesh Express (~ 5 blacks)
-Wah Gi Wah Halal Restaurant (~5 blocks)
-Ariana Restaurant: Afganistan Cuisine-Halal Food (downtown/center city)
you can google more if you’d like. That’s one of the great things about going to Penn, the city of Philly is diverse and right at your fingertips.</p>
<p>c) Dorms- Getting a single room as a freshman is extremely hard so don’t get your hopes up. Sorry if I busted your bubble lol. If you want a single, due to more privacy I would suggest anything on campus proper (Harnwell, Harrison, Du Bois). As a freshman you will get a Triple in Du Bois with your own room, bathroom, kitchenette, and common room, so basically a suite. To get into Harrison you have to apply to the FreshEx program and Harnwell is just applying. Both high rises have the same kind of suites but you may have to share a bedroom. They also group freshman rooms together so you’ll be around peers. See my previous post for a more in-depth review on each dorm and the FreshEx program.</p>
<p>Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions.</p>
<p>I actually don’t think it’s that hard to get a single. A lot of people don’t actually want singles. It might be hard to get the dorm you want <em>and</em> a single, but I’m pretty sure getting a single in itself is not a huge issue. Also, the person above forgot to mention Hummus, a middle eastern food place pretty much on campus (39th and Walnut, across from Rodin). It’s pretty good. There are also several food carts on campus that offer that sort of food.</p>
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<p>Definitely not for Freshman year.</p>
<p>Thanks so much for answering questions! Right now is kind of a difficult time trying to decide where to go, so I definitely appreciate it! I was wondering a few things:</p>
<p>-Does social life revolve mostly around frats? I don’t have a problem with going to frat parties, but do students go downtown often? See shows, concerts, etc, etc?</p>
<p>-Do people go to NYC at all? Is it relatively easy to go there for the day or something?</p>
<p>-It seems as though most people want to live in the Quad. If I sign up to live there, do I have a good chance of getting it? </p>
<p>-Is there something that most people in general don’t like about Penn or something that people complain about? </p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>@sheirunderdog: I know that UPENN has kosher food which muslims can eat too 
even though halal’s better (im muslim too , btw).</p>
<h1>29</h1>
<p>a) Social life- your social life is whatever you make it. Besides events on campus you’re privileged with being in a city, and a great one at that. Penn is in University City or West Philly but Center City/Downtown is about a 10 minute train ride away. and yes, there are definitely concerts, plays, performances, art exhibits, etc etc etc going on. There’s also a movie theater basically on campus. Now the party scene is separate from social life to me and from my experience yes, a lot of the parties are organized by frats or other groups such as sports teams. Frats throw “downtowns” from time to time which is basically a party at a club downtown. There are also a lot of clubs in the city if you want a change of pace and schools like Drexel and especially Temple have parties almost every weekend worth checking out.</p>
<p>b) People go to NYC all the time, a couple of my friends just went last weekend. It is both easy and relatively cheap if you take a bus. Most of my friends take Megabus and it’s ~$20 roundtrip for a day if I’m not mistaken.</p>
<p>c)The Quad houses the most freshman so you have a good chance of getting in, you may not get the exact house you wanted but I wouldn’t worry about it too much. Most people who apply get in.</p>
<p>d) Gripes with Penn differ with different people. Certain people may have specific ones pertaining to advising, teaching, classes, campus life, etc. Are there general dislikes? probably, but the ones I’m familiar with aren’t that serious to me. I mean a lot of students aren’t too fond of the food or certain classes/teachers/buildings. My advice to you would be to ask around about things you’re interested in at Penn, whether it be certain departments, dorms, clubs, etc. and see what the general consensus is to better form a decision about which school is best for you.</p>