<p>Do you need a car?</p>
<p>No. A car would be a detriment (and there would be no place to park it)</p>
<p>there are some pay parking lots, but how would it be a detriment?</p>
<p>you dont need a car but it would come in handy for road trips... :)
and there a lot of places to park it, however penn charges ridiculous amounts like 3000 a year to park in the penn garages.</p>
<p>from <a href="http://www.business-services.upenn.edu/parking/student.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.business-services.upenn.edu/parking/student.html</a> its about 1000 a year - I dont know about availablity or location though</p>
<p>as for laptop/desktop - i want to bring both</p>
<p>The only reason you would want a car is for road trips. You don't need it to get around the city. If you drove it somewhere in the city, you then have to pay to park it at your destination! There are usually enough local kids that will have access to a car for road trips.
I think a laptop is better, since you can easily take it to the library or anywhere there might be wireless internet. However, S at boarding school wanted his desktop because it was a more powerful machine. Consider that the desks aren't particularly huge, so I would recommend a flat panel monitor.</p>
<p>I'm sorry, but I'm from the area, and if you don't want your car stripped, you park it as far away from west philly as possible. And even if you tried, you'd never find a spot anywhere. Take the EL.</p>
<p>oh please. west philly (ESPECIALLY the area around Penn, is fine). Because Penn's there, security is higher than it would be if Penn wasn't there. I mean, you'll need a club (common sense), and don't keep valuables in plain sight (more common sense), but your car will be safe if you park around the campus.</p>
<p>Where on penn's "secure campus" are you proposing to keep a car jf215? And where exactly would you take it that the el or the train can't take you...cheaper?</p>
<p>what are you talking about? i never said don't take public transit, but don't exaggerate the problem. if you WANT a car, you can bring it without being worried about it being "stripped". you're just contributing to that "west philly is so unsafe" stereotype. penn's campus is as safe as any other college campus. god forbid a school is in the city. for someone who complains so much, why are you on this board anyway?</p>
<ul>
<li>And BTW...im pretty sure you know that a car can take you many places that the train & el cant. meaning ; outside the city (where SEPTA is pretty nonexistent), to the malls, etc.</li>
</ul>
<p>Ok, I don't truly understand why you feel so passionate about this, chill out. I never said "Penn" is not safe. "Penn" goes west to around 46th street, after that you ARE in west philly. There are very few places to park a car on "Penn", seeing as you are in the city. IF you want to park it in a parking garage, can get the spot and pay the fee, go ahead. I'm not trying to stop anyone from bringing a car to Penn, I'm just warning you that seeing as I'm from the area, and go into the city every day for class, there is a shortage of parking in the city of Philadelphia. It's an issue that the news visits frequently. If you feel confident in leaving your car on 50th and Spruce, then by all means go ahead.</p>
<p>And in response to the nice little closing note "* And BTW...im pretty sure you know that a car can take you many places that the train & el cant. meaning ; outside the city (where SEPTA is pretty nonexistent), to the malls, etc.". </p>
<p>Actually if you are referring to the suburban malls (ie Granite Run, Plymouth Meeting and King of Prussia, SEPTA does go there. The trains actually stop on campus and take you to within a busride of the malls. And I'm really not sure why you would leave the city to go to the mall. Why not The Gallery or gasp...south street? </p>
<p>I'm not complaining about Penn and I'm not sure what makes you think that. Penn IS safe. Parking on Penn is safe. Parking off of Penn is not.</p>
<p>Is Penn the only campus where bums ask you for change at night? just wondering</p>
<p>no, ive been asked by bums at uiuc and vanderbilt</p>
<p>I've been to Penn campus and had my car broken into. Several posters on this board stated that their car got broken into while they were on campus tour. Penn is not as dangerous as some people make it out to be so long as you use common sense. But I think having a car on campus is more trouble than the benefits you might derive from it.</p>
<p>You dont need a car on campus for anything. Penn is like a city within itself. Everything you need is close by or easy to get to using public transportation. Don't be afraid of using SEPTA, it's not hard.
As for laptop/desktop, I have a laptop, but the only immediate benefit of having a laptop is having the option of working with it in places besides your dorm. Most buildings have plenty of computers to use.</p>