First Impressions of Penn

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
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<p>This is kinda hilarious. As someone who loved Penn after NSO, almost transferred out after freshman year and probably would have been just as happy if I’d transferred out instead of sticking around to graduate, I’m gonna go ahead and say I’ve got points worth making.</p>

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<li><p>The dorms do suck. But guess what, that’s life. I didn’t like living in Hill freshman year so I moved off campus sophomore year. In addition, after the initial shock of having a dirty closet as a room, I GOT OVER IT and did what I could to make it feel like home (or something close to it). Did I ever love my dorm? No, but I didn’t pay for a palace; I paid for a roof over my head that would occasionally provide heat during the winter and temperature controlled water… not always, but usually when it felt like it. When you move into an apartment, they don’t provide you with mood lighting. They give you the basics; if you want to have lighting the way you expect at home, you need to get it yourself. That is the same at every school, apartment and home in the country (except for those nuts at some schools that get hotel rooms!).</p></li>
<li><p>People do group together by school… when they are in orientation programs that need to separate people by their school (if I am in the college, I don’t give a damn about MGMT100). When I went out drinking during NSO, I was with people from all four schools, and I didn’t even realize what school half of my roommates were in until second semester. Somehow I don’t think that my experience was all that unique.</p></li>
<li><p>People dressed all preppy-like… well what do you expect? It’s an Ivy League school that costs $55,000 a year to attend. There are going to be rich people there; if you didn’t expect that, you’re delusional.</p></li>
<li><p>Stop making judgments about people based on NSO. If you didn’t meet your best friends this week, join 95% of the rest of your class. If you want to make friends, you will. If you don’t, you won’t. That is the end of the story. You are one of 2,500 people, and when you join groups, you WILL find people who think like you.</p></li>
<li><p>Philly is not the nicest city ever, but you have to be insane to think that off Penn’s campus is lousy. Have you been west of campus? Head down to Clark Park and you will see some awesome little mom-and-pop shops.</p></li>
<li><p>How is it that I’ve survived 22 years of going to Wawa without ever being “tackled” in line? Also, Wawa > every other convenience store ever. No question. Don’t question the Wawa.</p></li>
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<p>This made me laugh. So true. I was in that very Wawa outside the Quad this week and only met nice people both wondering in the store and on line. No pushing, no shoving, no problems.</p>

<p>I think OP, you would not be happy anywhere you went because you don’t seem like a happy confident young lady. In looking at your threads before you even arrived I just kept hoping that my son never ran into you. I especially hoped that he wasn’t on a floor or in a program with you because I wouldn’t want him around someone who was so negative and could possibly put a damper on his experience.</p>

<p>He seems to be having a fantastic time and has met so many nice new people already. I think the difference is that he went in with a good attitude. He was very open to whatever came his way and he wasn’t expecting it to be just like his house and school at home.</p>

<p>I think you would do yourself a service and lighten up. If you are constantly miserable and complaining (especially about something that the person you are complaining to actually enjoys) people will pull away from you. I am not saying this to be harsh, (thought after all your complaining I feel like I am to that point where I can’t help but be harsh) You will have a hard time finding people who enjoy being with you and you enjoy being with if you are always putting down the things that they love and you are not open to the possibility of anything actually being up to your standards. I hope that you can calm yourself down enough after all your pre-arrival worries to actually try to have a good time. If you can’t by all means transfer and spread the joy :-)</p>

<p>Good luck to you. I hope it all works out.</p>

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<p>Yeah, I made your son cry yesterday. :)</p>

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<p>I think HafsaRox does make sense in many of her points. She is just a lil bit negative and need time to adopt to Penn. Please don’t make her hate Penn no more. Come here HafsaRox, let me give you a hug :p</p>

<p>Now let me tell you of my experience when I was in (Westeren) Europe. I stayed in a place that is on the 7th floor and the elevator didn’t work every other day. The building is both student-housing and government-housing (imagine all the shady people.) Terrible bathrooms (overflowed every month.) The first day when I arrived, somebody stole my laptop on my way from the airport. I got pickpocketed 2 times in 6 months. Burglars broke in my room 1 time. A close friend got robbed and assaulted (hospitalized for 2 weeks.) The area is absolutely unsafe to walk around at night. (Police posted huge signs warning)</p>

<p>But guess what. Now looking back, I do miss and love that place.</p>

<p>Living under unexpeted conditions makes up a great part of ourselves. It is what makes us better. Be brave.</p>

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<p>Wow. Did you study-abroad there?</p>

<p>Yeah, I know. Penn is what it is. I’ll get used to it. Don’t worry. </p>

<p>PS: I’m not “negative;” I prefer the term “harsh critic.” :wink: </p>

<p>GO QUAKERS!</p>

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<p>Hafsarox - Actually you come across negative…not as a harsh critic. Good luck.</p>

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<p>Well, good to see you at least have a sense of humor. Hopefully that is the part of you people will see instead of the “harsh critic”. You will absolutely have a better time that way. I hope in a few weeks you are all settled in, have lots of friends, love your classes and look back on all these threads and just laugh and wonder what you were thinking.</p>

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<p>^ Thanks.</p>

<p>10char</p>

49

<p>I’m a Penn 15’er who feels kind of lonely/ devoid of intellectualism too - if anyone wants to talk about it/anything, PM me. </p>

<p>To be fair though, I think the upperclassmen have a point about classes/clubs being a more attractive venue to meet good friends, and the amenities (besides the dining hall) have been better than expected.</p>

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<p>Classes start tomorrow…so maybe you will find others to talk to.</p>

<p>I’m sure intellectual talks will come…</p>

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<p>Shot a PM your way, Frenchwarrior =) Anyways yeah I’m hoping there will be intellectualism. I’m thinking of joining the Philo Society for that but the thought of preparing a presentation is daunting. Well, no pain no gain!</p>

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<p>Will do. :)</p>

<p>Yeah, Penn’s environment has left quite a lot of people miserable. I still don’t get why other posters here are not willing to accept it. I can practically bring 4 people just from my floor to back this up. People here, in general, are NOT happy. Can we at least start to talk about it, instead of ignoring the issue altogether?!</p>

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<p>I’m sure you can find people who are not happy at college…it’s new, it’s scarey, it’s different. This could be true anywhere. If you are in a different country, it can be even worse. </p>

<p>But whining and bashing the school online won’t make it better. It just makes you come across as a negative nancy. </p>

<p>Have a great year…enjoy your time at Penn.</p>

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<p>Now that NSO is over, here are my impressions. </p>

<p>By the by, Penn people seem to be pretty friendly and outgoing. The living situation isn’t the best but it’s not horrible, and I took a good amount of trips to Center City during NSO, and Center City is pretty nice, though the shops/malls close at 7 PM! ***, that’s so early! But oh well. The area surrounding Penn is also pretty good, as is Old City, which I enjoyed visiting. </p>

<p>My main beef with Penn is the fact that there does seem to be an anti-intellectual feeling around it. People are proud of NOT having read the summer reading book. My friend from Pomona, on the other hand, said that everyone read their summer reading book. To be honest, I’m really surprised that so few people read the summer reading book because, come on, at least put in the effort to read the book, it’s not like it’s Moby Dick or anything. As someone who loves reading, I’ve yet to find someone who enjoys reading like I do, and while partying is fun, I like chilling and talking about books and deeper things with my friends too. I’m hoping that it will be better once classes start though. I haven’t met everyone there is to meet, and so far, I am enjoying Penn. =)</p>

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<p>Miserable people attract other miserable people.</p>

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<p>I wouldn’t doubt that you can find plenty of people who are miserable after NSO, but you can find plenty of people who are thrilled. Once again, it’s not wise to cast judgment on a university before you’ve gotten to know people outside of your hall or your orientation group.</p>

<p>Classes provide plentiful discussion, and you will often find that in social science classes, students will remain after class to discuss topics that went unfinished during the seminar/recitation. Office hours are another outlet that are tremendous for this kind of discussion.</p>

<p>Personally, I didn’t have too many in depth discussions before I got really comfortable, which wasn’t until sophomore year to be honest. However, by sophomore year, I had no problem discussing history and politics with my closest friends before we decided to get sloshed at a party.</p>

<p>The reason that NSO is so wild is because of the Greek scene at Penn. Greeks want to highlight their houses and how fun their fraternities can be, which is great, but you’ll find that after midterms start, the parties become fewer since the vast majority of Penn students believe wholeheartedly in work-hard-play-hard. You’ll find that instead of fifteen Thursday night parties that anyone can go to, it will become a couple Thursday night parties that you’ll only get into if you have become friendly with brothers in the house. </p>

<p>Although the social scene at Penn is a shock to many, I would estimate that 95% of students become perfectly comfortable with it by the end of freshman year.</p>

<p>For freshmen, NSO is awkward, which explains why so many just get absurdly drunk… intoxication at least creates funny stories that would eliminate some of the initial awkwardness of leaving your entire life behind in your hometown. Most incoming freshmen were in the top 5% of their high schools, where the “cool” crowd was not the “smart” crowd. Going to college gives people the chance to create a brand new reputation, and so it’s very common for people to behave strangely in an effort to get that “cool kid” reputation. After awhile, most people realize that they are happier behaving like they always have, and it becomes easier to make friends and have in-depth discussions.</p>

<p>It’s unhealthy to make claims about Penn after only a week – a week of disorientation, no less. Give it a rest and make a judgment in December. Give it another rest and make a judgment in May. You’ll probably know whether you like Penn by then.</p>

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<p>I can understand how these posts come off as whiny and somewhat annoying, especially to people who have settled into college life a long time ago, but I don’t think it’s fair to call out people who are just trying to voice their fears and concerns in a new environment amid a crowd of people who seem to assert unqualified love for their new community after a week.</p>

58

<p>I don’t usually post on here, but reading this thread made my blood boil and I couldn’t help but say something. </p>

<p>First off, I know the dorms here aren’t exactly palaces. However, this is true of most colleges and it really shouldn’t ruin your college experience. I will concede that my room in the quad wasn’t particularly luxurious, so I suppose this is the one complaint I find some value in. </p>

<p>As far as anti-intellectualism, I really don’t think you are in any way qualified to make such judgments before even starting classes. Contrary to popular belief, not all highly intelligent and intellectual people spend every night discussing Milton Friedman or reading Gravity’s Rainbow. Get real. Most people at Penn fall somewhere on the middle of the social bell curve, enjoying class and studying while ALSO valuing time to unwind and relax in whichever way they choose. You have only experienced Penn students in the awkward situation of being alone and friendless in a new environment, a predicament that generally leads people (especially young ones) to try to look “cool” and impress the new people they meet. Once you really get to know Penn students (which I doubt you will if your negative attitude is as repulsive in real life as it is here on CC), you will realize that even the Polo-sporting frat “bro” you did kegstands with on Friday night is far deeper and more intelligent than he looks. </p>

<p>I guess what I really wanted to say to you is this: I find it hard to believe that you truly value depth and intellect as much as you say you do, since any true intellectual understands the importance of critical thinking and the folly of accepting any entity purely at face value. Your snap judgments of Penn and its students suggest that you lack this ability to see beyond appearances.</p>

<p>In the end, who is the better person: the preppy “bro” who looks like any state school frat boy “******bag” and unwinds on the weekends with parties and alcohol, but whose passion is studying Middle Eastern politics and the cultural implications of the war in Afghanistan, or the “intellectual” snob who writes him off as shallow and vapid and never even bothers to find out about the other sides to his character.</p>

<p>Hafsarox, you tell ME.</p>

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<p>Blah, can we please just lock this thread and prevent hafsarox from ever starting another one? </p>

<p>All I have to say is that if you don’t like your situation, make it better (many schools are probably now accepting transfer apps for the spring 2012 semester). You are in a class of 2,500 undergrads at a school with 10,000 undergrads in a city of 1.4 million people. If you can’t find a single person who you want to be friends with, then I don’t know how you will ever have friends. I met jocks and drug dealers and 4.0 students and Science Olympiad National champions and published authors and frat boys and just about every type of person you could ever imagine at Penn. Did I become best friends with all of them? Of course not. But I loved meeting such a diverse group of people. If you are spending all of your NSO posting angry comments on CC, that probably explains why you are miserable. After you transfer out of Penn, can you be sure to drop by and give us a post letting us know that you are equally miserable at Columbia?</p>

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<p>Oh, and don’t forget to spam Columbia’s boards scaring away all of their prospective students too.</p>