Housing at Penn (from an Insider)

Colleges & Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
1

<p>Hey this Troy Majnerick and I coordinate New Student Orientation at Penn. </p>

<p>I know this is a time where you’re trying to find out as much info as possible about housing so the best advice is to go to our website: <a href=“http://www.collegehouses.upenn.edu%5B/url%5D”>http://www.collegehouses.upenn.edu</a>. </p>

<p>You’ll find the entire brochure online as well as two informative videos – one about student rooms and the other is a series of short videos on College House life produced by a student. That should help a lot! </p>

<p>You can also send questions to <a href=“mailto:collegehouses@pobox.upenn.edu”>collegehouses@pobox.upenn.edu</a>.</p>

2

<p>Yes, in the brochure you can learn that every house is the perfect house for you.</p>

3

<p>very true.....</p>

4

<p>Troy can I talk to you about some NSO stuff?</p>

5

<p>Yes, ask away... Feel free to ask about housing, NSO, Penn Reading Project... Anything...</p>

6

<p>Oh! I have a question about Penn's Reading Project. Is it annual? Could you just please give a general overview of what it entails?</p>

7

<p>The Penn Reading Project (PRP) is an annual part of New Student Orientation where Penn faculty members and incoming students begin the year by reading and discussing a text selected by current students and faculty. </p>

<p>PRP, now in its sixteenth year, was created as an introduction for incoming freshmen to academic life at Penn. It includes small group discussions which are preceded by three lectures by prominent faculty members. There will be other supporting activities throughout the semester, including a festival of related films shown on Penn Video Network.</p>

<p>In July, we'll mail a copy of the book to all incoming freshmen. While you aren't graded on the material, you are expected to read the book as well as participate in the discussion.</p>

8

<p>When do they announce what the book is? Or do you find out when you get it in July?</p>

9

<p>We should be announcing the book within a week. I'll be back with the info once the final decision is made.</p>

10

<p>Wow, thanks. :)</p>

11

<p>Yes, thanks a lot! I was really trying to find info about PRP, but your answer has answered it all! :D</p>

12

<p>just a small tip:
read the book. in my group there were maybe five or six out of 17 kids who had actually read it, and it made for an awkward few hours in the discussion. and having to tell a professor you didn't do something before classes even start can be a little discouraging (i wouldn't know.)</p>

13

<p>yeah, I would also read the book. While I--and most of our class--hated our PRP book, it made for some interesting discussion and it also kind of allowed for the entire class to bond through some common knowledge. I can't count how many times since NSO somethign has come up in a class or life and I've heard someone yell "The Tipping Point!"</p>

<p>It also prompted lots of upperclassmen to question aloud our attachment to that book... like it or not, the book stuck with us.</p>

14

<p>We had the Autobiography of Ben Franklin as our book. Admittedly I did not finish it (I tried reading it but it didn't catch my interest in an extreme way and I had work to do). It actually isn't that bad -- it isn't like a graded assignment or anything, it's just what you make of it. You can either spend an hour or so bored, or you can spend it discussing things for fun at no real expense. Even if you have to admit you didn't read the book, nobody will really care. So, it's a matter of whether or not you wish to be bored for an hour :P</p>

15

<p>For the BF Autobiography, my impression is that only about 10% of Penn freshman actually read/admitted to reading the book.</p>

16

<p>Yeah, pretty much :P</p>

17

<p>btw, here's last year's NSO website as a reference:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.upenn.edu/nso/2005/welcome/index.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.upenn.edu/nso/2005/welcome/index.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>