<p>For those attending, can you describe your regular academic day, such as:
1. how much homework you get per class,
2. how many hours you have to spend studying,
3. how late you have to sleep at night,
4. how much of your time and energy each class demands of you,
5. how grades are distributed,
6. how stiff the competition is in your classes, and/or
7. how hard the tests and major exams are?</p>
<p>Would anyone like a hot cup of bump?</p>
<p>A lot of this varies depending on your major, your school, and the classes you take. Personally, I am doing a dual degree, College (biology) and Wharton. I am also pre-med as well. </p>
<p>For those attending, can you describe your regular academic day, such as:
- how much homework you get per class,</p>
<p>Very few classes give homework. The “homework” for many classes is to read the book, go to lecture, and study! Wharton classes do give homework, but usually it counts for a very small portion of your grade. </p>
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<li>how many hours you have to spend studying, </li>
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<p>This depends on the person and how well you want to do! For my science classes, it wasn’t uncommon for me to spend <em>at least</em> 10-15 hours/week studying for them outside of class. It paid off though, as I got an A in both classes. </p>
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<li>how late you have to sleep at night, </li>
</ol>
<p>This depends on the number of extracurriculars you do and how good you are at managing your time. I did a lot this semester (5), so I usually went to bed around 2. </p>
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<li>how much of your time and energy each class demands of you, </li>
</ol>
<p>I’d say my science classes consumed my time much more than my business classes did. </p>
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<li>how grades are distributed,</li>
</ol>
<p>This depends on the class and professor. Ultimately, each professor has the power to give whatever grade he/she wants, but many follow department guidelines. For example, the biology and chemistry departments say that the median grade must be a B-/C+. Keep in mind that that is the median, not the average. The percentage of As varies, however. In my biology class, the distribution was the top 20% got As, next 40% got Bs, next 35% got Cs, and the rest got failing grades. In my chemistry class, I believe the A range was 25-28%, but the median grade was still a B-/C+. In Wharton, grading usually follows a 30% As, 40% Bs, 30% Cs distribution, with the median grade being a B or B+. </p>
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<li>how stiff the competition is in your classes, and/or</li>
</ol>
<p>Competition is definitely higher in the science classes since basically everyone is pre-med. This is not your stereotypical “cutthroat competition” with people unwilling to help you. It’s more of just an “everyone tries super hard” environment, so you have to work much harder than before to achieve the same result. </p>
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<li>how hard the tests and major exams are?</li>
</ol>
<p>Depends on the class and how prepared you are. Exams are typically made hard so that students can be clearly separated by ability.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>how much homework you get per class
Depends on the major. In humanities classes, most of the time it is just reading. In some of the sciences you have to read the book or do problems that are not collected. In my major (physics) we get weekly problem sets that are graded based on accuracy, not completion. These problem sets usually take of 4-7 hours but can take more depending on the week.</p></li>
<li><p>how many hours you have to spend studying
Probably between 15-25 hours a week. This is because I usually take 3 classes that require problem sets. I wouldn’t recommend taking any more than this. I also started doing 15 hours of research a week this semester.</p></li>
<li><p>how late you have to sleep at night
I sleep an average or 7-8 hours a night and get up earlier than most, usually a little after 7. I think this is because I never have had the tendency to procrastinate, so my work is always done early which leaves me time to sleep. Don’t underestimate the importance of sleep. Not sleeping enough will affect you academically. It is also much easier to get sick during college, so not sleeping can affect your health very negatively. </p></li>
<li><p>how much of your time and energy each class demands of you
The classes I take to fulfill sector requirements usually only take a few hours a week. My physics classes take a lot more time because of the problem sets. </p></li>
<li><p>how grades are distributed
The humanities classes seem to grade pretty nicely for the most part. I think most don’t curve except for maybe intro classes.
I think usually there are 30% As, a lot of Bs and some Cs, however this varies within my department. Some professors are more lenient with grades. One professor I had did an absolute grading scale. So overall, even though the classes were very tough, the grading was for the most part pretty nice.</p></li>
<li><p>how stiff the competition is in your classes
The physics students I know are all incredibly intelligent but also incredibly conscientious students, they are very determined to do well but are not at all cutthroat. We often help each other with problem sets or ask each other questions about things we may not understand.</p></li>
<li><p>how hard the tests and major exams are?
The exams are fair but can be pretty difficult. Averages for my department are usually range from 60%-75% although the average on a final was once 52%</p></li>
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<p>Other tips: A very common mistake is overloading yourself with your classes. Try as hard as you can not to do this as it will most likely have an negative impact on your grades. If you can resist the temptation to overload and study in an efficient manner, things will be very manageable. When you make your schedule, think carefully about the difficulty of your classes. I would take a maximum of three very difficult classes and try to fit in one easier class in your schedule. Try not to go over 5 credits; however if you have to, be extra cautious about the classes you choose to take.</p>
<p>This is great! Thanks guys! Does anyone know how hard Penn academic life would be for premeds?</p>
<p>It’s hard in the sense that there will be a lot of competition and grade deflation in your pre-med classes, except for the writing requirement. At least Penn has great resources and advising to help you with your pre-med track. If you’re accepted to Penn, it’s a sign that Penn believes that you are ready to take on the challenge, so don’t doubt yourself! :)</p>