<p>I plan on visiting UPenn this Wednesday. When I get there, I report to Admissions Office. Are the tours done in groups or personally? What about the info sessions? What about parking and all that? How long are the tours?</p>
<p>The tours are done in groups... First you'll probably report to Irvine Auditorium for an info session... Then they'll break everyone up into groups, and a student will take you around for about an hour.
Oh, and parking's a b!tch.</p>
<p>I live in NJ, so I suppose I could do it the public transportation way. </p>
<p>I expected parking to be bad, but is it really that bad?</p>
<p>It's not THAT bad. There were a bunch of people there when I visited, but parking wasn't a problem. You just have to park in a deck and walk a few blocks.</p>
<p>my recommendation: there's a parking garage near 38th and walnut (right next to the fitness center) that usually has free spots. in fact, i visited three times and there were many spots available each time. it's also not that far away from the admissions office</p>
<p>when I went, we just found a spot on the street =)</p>
<p>but yea, report to the admissions office, then they will take you over to Irvine for the group info session, then they will split you up into smaller groups for the tour</p>
<p>I hope I like UPenn. It's going up against Columbia in my book.</p>
<p>Haha. All of last summer I was set on ED at Columbia. I visited Penn in August, and only then did I add it to my college list, and eventually chose it for ED.</p>
<p>Last summer I was dead set on Stanford EA. Penn was just better in every way for my family. While I'd still kill to transfer to Stanford, Penn was a great second choice and I will be very happy here. Also, there was 0 chance I'd get into Stanford anyway, so might as well lock in with my #2.</p>
<p>On Columbia vs Penn, I liked Penn's campus a hell of a lot more than Columbia's. While Morningside Heights has gone a lot farther than West Philly in terms of gentrification, something about the fence around the campus just didn't sit well with me. I also felt that Columbia was too small (I loved Cornell's campus so thats probably why). Then again, that may be more for you.</p>
<p>Location-wise and all, it's not a problem. They are more or less the same distance away from home. Really, I just need to figure out which one really stands out. Right now, Columbia is great, but I have nothing to compare it to. Hopefully, that'll change once I finish visiting. Hopefully, I'll decide after the visit which I want to do for ED, so that'll serve as motivation for me to crank up my SAT scores in October to 2250+, preferrably 2300+.</p>
<p>Do I need to call them ahead of time or anything like that? I just need to go to the admissions office when I get there right? How long is the info session and the tour? Will classes be going on now or are students off?</p>
<p>you don't need to call ahead, just check online for the times/duration. i think campus will be emptier than usual.</p>
<p>Just be sure to watch out for the attack squirrels on campus--they're especially vicious this summer. Have you been vaccinated for rabies?</p>
<p>:D</p>
<p>info session is about an hour, tour is about an hour.</p>
<p>there are a reasonably good number of tours per day, actually... quite a few groups roaming around.</p>
<p>Alright folks, I'm leaving in a bit for my visit. I'll let you know how it all goes.</p>
<p>I just got back from Phillie! One thing to say for now:</p>
<p>UPenn > ColumbiaU!</p>
<p>Boy, that was quick! Good call! :cool:</p>
<p>atta boy!</p>
<p>i was at columbia today for my job and it reminded me how awesome penn is by comparison</p>
<p>I didn't realize that it was in that part of Philadelphia; to me, safety seemed like a non-issue. The people, students and faculty, were all really helpful, and I liked that a lot. I learned something that I didn't expect about Penn, given its size: most classes are still under 25. I like my classes small, so that clarification was really the only thing I needed. The only thing I didn't like was that the campus, if you're outside, has a really oldish feel to it. But that's alright. I mean the beauty of the campus makes up for all of that. The buildings are spectacular; I really loved them. However, they're a total paradox; you look outside and you see this building with elegant, old architecture. Then you walk in and you're in a modern setting.</p>
<p>Anyway, now it's time to get cracking on the application and SAT studying. At least, now I have something to work towards!</p>
<p>
Dude! It's the Ivy League. The Ancient Eight. :cool:</p>
<p>Good luck with your application!</p>