<p>As a HS student, I am taking 001 601 Microeconomics through LPS but I just withdrew because it's too hard...I can't apply concepts to problems......but I'm a hard working student and I do really well in HS, I just don't have enough time for office hours and stuff since I'm in HS.</p>
<p>Now if I get accepted to Penn, not all classes should be that way right? I only understood like half of it...can anyone shed a light on Econ classes and other classes at Penn? </p>
<p>The classes are hard and require work. High school classes - even AP’s - really do not compare. That being said, when you are full-time in college you learn how to work harder and smarter. You also have the opportunity to go to office hours and extra-help and you can form study groups. Taking an econ class as a HS student without these other resources is hard so don’t beat yourself up about withdrawing. When you get to college and take the same type of class, you will be in a better position to do well in it.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Google Econ Scream. Econ 001 is not a fun experience for most Penn students, but they all survive.</p>
<p>Thanks guys 
Yeah I’ve heard of Econ Scream…lol.
So should I avoid Econ 001 if I get accepted into Penn?
And btw, I have only taken 1 AP class before, tiny school. </p>
<p>Wow, I think Penn is beating the bushes for people (not “students” cause there are none) who write “I just don’t have enough time for office hours and stuff since I’m in HS.” Yes sir. Let’s fill the ranks of our most elite colleges with student who have your values and level of persistence. In all seriousness, I hope you convey this on your application so that the school rejects you in favor of someone willing to bust their b— to understand and conquer any topic put before them. The role of these elite schools is to take those with the most academic potential (not the most potential for rah rah) and turn out leaders. They have a responsibility to select the students who complain that the class is too easy and they aren’t learning. learning is hard work. If you can’t handle hard, go to a place that allows you to spend 4 years “having fun” which for academically inclined students means being involved in academically meaningful activities but for you means going to the next game, fraternity party and sorority rush event. Please do us all a favor. Go to St. Johns in Queens. </p>
<p>You’ve just experienced the difference between a HS course and a college course. HS is about regurgitating; Penn (and most colleges) are about analysis.</p>
<p>You can look at your experience as fortunate - you dipped your toe in scalding hot water early; most everyone else discovers this at mid-terms in their first semester.</p>
<p>While some may argue that ECON 101 is a weed out class, and subsequent classes get “easier,” I think that the student’s gradual adaptation to college work makes subsequent classes appear “easier.” Some required classes (e.g., econometrics) are (or may be depending upon your mind set) much more difficult and require a lot more work.</p>
<p>There is no avoiding classes - to get the depth of knowledge expected of, for example, an economist graduating from Penn, a student will dig deeper and work harder than any normal HS student can comprehend.</p>
<p>Don’t get discouraged by your foray. Don’t make excuses about office hours being inconvenient. (And, BTW, there will be many times in college that office hours will conflict with your class schedule. That’s where emailing the prof and explaining the conflict will result in the prof scheduling you for alternate office hours. You’ve just learned that lesson - college is where you take the control and steer.)</p>
<p>THis is a positive learning experience. No harm done.</p>
<p>No, the office hours are convenient but I have college apps along with high school work. I am really hard working but at least I hAve experience with college now. Don’t think of me as someone who just wants to have fun l, I’m in fact the opposite. And I didn’t get my midterm score back yet but I think I got a 30, so I have to withdraw.</p>
<p>From your prior thread: “But I will try to go to office hours but the problem is that it’s 3-5pm. I’ll be only able to get there by 4:30.”</p>
<p>Which is it, the office hours are convienient or not? If you didn’t hit the profs office between the first exam and the second, how in the world did you expect to get a handle on intro ECON? </p>
<p>If you think you’re juggling a lot now, there are magnitudes more things to juggle and distractions galore awaiting.</p>
<p>There is a difference between being in HS and being in college. Don’t worry too much about it.</p>
<p>If you get accepted, it’s because Penn believes you can graduate. Your major may change as you run into roadblocks and uncover more likes and dislikes. If you can get accepted, you can do the work. There are kids too who can do the work that don’t get accepted. </p>
<p>People who struggle the most are people that don’t adapt to the change from HS to college. It happens.</p>
<p>@stemit I thought it was 3-5pm too but it was actually 5-7pm.</p>
<p>@madaboutx yeah I’ll work super hard if I do get in, or at any college…</p>
<p>I studied for almost 2 whole days before my second midterm and I got the lowest grade in the class.</p>
<p>This is my first semester at Penn, but I can honestly say that it is far more difficult than high school. They are harder than AP classes and taught differently. Everyone is very smart, so it can be difficult to beat the curve. Also, exams do not test you on whether or not you memorized all the materials in the book. They test you on whether or not you can take the information you learned and apply it to a new scenario. I would’t let this worry you. My main piece of advice would be to go to office hours and tutoring early. Even if you think you are completely prepared for the test, go to office hours anyway. You can learn a lot from just listening to everyone else’s questions. Get to know your professors because they will help you if they see that you are trying. I’ve also been seeing one of Penn’s math/science tutors. Even though my grades on assignments have been A’s and B’s, I still go see a tutor for advice and help with study skills and test taking strategies. I know that it is hard to ask for help, but Penn has so many amazing resources you can take advantage of. </p>
<p>Okay
Is it better to live on campus for that? I live about 30 minutes away from campus. </p>
<p>I have a kid at Penn. We live closer than you say (about 17 min door to door without traffic), and I would highly recommend living on campus. Paying more than necessary isn’t my dream but I would consider that an essential.</p>
<p>Also, studying 2 whole days for a midterm may be the flaw in your preparation. You should ask someone at your school about study skills. Ideally, you prepare the whole midterm for the midterm and the last days before are just review to prevent you from making careless mistakes. </p>
<p>I remember I used to re-read notes every night, make flash cards for definitions and concepts I needed to know cold, do all my reading and study old quizzes and tests if they were available. And I studied with a study group. The better student you are, the better the study group you can get with too in my experience. But that was back in my day.</p>
<p>Now, you can supplement your learning with online tutorials, Khan academy lectures, Coursera courses, online class notes, etc. Plus, you can do an online study group via Skype or FaceTime with a classmate, you can google anything and go to the library online. </p>
<p>Yeah I was mainly studying online by myself…lol…I knew most of the concepts but it didn’t help me at all. I really want to live on campus too but my mom is renting an apartment and she doesn’t want me to…but I still will try. Is it hard to get a single room? </p>
<p>Are looking for a single room because of the whole “ThePariah” moniker you put on yourself?</p>
<p>Are you a loner? Have you made yourself an outcast? </p>
<p>Getting in to the school is extremely hard, why make it harder by adding such specific demands to the mix?</p>
<p>I feel more comfortable living in a room by myself but I am going to make tons of friends of course. </p>
<p>I’d wait for the acceptance letter before strategizing on dorm selection.</p>
<p>Ok you’re right lol. </p>
<p>This is an impossible question to answer effectively [but I’ll try anyway!] for multiple reasons. First, everyone is different in terms of their abilities and where they are coming from before Penn. Second, at Penn, like at any other school, there are many choices of classes and some will be much harder than others.</p>
<p>On average, classes here will be harder than AP classes in high school, at least in terms of your ability to obtain a high grade. The median grade in most classes will be a B+ and to get an A you’ll need to be in the top 20-30% of your class. That’s means you will have to outscore ~80% of your classmates, all of whom were in the top tier within their high school.</p>
<p>How can you do that? Just like in HS, the easiest way is just to be “smarter” than everyone else, but it’s only one factor determining your success, and it’s not one you can do much about. Honestly you won’t find out how you really stack up against your classmates until you get to campus and start taking classes. In my experience, your high school background & even SAT don’t say much about how much “raw intelligence” you have, at least in the sense of raw intelligence that’s helpful for college coursework.</p>
<p>The second is of course how hard you work, most importantly how effectively you work. It seems like everyone here “works hard,” but I question how much of the time that people are “working” is actually productive time. Study groups, studying in public places/etc, is in my opinion not nearly as effective as studying intensely on your own where you have zero distractions. Most people will tell you the exact opposite, and for sure most people at Penn like to study in groups. But the exam is an individual activity so IMO the studying for the exam should be as well, unless you have specific things to discuss [questions you couldn’t find the answer to in the text/notes, etc]. In my experience, time spent in groups is ineffective unless there is a clear mission to the meeting. Group work is extremely important and useful, and if you are in Wharton there are tons of opportunities where you will need to work with others - but sometimes alone works better.</p>
<p>Beyond all that, you just have to choose classes effectively. If you take 6 difficult classes, you are going to most likely do poorly. If you only take 4-5 classes per semester [4 if your classes are particularly difficult, save the 5 class semesters for easier classes], take only one or two difficult/time consuming classes at a time, etc, then you have a much better chance of doing well. College isn’t about being the person with the “most AP classes” like HS was - you don’t get an award for it, and in particular if you are gunning for a job after graduation, GPA matters far more than coursework.</p>