<p>Alright come to me straight…I havent been on Penn’s campus for a LONG time and this coming sunday will be the first time back. Is the campus really as bad as people say it is? I mean in terms of “looks” how does it fare compared to…Georgetown? Better architecture, grass, space etc? Also, of course the surrounding area wont be up to Georgetown’s but is it really that bad? I just want to get a sense of what its like before I get there.
Thanks :)</p>
<p>I really like the Penn campus, but I don't think it's comparable to Georgetown's. Georgetown is like a castle, in my opinion - it's gorgeous. I think it's my favorite campus. I think I'm relatively picky about campuses and I really like Penn's. I think people have different tastes, so you'll see for yourself on Sunday when you get there.</p>
<p>thanks anyone else?</p>
<p>i mean you have to understand that Penn is ACTUALLY in a city. For a city campus it is incredible (i think so). I mean you have Locust Walk and the Quad and then other grassy areas. For its location, I think that it is the nicest it could possibly be.</p>
<p>I like Penn's campus because it has a vibrant, alive feel. Definitely different from say, Princeton's isolated resort look. a huge rectangular area of penn is completely isolated from the world, and you get a very hogwartsy-ivy league feel, with pretty trees, zillions of overfed squirrels - and when you go off the path (locust walk- which is gorgeous and incredible, and requires a little talent to avoid thousands of ambitious flyerers) you run into victorian neighhborhoods (including many greek houses), and at the same time, you have the feel of a real city, with real city people. It's really fun- you get to have ivy league zone during the day and fun city places to go at night (not to say that there arent a billion fun things on campus all the time). </p>
<p>Penn probably gets the most criticism for the huge streets that run across a large area of campus, but they really are pretty fun. And that solid rectangle (from 34th to 38th, and theres a huge bridge from 38th to 40th) isolates penn from the city. engineering classes are on a separate block from 34th to 33rd, but they have their own pretty little isolated set up. </p>
<p>It's sweet. you'll dig the city look that's spliced with ivy league. hope you have a good time. I've never heard anybody say that the campus is bad - except maybe you've heard crime is bad. And that's sort of true, but I think it's kind of exciting to have gun shots, raids, and holdups. From the window of my frat it was possible to see a shooting at a nearby 7-11, and a penn kid actually got hit in the crossfire. It's pretty wild out here, but that's what makes it exciting. (hit up philly diner at 3:00 am on a saturday night , the 24 hour drunken food palace between 39th and 40th walnut, and you'll feel some community)</p>
<p>Yeah, georgetown is pretty too, but it sucks. You'll dig penn.</p>
<p>Well said, Neostrife. </p>
<p>Under no circumstances could Penn's campus be considered "bad." Given that it's IN a city grid and never had a master plan like Columbia, it is nothing short of spectacular.</p>
<p>The architecture ranges from flamboyant victorian (green College Hall and the burning red Furness library, even more gorgeous on the inside than out), to standard collegiate (Houston Hall and Quad), All of which have been spectacularly and brilliantly renovated and rehabilitated by the renowned Venturi Scott Brown & Associates. Bennett Hall was just reopened after a year-long renovation process as well. The campus is known for its vibes of activity and energy.</p>
<p>And then there's Locust Walk. A main street of Penn's uniquely linear campus, it is the artery of Penn life. You can see everyone (from Whartonites in power suits to premeds in white jackets, to that weird kid on the unicycle), find out about every upcoming event--just walk on it between classes and see for yourself. Penn-Six wrote a song about it. There is nothing quite like it.</p>
<p>Penn does have some modernist eyesores built from the 1950s-70s, yes. But compared to Georgetown's unspeakably hideous modernist monstrosities (have you SEEN that library??), buildings like Van Pelt library look downright handsome.</p>
<p>Fortunately Penn has begun to recover from the architectural nadir of the 1960s, with fantastic new postmodernist buildings like Huntsman Hall, that restore aesthetics and ornament and innovative features (they put an outdoor cafe/plaza on the roof), Huntsman Hall, in the same screaming red as Furness library, (not to mention the new bioengineering building) points to a bright architectural future for Penn.</p>
<p>With all the gentrification projects Penn has undertaken and continues to undertake (like this <a href="http://www.facilities.upenn.edu/whatsNew/construction/34chestnut.php3">http://www.facilities.upenn.edu/whatsNew/construction/34chestnut.php3</a> ), it's only a matter of time until University City becomes as good if not better than Gtown.</p>
<p>The future is the only thing brighter than the present.</p>
<p>Penn doesn't have that flight path problem.........that G'town does.</p>
<p>To be honest, Georgetown is actually pretty crappy compared to Penn.
Sure, from afar it looks like a castle on a hill, but will you be spending that much time looking at the college from afar?
I much prefer Penn to georgetown.</p>
<p>Yeah I understand I have already committed myself to Penn (wharton), I just want to get a feel and juxtapose it to a campus that I feel is nice. Thank You all :)</p>
<p>thanks for the descriptions, neostrife and johnnyk! im just a bit distraught about the crime there..</p>
<p>I also don't think that Georgetown looks much better than Penn. I think the only reason why you might say that GTown looks good is that it can be seen from afar, whereas at Penn, you only see the highrises from a distance (lol).</p>
<p>Off campus, however, some parts are a little more shady than G'Town's.</p>
<p>I think crime is waay down after that emergency $5 million budget boost. It basically pays to have a zillion guards roaming the campus at any given time...and as I've predicted for the last year and a half, that was all it would take to deter a good amount of crime.</p>
<p>That makes me feel a lot better about the campus. My teacher lived in Philly for a while and he said at nights parts could get a little shady. But is it enough to make you feel unsafe at night even if you are just walking from building to building on campus?</p>
<p>There is absolutely nothing to worry about when walking around the buildings around locust walk (ie. most college houses, huntsman, and the libraries). Further from the center of campus, maybe a little riskier, but still very safe, IMO. You can usually see security guards at anywhere on campus. 1 Mile outside of Campus, however, that can get a little shady. </p>
<p>The bottom line is that unless you act stupid and walk far off campus at 3 am, you won't have any problem with safety. </p>
<p>I think the secruity system boasts itself to be one of the largest private security units in the nation.</p>
<p>Thanks Aurelius. That makes me feel a lot better about the campus. I figured that unless you go looking for trouble the city is pretty safe.</p>
<p>yea I dont think crime is that high, its just a little higher than in most places...its probably like cornell's suicide rate...its not like a crapload of people kill themselves at teh school...they've just had one or two more happenings than most...plus off campus at penn is only dangerous if you leave campus out the wrong side...</p>
<p>Has there ever been a time when you guys felt unsafe walking around the campus? I know that people always claim that Penn has a really great safety system in place for such a big city, but I hear about unintentional shootings/robberies near Penn but never other similarly-situated campuses like Yale, Columbia, USC, Georgetown, JHU, Rochester, etc. I did a search on the forums with the search string "crime" and I came across an article from the Daily Pennsylvanian only a few weeks ago about a student getting robbed in the middle of broad daylight right on-campus.</p>
<p>Perhaps it's because I'm not considering going to any of those universities and thus fail to look up news stories on them, but it certainly does seem that Penn isn't as safe as others claim it is.</p>
<p>I know it seems a bit obtuse, but this "crime" problem, whether it actually exists or not, is something that makes my parents hesitant to let me matriculate at Penn. NeoStrife, being able to see a robbery and a gunfight right outside your window is not what my parents and myself describe as a positive environment.</p>
<p>I have definately never seen gunfire outside my window. lol</p>
<p>Aurelius, I'm sure it doesn't happen too often. ;) But the mere notion that NeoStrife said it happened in the first place is a bit frightening. It's one thing to be introduced to different levels of financial living situations and life, but then it's another thing to being privy to gunshots and robberies right across the street from where you live.</p>
<p>I lived in New Jersey for a good while, so I know a thing or two about common sense and accidental wandering into certain regions of adjacent towns. ;)</p>
<p>Georgetown is not a fair comparison, as it's in an extremely affluent (and cut-off) part of the District. </p>
<p>As far as JHU is concerned, they certainly have a crime problem. In the past 2 years that I've lived in Baltimore, there was a murder in one of the dorms, and several assaults and robberies around Charles Village. I adore the area (especially the architecture), but it's not the safest. And the JHU hospital area, don't even get me started! (Although the new bio park might breathe life into that boarded up mess).</p>
<p>Columbia was known for it's rough neighborhood (especially towards the water in Morningside Heights...which is still a bit dead at night) that has just started turning around with a new influx of money and interest in urban living (much like the efforts of Penn)</p>
<p>I think the real lesson here is not to be stupid. For example, every year around christmas, around most urban campuses there are robberies. Why? People walk around with tons of christmas presents not really paying attention. Keep your wits about you, stay in the "right areas" and travel with people and you should be fine. I've never felt unsafe when visiting Penn, and I think it's like most other urban campuses. I think it can be scary for someone who's never experienced urban living but the rule of thumb is - pay attention to your surroundings.</p>