<p>Sorry, but this is utter nonsense. Penn is widely known as having one of the most generous financial aid programs in the country. Only a small handful of schools–i.e., those with much larger endowments like Harvard, Yale, and Princeton–are more generous with financial aid (and Penn will often match the financial aid packages of even those schools). And the vast majority of top schools have at least 50% or so of their undergraduates NOT on financial aid, so your point about that is meaningless. Not to mention that like most top schools–and ALL Ivies–Penn’s admissions program is need-blind for US citizens and permanent residents (and in the case of Penn, for citizens and permanent residents of all of North America), so your statement that “low income students can end up being left out” is also baseless. In fact, for the Class of 2018, Penn offered generous financial aid packages to more than 90% of accepted applicants with annual family incomes up to $189,999, and to essentially 99% of those with annual family incomes up to $129,999. And the median total awards ranged from over $63,000 for applicants with annual family incomes up to $39,999, to over $29,000 for those with annual family incomes from $160,000 to $189,999:</p>
<p>So contrary to what you have asserted, Penn and the other Ivies and top schools are outstanding choices for low income students, who are actively recruited and are DEFINITELY not “left out” (for example, Penn’s enrolled Class of 2018 includes FIFTY-FIVE Questbridge Scholars from 26 states).</p>
<p>@scholarme @"45 Percenter" I’m not talking about getting financial aid. I know all the Ivies give generous financial aid. If you read carefully, you would understand tht I’m talking about the SOCIAL LIFE of students there. 1/2 of students don’t get any aid, which means that 1/2 are full pay, which means that 1/2 are extremely well off, which means that that’s practically 1/2 of the student body that is going to be living a general high en lifestyle. I spoke to a current Penn pre med student about that just last week. She is receiving about $40,000 in aid and feels extremely left out from the rest of her peers because a lot of people on campus go out and do expensive things, but she can’t afford it. If it weren’t for the great cost of going, she wouldn’t be there. But she is by no means happy on campus. My point is, a majority of the student body is in the top 1% of income in America. Low income students are bound to feel left out among peers there AND a lot of them actually do. I didn’t mean left out of admissions. I meant left out of the culture of Penn.</p>
<p>So it’s not “utter nonsense”. You just misunderstood me.</p>
<p>Oh, you meant “low income students can end up beingfeeling left out.” That would be true of most highly-selective schools; on the other hand, some low-income students might look at it as an incredible opportunity to network.
While students on a fixed budget won’t be able to indulge in the same lifestyle as the rich kids, they will be able to socialize within the campus setting.</p>
<p>@scholarme Well, either or. The students there typically have a very expensive lifestyle more so than at other top schools. It’s great for networking to find jobs in the future at a few campus wide events. But low income students tend to struggle to find friends outside of those who are thelow income students, seeing that there are so few.</p>
<p>@AnnieBeats " My point is, a majority of the student body is in the top 1% of income in America. Low income students are bound to feel left out among peers there AND a lot of them actually do."</p>
<p>But you mentioned only ONE pre-med student you talked to. Could it be over-generalization? Personally I know a few alums or current students of Penn from lower income families (compared to the 50% without FA). They are happy with with undergraduate experiences at Penn. I think it’s up to the individual students on how you can make your social life enjoyable.</p>
<p>Why not apply to both Rice and Penn through Questbridge also? They are partner schools right? And you’ll get a full ride plus a higher chance of being accepted it you get matched. Just a suggestion. Good luck </p>
<p>@AnnieBeats, almost FIVE THOUSAND undergrads at Penn are on financial aid. That’s more than at virtually ANY of the other top private schools. Again, your gross generalizations about how those five thousand undergrads participate in or feel about the extracurricular and social life at Penn are completely baseless (and apparently based on your interaction with JUST ONE Penn undergrad).</p>
<p>I expect that some students do that, but the vast majority (rich or poor) spend most of their time on campus or in the surrounding West Philadelphia area where there are very few “expensive things” to do.</p>
<p>@"45 Percenter" And another 5,000 aren’t on aid. You are just mad because you completely misinterpreted what I said and that post is going to stay there forever. I’m not going to waste my time talking to you when you can’t communicate without yelling. You don’t have to be combative because you are wrong. My very own daughter got into Penn and we visited the campus. She stayed for several days and I just dropped her off and picked her up. That same sentiment was echoed when she got some one on one time with several students of varying backgrounds. </p>
<p>You are just mad because you completely misinterpreted what I said and that post is going to stay there forever. I’m not going to waste my time talking to you when you can’t communicate without yelling. You don’t have to be combative because you are wrong. </p>
<p>Those last posts are not helping the OP. Back to the topic, please. I am sure the OP at this point can try to figure out if the social life at Penn would be appropriate for her.</p>
<p>It has the accredited Architecture degree, the “bubble” atmosphere that is also close to a large urban center, and a smaller campus population than Penn.</p>
<p>Like Penn, it also claims to meet 100% of demonstrated need.</p>
<p>It is also less selective than Penn, while still being generally recognized as a high-quality school whose peers are schools like Georgetown, Vanderbilt, and Notre Dame.</p>
<p>@Jay2631 I would however Penn and Rice would be binding while Princeton and Yale are not. On top of that, neither Penn nor Rice are my top school so I did not want to risk it. Thank you though!</p>