Hi everyone. I’m a transfer student who was admitted to Penn, Hopkins, and Berkeley. Between all of my choices, I think I’ve narrowed it down to UPenn. Before I commit, I’d like to ask for any thoughts on my thought process for why Penn might be the right school for me and have a few of my concerns about the school addressed.
So, firstly, when it comes to academics, I think Penn is a wonderful fit. I’m primarily interested in Computational Biology and Penn offers a Biology major with a concentration in computational biology as well as a program called [“second major in CIS”] (Second Major in CS) that will allow me to explore my interests thoroughly with a reasonable amount of requirements. My current coursework aligns extremely well with this major combination and I’d be well on my way to finishing my degree in my 6 semesters at Penn. There’s also some really cool study abroad programs and Penn’s “One University Policy” that allows me to take bioinformatics classes at Perelman or biotech-related electives at Wharton. And, even though my “dream school” was Columbia and I would’ve really enjoyed the core, I think I can always take interesting humanities or SS courses if I wanted to even without a core curriculum - the only thing that’s missing is the “shared experience” component, but it’s a loss I’m willing to take.
One thing I’d like to ask is if CAS students are treated like secondary citizens to Wharton? Do recruiters in every field usually go for Wharton kids first before considering anyone else? Does the university administration as a whole favor them?
Now, socially, is where I’m a little concerned. First of all, I will be a transfer student. I’m not sure if that will carry any stigma at Penn. I’ve heard horror stories of transfer students being considered as “lesser” or “dumber” students at places like Vanderbilt, so that’s definitely a point of concern. I’m also not sure how easy/hard it’ll be to integrate myself in the student body when many people have already had an entire year to make friends. Penn’s large transfer population certainly helps and orgs like the Transfer Student Organization work hard to help us with integration, but I’m still not entirely sure if things will be smooth sailing. Second, I’ve heard stories about Penn being an extremely “exclusive” place. Everything - from hobby clubs to the newspaper - requires a highly selective application process. I’d like to know if that’s true or not and if it affects student life a lot. Third, I understand that Penn has a large Greek Life presence. I’d like to know how inclusive or exclusive greek life can be on campus. I know places like Dartmouth, though dominated by Greek Life, actually has a greek life scene that is really inclusive - e.g. everyone who wants to rush a frat will get a bid.
Besides that, I think Penn is an excellent fit for me. I love the urban location - the university integrated into the city experience. Philly is no NYC but it’s still an amazing city to be. So, please, I’d greatly appreciate if someone could address some of my concerns as well as my thought process as to why penn is a good fit for me. Thank you so much!