<p>My friend's mom is a Penn (wharton) alumnus. She graduated in the 70's, so what she told me may not still be true. When I mentioned I wasn't completely sure what my career path was, and was mainly interested in just studying what I love, she hinted Penn might not be the right place for me. She said it was so big and the advising so poor that if you didn't know exactly what you wanted and worked hard to get it, you would get lost. This reminds me a lot of the type of stuff that makes me not want to go to a big state school.</p>
<p>So I want to pose this question to current students. Do you feel that Penn is so big that you can just fall through the cracks if you don't know exactly what you want to do in life? I guess I'm more interested in a liberal arts education, but isn't that what the College is supposed to provide?</p>
<p>I can't speak to Penn in the 70s, but this is not true today. Despite the Wharton tilt in this forum, most Penn students do not come into college with a major or 10 year plan. Some students do, but I would say this is not close to the majority. The College urges students to study what they love and even has an aptly-named lecture series called "Study What You Love" where they bring in alums who have awesome jobs completely unrelated to their college majors. The College provides an excellent liberal arts education. You also have access to a great career services center and alumni network when you actually have to go to the real world. Penn does have a reputation as pre-professional probably because 3/4 undergrad schools are pre-professional schools. Nonetheless, do not let that deter you from applying - the College will present many opportunities to you both in terms of learning and a career.</p>