<p>How would you describe Penn's learning environment (competitive, collaborative, etc.)?
Do the different schools within Penn have different learning environments? I am interested in majoring in Linguistics in the school of Arts and Sciences.
I really enjoyed my visit to Penn, but I am concerned that I won't be comfortable in the environment. The students in my high school are extremely competitive, and the focus is on grades rather than learning. I do not want to go to a college that is like this!
Thanks.</p>
<p>I haven’t taken an intro linguistics class, but from what I’ve gained from my time taking intro science/math classes, I can safely say that the atmosphere here is decently competitive. Compared to the super-collaborative atmosphere at my HS, Penn was quite a big shift for me. Everyone here is super smart and wants high grades, but classes need to be hard enough (or grades deflated enough) to allow there to be a distribution of grades. Don’t get me wrong though… you WILL study with friends and help your fellow classmates when they need help. The competitive atmosphere at Penn stems from the fact that we’re all very intelligent and want good grades and a high GPA … and that just can’t happen for EVERYONE. So, there will be moments when you hear of someone getting wayyy above the average on a Chem 101 midterm and your friend saying “Wow, I hate him for being so smart”… But other than that, a lot of people work together/study together/etc. at Penn.</p>
<p>Things could certainly be different in linguistics courses and in different areas of the College of course.</p>