<p>hey, my name’s marina. im gonna be a senior at stuyvesant high school in new york next year and ill probably be applying to upenn early. what my parents and I have decided is that they will purchase an apartment and i’m gonna pay rent until i pay it out for them. this apartment will most likely be very close to the upenn campus, a 15-20 minute walk. we didnt really investigate the real estate yet but we will soon enough.</p>
<p>paying for an apartment will be so much CHEAPER than paying for a dorm on campus.</p>
<p>so, ill be looking for a roommate when it gets down to it (and if god willing i get into the university… ill be trying my best), a female around my age (so someone coming into the class of 2010, i guess).</p>
<p>if you are planning on going to upenn SAVE MY NAME and my SCREENNAME and if ever you are interested in my offer, when i know more about it myself, we can talk.</p>
<p>Scarry post....no way would I do this. No way is it cheaper if one doesn't have the money to buy the house. Nice for you but you need to become a little more safe and savy.</p>
<p>When you state purchase I presume you are buying so who can tell from your post whether you are referring to a condo/house/coop but one doesn't usually buy apartments. One rents apartments....and each person usually is responsible for their own expense and many times at Penn it is more like 5+ students sharing apartment. I just really don't understand what your plan is but that is okay because I don't need to.</p>
<p>I recommend you wait until Sophomore year to do this. This way you'll have the Freshman social experience in the dorms, you'll know the area (15-20 mins away is waaay off campus in Philly), and hopefully have some friends to go in with you.</p>
<p>oh, actually that raised a question i always had...i've always heard the rumours about the "Safe Zone" at penn, sth like chestnut & 39th is the furthest you can go if you don't wanna get robbed or if you still wanna come back to the campus.....is it really that unsafe outside of campus in phily? i don't quite believe this rumor, so...don't shoot the messenger. </p>
<p>summerzwow....care for a male roommate? lol... (JOKING of course...) :)</p>
<p>I don't think this is true however....when suburban students who have been used to driving everywhere, PLUs and have not been in a city to live...well when these students show up it is not always so pretty for them. Firstly everyone in any city must be aware and walking home late at nite....alone after having had a few beers one should be careful. I'd say many of Penns problems are from suburban kids who arrive having few practical life skills. I guess you can also say that this is a somewhat biased opinion. I find the city perfectly safe.</p>
<p>Haha... I'm gonna go ahead and say that that was a biased opinion :) I do see where you're coming from, but us suburban and rural kids (middle of nowhere, Wisconsin to Philly for me!) aren't idiots... if anything I think the "big city" was intimidating enough that it makes the suburban kids extra cautious. </p>
<p>Of course, that's not everybody... I'm sure it goes both ways. I'm just giving my own biased opinion :)</p>
<p>You were smart enough to be intimidated and that served you well. I am not implying it was all or even most just that there is an element of suburban kid that just doesn't awknowledge that not all folks are PLUs [people like us]. I am glad you took it the way I meant it though. I love Philly and I grow weary of folks dissing the campus because of the city. The city has much to do with making Penn what it is.</p>
<p>I completely agree with you on your last point... I knew while applying for college that I wanted to get out of state and experience bigger things, and I definitely wanted an urban environment... Philadelphia is a fantastic city, and I'm so happy there. Penn and Philly really go hand in hand to giving students an incredible experience, and I can't imagine not going to school in Philadelphia anymore.</p>
<p>I agree with hazmat in that many of the problems students encounter with the surrounding area are due to their lack of experience and proverbial street smarts more so than any actual danger presented by the city. That said, there are of course some places that one should not wander about alone at night while inebriated, but the vast majority of Penn students will never get in to these areas. Penn is in University City, a very different place from the 'real' West Philadelphia, though really even that isn't the most dangerous section of town (that being west kensington, but that's quite a ways from campus). The areas surrounding Penn have also undergone massive gentrification in the last decade as the university continues to buy up property, the pros and cons of this can be debated endlessly, but suffice to say it leads to a reduction in crime.</p>
<p>yeah. i definitely suggest staying in the dorms your first year -- at least.</p>
<p>anyway, i met some girl from stuyvesant high school (well her dad anyway -- really nice guy) yesterday. she was moving into the quad and i'd never seen more clothes. i mean -- wow. like, there are piles of clothes and there are piles of clothes. anyway, i heard that your school is a really good one, so good luck for penn10!</p>
<p>Don't miss out on your first year experience in the Residential Colleges at Penn. </p>
<p>Also, there is no guarentee that you will be admitted so I would wait, if you're admitted, until sophomore year when you can make better informed real estate decisions.</p>
<p>West of campus apartments are extremely cheap, and yet, very dangerous. If you can't see the place yourself, don't ever pay for it. Anyway, social life in dorms for freshmen here is awesome. Don't go off campus your first year.</p>