<p>"Though Penn's incoming freshman class in many ways resembles past years', a record-setting matriculation rate, among several other differences, sets it apart from the pack.</p>
<p>Of the 20.8 percent of applicants admitted to Penn -- down from 21.2 percent last year -- 66 percent have chosen to attend, the highest student yield in the University's history. "</p>
<p>Wow! The nursing yield is almost up to that at Middlesex Community College and the South Puget Sound Community College, though there's still a little ways to go.</p>
<p>I'm not sure, but it seems like you're trying to compare Middlesex Community College with UPenn. The applicant pool with the top schools certainly don't match with community colleges; the comparison isn't right...</p>
<p>I think USNews is doing a brilliant job. Penn is just a percentage point lower than Princeton and both have ED.</p>
<p>There are hundreds, actually more than a thousand, students who get into UPenn each year who couldn't get into the South Puget Sound Nursing Program. They have 9 pre-req courses - they don't care about your SATs, your athletic prowess, your dad's money, or where you went to prep school, just the 9 courses. Last year, to get in, you needed 8 As and 1 A minus. Two A minuses and you were out. Period. They didn't care if you took the pre-reqs at Harvard. Two A minuses and you were history. And their yield is higher.</p>
<p>Anyhow, don't you think you should move this to the "Chances" or "College Admissions" forum?</p>
<p>Mini's point is that competition is not restricted to the ivys. There IS another world out there. I teach microbiology at a community college and most of my students are pre-nursing students. The yield is almost 100% for the nursing program. Competition is very stiff. We also have a set of core courses that the applicant has to do well in. The core courses include two English writing courses, two semesters of anatomy/physiology, and microbiology. It doesn't matter if the applicant is a nobel laureate and has a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Harvard. If he/she does not meet a certain GPA in the core courses, the application will be discarded in the circular file.</p>
<p>"The University of Pennsylvania, an urban campus of 21,700 students in Philadelphia, reported 18 armed robberies to the federal government. But campus police actually worked more than 200 robberies in their patrol area. In its federal report, the university excluded crimes that occurred on the city sidewalks and streets that crisscross its campus."</p>
<p>I feel compelled to add that there is a high chance that at least some of those robberies were inside jobs...although I still haven't figured out why I have such a compelling need to defend West Philly.</p>
<p>these weren't thefts but "armed" robberies. unless you mean that Penn students are commiting armed robberies against their fellow students.</p>
<p>I love Philadelphia - I just wouldn't want to spend four years in college there. Penn has also had a reputation for grade inflation - over 50 percent of grades are A or A-</p>
<p>
[quote]
Wow! The nursing yield is almost up to that at Middlesex Community College and the South Puget Sound Community College, though there's still a little ways to go.
[/quote]
</p>
<p><strong>giggle</strong></p>
<p>Important point though - never confuse selectivity with educational excellence or the appropriateness of an institution for a given student.</p>
<p>True. The rejects from the South Puget Sound Community College nursing program go to places like UW, PLU, and, for all I know, Penn (though I can't see why they'd want to), where they can spend $44k a year; at the end of two years they will be in exactly the same place, taking the same RN exam; after 2 years in SPSCC or Middlesex, students can transfer to wherever they like to finish a BSN if they so choose. But since starting RN salaries around here, after 2 years, is around $45k, not too many choose to do so.</p>
<p>And no, they won't consider whether 'your daddy's rich/or your ma is good-lookin'</p>
<p>Anyway, the yield at Penn is pretty good, even if it is still below that of Berea. ;)</p>
<p>It's not inconceivable that a Penn student could be committing armed robberies. </p>
<p>When I was at Cornell, a member of the football team was arrested for allegedly robbing another of a pound of hashish at gunpoint. The victim negotiated immunity from prosecution in exchange for testifying.</p>
<p>Another of my fellow students that year went on to become a serial killer, and was executed earlier this year.</p>
<p>People over exaggerate the safety at penn because of the reputation the area had 10-15+ years ago...Now with gentrification most areas are safe.To the North of Penn is safe; you have another university, to the south there is a decent residential area and then a river, to the east there is a river and then center city (rittenhouse square) with it's posh lofts, etc. The school is located between 33 and 40th streets....if you go west past 43rd you are in a pretty ghetto area. Most crimes are not on campus. The majority of crimes are off campus and involve drunk/stupid kids that wander into the ghetto. If you're not stupid then you'll perfectly safe even at 3 am. </p>
<p>As much at it pains people on this site (who constatly bash penn) penn has been rising and it's academic programs have greatly improved. It is one of the top universities in the country even if it's focus is more pre-professional (nothing wrong with that although CCers tend to see these as lesser universities). Wharton produces some of the top business people in the world, the nursing school produces some of the nation's top nurses, the school of engineering produces a plethora of brilliant students, and the school of arts and science (imo the lesser of penn's schools academically) has myriad programs in the top 15 in the country (anthro, econ, english, history, etc.) producing very knowledgeable students. </p>
<p>Just because it is one of the larger Ivies (2500+ students per class) and thus one of the Ivies with the highest acceptance rates does not mean that it is less selective as many believe (in reality if all the ivies had the same size incoming class (capped at 1000)- holding the acceptance rates, yields, and applicant pool sizes constant - penn would be the 3rd most selective ivy. </p>
<p>Penn might not be known by the general public but I don't care. I'm getting one of the best educations in the world...plus it's nice to know that the average wharton student has an average compensation (salary and bonus) of $446,478 10 years down the line. </p>
<p>seriously though there is nothing to be concerned about with regards to safety around penn...</p>
<p>Visited Penn last summer when D was considering it. Had truly the best info session of any school we visited. The adcom was knowledgeable, funny and kept our attention. I still remember one of his lines about stats. He was talking about class rank, etc., and noted that a fair percentage were vals, but her personally preferred sals - they were more humble. Great visit, just didn't suit my D.</p>
<p>There are still bars on the windows around the Penn campus -- and that is a major turn-off for many prospective students. With the obvious exception of Wharton which is the school that keeps Penn's ratings where they are (at least as far as USN&WR is concerned), Penn is IMHO overrated -- and has a very long way to go to think that it can compete with HYPSM -- or with WASP, for that matter.</p>