<p>Hi guys</p>
<p>Next year I'm planning on doing the last year of my course in the US, spending either all of that time at Berkeley or a semester at Haverford and Pennsylvania. At first glance Berkeley seemed the best for me, given its strength in German and Classics. But apparently it's more a place for postgraduates? is that really the case?
I'd be interested in hearing your opinions on which combination would offer the best experience, mostly in terms of academics, ie interaction with lecturers, motivation of students etc. I'd also like to hear about the culture and lifestyle there as that's not so easy to find out on websites.
Lastly I'd like to know how piano study works in the US-is the focus more on theory than performance? My gf studies piano, and also wants to come to the states. Has anyone studied piano performance at these schools? Or is piano performance not taught at universities?</p>
<p>Cheers</p>
<p>Berkeley does have something of a rep. for being more focused on graduate education. That said, it also has one of the top Classics departments on the planet.</p>
<p>Penn has a wonderful Classics department (I just graduated and will be doing the post-bac program this fall.) The department is large enough to offer quite a number of specialties and is extremely collegial. We have weekly colloquia that are extremely well attended (50-75 attendees is not unusual) with Professor Rosen manning the espresso machine before the talk. Professors are very accessible - all office hours are posted in the department office and most are around campus pretty much all the time. The department is also growing, hiring both established scholars (e.g. Cynthia Damon last year) as well as "new blood". </p>
<p>Haverford is quite small and shares faculty with Bryn Mawr. Both schools have excellent relations with Penn and with a little bit of paperwork students there can take classes at Penn. Its easy to shuttle between the three schools on the R5 regional commuter train.</p>
<p>Piano is taught at universities here - just have your GF contact the Music department directly. Be aware that the academic year just ended so many professors will be taking some time off. She should also look into the Curtis Institute (<a href="http://www.curtis.edu/html/10000.shtml)%5B/url%5D">http://www.curtis.edu/html/10000.shtml)</a>. Depending on her level, that could be a better professional credential.</p>
<p>Philadelphia is a pretty nice city and if you live on or near campus everything you need (except the zoo and art museum) is in easy walking distance. There are a couple posters here who seem to delight in pointing out Philly's crime rate - it is no where near as bad as they make it seem. </p>
<p>If you end up at Haverford you will need a car to get around unless you are living on campus.</p>
<p>If you have any specific questions about Penn's Classics department or living in Philly, feel free to PM me.</p>
<p>all are great but somewhat different- penn and berk are a little more similar</p>
<p>i dunno what you should do, but i met some harverford dude in my language course at penn and he was crunk as ****. if i could be that crunk i would be, but i am not. if i could go back in time i would apply to haverford so that i could enjoy my life more</p>