<p>Thanks for taking the time to reply to all those questions so far.</p>
<p>I have a question about international students who go to Penn. Does it seem to you that they are able to mix or 'fit in' with the rest of the community easily without becoming too..um..homogeneous? I was at a Penn info session where they showed a video, and most of my friends remarked that everyone, including the international students, seem to act and speak in the same way (American accent).</p>
<p>It's a little trivial, I think, but it's something that's been in the back of my mind this while.</p>
<p>If you get a chance to answer -- one more for you.
As an RA- what would are your recommendations as to dorm choices?
For freshman -- any of the houses?
for upperclassmen?
Thanks -- good luck with finals.</p>
<p>99% of Freshmen want into the Quad. The Quad is the most beautiful building on campus, it has the most Freshmen, and the most parties out of all the dorms. Within the Quad, Fisher and Ware and equally good and Riepe is slightly worse. Why? Because Ware and Fisher often plan events together which means more $ and more people. I am an RA in Riepe and I chose that house because of RA friends.</p>
<p>I have a true affinity for Stouffer and Kings Court/English House. These smaller dorms force you to form a close community. Every year, those dorms form closer friendships within the same house.</p>
<p>I would go:</p>
<p>Ware/Fisher
Riepe
Stouffer
KC/EH
Gregory
the High Rises (all the same)
Hill</p>
<p>If I were less social and wanted to smaller community I would select:</p>
<p>Stouffer
KC/EH
Quad
...</p>
<p>The High Rises are great for upperclassmen, though most of my friends live off campus. It's really fun to live in a house with your friends, but between off campus apartments and the High Rises, there is little difference. The high rises have ITs and programming and apartments are cheaper.</p>
<p>On Hill, the people who live there love it. I think they convince themselves too. You get to know your neighbors and it has a dining hall in the dorm. But, it doesn't have AC and it isn't the Quad.</p>
<p>Clep... I don't know what that video was talking about. International students do not lose their accents. Think about the type of person who goes to Penn. He/She is smart, hard working, involved, and self confident. That kind of person would not allow himself/herself to lose his/her identity to fit in on a college campus. There are a ton of international students. I recommend you make friends with them so you have cool places to visit over break.</p>
<p>This week in one of my courses we had a class discussion about cultural relativism vs fundamental rights. It was a terrific discussion because we had people in the class from countries I have never heard of. Canada? Where is that?!?! </p>
<p>Seriously though, the answer to your question in NO. If you take the time to talk to people on campus, you will find it very heterogeneous. If you only talk to your small group of friends and ignore the people around you and the people handing out fliers on Locust Walk, everyone can start to look the same. That's true when you walk around NYC though. If you aren't paying attention, everyone looks exactly the same even though it is the most diverse city in the country (I totally made that up but it may be true).</p>
<p>Haha...loved your "Canada? Where is that?!?!" part. I'm a Canadian myself and I wonder if there is a significant Canadian presence on the campus? I mean it is one of the most represented foreign countries at Penn, right?</p>
<p>For someone that comes from California (or any other state for that matter) how many times a year would you say they have the time to visit home?</p>
<p>I think I have two Canuck friends. International students are from all over. Historically, Penn has had a lot of international students from China, but now, I have no idea. An admissions officer at Penn may be able to answer that but there seems to be a fairly even spread from across the world.</p>
<p>Penn students form California usually visit home during Thanksgiving Break, Winter Break, and Spring Break. Fall Break is too short for a trip to Cali.</p>