<p>I am trying to figure out which of these schools will be best for me... a nursing major, and also looking for a school that I would have lots of fun at- playing frisbee/soccer outside. Is there much space around campus at penn? Any insight?</p>
<p>Penn has an extraordinary amount of greenspace for an urban university. Superblock, Hill field, college green, the Quad courtyard are always filled with frisbees and such. There are also the formal recreation fields on the east end of campus. Your time at Penn will also see the arrival of 2 new greenspaces: Palestra Green and the giant new Penn Park. These are phase I of the “Penn connects” campus expansion</p>
<p>you can join our ultimate frisbee teams!</p>
<p>You’ll have a much better experience at Penn unless you’re a VA resident and can get in-state tuition there.</p>
<p>Yeah thats a tough choice. I was in a similiar situation. I am a VA resident. UVA and Penn were two of my top choices. I realized that both are great institutions, but I wanted that chance to “go ivy”. I think if I went to UVA I might have regretted not challenging myself with an ivy league education.</p>
<p>Another factor to consider is money. How much do you have to pay for each school??</p>
<p>Off topic: when are those parks set to be finished? what about the rest of the Penn Connects expansion?</p>
<p>The whole Penn expansion is being done in phases and will take on the order of 30 years; the Palestra area is already a small green space now and will see the removal of tennis courts and their replacement by more green space, but this probably won’t happen until long after the tennis courts are replaced elsewhere. </p>
<p>[Penn</a> Connects : — Home](<a href=“Penn Connects : A Vision for the Future.”>http://www.pennconnects.upenn.edu/)</p>
<p>What is the expected project timeline for all these renovations and new constructions? I’m assuming they’re not all going to be built in a single wave, but if I’m a member of the class of 2012 will I see the completion of any major part of this plan by the time I leave.</p>
<p>Actually, the first phase of Penn Park is currently projected to be completed some time next year (2009), as is the new Franklin Field Pavilion (a new state-of-the-art fitness facility a la Pottruck on the other side of campus, to be built under the north stands of Franklin Field). Much of Penn Park–including the planned athletic facilities–and Palestra Green should be completed within the next 2-3 years, with still more to come in the 2-3 years after that:</p>
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<p><a href=“https://admin.xosn.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=1700&ATCLID=1301337[/url]”>https://admin.xosn.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=1700&ATCLID=1301337</a></p>
<p>The longer-term projects of Penn Connects–looking ahead up to 30 years–are more along the lines of planned commercial, office, and other development near the eastern end of Walnut Street, and further expansion of medical research facilites beyond the current multi-billion-dollar expansion currently underway.</p>
<p>As class of 2012, the biggest impact you’ll probably see are the Radian completion, Hub II construction, and Domus occupancy drawing people to live in those places and spreading social life out over campus, along with additional commercial presences in those places, along with (hopefully) lower rents in the western area of campus as supply has gone way up without accompanying demand increases. The nearing-completion construction in the hospital area (and a possible hotel to the southwest) will also bring more traffic and attention than the dormant structures previously in that area.</p>
<p>The “Hill field” college house should also be one of the first things completed, as they’re trying to address housing concerns immediately. We could either take the Radian as a model of how quickly they can build around here, or we could look at Skirkanich as an example of delays and overruns.</p>
<p>You’ll also see lots of construction everywhere :-)</p>
<p>^ Matt, look at the Phase I Initiatives (2007-2010) in my previous post, also.</p>
<p>At recent on-campus alumni functions I’ve attended, Amy Gutmann has emphasized that the Penn Park transformation should occur fairly quickly. I think they’re quite anxious to show material progress of “Penn Connects,” to demonstrate to the various stakeholders (including the City) the enormous benefits–esthetic and otherwise–of the eastern expansion.</p>
<p>So yes, you’ll see the greenspace.</p>