I see that 98% of freshmen live on campus, but can’t find stats on soph-seniors living on campus. If a student wants to live on campus with a meal plan all four years, will that be a problem? (As in, will that be hard to do?)
Generally not. About 50% of non-freshman undergrads live in university housing at Penn, with the remaining 50% choosing to live in off-campus housing or in frats and sororities. The vast majority of undergraduate off-campus housing is within a couple of blocks of campus, with much of it virtually–or even literally–across the street from campus. The 50% of non-freshman undergrads who wish to live in university housing are generally able to (mostly in the three high-rise college houses, but also in other dorms).
I just want to echo what @45Percenter said: “The vast majority of undergraduate off-campus housing is within a couple blocks of campus, with much of it virtually–or even literally–across the street from campus”
That’s 100% accurate. Off campus is truly a poor way to describe those houses at Penn as they are very much an integral part of campus life. They are indeed often only a block or two from the actual campus and they are seamlessly integrated into campus life. The major benefit is that those houses tend to be less expensive than their on campus counterparts and less restrictive in terms of the types of rooms you can find. Additionally, the beautiful homes of the surrounding area allow students to live in smaller environments than larger dorms which encourages their building closer relationships with one another while simultaneously pushing them to look beyond just their living space for friendships and social interaction. For example, my friends and I found a 3 story home with a full kitchen and sizeable bedrooms and common spaces that was perfect for our living styles, less than a block from campus (we literally bordered the vet school). The shadow of Penn’s campus extends far beyond the traditional borders on a map and thus even the restaurants and bars in west Philly are very much a part of Penn’s ‘campus,’ though not directly owned and operated by Penn itself. I became incredibly close with my housemates and found that living just a block away from campus and in a more intimate environment with a smaller number of people gave me a sense of relaxation from the hustle and bustle that I associated with Penn’s proper campus.Thus living off campus doesn’t mean living away from campus life or being separate from the university. You are still just as much a member of the campus, just as close (if not closer) to campus buildings as your friends in dorms, and can benefit greatly from the unique amenities afforded to you from off campus living, The most significant difference between living on and off campus for me was to whom I wrote my rent checks. The rest was pretty similar.
If you haven’t already seen this from last week’s “Absolute Worst of Penn” from Under The Button (it’s intended to be humorous, for those not familiar with it), you might appreciate it:
http://www.thedp.com/blog/under-the-button/2015/04/absolute-worst-of-penn
Very funny 45 Percenter.
Thanks for the info on dorm living. My son is hasn’t selected Penn yet (got a few more days, but is definitely leaning towards Penn), but he’s convinced that he does not want to cook for himself, and therefore wants to be able to live in a dorm with a meal plan for four years. I’m sure he could change his mind down the road.
^ He can always stay on a meal plan even if he’s not living in campus housing. But I suspect that if he goes to Penn, he’ll learn to appreciate the many affordable and attractive non-meal-plan dining options both on and off the Penn campus that probably end up costing less than a meal plan. Current and recent students can speak to that better than I can (my experience with the current dining situation at Penn is vicarious as the parent of a Penn student). You and your son might also be interested in this 5-year-old article from Penn’s alumni magazine, about the ever-growing array of dining options in Penn’s neighborhood:
http://www.upenn.edu/gazette/0310/feature1_1.html
Also, glad you enjoyed the Under The Button item, but I actually was directing that at PennCAS2014, who apparently lived on or next to Irving Street (a lovely little street next to the Penn Vet School). 
Oh yeah, duh. Of course he can eat at the many places that are not on the meal plan. I didn’t even think of that. He’s a diabetic, and it can be actually easier to eat at places like McDonalds, etc. because they already have the carbs listed. So any restaurant/dining situation like that will be welcomed.
^ The food trucks around Penn, alone, are worth the trip (as they say). There are about SIXTY (60) of them on any given day, and the cuisine is quite varied, and often quite good:
Throw in the many bistros, BYOs, restaurants, etc. in University City, plus the amazing choices in nearby Center City and the surrounding neighborhoods, and Penn can be quite a foodie’s delight. One can even learn to WRITE about food at Penn, which has its very own student-edited FOOD MAGAZINE:
But, as I said, he could always just stay on a meal plan for his entire 4 years even if he lives off-campus, as they do offer some flexibility with various allocations of meal “swipes” and “dining dollars,” which can be used at the on-campus dining halls, or in take-out facilities and food courts (such as Houston Market in Houston Hall and McClelland Cafe in the Quad):
@45percenter thank you for the link-- Irving deserves more love than that!
@sbjdorlo Penn is actually a very good place to have dietary restrictions. I have some serious health issues related to my stomach and I needed to be extremely careful with everything I ate. I met with a nutritionist at Penn who helped me find options both in the dining hall and in the surrounding community that would work for my needs and managed to feel better during College than I ever had before. I also had a very close friend who is diabetic and she has had no trouble managing her diet while at Penn.
Additionally, if your son doesn’t want to move off campus or leave his meal plan, he definitely does not have to. I have many friends who stayed on campus all four years and kept either their full dining plan or a reduced version of the plan so that they could still eat in dining halls. And even though I didn’t have a dining plan later in my Penn career, I still ate in Houston Hall between classes because you can purchase food their with money or dining dollars (if you have them). What I loved about Penn is that you can truly choose your own path there. The university is big enough to have a vast array of options for living, learning, dining, exercising, etc. without feeling so big that it overwhelms. If your son chooses to stay on campus, he certainly won’t be alone. If he wants to move off campus, he’ll be set there as well. Whatever he wants (short of commuting from Ohio) he can probably make happen.
@sbjdorlo I also should mention that it is true that the dining options around Penn are awesome and growing. From the time I matriculated to the time I graduated there were at least 8 new restaurants I can think of that sprung up and had meal options for me (that includes some restaurants the replaced places that closed). University city has transformed (especially since the 90s) and continues to change each day. Philly has become a real hotspot for food with many options for those who need to be hyper-conscious of what they’re eating. I now live in NYC and even with its greater diversity of options, I still find it more challenging to find options that will work for me compared to my time at Penn.
When DD was considering Penn, we I asked the same question about students living on campus because we were trying to understand the community.
Some of the students who had moved into off campus housing said that the off campus housing they moved into was closer to their classes than the dorms were. They were really not moving away from campus at all.