<p>So I went to the Penn preview session and came back home with a sore throat for almost 2 days lol. I'm from a suburban area and really was not used to the air quality. Do you get used to it or does the air pollution get better some days?</p>
<p>Also I'm interested in pursuing pre-med and research at Penn. How is it? And is Vagelos in Molecular Life Sciences worth it?</p>
<p>I’m a Wharton grad who has lived and worked in Philadelphia for over 20 years. The air quality is fine! No different to any other major metropolitan area in the U.S., so I was actually a little puzzled by your post. Maybe you suffer from allergies? I know the pollen count here is sky-high right now. Philly is a great place to live and study, so I’d encourage you to consider it again.</p>
<p>As a business grad, I can’t answer your pre-med questions.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>The air seems fine to me…can be bothersome for allergies though.
As far as being pre-med, there is an abundance of research opportunities, CURF keeps a directory of professors that are open to mentoring. Penn has its own summer research programs through different departments as well. A lot of students work with researchers in HUP and CHOP too.</p>
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<li><p>A ton of biochemistry and pharmaceutical research also goes on at the University City Science Center (a business/tech incubator adjacent to the Penn campus) and the Wistar Institute, too. Penn is a great place to do medicine-related research. It also has a very strong history/sociology of medicine program, with people doing social science research on health care, and strong policy people (notably Zeke Emanuel, Rahm and Ari’s smarter older brother).</p></li>
<li><p>My kids have lots of friends who were interested in medicine and life sciences research when they left for college. The one kid who has most set the world on fire in the past 6-7 years was a Vagelos Scholar at Penn.</p></li>
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<p>My son is a junior in Vagelos MLS.</p>
<p>The thing about the program is that Ponzy Lu will let you bite off as much as you can chew (and pushes people to do so even though he is not a very hands on or approachable advisor). The program is not really geared toward a liberal arts undergraduate education. Along the way, my kid has worked the system to take the bare minimum of humanities courses which seems to be the program’s group mentality. In the end, he is on track to graduate with a triple major and a masters in chemistry in four years.</p>
<p>You should have no problem finding lab research. MLS students are sought after by professors since they can put you into their budget after your freshman year and the next two summers will not cost them a dime (Vagelos picks up the tab).</p>
<p>Having said all this, if you join and stick with MLS (you probably know that the attrition rate from the program is about 66-75%) you will almost certainly get into a top MD, MD/PhD, or PhD program after graduation.</p>
<p>And yes, you will get used to the air. Besides, being in a vibrant city like Philadelphia beats the suburbs any day…</p>