<p>Can any current students offer advice on the residential programs. How time consuming are they? Do they vary in commitment? What are the advantages and disadvantages of doing them? Are they tough to get in to? Thanks sooooo much!</p>
<p>Definitely scroll through the current threads on the Penn forum for more information on this. A search of CC would also yield older threads with useful information on residential programs. (The CC-specific search function can be found on the blue bar across the top of your screen; it’s the fourth link from the left. If you click the little down arrow, you’ll see “Advanced Search,” which I recommend for someone who knows what he’s looking for.) Google, too, provides links to several parts of the Penn website that offer valuable information, like this one:</p>
<p>[Residential</a> Programs: A-Z](<a href=“http://www.collegehouses.upenn.edu/residentialprograms/index.asp]Residential”>http://www.collegehouses.upenn.edu/residentialprograms/index.asp)</p>
<p>I can give you a brief summary of what I know of residential programs, though 
Post #3 in this thread is something I recently posted and think you might find helpful:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-pennsylvania/1135125-res-programs-same-floor-penn.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-pennsylvania/1135125-res-programs-same-floor-penn.html</a></p>
<p>This thread also offers some insight on res programs from current students:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-pennsylvania/1123967-current-penn-senior-answering-any-questions.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-pennsylvania/1123967-current-penn-senior-answering-any-questions.html</a></p>
<p>You’ll have to scan through to find the specific information you’re looking for, and if you don’t find what you want, you could always repost your question there. The current students who have been responding have been very prompt and informative!</p>
<p>Basically, though, some programs are more difficult to get into and more time consuming than others. Most programs have optional participation and, I’ve heard, are relatively inactive. Those I know at Penn say that the res program activities are more prevalent the first few weeks on campus than they are the rest of the school year. For-credit programs like the language ones in Gregory, though, are exceptions, as is the Mentors Program in Riepe.</p>
<p>As for selectivity, Harrison’s Freshman Experience program, I know, has had to turn down students in the past few years. I don’t know about the selectivity of the programs in the Quad, but I do know that many students who apply to Riepe/Ware/Fisher programs do so only because it increases their chances of being assigned Quad housing.</p>
<p>I think an advantage of applying for a res program is that it increases your chances of getting into your first-choice College House. Also, you’ll likely find people with similar interests in your res program hallway, which could be a benefit if you’re worried about making friends. By the same token, you might regret applying to a res program simply to get into your top-choice House if you get to school and find that you feel obligated to participate in activities that you’re only marginally interested in. Really, though, I don’t think there are many detriments associated with most res programs.</p>
<p>Hope this is helpful. Best of luck!</p>
<p>Keep in mind that if you are planning to room with someone and only one of you gets into a residential program, you will not end up being placed together and you will only find this out when room assignments are made known.</p>