<p>I was recently admitted into Penn (much to my surprise), but part of me is really scared to go there. It's a wonderful school, but part of me thinks I'll fit in more at at school like UCLA where the students are generally very bright, but not to the same extent as in Penn. </p>
<p>I know my strengths and weaknesses. While I do love learning, I know I am definitely not a genius. I have to work hard, and the chances of me ever discovering the cure to cancer, coming up with a mathematical theorem, or writing a brilliant novel are slim-to-none. </p>
<p>My main concern is that while at Penn, I'll fall extremely behind even though I work hard and eventually will just want to give up. I'm scared I'll crack under pressure because I know college will be very stressful. </p>
<p>I come from a public school that isn't very competitive, and while I was at the top of my class, I feel that I was under-qualified to be admitted to Penn and was probably accepted due to affirmative action. </p>
<p>I would love to go to Penn, but I'm scared I will eventually regret my decision because I cannot handle the workload. So basically, my question was: If I'm smart, but not brilliant, could I handle Penn?</p>
<p>YES YOU CAN!! BUT under one condition: you must be willing to take advantage of all the resources that Penn provides that will help you succeed.</p>
<p>You are definitely not alone in thinking that you got into Penn solely due to your ethnicity. It crosses my mind every now and then (Hispanic FTW), and for too many of my friends it is treated as solid fact (which is very unfortunate as they, like you I’m guessing, see ridiculous flaws in their intellectual ability). </p>
<p>Penn is not easy. The coursework can be very demanding, and you might have to get used to getting grades that you are not accustomed to. But there are so many resources to get help, that hard work really pays off. Examples include the Tutoring Center, the writing center, Weingarten Learning Resources, office hours with professors (my personal favorite), office hours with TAs (if applicable), and simply finding another person in your class to talk things over with. </p>
<p>I know some people that do fall behind here and are stressed beyond belief. However, they have only themselves to blame as they REFUSE to seek help and have extremely poor time management skills. Penn is not a place that wants to see their students fail. </p>
<p>So, if you are smart, if you can work on time management, and if you can set aside your pride to seek help when needed, then YES, you can handle Penn. You got in here for a reason, and it’s more than just your ethnicity. Coming here is a fantastic opportunity (I absolutely love it here), and I would hate to see you pass it up. Feel free to PM me if you wish.</p>
<p>While Penn does have a number of freak geniuses who just pick everything up naturally and such, I’d say most of the kids here do well because they work their butts off. Yes, for some people the coursework will come more naturally than others (and for each person certain subjects will make more sense than others) but as long as you’re willing to put in the time and the effort to seek out help if you need it, or just plough through practice problem after practice problem, you should be fine. Penn has a wealth of resources available to students who seek it out; we have a tutoring center where you can get tutored in a number of subjects (for free!), TAs and profs have office hours (and most are more than willing to schedule individual appointments if you can’t make the office hours or you need extra help). We also have a learning center where you can learn more general skills to succeed in class. Basically, don’t be afraid to ask for help, and you’ll be fine.</p>