<p>so applying as an undergrad, do you apply as a fine arts or design major, or do you apply to the college then declare after a year? any info about the strengths weaknesses of the program, how big it is, etc, would also be helpful. </p>
<p>im also interested in architecture (the design studio B.S.Arch, not history), and i know they have a very strong grad program, but does anyone know anything about arch as an undergrad? </p>
<p>one more question: i have solid grades and SATs, but for a school such as UPenn they would be lacking. its around a 93 or 94 WEIGHTED in all honors and APs at a competitve boston private prep school, as i didnt do so hot fresh/soph year - with a 2100 on the SATS. if i submitted a very strong fine arts portfolio, and sought to declare myself as a fine arts/architecture major, would it carry any significant weight in place of lackluster grades?</p>
<p>in general, does anyone know how competitve the arts programs are at penn? any numbers people have about the size of the major and what not would also be helpful. </p>
<p>thanks a lot.</p>
<p>........your grades look pretty good to me.......</p>
<p>well they arent terrible, but seeing some of the grades people put up here is instantly humbling. i got a C+ in two honors classes, one freshman and one sophmore, which is the primary reason for my concern. however, i have all A's this year (junior), and i guess im curious to see if a turn-a-round in my GPA and a strong portfolio would give me a chance at some of these top tier schools. </p>
<p>it seems doubtful when theres so many kids that have consistantly achieved those high grades. :/ oh well. it doesnt seem like many know much about penn arts/design, or is everyone in hiding?</p>
<p>I am an architecture major at Penn. The undergraduate major in architecture doesn't really start until sophomore year, which is when you take your first design studio. The program is extremely rigourous, but also very rewarding. </p>
<p>You can check out the website of the program here:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.design.upenn.edu/new/arch/undergrad/index.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.design.upenn.edu/new/arch/undergrad/index.html</a></p>
<p>Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.</p>
<p>As for fine arts, from what I've gathered it is a very customizable major, where apart from a few requirements you can concentrate on what you are the most interested in.</p>