Thoughts on UPenn?

[Anonymous]

Wharton is great - but rest of Penn is basically equal to Duke, Northwestern, Dartmouth and Cornell

[Anonymous]

The area surrounding campus is still super grimy. Tons of litter. Be prepared to inhale cigarette smoke as you walk down the street. And don’t even get me started on the SEPTA el train, on which people smoke constantly. It has major safety issues, too. Stick to walking, regional rail & the buses.

I’ve spent a ton of time there recently.

[Anonymous]

OMG here come the parents whose kids can't get into any Ivy to say (1) so and so Ivy sucks (insert Penn, Cornell, Dartmouth, and Brown)--Columbia gets a little slack, (2) all Ivies are pressure cookers, and (3) Northeastern and UVA are better than all but HYP.

No kid at Penn but have one at another non-HYP Ivy but I have seen this jealousy too many times on this board.

Sorry Junior couldn't make the cut.

Wait wait, I hear someone typing "it's just an athletic league and Wash U is on par with all of Penn other than Wharton--and on alternate Tuesdays it is actually on par with Wharton".

[Anonymous]

So many suicides - even the head of mental health there!

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna1052156

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OMG here come the parents whose kids can't get into any Ivy to say (1) so and so Ivy sucks (insert Penn, Cornell, Dartmouth, and Brown)--Columbia gets a little slack, (2) all Ivies are pressure cookers, and (3) Northeastern and UVA are better than all but HYP.

No kid at Penn but have one at another non-HYP Ivy but I have seen this jealousy too many times on this board.

Sorry Junior couldn't make the cut.

Wait wait, I hear someone typing "it's just an athletic league and Wash U is on par with all of Penn other than Wharton--and on alternate Tuesdays it is actually on par with Wharton".

+100. My children are still in high school, but these negative Penn posts reek of envy and bitterness. I bet many/most/all of these posters would give one of their kidneys to get their child(ren) admitted to Penn.

[Anonymous]

I graduated 10ish years ago from the school of arts and sciences. Loved my time at Penn and can’t imagine a better fit for me. Loved my classes (and I wasn’t overly preprofessional) and the social scene was very fun. I met my spouse there too.

However, Penn has a specific culture and it’s not a fit for everyone. I am a fairly intense person, but I go with the flow and can adapt. I had two friends transfer sophomore year to more “crunchy” small liberal arts schools. If your kid is at all the type to apply somewhere like that, then don’t send them to Penn. It’s not just the academics - the social scene is intense and can be overwhelming for some people. The school doesn’t hold your hand. It’s swim or sink.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Penn provides incredible opportunities after graduating, so that alone makes it worthwhile to look at. However, as many others have stated here, the culture is not for everyone and many won't thrive in it. If your kid is very smart but doesn't want to be in a 100% pressure cooker environment, the closest comparison is Duke. Similar great outcomes but has school spirit and many avenues to avoid burnout and mental health issues. If your kid is type A and thrives under high stress and pressure, Penn is hard to beat.

+1 that’s how I see it too, very similar schools but Penn is slightly more preprofessional. Online it says they split cross-admits 50-50 so it’s likely a very tough decision that’s based on personality. I think you could argue Columbia is also a similar school but they have the core which is a different academic offering entirely

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OMG here come the parents whose kids can't get into any Ivy to say (1) so and so Ivy sucks (insert Penn, Cornell, Dartmouth, and Brown)--Columbia gets a little slack, (2) all Ivies are pressure cookers, and (3) Northeastern and UVA are better than all but HYP.

No kid at Penn but have one at another non-HYP Ivy but I have seen this jealousy too many times on this board.

Sorry Junior couldn't make the cut.

Wait wait, I hear someone typing "it's just an athletic league and Wash U is on par with all of Penn other than Wharton--and on alternate Tuesdays it is actually on par with Wharton".

Hmm all I am reading is that most of the alums are all saying the same thing, that its a pressure cooker with an intense stratified social scene as well so really needs be a fit with the kid. Frankly the head of counseling committing suicide is a huge red flag. How does that correlate to "sorry junior couldn't make the cut"? Presumably these are actual alums since they are identifying themselves that way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OMG here come the parents whose kids can't get into any Ivy to say (1) so and so Ivy sucks (insert Penn, Cornell, Dartmouth, and Brown)--Columbia gets a little slack, (2) all Ivies are pressure cookers, and (3) Northeastern and UVA are better than all but HYP.

No kid at Penn but have one at another non-HYP Ivy but I have seen this jealousy too many times on this board.

Sorry Junior couldn't make the cut.

Wait wait, I hear someone typing "it's just an athletic league and Wash U is on par with all of Penn other than Wharton--and on alternate Tuesdays it is actually on par with Wharton".

Hmm all I am reading is that most of the alums are all saying the same thing, that its a pressure cooker with an intense stratified social scene as well so really needs be a fit with the kid. Frankly the head of counseling committing suicide is a huge red flag. How does that correlate to "sorry junior couldn't make the cut"? Presumably these are actual alums since they are identifying themselves that way.

Are you really blaming Penn for the “head of counseling’s” suicide? You sound like a very silly person.

Unless his/her suicide note specifically mentions Penn as the cause, you need to drop this foolish line of posts and move along.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OMG here come the parents whose kids can't get into any Ivy to say (1) so and so Ivy sucks (insert Penn, Cornell, Dartmouth, and Brown)--Columbia gets a little slack, (2) all Ivies are pressure cookers, and (3) Northeastern and UVA are better than all but HYP.

No kid at Penn but have one at another non-HYP Ivy but I have seen this jealousy too many times on this board.

Sorry Junior couldn't make the cut.

Wait wait, I hear someone typing "it's just an athletic league and Wash U is on par with all of Penn other than Wharton--and on alternate Tuesdays it is actually on par with Wharton".

Here is the DCUM script:

- Parent asks about Top 10 school

- 90% of responses are negative from people with no firsthand knowledge (go look at Stanford, Duke, Harvard threads etc)

-8% of responses from what appear to be alums which are positive and negative but usually provide some specific insight (but some so non-specific that you don’t know if it’s true).

- 2% are posts from UVA and Northeastern boosters that bring those schools into the conversation to claim both are better

[Anonymous]

DS is at Penn in SEAS. It’s a wonderful school/department, like a family. As others have said, it’s not the top-ranked engineering school in the country, but still very, very good and likely less cut throat. Sciences and medicine are outstanding at Penn. they do a lot for the community that surrounds them. A lot of kind, caring kids at Penn who care deeply about social justice and helping those less fortunate than them.

I think you can kind of get a feel for some of Penn’s issues from this thread - there’s a huge perception that Penn = Wharton, Wharton, and Wharton. But realize there is much more to Penn than Wharton.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I graduated 10ish years ago from the school of arts and sciences. Loved my time at Penn and can’t imagine a better fit for me. Loved my classes (and I wasn’t overly preprofessional) and the social scene was very fun. I met my spouse there too.

However, Penn has a specific culture and it’s not a fit for everyone. I am a fairly intense person, but I go with the flow and can adapt. I had two friends transfer sophomore year to more “crunchy” small liberal arts schools. If your kid is at all the type to apply somewhere like that, then don’t send them to Penn. It’s not just the academics - the social scene is intense and can be overwhelming for some people. The school doesn’t hold your hand. It’s swim or sink.

PP... 1990s alum...I just don't understand the comment "Penn has a specific culture". I found it fairly laid back, with Tuesday (Palladium... no longer (, Wednesday (Smokes), Friday and Saturday big social nights (and Thursdays too sometimes). Sure, all the Wharton kids were aiming for GS or Blackstone or KKR (again, think 1990s), but not like they were sabotaging each other's chances.

There were a decent number of kids in Fraternities and Sororities, but a wide mix of demographics in those clubs...and all the parties were open to the entire school. The usual progression was that kids primarily enjoyed the UPenn social scene for Freshman and most of Soph year...but then people started engaging more with what Philly had to offer.

Would be interested in specific examples to illustrate your comment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DS is at Penn in SEAS. It’s a wonderful school/department, like a family. As others have said, it’s not the top-ranked engineering school in the country, but still very, very good and likely less cut throat. Sciences and medicine are outstanding at Penn. they do a lot for the community that surrounds them. A lot of kind, caring kids at Penn who care deeply about social justice and helping those less fortunate than them.

I think you can kind of get a feel for some of Penn’s issues from this thread - there’s a huge perception that Penn = Wharton, Wharton, and Wharton. But realize there is much more to Penn than Wharton.

I also have a kid at SEAS who is very happy there. She says the professors are very good, and she's learning a tremendous amount in the classes. Once, when I was traveling through the area and stopped to take her to lunch, a classmate and her professor were having lunch together right next to us. She introduced me to her professor, who clearly knew her. She also reports that the school has all kinds of materials, etc. available for the engineering students to use. She loves going into the labs in her free time and creating things. I think a lot of the people commenting on this thread (just like other threads about other colleges) have no first-hand knowledge (or no recent knowledge) about the school and are just repeating things they've heard, which aren't necessarily accurate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS is at Penn in SEAS. It’s a wonderful school/department, like a family. As others have said, it’s not the top-ranked engineering school in the country, but still very, very good and likely less cut throat. Sciences and medicine are outstanding at Penn. they do a lot for the community that surrounds them. A lot of kind, caring kids at Penn who care deeply about social justice and helping those less fortunate than them.

I think you can kind of get a feel for some of Penn’s issues from this thread - there’s a huge perception that Penn = Wharton, Wharton, and Wharton. But realize there is much more to Penn than Wharton.

I also have a kid at SEAS who is very happy there. She says the professors are very good, and she's learning a tremendous amount in the classes. Once, when I was traveling through the area and stopped to take her to lunch, a classmate and her professor were having lunch together right next to us. She introduced me to her professor, who clearly knew her. She also reports that the school has all kinds of materials, etc. available for the engineering students to use. She loves going into the labs in her free time and creating things. I think a lot of the people commenting on this thread (just like other threads about other colleges) have no first-hand knowledge (or no recent knowledge) about the school and are just repeating things they've heard, which aren't necessarily accurate.

You are reading a different thread than I am. seems like most posters have direct experience and/or are citing at least one published article.

From The Fiske Guide To Colleges (2023 edition):

" An Ivy institution in name, Penn has more in common with places like Georgetown and Northwestern--where the liberal arts share central stage with preprofessional programs. At Penn, that means business, engineering, and nursing. Penn has something else other Ivies don't: school spirit."

"While its students work hard, Penn lacks the intellectual intensity of some of the other top Ivies...[has] preprofessional undercurrents."

"There is a great balance between academics and social activities, which is rare in such highly competitive institutions."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS is at Penn in SEAS. It’s a wonderful school/department, like a family. As others have said, it’s not the top-ranked engineering school in the country, but still very, very good and likely less cut throat. Sciences and medicine are outstanding at Penn. they do a lot for the community that surrounds them. A lot of kind, caring kids at Penn who care deeply about social justice and helping those less fortunate than them.

I think you can kind of get a feel for some of Penn’s issues from this thread - there’s a huge perception that Penn = Wharton, Wharton, and Wharton. But realize there is much more to Penn than Wharton.

I also have a kid at SEAS who is very happy there. She says the professors are very good, and she's learning a tremendous amount in the classes. Once, when I was traveling through the area and stopped to take her to lunch, a classmate and her professor were having lunch together right next to us. She introduced me to her professor, who clearly knew her. She also reports that the school has all kinds of materials, etc. available for the engineering students to use. She loves going into the labs in her free time and creating things. I think a lot of the people commenting on this thread (just like other threads about other colleges) have no first-hand knowledge (or no recent knowledge) about the school and are just repeating things they've heard, which aren't necessarily accurate.

You are reading a different thread than I am. seems like most posters have direct experience and/or are citing at least one published article.

From The Fiske Guide To Colleges (2023 edition):

" An Ivy institution in name, Penn has more in common with places like Georgetown and Northwestern--where the liberal arts share central stage with preprofessional programs. At Penn, that means business, engineering, and nursing. Penn has something else other Ivies don't: school spirit."

"While its students work hard, Penn lacks the intellectual intensity of some of the other top Ivies...[has] preprofessional undercurrents."

"There is a great balance between academics and social activities, which is rare in such highly competitive institutions."

I am confused...nothing what you posted above refutes PP commenting on SEAS. What you post from Fiske is mainly positive...and for the record, Fiske has a negative comment or two on each and every school...no school is perfect.