University of Pennsylvania

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A sibling went to Penn years ago and liked it by when DC looked, very carefully, she found that the influence of the Wharton school has become Godzilla, and that much of the student body is "pre-professional", wanting to go to business or law school. Those students are happy there. But every liberal arts type student DC spoke with was unhappy and sorry they attended.

+1

[Anonymous]

Nobody from Penn State has ever, ever said they went to Penn. And vice versa.

As an alum, however, I did work with someone who confused the two and despite my constant corrections, insisted I was wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:http://www.newrepublic.com/article/120185/inside-americas-number-1-party-school-university-pennsylvania

Lots of posters seem to be right on the money when it comes to what penn is about.

It's really not a secret. I am a bit surprised such a piece would run in the New Republic, but TNR has long been owned by Harvard grads, so perhaps that type of putdown should not come as a complete shock.

Totally silly article - finding a few sources to match the point of view of a storyline the reporter wanted to write. The "Not Penn State" and inferiority complex to HYP are inherent in Penn's DNA... The Locust Walk fraternity culture (aka could also be read as Lax culture) and Wharton (and kids with posters on their walls with slogans like "whoever dies with the most toys wins) and kids driven by wanting to make money and kids from privilege also an inherent part of the school (and there's a percentage of girls and frat boys engaging in "hook up culture" at any and every university around the country) - but the reality of the experience is that it is a school of 2,500 undergrads & hundreds of graduate programs - with an extremely diverse student body with extremely diverse interests http://www.admissions.upenn.edu/apply/incoming-class-profile It's culture is also very driven by being an urban school, with an urban feel - and a lot of driven kids who did well in high school to get there (honestly found it far less competitive (and less challenging) than my W MoCo high school)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's mostly for Jewish and Asian kids who can't get into HYP and have to pretend all they ever really wanted was to become a hedge fund analyst or a bond trader. There are some liberal arts kids who want to be in an urban environment, but they are on the fringes now. Wharton completely sets the tone.

lol. spot on analysis.

[Anonymous]

I went for undergrad and loved it.

[Anonymous]

I thought it was a work hard / play hard scene. I'm a lawyer now so I guess pre-professional was true for me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's mostly for Jewish and Asian kids who can't get into HYP and have to pretend all they ever really wanted was to become a hedge fund analyst or a bond trader. There are some liberal arts kids who want to be in an urban environment, but they are on the fringes now. Wharton completely sets the tone.

Great thread. Thanks to all who contributed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I thought it was a work hard / play hard scene. I'm a lawyer now so I guess pre-professional was true for me.

I had an ex boyfriend who was an undergrad at Wharton and this is the absolute truth. He was in a business fraternity and I had never seen this level of self distruction before and never since. I was at a large state school and I was in a sorority so I'm not new to the scene. But, at Wharton, it was literally "go to class, take whatever drug you can to keep you awake to study, and Thurs-Sun drink so that you're in a constant state of obliteration."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's mostly for Jewish and Asian kids who can't get into HYP and have to pretend all they ever really wanted was to become a hedge fund analyst or a bond trader. There are some liberal arts kids who want to be in an urban environment, but they are on the fringes now. Wharton completely sets the tone.

lol. spot on analysis.

Complete bullshit. Surprise surprise most of the lower ivy kids wanted to go to HYPS, not just Penn kids. The proportion of non-wharton kids who go into business is similar or even slightly smaller than that of the other ivies. Wharton is a great resource for all Penn students imo.

[Anonymous]

^if anything Penn has the highest proportion of kids who turned down HYPS due to Wharton and the dual degree programs. The only reason HYPS admits turn down HYPS in any significant numbers is for these programs at Penn.

[Anonymous]

I went to Amherst for undergrad and Wharton for my MBA and am incredibly grateful for both experiences. Amherst taught me how to think and write, and Wharton taught me all the latest quant/ applications that I'd avoided previously. It was shocking how few of my MBA classmates could communicate effectively in papers, memos, etc. I truly got the best of both worlds.

[Anonymous]

What about their PPE major (Philosophy, Politics, and Economics) in undergrad?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^if anything Penn has the highest proportion of kids who turned down HYPS due to Wharton and the dual degree programs. The only reason HYPS admits turn down HYPS in any significant numbers is for these programs at Penn.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow, there's a lotta Penn hate here. I'm a non-Wharton Penn grad from back when it wasn't nearly as competitive as it is today (I'm about to hit my 25th reunion.) So take my comments with a grain of salt. But Penn was one of the best things that ever happened to me. It wasn't my first choice (No, wasn't a HYP aspirant; actually wanted Gtown!) and I had a tough adjustment my freshman year. It's a big school, and back then there were serious safety issues to boot.

But I found my niche, and loved it. It was a great academic experience, a great social experience, and overall my entire life since then is thanks to the doors Penn opened for me. It's definitely a pre-professional kind of place, but I think they are all nowadays. Like a lot of schools with one really renowned program, Wharton has the snob factor going for it, but it only gets to you if you let it - I never once stepped inside a Wharton building except to use a bathroom! (And gawk at the wall of shame honoring imprisoned investment bankers etc.)

I'd love it if my kids could go to Penn, but I'm sure they won't stand a chance. I wouldn't send a kid there who's easily overwhelmed - it's a big place (although way smaller than Michigan or Texas or anything like that) and it's filled with kids who know what they want.

I agree with this completely. Graduated from Penn in 2000 as a history major. I work at a non profit now and didn't feel at all out of place at Penn, despite no affiliation with Wharton. My Penn friends are now scientists, tv producers, doctors, consultants, psychotherapists, professors, etc.

I think it just depends on who you are and who you hang out with. People who are clear that they want to do something else -- history; pre-med; non profit work; English whatever -- do just fine. It's a fun place. It's not all that big (2500). It affords you every opportunity under the sun.

The ones who "struggle" a bit are the ones who don't know what they want and aren't committed to a passion or two. They are the ones who arrive, get caught up in the "competition," and then find themselves elbowing someone aside for an internship at Booz Allen or SAC that in their heart of hearts don't really even want but it's "easier" than figuring out your own path.

??The population of Penn undergrad is about 10,000 or 2500 in a class. There are ton of groups other than the Wharton student. I was a grad student there but had fans there concurrently who were upperclassman. None of them felt they same way about Penn as the negative prior posters, and none were Wharton students. Don't let one or two bitter folks sour you on the school. One of the advantages of Penn is that it is one of the largest ivies, and that allows for all kinds of kids to find their people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow, there's a lotta Penn hate here. I'm a non-Wharton Penn grad from back when it wasn't nearly as competitive as it is today (I'm about to hit my 25th reunion.) So take my comments with a grain of salt. But Penn was one of the best things that ever happened to me. It wasn't my first choice (No, wasn't a HYP aspirant; actually wanted Gtown!) and I had a tough adjustment my freshman year. It's a big school, and back then there were serious safety issues to boot.

But I found my niche, and loved it. It was a great academic experience, a great social experience, and overall my entire life since then is thanks to the doors Penn opened for me. It's definitely a pre-professional kind of place, but I think they are all nowadays. Like a lot of schools with one really renowned program, Wharton has the snob factor going for it, but it only gets to you if you let it - I never once stepped inside a Wharton building except to use a bathroom! (And gawk at the wall of shame honoring imprisoned investment bankers etc.)

I'd love it if my kids could go to Penn, but I'm sure they won't stand a chance. I wouldn't send a kid there who's easily overwhelmed - it's a big place (although way smaller than Michigan or Texas or anything like that) and it's filled with kids who know what they want.

I agree with this completely. Graduated from Penn in 2000 as a history major. I work at a non profit now and didn't feel at all out of place at Penn, despite no affiliation with Wharton. My Penn friends are now scientists, tv producers, doctors, consultants, psychotherapists, professors, etc.

I think it just depends on who you are and who you hang out with. People who are clear that they want to do something else -- history; pre-med; non profit work; English whatever -- do just fine. It's a fun place. It's not all that big (2500). It affords you every opportunity under the sun.

The ones who "struggle" a bit are the ones who don't know what they want and aren't committed to a passion or two. They are the ones who arrive, get caught up in the "competition," and then find themselves elbowing someone aside for an internship at Booz Allen or SAC that in their heart of hearts don't really even want but it's "easier" than figuring out your own path.

??The population of Penn undergrad is about 10,000 or 2500 in a class. There are ton of groups other than the Wharton student. I was a grad student there but had fans there concurrently who were upperclassman. None of them felt they same way about Penn as the negative prior posters, and none were Wharton students. Don't let one or two bitter folks sour you on the school. One of the advantages of Penn is that it is one of the largest ivies, and that allows for all kinds of kids to find their people.

friends, not fans, thanks autocorrect.