lstarrsmith

I realize that a good amount of those reading this will scoff at my apparent ignorance regarding the key decisions to me made when selecting a college. However, it is to my understanding that generally, women up north are less attractive than women down south.

I come from Austin, Texas and before that Los Angeles, so i believe that i have a very high standard for women. Trips up north and discussions with friends and family in Maryland have led me to believe that girls/women are not nearly up to par.

My question is whether or not the female population at Penn is reasonably attractive? I want to remind you that i have not visited first hand and am not passing judgment, but rather going off rumors and stories from friends.

Critical to decision process... please respond. Especially southerners.

adf8

I don't think women in the North are necessarily less attractive, it's just a different look. I'm from the South and I'm noticed that people are a lot more..ethnic-looking, I guess. You won't see as many blondes. A lot of people look Jewish, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, etc. Fashion is slightly different too. More girls here have a edgy, high-fashion look rather than the sweeter, preppier look of the South.

I think the biggest issue concerning attractiveness at Penn is that it's a ridiculously good school, and brains and beauty don't always have the best correlation. There is a certain group of people here in which you'll find very good-looking girls (and guys). I'm referring to like...the social elite, the people in the best frats/sororities/secret societies. You will also find some hideous hermits here. My opinion: if you're in the top 10 (maybe 20) percent of people here, as far as attractiveness goes, it's worth it because not only will the people be hot, they'll probably be classier and more intelligent than what you'd find at state school. If you're in the bottom quarter of people, it's worth it because the people will be ugly anywhere and at least here they're probably smart and interesting. It's the middle where it gets debatable.

Hahaha clearly I am also shallow and don't think your question is ridiculous at all. Honestly though, this is a concern that shouldn't stop you from coming here. There ARE attractive girls here. Most people are very well-dressed, which helps, and very few Penn students are overweight. When you're younger and looking for random hookups, you will find plenty of willing females. And when you're older and looking for a serious relationship, you will find fascinating, brilliant women.

classic3020

adf8- what are the best frats at penn? and would you suggest joining one?

adf8

If you're social/outgoing, I would definitely recommend joining one. Penn is the type of school where is it totally possible to have a social life without going Greek, but if you're looking for the traditional (i.e. drunken partying) college experience, join a frat. It's a great way to make a lot of friends too. (P.S. I'm a girl so..not from a guy's perspective. But I'm in a sorority and most of my guy friends are in frats.) There are 28 frats here and the variety is huge. It's difficult to say what's best when it really depends on what you're looking for, but I'm assuming you mean best=most socially elite.

Secret Societies:
Theos: Fairly large pledge classes. Very Jewish and NYC/LA. A little metro/trendy. They have a TON of parties, on and off campus, and they're always well attended.

Owls: Very small, which limits the amount of parties. VERY wealthy. Rush isn't open, you have to be tapped, and they usually tap people who are known to be rich, from rich areas, or internationals.

Oz: Kind of like owls- small and very wealthy. From what I've heard, a little less foreign. Neither Oz nor Owls really has huge open parties, but they're generally connected with others who do.

Actual frats:
Zetes: Very secretive. Donald Trump's frat. Very wealthy- it's widely rumored that brothers sign over 1% of everything they ever earn. They take their pledges to Amsterdam every year. Usually associated with lots of drugs. I don't actually know if they throw good parties, they just sort of have a rep on campus. But they did have trouble filling a pledge class this year.

St A's: Almost entirely New England prep school guys. Wealthy. Good parties, lots of live music. Classy. Known for heavy drinking. Verrry selective- you can't really rush another frat.

Phi Delt: Also very preppy, but a little more geographically diverse. More Southern. Also heavy drinkers and good parties.

Beta: Your typical frat. Lots of club athletes and ex-athletes. Again..good parties.

Sigma Chi: Very athletic- literally a majority of recruited athletes. Considered "nicer" guys than some of their counterparts.

Castle: VERY international- almost entirely. Wealthy, but sometimes considered eurotrash. Good parties, good alcohol. Their rep is sliding a little.

Tobman

Busty Penn Beauties are a LIE! Hot off the press!

Rister_Chutophs

why is the rep of castle sliding?

adf8

I think it's because it's kind of the same scene as Oz/Owls/Theos and those are generally considered better....they're more "mysterious" and off-campus.

razordad

Check out college ******* (on the web). It rates colleges in a host of areas, including the attractiveness of the girls (and guys), based on input from thousands of students throughout the country. Not much issue of the geographic region that gets the best ratings for girls -- definitely the South. Notable colleges where girls received an A+ rating are: University of Georgia, Florida State, Arizona State and, believe it or not, Vanderbilt (which is one to consider if you want to couple pretty girls with high rep academics). Other solid performers (according to *******) are Alabama, Florida, Clemson and Ole Miss (all A-rated). Obviously all campuses will have some attractive students, and these large Southern schools don't have the academic reputation of Penn -- but, you established your criteria ...

razordad

Follow up: Why won't CC permit my reference to college relworp (prior word spelled backwards) appear? Is it a competitive thing?

pelyas

how do you join oz/owls/or theo?

adf8

Theos rushing is pretty similar to a normal frat, there's just no set date (not that most frats follow it anyway). You get to know the brothers, go to their events, they slowly stop inviting people back, etc. Owls isn't open rush. They "tap" people that they might want during first semester then also go through the process of slowing inviting fewer and fewer guys to their events. I'm not sure about Oz, but I belief it's more like Owls than Theos.

ohakkila

hmmm, that's sad that smart people are linked with ugliness. really sad. i am from the South and am planning on Penn, and i think i'm at the least, moderately attractive. clemson (one of the a-rated schools) is in-state for me, and at least half of my class is going there next year. however, most of them are very preppy, shallow, and dumb. while penn might not have the quantity of good-looking girls, the ones they have will probbaly be of higher quality...

(also, check out penn'12 facebook group and see whose planning on attending. then, you can see for yourself!)

pgh36

I recently visited Penn and wondered the same thing. Walking around I couldnt really spot many but that might just have been a bad day.

RZA

Women are very attractive.

daveb

I was waiting for that comment, RZA.