dancer16

Thanks for answering my question from before, but I'm gonna be a CBE major most likely. However, I do have another question! I was admitted ED, so all I've gotten so far from Penn is my acceptance letter and Financial Aid stuff. When do the fun things start to come like the housing app, a PennKey, an email, etc?? I've been waiting for almost 4 months haha

kevinkirbykevin

@lilklumsy15: This website has the range of SAT scores that Penn admitted for the class of 2012, along with a bunch of other cool demographics: Penn Admissions: Incoming Class Profile

@dancer16: Unfortunately there is not a set time when you get your Penn Key setup code in the mail (which you will use to make your Penn Key). Mine came about 3-4 weeks after I was admitted on April 1, but then again I applied RD. And, unfortunately, you can't do anything (housing app, create an email address, choose a meal plan, etc.) without your Penn Key. Just hang in there, though. You'll get your setup code soon enough. EDIT: A friend told me everyone gets their Penn Key setup codes at the same time. So start looking for it in a couple of weeks.

nicteow

Hey, i applied intially for the mnt programme and was accepted to engineering. I couldnt find anything on the website that states i was rejected for the jerome fisher programme though. is that just assumed? and how hard is it to transfer into it? What do you like best about engineering at penn?

anjuved

Hi Kevin,

Your responses are awesome! Thanks!
Well, I just got accepted into Penn, and I was also invited to the "Benjamin Franklin Scholar" program. Do you know what that is? Is it worth accepting/getting into?

Also, when you said that Stouffer is a great dorm, even for freshman, does that mean that there are enough freshman in the dorm such that new students can make friends easily? Or is it better to survive the sucky rooms at the quad if that means we can easily meet other freshmen. I often become better friends with people I live near.

Also, I'm chosing UPenn over Carnegie Mellon and Georgetown, and I'm gonna be an economics major. Do you think this is a good decision?

Thanks!

Humna

Hi is there any facebook group for Upenn 2013 accepts?

callmemc

for an econ major, do you think it is wise to choose upenn over northwestern, jhu, dartmouth, and cornell?

blu_g8orade

What is dining like at Penn? Are the cafeterias unlimited/buffet or do you pay each time? And generally, how would you rate the food scene at Penn?

And this is gonna sound stupid, but.... is Penn a Coke school or a Pepsi school? LOL, it's not a dealbreaker or anything but I would like to know.

qwertylad

"Hey, i applied intially for the mnt programme and was accepted to engineering. I couldnt find anything on the website that states i was rejected for the jerome fisher programme though. is that just assumed? and how hard is it to transfer into it? What do you like best about engineering at penn?"

It says explicitly that you were accepted into M&T if you were. I'm in the same boat as you, and as such, am wondering about the two subsequent questions as well.

kevinkirbykevin

@nicteow: I found this statement on Penn's M&T website at THE JEROME FISHER PROGRAM IN MANAGEMENT & TECHNOLOGY | ADMISSIONS :
Please note that because of the selective nature of the M&T Program, students who are applying may also elect a single degree choice on their application as a secondary choice to the Program. This single degree choice will only be considered after all opportunities for placement in the M&T Program have been exhausted.

So yes, I'm afraid you were rejected from M&T. But not to worry! If M&T is your dream, you can apply to transfer to the M&T program at the end of your freshman year. You just need to take certain classes while you are a freshman and maintain at least a 3.4 GPA. Check out THE JEROME FISHER PROGRAM IN MANAGEMENT & TECHNOLOGY | ADMISSIONS and click on Transfer Students for all of the details and the application.

There's no one thing I like best about Penn Engineering. I love Penngineering (no one actually calls it that, I just think it sounds fun) as a whole. However, I realize how wimpy an answer that is, so here are a couple of my favorite things about Penn Engineering: beautiful buildings (including an amazing new bioengineering building, Skirkanich Hall), fun and interesting classes (check out ESE 112, read first page for what I have to say about that), awesome professors, and tons and tons of free stuff! I'll say one thing about the free stuff; at info fairs for Penn Engineering there are tons of free stuff to grab like staplers, flash drives, lanyards, t shirts, etc. that all say "Penn Engineering" on them. As far as I know, the other schools (Wharton, CAS, Nursing) don't have nearly as much free stuff as Engineering does. Just an added bonus, haha.

@anjuved: You're welcome! I'm glad I've been able to help you out. I have indeed heard of the BFS program; however, I do not have much information about it. I'm going to point you to this thread: Benjamin Franklin Scholar Program. They have some pretty good info on it that I trust. If you'd rather read up on it from a more reliable source, check out the official site for BFS at Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships | Benjamin Franklin Scholars. I would check both of those places out for an opinion of the program. I don't want to steer you wrong, because honestly I don't know whether to recommend it or not.

I am very excited that you're thinking about living in Stouffer! Trust me, you are going to make so many friends (both freshman and upperclassmen) you won't know what to do with all of them! There are about 90 freshmen in Stouffer each year. If you live in Mayer Hall (where I live), you will be placed on either the 5th floor or the 6th floor. Each of those two floors are comprised of only freshmen, except for about 6 upperclassmen rooms (6 on each floor). This actually better serves freshman interests because it means you'll have some really cool, really knowledgeable students on your floor that can help you out with anything you need. In Mayer, you'll be surrounded by freshmen on all sides.

If you decide to live in Stouffer Hall, you'll live in a "section." There are 6 sections: A section, B section, C section, ..., F section. There are lots of freshmen scattered across all of the sections. So to sum everything up: If you live in Stouffer, you'll make tons of friends because everyone is very nice and social. If you're looking to make freshman friends in particular, I would recommend living in Mayer Hall because I guarantee you'll be put on one of the two freshman floors where you'll be surrounded by freshmen, as well as upper classmen. I can't say the same thing for Stouffer Hall, but I know you would enjoy living there as well. Please let me know if you have any more questions about Stouffer!

For your econ question, please see my response to callmemc below:

@Humna: Absolutely! I encourage all Penn 2013 admits to join the facebook group at UPenn Class of 2013 | Facebook. And if you're coming to Penn and want an awesome upperclassmen friend, feel free to add me as a friend on facebook: Kevin Conley - Sacramento, CA | Facebook

@callmemc: Penn has an excellent Econ program. I mean, we have the Wharton school after all. That being said, I encourage you to look at other ways you might fit in at Penn. Don't get me wrong, your major is definitely important, as is the school you go to for that major (AKA name recognition). But Penn is terrific for that. Penn will open doors for you that you can't even imagine. I know those other schools can do that as well. Therefore, do some research and see if maybe Penn has a club or organization that you'd like to join that maybe those other schools don't offer. Or a sport. Or a type of dorm. To answer anjuved's question: Yes, I believe Penn is a fantastic choice for Economics. In fact, you'll have a hard time doing much better. For you, callmemc, I say the same thing. But because it sounds like you have not decided on a college yet, I suggest you scour the websites of each college for distinct characteristics that attract you to each college.

@blu_g8orade: Dining at Penn consists of three components: residential dining halls, retail dining halls, and regular restaurants around campus. The connection between residential and retail dining halls is that you use your Penn Card to eat at those places. Residential dining halls are the "unlimited buffet" you have in mind, where you swipe in at the front (one "meal" is deducted from your meal account; you get a certain number of meals for the year) and then you can eat as much food as you want until you leave (after which you would have to swipe in again and use another "meal"). Retail dining halls are more like regular restaurants, but instead of using real dollars to pay for food, you use your Penn "dining dollars" to make purchases (like "meals", you get a certain amount of "dining dollars" for the entire year based on the meal plan you choose). You can use "dining dollars" at the Starbucks, Subway, Jamba Juice, and many other restaurants on campus. Yet not all restaurants on campus accept "dining dollars." These regular restaurants are not affiliated with the University, and you will have to use real money/credit cards/debit cards to pay for food there.

I like the food at Penn. It satisfies my needs for food. I believe your opinion of the Penn dining halls will be greatly influenced by what you are used to eating. So if you are used to being served four-course dinners by private chefs at your boarding school, yes, you're going to think Penn dining sucks. However, if you went to a public high school and have been eating school cafeteria food all of your life, Penn should definitely be acceptable to you. You might even find it a step above what you are used to. Personally, I am going to continue having a meal plan as a sophomore next year (which is optional). I enjoy the convenience of not having to cook my own meals, and I like the quality of the food just fine.

Your final question is not stupid at all. Myself being a major Diet Pepsi fan, I too was curious as to what kind of soda school Penn was. To answer your question, Penn is a Pepsi school. The residential dining halls (see above paragraph) only have Pepsi products for soda (unlimited refills too). However, the retail dining hall in the basement of Houston Hall (known as Houston Market) sells both bottled Pepsi and bottled Coke products.

Whew! Lots of questions asked today, but I know that's to be expected on the day after admissions decisions were released. Congratulations to everyone who was accepted!

necrophiliac

The JWS: worth it or not? Perks? Added commitment approximation?

I'm sorry for asking this but how exclusive is this? Is this an opportunity for a few or a trap for the unwary?

anjuved

Hi!

I hear from a lot of people that the class sizes are huge at Penn and that many professors aren't accessible and that some classes aren't even taught by professors! Is that true? I really need to be able to ask profs for help outside of class and be in smaller classes. Is Penn a bad place for me? (BTW--I'm going to be in the College, Econ major and was invited to the Ben Franklin Scholar program)

anjuved

If I'm in the College with an economics major, can I take a finance minor from Wharton?

kevinkirbykevin

@necrophiliac: Please see Program Information for info about the Joseph Wharton Scholars program. I have actually not heard of JWS before, but then again, I am in Engineering and that is a Wharton program. Based on what I saw at that website, though, I would only recommend you do it if 1) you want to take some really cool classes and be a part of a group of really smart students and 2) if you want to do research. It appears that JWS does not guarantee you research, but I bet if you wanted to do research and you were in JWS it would be easier to get professors to let you work with them than if you were not in JWS. I do not know how selective the program is, but the website says you can apply into the program after your freshman year, so it must not be too incredibly selective. If you wanted to pass on the program now, you could probably pick it up after your freshman year if you wanted to get into it.

@anjuved: Please see the first page of this thread for the answers to most of your questions (look for my first really long post).

Unfortunately, there is no Finance minor at Wharton. If you want a straight-up Wharton minor, your only option is Statistics (see Minor in Statistics at Penn). You can also do a few minors called "University Minors" (check out The Wharton School - Undergraduate Division). For a University Minor that has a focus related to Wharton you'll definitely take some Wharton classes, but Wharton is usually very picky about not letting students from SAS, SEAS, and Nursing take Wharton classes.

For the rest of you with questions, please read this entire thread before asking a question. There is a very good chance that I have already answered your question. For general information about certain programs, majors, minors, and departments, please do a Google search and attempt to find the information yourself first. I'm more than happy to help you find hard-to-find websites, but when I do a Google search and the requested information is the first item at the top of the list, it kind of just shows me that you're too lazy to look up the information yourself.

adesa

what is your impression of the Huntsman Program?
Is there any way that I can speak to a current student?

waddlelikeaducky

Hello =]
As a future SEAS Chemical Engineering, how hard would you say (in general) the engineering classes are? I'm expecting them to be brutal, but I'd like your opinion. I also plan on majoring/minoring in Environmental Studies .. which I'm hoping is doable.

Also, do you know anything about how we (as incoming freshman) apply for work-study? I have my eye on a job on the Student Employment website.

Thanks!