Current Penn Freshman Taking Questions - Page 3

kevinkirbykevin · 04-02-2009, 04:22 PM

@adesa: I don't have much of an impression of the Huntsman Program (other than that it is very prestigious and selective) because I don't know any current Huntsman students (there are only 50 of them in each year). But I encourage you to email the Huntsman office at huntsman.isb@wharton.upenn.edu and ask them if they can get you in touch with a current student.

@waddlelikeaducky: Welcome to SEAS! In my personal experience, if the engineering classes you take are aligned with your personal engineering interests, the classes will seem very easy and fun to you. So for example: I love computers, programming, circuitry, and the like, so my ESE 112 class where we programmed robots and soldered circuits was very interesting to me and I did not think that the work was very hard because I enjoyed it. The work load is probably about the same for all of the engineering classes anyway. I don't hear any horror stories about "really hard" engineering classes. I would walk into the classroom expecting an average amount of work for a college class.

So to sum all of this up: you'll work hard (it's college, after all), but you'll be all right. Penn would not have accepted you if they thought that you wouldn't be able to do the work. And if you do have trouble, there are tons of free resources for students to use to get up to speed in classes (tutors, professor's office hours, advisors, etc.).

I do know a bit about work-study because I am on it myself. You will automatically be considered for work-study when you receive your financial aid award after you fill out your financial aid application (and send Penn your FAFSA, College Board CSS Profile, tax forms, blah blah blah). You are then eligible to apply for work-study jobs that Penn offers. For example, I work as an Information Technology Advisor for my dorm, Stouffer. That's a fancy title for "Computer Tech Guy." I help everyone in Stouffer with their computers when they get viruses, need to update software/drivers, or don't know how to do something in a software program. It's a great job and I really enjoy it, plus it's a work-study job. For ITA I applied during the summer in July, I think. For the jobs you see on the Student Employment website, feel free to send the contact person your resume and let them know that you expect to receive work-study. If they are interested in hiring you, they will contact you and let you know.

Good luck!

WhetDreamWeaver · 04-02-2009, 11:33 PM

Dear Kevin,

Thank you for taking your busy time to share your thoughts and experiences with us.
My son got into Vagelos Scholars Program in the Molecular Life Sciences(CAS). Could you explain more details about this program or any helpful websites?

illegiblyclear · 04-03-2009, 12:48 AM

@ whetdreamweaver

Vagelos Scholars Program in Molecular Life Sciences

it's the hardest program offered by cas; basically you're looking to get a master's degree in something biochemistry/chemistry/biophysics/physics/math related in four years. or you can double major for a bachelor's degree in two science related fields. basically students in this program are required to take 5+ cu worth of credits every semester regardless of what classes they place in to or how many credits they have coming into penn so it's a pretty intense load.

i'm a current vagelos freshman and all i can say is that if you aren't serious about science, this program isn't really for you.

if you want to know any more information about the program from a student's perspective, please feel free to send me a private message. (:

kevinkirbykevin · 04-03-2009, 01:05 AM

Thanks illegiblyclear! Whoever you might be.

I second everything she said. I have many friends in Vagelos, and they are definitely busier than any other Penn students I know. The benefits of the program are tremendous, though, so I would definitely check out the website and give it some serious thought. Tell your son I said, "Congratulations!" It is a HUGE honor to be accepted into the Vagelos program at Penn.

illegiblyclear · 04-03-2009, 01:19 AM

hahahaha -- i'm trying to remember all the kevin's i might know but none of them live in stouffer. xD in fact i'm pretty surprised that you live in stouffer--i still have no clue where that building even is despite the fact that one of my vagelos friends lives there. ):

i hear it's really nice though.

also word of advice to any prefrosh looking at this: the quad is completely overrated. :/

sleepingbeauty · 04-03-2009, 08:13 PM

what do you mean it's over-rated? and what are some other good dorms to consider that are of central location?

melissa114 · 04-03-2009, 08:16 PM

what are your stats? and do you know much about the M&T program? half of it is electrical engineering, so i figured you'd have some idea.

kevinkirbykevin · 04-03-2009, 10:53 PM

@sleepingbeauty: In case illegiblyclear doesn't get back to you, I believe the Quad is overrated because, although its exterior architecture is very beautiful, almost all of the rooms inside are extremely small. Some students don't mind this, but I personally wanted a good-sized room when I came to Penn. Applying for housing in the Quad is very much a "luck of the draw" kind of deal. By that I mean that whether you get a very small room or one of the slightly larger rooms is completely random. On the other hand, the rooms in the high rises and other dorms are very "standard." Almost everyone gets the same reasonably-sized room. I don't know, the average opinion I hear from "Quadlings" (as we so affectionately call them) is that they wish they hadn't sacrificed the comfort of their room for a chance at the famed "freshman experience in the Quad" at Penn.

Other dorms you definitely need to consider based on central location are Stouffer-Mayer Hall (where I live), Stouffer-Stouffer Hall (the other building in my college house), Hill, the High Rises (Harnwell and Harrison), and Kings Court/English House.

@melissa114: I hope you'll understand that I am reluctant to post my stats for all the world to see. That being said, I will tell you that my total SAT score was 2060 and that my GPA was 4.3 in high school. You might notice those stats are somewhat lower than the "norm" of accepted students. I think it is important that perspective students realize that it is very possible to be admitted to Penn and other selective schools even if your stats are a bit lower than normal. You just need to emphasize your uniqueness in your essays.

Please see my previous post in this thread regarding the M&T program. I do not fully understand what you mean by "half of it is electrical engineering." On the one hand, I think you might mean that half of the required classes for M&T are electrical engineering classes. This is completely false, as you may already know. M&T lets you choose whatever engineering major you like, and you are definitely not limited to electrical engineering. The second interpretation of that statement is that half of the students in the program pursue a degree in electrical engineering. This is somewhat closer to the truth, but still relatively false. Many M&T students pursue Systems Engineering as their engineering degree. This is related to electrical engineering, and systems students take many of the same classes as electrical engineering students. However, I want to stress the fact that systems engineering is not electrical engineering. For a better idea of what systems engineering is, please check out The Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering (ESE) at the University of Pennsylvania // Systems Science and Engineering Program.

The general opinion I have encountered at Penn is that systems engineering is a bit of a "wishy-washy" major, as in it is slightly easier than most of the other majors. This makes it attractive to M&T students who are looking to get both the Wharton degree and the Engineering degree without putting in all of the work of pursuing two degrees. This is just what I have heard, though; I would not necessarily say that it is true.

Claris · 04-03-2009, 11:11 PM

Hi! Thanks for taking questions! I applied for and was accepted into CAS, but between the time that I submitted my application and now, my interests have changed a bit, and I'm starting to think that I might be more into Engineering (either Computer and Information Science or Electrical and Systems Engineering). How easy is it to transfer from CAS to SEAS, and what is the process? What are the requirements, and during which semester may I transfer? (I've already tried looking on Penn's website for info, but couldn't find exactly what I wanted.) Thank you!

anjuved · 04-03-2009, 11:41 PM

What dining plan is the best--Quaker, red, blue or liberty? If you eat in the dining halls a lot, it seems that quaker is cheapest, but is that the case with most Penn students? Or do they seem to use the dining dollars more often, because then liberty seems better.

illegiblyclear · 04-04-2009, 01:44 AM

@ sleepingbeauty - i currently live in a triple in the quad (residential program actually, otherwise i would have prob gone to the highrises) and like. our room is actually fairly big and it's pretty easy to control the temperature in the room. however, there is no sink in our room and basically no closet space. in general, the bathrooms in the quad aren't exactly the best (communal living and all. they're maybe like, one step above the Hill bathrooms). walking to a dining hall takes FOREVER (okay, i may just be lazy) but i mean i guess it's pretty close to houston hall (where you can use your dining dollars).

overall, i guess it really depends on what you're looking for in a dorm. community w/tiny tiny rooms = hill. good facilities w/no community = the highrises. i feel as if king's court is sort of similar to the quad in terms of quality of rooms/facilities/community but they also have a dining hall.

@ claris - i hear it's pretty easy to transfer between cas & seas--the only college that it's difficult to transfer into is wharton. i'm not sure of the process but i hope you find someone who can answer your question!

@ anjuved - the one with the most dining dollars. the halls have hours & with how busy you'll probably be, it'll be pretty impossible to have time to sit down & eat.
also, it depends on where you live. if there's a dining hall in your dorm building, you'll probably be using your meals more. if you live in the quad, definitely go for the dining dollars.

anjuved · 04-04-2009, 10:55 AM

I heard that Penn is the party ivy. Does that mean that its hard to be a non-drinker?
If you don't drink and don't want to be in a dorm where there is risk of drunk ppl throwing up on you anytime you leave your room, or of loud music all night, which dorm should you go to? Is there anywhere on the Quad like this?

naughtygravy · 04-04-2009, 12:11 PM

hey Kevin

how many of your friends/people you just know came off the waitlist? Do you know when they take people off the waitlist is it by a need-blind or need-aware basis?

Thanks for taking your time to answer these questions

lilklumsy15 · 04-04-2009, 02:18 PM

How is trhe courseload at Penn?

zam614 · 04-04-2009, 07:16 PM

Hey Kevin,

It's so nice of you to take questions - thanks

. Have you heard anything about Penn's Poli. Sci. program, and, if so, how is it? Also, are dorm assignments are completely random? Does Penn offer good financial aid? And, lastly, what are the top three things you love about Penn?

Thanks so much!