University of Pennsylvania

Visit Report by midatlmom (Member since January 26 2005 with 357 posts) Visit Date - April 2007

3 of 3 people found this visit report helpful
Visit to University of Pennsylvania in April 2007 by midatlmom (Parent of Student, HS Class of 2008)
Visit Activities:
Information Session: Yes - Pretty standard Campus Tour: Yes - Tour guides were very nice, but seemed quite inexperienced and were not very informative
University of Pennsylvania Campus:
Friendliness/Courtesy of Students: 4 - Very Good - The few students we spoke with were helpful and polite, but seemed busy Friendliness/Courtesy of Staff: 5 - Excellent - Staff looked a little harried (there were lots of visitors the day we came), but were very nice Appearance of Campus: 5 - Excellent - Campus was terrific--really pretty with a lot of positive energy Building/Facilities Maintenance/Cleanliness: 5 - Excellent - Everything looked in great shape Dormitories: - Didn't see Security/Safety: 4 - Very Good - Lots of blue lights etc, seemed reasonably safe Overall Campus Impression: 5 - Excellent - Campus was wonderful, absolutely brimming with life and enthusiastic students
Off-Campus:
Area Immediately Around Campus: 3 - Good - Seemed pretty good for a big city, although the area degenerated rapidly if you walked in the wrong direction (which we did) City/Town/Community: 5 - Excellent - Philly is a great town
Campus Visit Notes for University of Pennsylvania:
Visit Description: We really liked Penn. The campus was beautiful, lots of terrific buildings and the students were obviously involved and happy. However, the admissions officer was asked several times whether there was a way to transfer between schools, or take minors at Wharton etc. and it was clear that transferring is almost impossible and there are only one or two minors offered at Wharton. Also, the school seemed very Wharton-centric. The tour guides kept talking about the fact that even though they weren't in Wharton they were taking courses in Wharton and hoping to get banking jobs. I wondered whether kids in the College of Arts and Sciences felt like second-class citizens.
3 of 3 people found this visit report helpful