<p>I would spend more time asking students’ opinions and seeing if you like the surrounding area than trying out classes. The latter option is really hit or miss whether you’ll like the university since all the ivies have a similar proportion of interesting to crappy professors. Essentially, classes are a good way to convince yourself to like Penn if you’re trying to but aren’t sure. Not particularly informative.</p>
<p>Most department information can be gotten from other sources online and you don’t really need to spend time checking out each one either. I would however, ask what students think about their opportunities at college and post grad for their specific field (if it’s one you’re interested in). </p>
<p>Perhaps most importantly, LOCATION MATTERS. How happy you are with just life in general in college will affect your academic performance. Go somewhere you can at least grow to like even if you aren’t blown away. This information is also the hardest to get elsewhere so ask students what living on campus is like and try out a few activities yourself.</p>