Yeah those professors aren’t just listed on the syllabus; they’re genuinely teaching the classes-- even the large science lectures. Perhaps it’s hard to imagine for those that have never actually been an undergrad at Penn in the last decade-- but that’s the reality of the experience. Sure grad students will do some grading in the larger lectures but they won’t be in the lecturer’s seat for the semester. And even if grad students do some grading, it has been my experience that professors usually do a final read-through to make sure they agree with the grad students’ assessment. Lest we forget that the Penn grad students of today are the future Ivy League professors of tomorrow… But the actual teaching at Penn is done by professors for over 95% of classes and office hours are definitely with professors barring extenuating circumstances that would make a prof inaccessible at the listed time. In the School of Arts and Sciences, at least, Penn actually doesn’t hire faculty if they don’t want to teach- it’s a literal requirement for employment.
And yes, obviously one’s research experience will vary from another’s depending on the lab, the prof etc. etc. etc. That’s true of any school. No university or college is going to provide its students with uniformly perfect undergraduate research experiences in practice. But Penn does offer WAY more opportunities to partake in absolutely outstanding research as an undergrad than schools with fewer resources and more limited scopes of research. And for the most part, these experiences are defined by the close relationships undergrads build with professors, the mentorship offered by professors and graduate students, and the substantive work made available to students throughout their undergrad careers. Nobody is exclusively getting coffee and donuts. Maybe some of the work a freshman research assistant will do will be busy-work but that’s also just the nature of the beast and part of how you familiarize yourself with new concepts and fields. Is there a job devoid of busy work? Cause I’d love to find it and make the leap.