University of Pennsylvania Top Questions

In general the student body is very open. There is diversity among students: a lot of Hindu, Asian, and other Internationals. It is also LGBT friendly. I am Mexican, and Penn probably boasts the most number of Mexicans (40, compared to 2 or 3 in other places) and Latinos among the other top universities (especially those in the North, not those not in Texas or California). There is definitely a vibrant Latino community here. However, the stereotypes hold up. Most of the students are from New Jersey or Philly or the Northeast, some are a bit snobbish and rich. Come January, everyone, regardless of major (Business, Finance, History, Psychology, English) is obsessed with OCR, on campus recruiting, and landing an internship at Goldman Sachs or Lehmann Brothers.

Penn has a lot of well-off students with expensive clothes and who can spend a lot of money on food and drinks. Many girls go to class dressed well and looking good, even in designer sweatsuits. Of course there are other students who go to class wearing sweatpants.

Penn's quite diverse racially. Different religions are also well-represented. There are an awful lot of rich kids though (it's an expensive school). I went to a debate last year between the Penn Libertarians and the Penn Socialists. It wasn't very productive but it was definitely stimulating. This year there are no more Socialists though.