University of Pennsylvania Top Questions

As an engineer student, you get very little control over your education. Being an engineering and pre-med student, in three years I have taken only 1 class that was a true elective. There are so many requirements and very little room for you to pick classes you want to take. Also, I haven't taken a math, science, or engineering class that has been smaller than 50 students. I can think of only a handful of teachers who know me by name. Engineering student are some of the most competitive students at the school. Everyone is very career oriented, which makes them extremely concerned about their grades. Frankly, hearing about other people's grade concerns gets to be exhausting. Classes are all curved, which only adds to the competitive nature of the school.

With so many different paths of study to choose from, the peer competition widely varies. The Wharton School, beginning with the required Management 100 for Freshmen, is especially cutthroat. Many large introductory courses (notoriously Math and Economics) are also viciously curved. However, you can easily choose to sit back and observe your peers claw their way up to the top while you take one of the countless classes that foster discussion-based learning. At a research university as well-endowed as Penn, you can shape your own education to be whatever you want it to be. In the College of Arts & Sciences, the general requirements are, well, general—you have plenty options across various departments available to fulfill a requirement so that you never have to take math to fulfill the “math” requirement. If you want to be taught by full-time professors, you will be. If you want to be taught by a world-renowned professor, you will be, even in your freshmen year. Especially with the recent advent of the Freshmen Seminars, top faculty often teach freshmen in their areas of specialty. I took five classes my first semester as a freshmen, and the largest class I had was 16 students.

The academics are top notch...I certainly won't deny that I felt so intimidated taking my first Calculus exams even though I was always the best in high school. Thing is, everyone here was also best at theirs....there's positivity in the competition, everyone works really hard and plays really hard. I know I'm yet to see the cut throat stuff but I'm sure I'll be able to sail through that well. Large classes tend to be tough due to the curve but if you work hard enough you'll be fine. Whenever you get an A here you'll know it's because you deserve it, not by sheer luck at all. Last minute studying and memorizing won't get you grades, as you will notice.

The professors here are generally world-class but there is a chance that you'll have bad professors if you don't research and ask around. The most important thing is that you introduce yourself and go to office hours so you stand out. This is especially important since some lectures can have over 200 students. Also, know that you will work hard. You will work very hard, and not sleep much. Also, you might work very hard and not get the A or anywhere near the 4.0, or do no work and have the 4.0 thanks to the "curve".

Professors are generally both intereresting and interested, especially for smaller classes. If you care enough to go to them they will mostly respong. The exception is intro courses, especially in Math and Science. The school does have a very pre-professional feel to it, especially because of Wharton. Knowing that there is on campus recruiting and that some people have six figure salaries by September of their senior year drives people (even ones who have nothing to do with business or finance) to really push for jobs early and get down on themselves when they don't get them. When I was already applied to a dozen jobs and bemoaning my lack of responses, my friends from other schools hadn't even begun to think of where to send their resumes.

The academics at Penn vary greatly from one department to another. Engineering classes are very different from business classes, just like English classes are very different from Math classes. Penn is certainly good at preparing anyone for a job or graduate school. Many many services exist to help out students and not just on the career/graduate school level, but also on other levels, such as tutoring, Kelly Writers' House, and CAPS.

People definitely have "Penn" conversations, meaning they discuss politics and business simply for fun. In terms of academics, classes definitely aren't as hard as they're made out to be, but work is still required.

Professors know my name in seminars, but dont in big lectures. My least favorite class in us history from 1865 to the present with Phoebe Kropp.

Academic resources, class options, quality of professors, opportunities after graduation are all beyond compare outside of the Golden Trinity of Harvard/Princeton/Yale. Competition is fierce, particularly in the Wharton School, which has a strict curve and students are licking their chops over 100-hour-per week banking jobs. Professors are, for the most part, quite accessible and approachable. There is a good balance between theory and practice, to both refine the learning process or scientific method, as well as to succeed in graduate school or a career. One of the coolest classes I took was called Consulting to Growth Companies. I served on a consulting team to work with a small, but growing, company screened by the Wharton School, and assess their needs and draft a report instructing the company on how to meet their goals and grow their business.

Academics are rigorous but as long as you do your work, it is not too hard.