University of Pennsylvania Top Questions

Stereotypes at Penn are similar to most about Ivy League schools--rich, spoiled, preppy white kids. Certainly there are some people like that, but the vast majority are not like that at all. Penn is a diverse school both ethnically and economically, though there is naturally room for improvement. Most of all the students are highly intelligent and motivated, though the Wharton (business) school students are perhaps more competitive than most others. Overall the university is big enough to attract many different types of people and most students should not have trouble finding a niche to occupy comfortably.

Upenn is getting more Asian and Jewish students, so it is often called Pennjewasian. Students here are probably rich and talented.

Stereotypes at Penn are similar to most about Ivy League schools--rich, spoiled, preppy white kids. Certainly there are some people like that, but the vast majority are not like that at all. Penn is a diverse school both ethnically and economically, though there is naturally room for improvement. Most of all the students are highly intelligent and motivated, though the Wharton (business) school students are perhaps more competitive than most others. Overall the university is big enough to attract many different types of people and most students should not have trouble finding a niche to occupy comfortably.

I think one common stereotype about Penn is that it doesn't have much of a campus. Compared to other rural and suburban schools, that's probably true. However, being a city school, Penn has a pretty impressive campus. Locust Walk is beautiful in all seasons and it's essentially only accessible by foot so you don't have the disruption of city traffic. And all of this is in the awesome city of Philadelphia, so you have advantages from both the campus and the city.

I'd say there are 4 different stereotypes of penn students, depending on which school you're in; Wharton, the College, Engineering, or Nursing. "Whartonites" are known as the cut-throat profit driven, win at all costs type of people. They're the ones setting the curves, going to office hours, and fighting for every last point on every exam. In the college of arts and sciences, we're more laid back, well rounded students. Often indecisive, and prone to complain about class, while staying up til 4 a.m. in van pelt to finish off the 15 page paper due tomorrow. Penn is known as the "social ivy", and students in the college have no problem living up to that name. It's not unusual to see students out at parties as early as thursday night. Engineering students pretty much don't exist outside of the engineering buildings. Their work ethic is different than Wharton students, in that it's not so competitive or money driven, as it is just genuine interest in learning the material, and passing with an A+. Consequently, between 7 class schedules and back to back to back all nighters, engineers pretty much stick to themselves. Nursing students are the soft, nice people who always say hi, and never seem to be too stressed about anything. They seem to live laid back lives, only ever complaining about 7 a.m. clinicals. While of course not every person in these respective schools is a member of these stereotypes, on the whole, they seem to be pretty accurate in capturing the personality of the schools. Thats perhaps why one of the first questions a penn student asks another penn student after first meeting is, "which school are you in?"

The typical Penn kid usually lives a double life. They work hard during the day and week, but make time to go out Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights...sometimes even more. Most Penn kids are pre-professional. You have the whartonites looking into consulting and IB, the pre-meds, engineers and lawyers. The great thing about Penn students though, is that despite being highly academically and professionally driven, they are passionate about many things. Penn is great for diversity. Only here would you find an Asian Computer Science major that is in the campus Hip Hop dance team.

Starting answPenn is split up into four schools: the College of Arts and Sciences, the Engineering School, the Wharton School of Business, and the Nursing School. The stereotype is pretty different for all four schools. Wharton kids are always thought to be cut-throat, well-bred, competitive, and ready to eat the competition alive. They will be found studying in Huntsman Hall, in a suit 24/7, and sucking up the latest recruiter from Credit Suisse or Goldman Sachs. The College is made up of two kinds of people -- the pre-meds and the not pre-meds. The pre-meds are usually competitive, work in a lab, and will not help you with anything because they know one point for you is a minus for them. The not pre-meds are known as attending "the College of Arts & Crafts". These individuals usually major in things like Urban Studies or Diplomatic History, carry coffee, and dress like hippies. The Engineering School is far away from the center of campus so the engineers usually are not seen unless they stick their head out of a basement of a mechanical engineering lab. They are said to be usually not the most attractive folk, and the only drink they drink is Java (pun?). As for the nursing school, no one actually sees them ever. There is such a few amount of nursing students that seeing one is like seeing a shooting star. The stereotype is a female that cannot handle being pre-med.