University of Pennsylvania Top Questions

You must visit the campus, preferrably overnight, to get a good feel for the school. Make sure that sports, clubs, academics, or other interests are available, and remember that you can probably be happy wherever you go. If you're not...transfer!

visit, talk to everyone you can, research

A good match is more important than a good name, and you probably have no idea what you want to do. Don't settle, and during your first semester, it's better to try to do too much and pare down than to not do enough.

I chose to receive a great, thorough liberal arts education at an expensive college--an investment for a well-rounded life, rather than a focus on a particular career. In that, I did sacrifice any chances of gaining a secure and comfortable job that a business or engineer might immediately find. Though finding a place in the "real world" has been a struggle, I don't regret my choice of study. The one thing I do regret is not planning a realistic student loan pay-back solution for my future. It's difficult to predict what you need to gain out of four years of the college experience. Do look for where the most opportunity might lie in your 1) academic ambition and 2) favorite activities blending well with the school's social atmosphere. After all, as John Mayer wisely sings, he wonders about the outcome of a still verdictless life... though he never did end up graduating college.

After graduation, I took stock of where I was in my life and how the four years I spent as an undergraduate changed me. That small amount of soul-searching made me realize what is important in a college: diversity. Not specifically ethnic diversity, though that is certainly a part of it, but a more global diversity. In order to reach your potential as a student and a person, you need to attend a college that challenges your views of the world. True growth comes from having long-held beliefs and ideals challenged, forcing you to either discard them or justify to yourself why you hold them in the first place. This process can only occur in a place where those ideals are constantly meeting opposing ones, and that only happens in a diverse college. One with a wide range of classes, activites, religions, political groups, sports, clubs and people. My advice is simple; look for a place where you might feel a little uncomfortable, where people seem to think differently than you do. Go there and grow.

I would encourage students to visit the colleges they are interested in attending and to carefully observe the way that the current students interact. What I found most challenging about my university experience was finding a way to be myself and a niche among people who I didn't fully "click with." While my academic experience was truly satisfying, I felt a lot of social pressure regarding appearance and financial situation. I would therefore advise applicants to meet a range of students and to really get the feel of the environment they will be entering -- no matter how "highly ranked" that school might be.

Parents should give their children the ability to make their own decisions about where they attend school. Students--take your parents' suggestions into consideration but also consider every aspect of the college and keep your goals in mind when selecting a school.

Don't limit yourself to "only". When starting the college search, it's tempting to start with absolutes to narrow down the thousands of options. Thus, the temptation to limit to "only": for example, only look at Ivy League schools, or schools on the west coast, or liberal arts colleges. But by starting off with such a tapered view point, you are cheating yourself of the possibility of a whole new set of options, and you never know where that road may take you. Once you arrive at your chosen school, of course, remain wary of the perils of "only". Take classes outside your major -- explore new ideas instead of simply sticking to one subject. Studying a variety of disciplines will enrich your perspective. Don't only stick to one crowd. If you join a team, or a Greek house, or a club, make sure you continue to take advantage of the thrilling collision and collusion of thoughts, ideas, and ideals on a college campus. And don't confine your studies only to class time -- get to know your professors outside of the classroom, too. Oh -- and enjoy, because college only happens once!

The best advice is to be content with whatever choice you make. Life does not begin or end with college. Regardless of which school you graduate from there are plenty of opportunities in this world to achieve whatever goals you have. Focus not so much on what your school offers in terms of landing a job, but rather on how you can expand your intellectual horizon. If you want practical job training, you might as well go to a trade school. Learn how to think, not what to think. Read. Books are a great source of knowledge, and knowledge is power. Talk to people. You can learn a lot from one conversation with a person who is different from you, that would take you years to learn through classes and course materials. And most importantly, believe in yourself. Follow the path that you choose, not the ones that have been chosen for you. That is the only way to be passionate about what you do and passion drives success.

Choosing a college just for the name is never a good idea. Nobody has everything figured out when they enter college and they shouldn't. You need to have time to grow and figure out the direction you want your life to take, and you need an environment that fosters that. A highly competitive university does prepare you for the real world, but today it seems that graduate work is becoming more and more necessary. Therefore, I would suggest going to a school that cares about its students more than its research and that isn't so cut-throat the student can't have free time to interact with their peers. If you choose an extremely competitive school, make sure to choose a smaller school that allows the students to talk to their professors. My learning as an undergraduate was far too independent and that is a total waste of the great resources that are the experienced, brilliant faculty working there.