University of Pennsylvania Top Questions

The thing that I wish I knew before I started here was how important it was to get your time management worked out right out of the gate. As soon as classes begin, and you have your syllabi with the dates of your tests, what papers you will need to write, etc… Add all of these to your calendar and keep on top of them. Start studying for that test two weeks ahead of time, start that paper maybe even a bit earlier. The key is time management.

I wish I had known what it really meant to be an adult making my own decisions. When I started college, I expected classes and activities to be decided for me like in high school. Having to make these decisions on my own was not something for which I was prepared. I feel that if I had truly understood this aspect of being in college, I would have discovered my true interests much sooner in my life.

How diverse it actually is, which is much less than I thought.

I wish I knew that most of the LGBT community is comprised of cis gay men and can often be alienating and exclusive towards transgender and non-monosexual people.

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I wish I would have known how to balance my time better. People on campus juggle school, clubs, sports, and work. You have to be good at time management to take full advantage of all the opportunities.

Go to college and enjoy yourself, but don't expect to be a straight A student anymore. Some other aspects of college are just as important as grades.

Before attending the University of Pennsylvania, I wish someone had educated me on the importance of networking and "putting yourself out there" as a college student. Additionally, it would have been helpful if I were aware of potential scholarships available to undergraduates as the cost-of-attendance has led to much debt.

It is important to do well on your AP exams in order to receive credit because Penn only honors top scores. Also, if majoring in a science, it is good to commit early because the course load is very stringent for science majors. I wish someone had told me to try challenging courses from freshman year. In hindsight, I think it's far more valuable to challenge oneself from the getgo rather than easing into the more challenging courses after freshman year.

I wished I was told the importance of high school before college. Great colleges are very competitive nowadays, only taking the brightest. When I graduated from grade school, I just aimlessly entered into any random high school. Little did I know that the school wasn't incredible. I go to college now, and I feel very behind compared to anyone else. My family are immigrants from Hong Kong, and I was born here. Our family was not in tune with the rest of the United States yet as they have been always working.