| Full-time undergraduate program |
Well, Penn is in West Philly...what can you expect! There's no hiding
the fact that West Philly isn't the most desirable area in the city,
however, the university has done a great job in keeping it safe
providing a very good quality of life for the students.
First of all, the campus itself is beautiful. You have Locust Walk,
which sets the campus apart from the city. There is the green where
everyone sits when it's nice outside (right in front of the library near
the button) and they were in the process of re-building the student
union area when I graduated. But I hear it's great now. Not to mention
that there are tons of stores and restaurants on Walnut, right where the
Bookstore is.
When you are on campus it is easy to forget that you are living in a
large city. My Freshman year I lived on campus, in the Quad...which was
great! It is definitely isolated from the city so you don't have to
really worry about safety. However, I lived off-campus the next three
years and it did change.
When you live off-campus you get to see another side of Penn...the West-
Philly side. I lived on Walnut and 40th one year and then on 41st
between Walnut and Locust. If you are familiar with the campus, you know
that those areas are inundated with students. I almost always felt safe
and there were always Penn police riding by on bikes. What they could
really do, I wasn't sure, but they are there and do have a presence.
But it really comes down to having common sense. The university can only
provide so much security. When I lived off-campus I tried not to walk
home late at night by myself and if I did I was aware of my
surroundings. Nothing bad ever happened to my friends or I, we did have
the occasional run-ins with the homeless people, but for the most part
they are friendly and don't bother you. And if you are very concerned
about it, don't live off-campus. There is plenty of on-campus housing so
just stick to that.
Other than living, the food at Penn was actually pretty good. I had the
meal plan for my first three years and I did not starve nor gain too
much weight! They have several dining halls so you will never go without
food for too long and I used to love the salad bars, the wrap stations
and of course of unlimited amounts of frozen yogurt. And if you're low
on money just pack in your bag some Tupperware and fill it up with
cereal, drinks, fruit, etc.!!! Then you can eat whenever you want ;)
In terms of on-campus living, the dorms were fine. I got used to the co-
ed bathrooms...they weren't intended to be that way, but somehow no one
paid attention to the signs! And living off-campus was what you made of
it. I used to think that my $500 a month rent was astronomical but now
that I live in NYC, I would go back to that rent in a second!
|
University of Pennsylvania Admission & Application Surveys
