Next up on my recent East Coast college tours: University of Pennsylvania
A few takeaways from my visit:
- The University of Pennsylvania is a great mix of an urban setting with a traditional college campus. While city life bustles around the school, there’s a clear sense of when you are on and off campus (a plus for campuses set in big cities).
- Unfortunately, I broke a few of my favorite campus visit rules when I visited UPenn: 1) I was unable to book a campus tour. Instead of being guided by a knowledgeable college tour guide, we fumbled around campus with a self-guided tour brochure secured at the Admissions Office. Not the best of campus exploration experiences, but we did what we could during a busy spring break week where tours were booked, 2) I did not have clear parking instructions. This led to a stressful parking situation, but was a great reminder to have the ParkMobile app downloaded on your phone to quickly and easily pay for parking on campus. (I’ve found that most campuses use ParkMobile for parking payment), and finally, 3) We toured more than one college on the day we visited UPenn. This led to fatigue and information overload - not the best combination when trying to get a feeling for a college campus. Though sometimes hard to pull off, the one-campus-visit-per-day rule leads to a more productive and enjoyable experience.
- Among the other Ivy League institutions, students say UPenn stands out as a great balance between social and academic activities, as well as an outlier with its strengths in preprofessional programs (engineering, business, and nursing). If UPenn is your student’s top choice, I recommend researching their early application program when considering the timing of your application as admission is extremely competitive.
Go Quakers!
