We Are UPenn!

Today was a very busy day! My group and I walked to the UPenn campus, which was about 5 minutes away from the hotel we are staying at, and headed over to the tours.

There were people who attended the tours, who had come from all over the country and the world. Having such a diverse group of people attend just the tours showed that UPenn has a diverse student population. 

The Bad Luck Compass

Our tour guide, Ben Behrend, took us all over the campus, telling us basic information about the school and also the different stories and myths that are known amongst the students. One of the myths was about a compass that was located in the campus. It is said that anyone who steps on the compass during Finals, will fail their Finals. Ben said he tried it and he still did well on his Finals, though. He was very helpful and he made me even more interested in UPenn than I was before.

After the tour we went to the information session, and heard a lot about financial aid, applications, and the four seperate schools of UPenn. For example, the speaker said that if a student is on financial aid, then they will not have any loans; which I saw as a plus. She also gave advice on personal statements and applying to UPenn. One thing she said was, "...an example is an engineering student. We don't want to know why you want to be an engineering student, but why you want to be an engineering student here at UPenn." 

After the information sessions we all went back to the hotel and dressed for a dinner we would be having with some Penn alums, facutly, and current students. 

The dinner, at Butcher and Singer, was very fun and the food was amazing. I was able to talk to everyone there, and I asked a lot of questions about why they chose UPenn, what they studied, their opinions on the academics and social life, and what the school is really looking for when they read applications. I got everyone's emails and let them know that I would be in touch. They were all very helpful and friendly, and showed a great passion for their school.  

Today was a long, but productive day. I really enjoyed getting to know the University of Pennsylvania better through the tours and speaking with others at the dinner. 

Posing outside Butcher & Singer in pouring rain