1) 8:30-9:30 AM: Registration at Irvine Auditorium & Starting Your Penn Journey
Today was Penn preview day! I rushed onto the subway and headed to the Irvine Auditorium for registration. I did not have time to grab something to eat but luckily breakfast was available. After registration, we had the opening ceremony. Eric Furda, the Dean of Admissions, welcomed the class of '17 with a speech. He explained that the journey in Penn begins with each individual. That, as an individual, we create relationships, and ultimately those relationships will form networks and greater connections that can impact our society. Following his speech were introductory presentations and then a performance by the all male Mask & Wig band.
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| Irvine Auditorium |
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| Bad quality photo but a great quality performance (Mask & Wig) |
The students separated into groups of 6 or 7 and with a guide, walked throughout the campus to participate in activities. All the activities are timed since there was going to be winners. The first activity was to connect small pipes together to get a ping pong ball across a certain distance. After that there was a cheese steak eating contest (Strangely not many people participated). Then we headed to a bread throw activity. Finally, the last activity was to guess famous Penn alumni like Donald Trump, John Legend, Elizabeth Banks, and 9th president William Henry Harrison. It was a fun and bonding activity.
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| Heading to the first activity |
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| Class of 1949 Generational Bridge |
3) 11:00-12:00 PM: Faculty Chats
We came back to the Irvine auditorium--only for the college of arts and science--to listen to faculty members and students discuss about academic life. From what it appears, the students find that it is very unique how the four colleges at Penn -- Arts and Science, Engineering and Applied Science, Wharton, and Nursing -- are so close by. It allows for easy transition of one class to the other. They also discussed how Penn allows for close interactions between professors and undergraduates. For example, one of the students mentioned that a paper she wrote with her professor was published. Also, I learned that there are 7 sectors of knowledge that are required to be completed. What is unique about the college of Arts and Science is that it has very diverse courses. This allows students to take classes that are more acclimated to their preferences and still meet the requirements for the 7 sectors.
4) 12:00-1:00 PM: Art and Culture tour of Campus
During this time, the options were to stay for a special faculty lecture, go on a campus tour, or to visit the college palooza. I chose to go on the art and culture tour of campus because I hoped we would get to visit the museum. Unfortunately, we didn't and I kind of regret not staying for the lectures. Anyways, we toured the art and cultural centers of Penn. Although arts, humanities, music, theater and writing are not my areas of interests, it was nice learning about what resources Penn has to offer.
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| Female Acapella Group |
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| Yes to Love |
5) 1:00-2:00 PM: Lunch
I ate lunch at the 1920's Commons. There was actually some decent food! I ate onion rings, chicken, pizza, chow mein, and later fruits. There was a good option of ice cream but unfortunately I had no appetite for dessert. Also, I didn't take a picture of the food because it wasn't all that appealing. I sat alone for the most part, but shared the table with a student's mother. The mother was really friendly and I met her daughter and some of her friends.
6) 2:15-4:30 PM: College Tours
After lunch, I walked on down to the Hill Field to meet up with my tour guide. I was a part of tour A and the college houses we visited were Fisher Hassenfeld (quad), Harrison (high rise), and Gregory. I already had an idea of how Fisher and Harrison were like since I visited yesterday with Alex. It was nice getting to see Gregory. For me, I don't think I'll like the typical college dorm experience so I really hope to get into Harrison (apartment style). An amenity is that there is a bathtub! So far, my top choices for college houses are Harrison, Kings Court English, and then the houses in the quad.
7) 3:00-4:30 PM: Activities Fair
The activities fair was in Houston Hall. The departments include: academics, athletics, campus services, community outreach, cultural groups, environmental, fine arts, publications, and student government. The fair was really nice and there were many interesting groups that I hope to join. In addition to receiving information about clubs, the plus side of fairs are the little souvenirs you can pick up from booths!
8) 4:30 PM: Closing Ceremony
The closing ceremony was at the College Green. The Dean of Admissions spoke once again but very briefly. He congratulated us all on being accepted into the University of Pennsylvania. Woo! All the students then gathered and took pictures on a stairway. Wish I had a picture of it. Afterwards we had time to take pictures with the school mascot, a Quaker. To sum up the experience of Penn Preview Day, I would say it could make your decision to accept Penn or not. For me, it definitely helped to solidify my interest at Penn and I would recommend all the future Ivy League students to attend preview days if possible.
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| Quaker c/o 2017! |
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| Dean of Admissions Eric Furda - Really nice man! |
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| Tanya Krishnakumar, Yale Cohort |
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| Neighboring Drexel University |
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| Walking around the streets of Philadelphia |
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| "Concrete Jungle where dreams are made of" - Alicia Keys |
1 comment:
Roger,
Thanks again for posting. Your descriptions were educational and interesting.
I couldn’t help but notice that your photo of the ALL MALE musical group was from a distance and of poor quality but when it came to the ALL FEMALE group you found a way to get closer and to snap a better photo.
Truth be told, Roger, unless you’re pretty good at it, snapshots of your dinner often don’t look as good as the real thing. And when it doesn’t look all that great to begin with, then the posted photos look even worse. You may have done Penn a service by NOT posting those photos.
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