r/UPenn

The KC desk chair is the worst. The lamp doesn't work well for the limited space. I spoke with a "helper" on move day and she said if you remove them, just make sure to replace them at the end of the year. When I attempted to take them out the main entrance to give to my parents for storage, they said no. I said I'll return it. NO.

Is there a way to address this, so I can rid the floor lamp, free up needed space, and I'll get a new chair with ergonomic support so I can actually focus on my schoolwork instead of my back.

Any helpful advice appreciated

Thanks

okay actually like why r the parties so freaking expensive??? I am not rich and do not have the budget to pay $70 for one ticket. are there frat parties that will be happening tomorrow and the rest of the week? pls help a girl out🙏

Dad of a freshman here. Any advice for a nervous kid (and nervous parents)?

We did early drop-off last Sunday. There was real excitement, but there was also a lot of anxiety in the room, and not just from my son. You could feel it coming off the other kids too.

Part of why it stuck with me: a couple of his friends from high school are taking a gap year for mental health reasons. Good kids, just not ready. I did my undergrad across the pond in a very different culture and climate, so I have nothing to compare.

I'm not trying to hover. I'd just rather hear from people who have actually lived it than guess.

Students and alums: what helped you most in the first couple of months? What do you wish your parents had done, or not done? Anything at Penn worth knowing about early instead of in November? Parents who have been through this: how often did you call or text, and do you have advise spotting issues early?

Thanks for reading. Blunt answers welcome.

Hey everyone,

Just a short rant post, but I'm wondering if I am the only one feeling this way right now.

Coming back from break, I'm already dreading the thought of how much work, recruiting, and classes are going to demand. For context, I am doing a CS master's program here and came from a state school where I commuted, so I had friends already to start out. Don't get me wrong, I have done great academically. But every time I come back to campus, whether that be here or any other year of school, I get this heavy anxiety about having to do so much work and start the grind all over again.

Additionally (and this might be a part of it), I have felt that it's been much harder to make close friends here, though I know I have only been here for a semester. I actually applied to Penn for undergrad but didn't get in, so I think part of this might just be me putting other people here on a pedestal in terms of their achievements, which makes it harder to naturally connect. Also, felt my first semester similarly and didn't go out too much.

Just wanted to put this out there to see if I'm alone in this. Does anyone else deal with this kind of semester dread or imposter syndrome? How do you manage it?

Hey people, I go to rutgers and plan on coming to UPenn for PhD. Any suggestions, on good PI, best labs, best programs or any info is appreciated, like good places to live, stipend, tuition waiver, TA opportunities etc. Dm or comment and I’ll dm you :)
Btw I’m interested in BGS/CAMB/ MVP program. Microbiology or Neuroscience maybe.

im an incoming freshman and wanted to ask about penn and drexels relationship

i know we get access to their library and busses, but what about other things? im interested in participating in stuff on their campus like the netter center and museum stuff.

and do the students interact much? i heard we go to their parties but is there anything official?

For those that took it in previous years, did it feel similar in difficulty to the 1400 final exam questions?

I'm an international applicant planning to ED Penn. Since Penn is need-aware for internationals, I'm not going to be applying for aid (although given my family income I would qualify for nearly full aid). This might not look like a good decision, but my family and I have foolproof plans of arranging funds keeping in mind that employment for internationals is not guaranteed given current circumstances. Moreover, I'm from a highly competitive country where less than 5% of Penn admits get any aid at all.

I'm also applying to certain top colleges in other countries (think Oxbridge, Imperial etc.) where I might get full merit (tuition+living) scholarship. Although I would still prefer Penn to any other university, given the difference in cost (nearly 400k usd), I would most certainly prefer going to the other uni.

I understand that Penn is binding even for international colleges, and that Penn allows ED admits who have applied for fin aid to opt out of the ED agreement in case they receive better fin aid packages. In my case, would I still be able to opt out of the ED agreement after not applying for aid? Is there any grey area there where I am able to opt out of the agreement

Do seats for MATH 1070 ever open up the week before classes start or first week of class? Don't know if I should keep hopes up or not

Hi—this is a bit of a specific one 😭. I’m an incoming freshman, and I finally got a schedule I was happy with, until I got notice today that my writing seminar had been cancelled. Here is where it gets sticky: I don’t have control over my own registration because I maxed out my attempts, so I’m not going to be able to get any classes that are currently full, even if a spot does open up (because I will be too slow to it). Therefore, my question is: what class should I look to take as my fourth this fall semester? Every other writing seminar seems to be closed, along with Math 1300, which I was considering taking as a refresher of calc before I take 1070 in the spring. Thanks!

hi everyone! has anyone applied to a coordinated dual degree program (like LSM, huntsman, etc.) and got rejected but still got into the school of their choice?

I’m a PhD student so I’m looking for activities or clubs to join.

I wanna get involved in anything and everything. I’m trying to be a part of the Philly run club, I wanna join the consulting club at Penn, I know I love rock climbing and hiking.

Any socials ANYTHING is appreciated. I DO NOT wanna just grind. It’s fundamentally gonna burn me out. From past few years if research and working in a lab I know I need a healthy balance and NEED to decompress on weekends. So I’m open to anything pretty much.

Has anyone else had the issue where even if they enroll the insurance doesn’t work for a while during the month of August?

I re-enrolled for the new school year and had an appointment scheduled and was denied medical care for a recurring appointment because the insurance wouldn’t go through. For me it’s a type of appointment I need to go to regularly for adequate care so postponing it for so long affects my recovery.

When I called PSIP they told me the enrollment apparently takes around 10 business days (which ends up being half the month with weekends I guess?) to kick in so we have to pay out of pocket until then and file a claim, but I find that to be a long time to not be covered and need to pay extra and go through extra hoops to get reimbursed.

I originally tried a week ago and I still couldn’t schedule one this week because the insurance is still an issue. I’m just wondering do people commonly have this issue? Is there any thing you’ve done to get approval faster?

i know music isn’t really what Penn is known for; i chose Penn due to its preprofessional nature, because i really think it would help with my career in the future. however, just after course registration, i really thought about what i want in life, and i truly want to pursue music performance (prob double majoring w/ something else) specifically in voice and also musical theatre. what are the best opportunities i can utilize at Penn to help advance my musical career and improve my technical skills as a musician? thank you so much!!