Today's agenda took place entirely in Pennsylvania, after a 2 hour Amtrak train ride, we arrived at the beautiful Penn station in Philadelphia.
Over the course of our busy morning travel, we all coincidentally experienced our first scoldings at the hands of the natives. We were angrily reminded that we were sitting in the "quiet car" of the Amtrak train by a New Yorker, so we sat in slightly embarrassed, awkward silence until we arrived at Penn Station. Later, Anmol, Elena and Emily were chastised by their disgruntled cab driver and had their intelligence repeatedly questioned because, after explaining that he only had 5's, he could not make change for their 20. We all got dropped off right outside the "independence mall" which is down the street from Independence Hall. Simon and I discussed all the possible terminology locals must use to describe everyday Philly life, like how one could buy an independence shawl, or get into an independence brawl at the nearest bar.
Long lines and busy schedules didn't allow for time to see the liberty bell, but we visited the National Constitution Center nearby, a fun interactive museum all about the constitution and government.
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| Emily gets sworn in |
Our lunch engagement at noon convened at Detrito - a lovely Mexican restaurant- with 3 current students at U-PENN and 2 admissions officers. One of the current students was in fact an ILCer herself when she attended Pinole Valley High. I sat with the 2 other students and an admissions officer, and we talked all about U-PENN as well as the college experience in general. The students made the university sound very intellectually compelling and the student body very inviting. A big concern of mine, considering different schools, is the type of community I will be integrated into. Finding a community that shares in many common interests is something that the students at U-PENN seem to have done just fine. For those of you who like to keep up with the menu up here, I had chicken tacos (avocado, onion and chicken of course) and guacamole and tortilla chips as a first course. I also had a fun Mexican mango soda to drink.
Thoroughly hyped up by the students and admissions officers, I was excited to actually go see the university. We walked just around the block and were given something of a mini-tour as we made our way to the admissions office. The weather was still perfect in Pennsylvania, and the grounds were gorgeous. There were many incredible old statues as well as more contemporary sculptures all over campus.
Our tour was small compared to yesterday's, but that was okay because we still got to see some pretty key spots and learned a lot about U-PENN. The curriculum is more structured than that of Sarah Lawrence, but not as much as many other schools - as a freshman you must take classes that fulfill credits in certain fields, but not necessarily specific classes. I strongly agree with this educational standpoint and so did the the admissions officer I had sat with at lunch, who told me that 80% of students change their major at some point.
U-PENN is a very competitive school to get into and the schoolwork is rigorous, but the community within it seems to be very friendly and it seems like as a whole the students must enjoy themselves quite a lot. I am definitely interested in learning more about U-PENN.
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