We the People.

Today was a very tiring but fun filled day. We had to wake up at the lovely hour of 5:30 AM in order to catch the Amtrak into Philadelphia. We all met in the lobby and rushed to the subway station where we travelled to the underground maze that is Penn Station (a suitable title due to todays agenda). We caught the train at 7:20 and our day began...

This is where the Constitution was ratified. So much history in this small building!

Our train ride started with us accidentally walking into the "quiet car" train car. This is the car reserved for people who want to ride the train without having to listen to other people blabbing on their cell phones or talking at all. I started whispering across the aisle to Margaet when a rather disgruntled woman burst out of no where to scold us because we apparently did not understand the purpose of a "quiet car". Personally I do not think we were talking loudly at all, but it was early in the morning and we may have woken up that woman. Needless to say, the rest of the ride was spent in a state of slightly terrified silence. 

After an hour and a half train ride we arrived at the large and beautiful train station in Philadelphia  We spent a few minutes taking photographs of the high ceilings and the long wooden benches. Eventually we hailed a few taxis and headed off to visit the birthplace of the U.S. Constitution: Independence  Hall. Though we could not get tickets for the inside tour, we were able to take some lovely photographs from the outside. We all admired the road in front of the building because it is the same road from the 18th century. We moved a few steps away to learn about the original Presidential House and the treatment of George Washington's slaves through a series of videos. Next we walked through the visitor center where we took photographs with stuffed animals, a victorious Rocky Balboa, and the Phillies mascot the Philadelphia Bell.

Raise your right hand President Spencer.

Next on the agenda was a walk to the National Constitution Center. This is a large museum devoted to the history and applications of the Constitution. We went through an exhibit that chronicled American life in the 1960s with emphasis on the Vietnam War and the popular culture of the time. I thought this exhibit was fascinating, with a real medical helicopter from Vietnam projecting videos that showed the gritty and gruesome truths behind the war. I also found a few 1960s advertisements and I was amazed to see how much a dollar could buy back then!  We then went to a 20 minute presentation on the creation of the Constitution. A man with a very dramatic voice slowly told us about the revolutionary war, the failed Articles if Confederation, the Constitutional Convention, and the Constitution today. Accompanied by a booming symphonic soundtrack the show was emotional and educational. The presentation left our cohort feeling patriotic and wanting to call out, "'MURICA!"

Most buildings look a bit
like this in UPENN.

We headed over to a lovely small plates Mexican restaurant to meet with admissions counselors and students at University of Pennsylvania (UPENN). I had a delicious shrimp and avocado ceviche with a small chicken enchilada. The meal was wonderful but the conversation was so much better. I sat with an admissions counselor and a current student a UPENN named Dyana. Dyana, an upcoming sophomore, and the counselor were both very interested in our agenda for the ILC program. Dyana is a former ILCer who attended the Cornell and Brown programs sophomore and junior year when she was in high school. She loved hearing about what our interests were and she was happy to tell us about life on campus. She explained that even though UPENN has 10,000 undergraduates, it never feels overwhelming and too large. This was very important to hear because I like a smaller to medium sized setting. The admissions counselor told us all these helpful tips about the application process. He told us that the essay is where we are able to make our voice heard in the application, and we should learn to be succinct and informative in our essay. UPENN only had one supplemental prompt this year. It was to explain why the specific college within UPENN is the right place for you. This essay, he explained, is a place to show off your knowledge and commitment regarding UPENN. To me, my interest in the criminology major in the College of Arts and Sciences would be a perfect place to start the supplemental essay. Finally we discussed how UPENN makes it easy to do interesting combinations of seemingly unrelated topics. The student I talked with wants to major in a combination of fine arts, philosophy, and psychology. The course combines all three topics to discuss things like beauty or perspective. After our meal and conversations were over it was time to visit the campus of UPENN. 

High rise dorms at UPENN.

All I can say about the campus of UPENN is WOW! The campus is a beautiful array of old brick buildings, modern style buildings, tall beautiful trees, and bright green patches of grass. Two of the students took us around the campus for a shortened private tour. This was way more informative then a larger group tour would have been, because we had already gotten to know our guides. We could freely ask them questions and they conversed with us as we walked, making all of us feel at home. The tour covered a few of the housing areas for students, and a few of the main educational buildings. The safety of the campus was strongly emphasized. The UPENN police department has over 400 officers and supposedly rivals the Philadelphia police department! This also interested me because of possible internships or job opportunities I could have with the department while I am in college. Finally we visited an information session hosted by another admissions counselor. The room was very full so we had to sit all the way in the back. The session covered mostly information we had already discussed over lunch and it was over pretty quickly. 

The founder of UPENN, Benjamin Franklin.

Before leaving UPENN we went to the beloved cookie store across the way from the admission building. Titled "Insomniac Cookies," the small shop had the lovely scent of freshly baked cookies. We waited 15 minutes for the baker to bring out a freshly baked pan of cookies before we ordered ice cream sandwiches. These cookies were so incredibly amazing I can see why UPENN students would want to be insomniacs so they could eat those cookies all night. 

After another long train ride which I wrote most of this blog on, it was just about dinner time. We ordered good old New York pizza and ate in at the hotel. It was a nice breather after 3 very long days of jam packed movement. Now that we have had some rejuvenation time we are all excited to head upstate to visit Vassar and see even more East Coast schools. 

Can't be a college visit without a group shot!