Hey ppl,
Congrats and a warm welcome to Penn!!
I am a PASS student and I remember how excited I was when I got my acceptance call last yr!🙂
Abt the visa issues, pls call the school and talk to Ms.Sue Schwartz. She will tell you who to contact, she is extremely helpful.
Also, you cannot get a loan for the summer program, it has to come out of pocket.
We just got an email today about citibank loans without cosigners- this is NO longer available becos of the failing economy and those who have already applied for loans will be OK but next yr they have to find citizens or GC holders as a cosigner with the rates increasing more than 2% the current rate.
About housing, I would advise to u to live close to school if u r single or married without kids. The good places are between 40th and 43rd street..u can prbly go max to 45th but Penn patrol ends at 43rd. Pls look at the intersections of Spruce, Walnut,Chestnut,Baltimore.
The further u go that is after 45th street..it becomes very unsafe.
Around school , patrolling is very good as long as u dont get drunk and r out at 2 am in the morning..u will be fine!
You can also check out apts at Center city, abt 10 mins away, a lot of social life there but apts r expensive.
Suburbs like Bryn Mawr, Ardmore,Wynwood,Haverford are very good and very safe for students with families,kids- if u r coming by car it will take abt 25 mins and by train , it will be abr 35-40 mins.
Philly is very well connected by public transport so if u r living far from school, make sure u have access to the train station.
Living close to school has its advantages that u can have more fun and attend more after school get-togethers.Especially in winter, when it becomes dark by 5 pm..it gets difficult to stay back and enjoy when u live far away as u r bothered abt how u will get home when its so dark!
One more thing before I forget, about 5-6 of u will be selected from the PASS program to work at their satellite clinics also known as DCC(Dental care centers)- they r private practices run by the school. One is situated inside the school, one at university city at 36th street I think and one in the suburb I mentioned above called Bryn Mawr. So if u get any emails from the school asking u if u would like to work there, pls say yes! I work in one of them and feel so lucky to be part of it. Its similar to how it will be in the real world, u have ur own cubicle and definitely less stressful than working at the school.
Please let me know if u guys have any other questions..will try my best to reply...Penn is a good school, it does have its pros and cons like all schools and my best advice is do not have impossible expectations of the school when u join(any school for that matter), consider urself lucky that u got into a good school and u will be getting a good education rather than cribbing about what u dont like abt the school and u will have a great time here!
I have seen students coming here with a lot of experience back home and thinking they know everything but begin to realize how much they dont know once they start the course. It will be very hectic but u will definitely enjoy it..atleast I do!!
Good luck with the housing search and see ya at Penn soon!👍
