UPenn Questions

[Shiny Teeth 22]

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Hi all!

I was accepted to a few schools this week and am strongly considering going to UPenn, but have a few questions for anyone that is either a current student or familiar with the school. I am a bit concerned about the price, but the reputation and easier ability to specialize is comforting and feel like it may be worth it. (I was accepted to my state school as well, but I'm not 100% sure where I want to go yet and want to really consider this school since I do really like it.)

First, do they record the lectures for each class? If so, are there videos to the PowerPoints or is it simply audio or a transcript? With this said, is attendance taken in classes where we need to be there everyday or can we choose not to go and study during that time instead (if need be)?

Additionally, what do the days generally look like for first year students? Is it 8-5 everyday, Monday through Friday, or is there flexibility within the daily schedules, whereas Monday may start at 10 and only go until 3 (for example)?

Finally, how is living in Philadelphia? Do you feel safe around campus? Is there nightlife for weekends or to go out with friends? Given the entire picture, including academics, career options, social life, etc., would you say you are happy with your education and that Penn is ultimately worth it?

Thanks a ton for your help!

 

[molarbear9270]

Hi all!

I was accepted to a few schools this week and am strongly considering going to UPenn, but have a few questions for anyone that is either a current student or familiar with the school. I am a bit concerned about the price, but the reputation and easier ability to specialize is comforting and feel like it may be worth it. (I was accepted to my state school as well, but I'm not 100% sure where I want to go yet and want to really consider this school since I do really like it.)

First, do they record the lectures for each class? If so, are there videos to the PowerPoints or is it simply audio or a transcript? With this said, is attendance taken in classes where we need to be there everyday or can we choose not to go and study during that time instead (if need be)?

Additionally, what do the days generally look like for first year students? Is it 8-5 everyday, Monday through Friday, or is there flexibility within the daily schedules, whereas Monday may start at 10 and only go until 3 (for example)?

Finally, how is living in Philadelphia? Do you feel safe around campus? Is there nightlife for weekends or to go out with friends? Given the entire picture, including academics, career options, social life, etc., would you say you are happy with your education and that Penn is ultimately worth it?

Thanks a ton for your help!

All the questions i wanted to ask!!!

Adding one thing: do you have issues finding chairs?? Or are there plenty???

 

[swindoll]

Same boat, same questions!

One more: it is difficult to make the grades since everyone is so smart?

 

[molarbear9270]

We can post this on thE FB page too

 

[beingaunicorn]

Hi! I'm a dental student at Penn. Please PM me any questions you have, but I'll answer the ones you have:

1) Yes, like 99% of lectures in every class are recorded, usually as full video (so like, not just audio and slides). If a lecture isn't recorded, it's because of a particular instructor or guest lecturer not wanting to be recorded. But usually, if they are iffy about it, at least they'll record with just audio or just slides. In the instance that a lecture isn't recorded, people tend to be really helpful about sharing notes, etc. Attendance is not taken except for obvious classes (lab, clinic, etc.). I mean, policy in every class is that you attend, but you're not penalized really if you don't. You do get extra credit for attendance/EC quizzes sometimes, so it's good to attend.

2) It's not just 8-5. Often, you'll start later or end earlier. Some days might be 8-5, though. On days that you have lab, for instance, it's most likely 8-5 because you rotate lab time with assisting in clinic. Usually, your 8-5 days increase your 2nd semester, if anything.

3) Philly is a great city. I feel safe around campus, and they have security around. As you may know, Penn Dental is at the tail end of Penn's campus right in the beginning of West Philly, so yeah, people think of it as an unsafe place, but you can say that about many places in any city. The nightlife in Philly is great because a) it's relatively cheap (well, cheaper than some other cities) and b) there's plenty of it. Also, FOOD. If you love food, Philly is great for that, and everything is so reasonably priced compared to certain other cities. And there's just great restaurants and quirky eats around

 

[Shiny Teeth 22]

Thank you for your response, @beingaunicorn ! Just to follow up on one of your comments since it's posted publicly (rather than PM), can you just elaborate a bit on the second question? I'm not sure if there is a resource online that gives the weekly schedule for the semester or if only certain schools do that, but is there a general weekly guide for the first year? For example, would it be Monday: 10-12 lecture, 1-3 lab, Tuesday: 8-12 lecture, 1-5 lab, etc. ?

Additionally, one last question is, given the class size at around 120, does the entire class go to classes together and have different pre-clinic times, or is everything done as an entire class?

Thanks again!

 

[beingaunicorn]

Thank you for your response, @beingaunicorn ! Just to follow up on one of your comments since it's posted publicly (rather than PM), can you just elaborate a bit on the second question? I'm not sure if there is a resource online that gives the weekly schedule for the semester or if only certain schools do that, but is there a general weekly guide for the first year? For example, would it be Monday: 10-12 lecture, 1-3 lab, Tuesday: 8-12 lecture, 1-5 lab, etc. ?

Additionally, one last question is, given the class size at around 120, does the entire class go to classes together and have different pre-clinic times, or is everything done as an entire class?

Thanks again!

Unfortunately, there isn't a schedule out there online for you to see, but I can maybe give you an idea. Classes are 2-hour blocks each, so you can have up to 4 lecture classes a day. It honestly varies day by day, so sometimes you can have lectures from 8-12, 10-3, 8-5, 1-5, etc. Lunch is at 12 (1-hour block). You have lab one day a week your first semester, I believe, and those days are 8-5 (either 4 hours of lab time and 4 hours of assisting time or 3 hours of lab time and 3 hours of assisting time and 1-2 hours of lecture for your lab class). When you start your anatomy lab second semester, that's 2x a week for 4 hours each, but that may have changed with the new curriculum. Hope that helps a bit.

The entire class is present for lecture classes, but for lab, it's half the class at one time and you switch morning/afternoon. You'll also be in smaller groups for rotational things.