Interviews

University of Pennsylvania

Responses from the Student Interview


From a student  who identifies as Major: Economics
Minor: None
Student Self Identifies as: Southeast Asian Heterosexual Female


Summary


I’m part of Penn Microfinance in the Philippines division. I’m part of several cultural clubs like the Philippine Association and Indonesian Club. I’m also part of the Assembly of International Students and am in the international mentorship division.


Background


Gender Identity: Female
Race/Ethnicity: Southeast Asian
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual

High School Experience: Private international school in Manila, Philippines with a graduating class of about 60 people. There was a culture of going to college in the United States.
First-Generation College Student: No
Major: Economics
Minor: None

Extracurricular Activities: I’m part of Penn Microfinance in the Philippines division. I work with microfinance institutes back in the Philippines and carry out different deliverables for them. I’m part of several cultural clubs like the Philippine Association and Indonesian Club. I’m also part of the Assembly of International Students and am in the international mentorship division.
Did any of your extracurricular activities have a particularly big impact on your experience?
Not so much yet. I hope to take leadership positions in the future, but, as of now, none are a huge passion of mine.


Academic Experience


Can you describe your weekly coursework for your major?
I’ve taken two of the introductory level classes. We had a weekly problem set, three midterms, one final, and also weekly online homework.
Is there anything that you feel your major’s department does especially well or poorly?
The flexibility between the different schools is really helpful. I have a lot of friends who are taking schools both in Wharton and also the College of Arts and Sciences. That’s what I’ve really appreciated about it so far because it’s allowed me to venture out of humanities. I’ve taken a few business courses and have really liked them.
How would you describe the learning environment? Is it particularly competitive or collaborative?
It depends on what school you’re in, what course you’re in, and what you have to do in the course. For exams, it’s more competitive because there is individual work. But, there is also a lot of required collaborative work where you work with teams to do presentations and projects. There’s no outright sabotage, but it is a competitive culture in the Wharton courses.
Can you describe a time where you felt that competitive atmosphere?
For one of my introductory Marketing classes, we have to do a simulation where you have to run an online business. There are a hundred teams of five and your team is ranked from 1 to 100 and whatever percentile you get is your grade.
Do you feel people are open to multiple schools of thought in the classroom?
There’s not a lot of strong opinions in my humanities courses, probably because they’re all intro-level. I don’t think people have very singular perspectives on issues.
How was transitioning academically as an international student? Were there any systems in place or resources that you found helpful in making the transition?
Transitioning for me was hard. Our orientation program wasn’t mandatory and not a lot of people went, so that’s not where I met a lot of the people who I’m friends with now. The start was hard but eventually going out to find friends yourself is important in a place like Penn. If you’re not the type of person to go and seek friends, it’s hard to find people at Penn, and I’m not necessarily the type of person who goes out and seeks friends so that’s why I think it was hard.
How as transitioning academically as a freshman? Were there any academic resources that you found helpful?
Academically, it was okay because I took the international baccalaureate program in high school. I felt like I was already stressed for high-stress academic situations. If you’re really struggling, there are resources at Penn and tutors available and centers, but I didn’t have to make us of that.


Reasons to Attend


1) They really promote [academic] diversity, so you can be a coder and an English major at the same time. That’s not uncommon to find.
2) It’s a very social environment and it trains more introverted people to get out there more.
3) Although we’re in the city, it has a campus feel. The community’s pretty tight-knit.


Reasons Not to Attend


1) People who are affected by competition may not like it. It’s very pre-professional and it has a competitive culture. People who don’t thrive in those types of environments may not enjoy it here.
2) People who really like the city may not like it here. University City can get very boring and those types of people also may not like Philadelphia.


Around Campus


Where have you lived on campus?
Freshman: I’m in Gregory College House and am in a single room and have three suitemates.
How was transitioning from Manila to Philadelphia, PA?
I think the weather was the hardest part for me. In terms of location, Manila isn’t a huge urban city like New York, so it wasn’t super hard. I’m also not the type of person who needs a big city because I didn’t grow up in one. The level of city in Philadelphia is not too different from Manila.
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
I don’t feel completely safe because there are a lot of alerts around my area about assaults and other gang activities. There are certain areas around Philadelphia that were told not to go to. I also come from the Philippines, so coming to the States itself is already a bit scary for me.


Social Opportunities


What kind of nightlife or weekend activities do you like to participate in?
I mostly like to go to parties downtown hosted by fraternities and going to eat in different restaurants and watching movies. I mostly go out on Friday and Saturday nights.
What’s an alternative to going to a party or bar that you like for a night out?
I like eating in a restaurant on campus. Sometimes there are cultural shows and different clubs will host cultural nights like food markets on campus.
How happy are you with the weekend options? Is there anything you would change if you could?
It’s okay. Because there are a lot of events that are spread throughout the city, people go to different things and you aren’t guaranteed to run into the people you know.


Campus Culture


How did you meet your closest friends?
Through the events of cultural clubs.
How would you describe the overall social scene at Penn?
It’s very lively. People are always doing something during the weekends and it doesn’t have to be drinking related. There are clubs doing stuff like fundraising.
To what extent do people of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
I wouldn’t be the best person to ask that because all of my friends are the same race as me, whether they are Southeast Asian international students or Asians who grew up here. From what I’ve seen, there are pretty diverse groups of people. Some of my friends are in Greek life and their sororities and fraternities are diverse.
How would you describe the Southeast Asian community on campus? How strong is it?
It’s a minority on campus. There are not a lot of Southeast Asians. It’s pretty tight-knit too. A lot of the Southeast Asians are close to each other. [About 20% of students are Asian.]
To what extent do people in Greek life and not in Greek life mix socially?
Pretty often. A lot of my friends are in Greek life. Having Greek life is one community that someone has, but it’s not like it’s their only community. People usually have several communities on campus.
To what extent do international students and domestic students mix socially?
Pretty often. It’s pretty common to see international students with domestic friends.
Were there any parts of UPenn or American university overall that surprised you when you arrived on campus?
Just how open everything is, it’s very liberal. People will have protests on campus and it shocked me how outspoken people are.
How do you like the size of Penn in terms of undergraduate enrollment? How has that impacted your experience? [Penn has about 10,600 undergraduates.]
I like it. There’s a good number of people so you that you don’t know everyone in your grade but you know a solid number of people. You also can mix with upperclassmen, so your freshman class isn’t the only source of people you interact with.


Careers


To what extent have you used the career office? How helpful have they been?
I haven’t yet.
Have you learned any computer programs or languages through your coursework that will be helpful to you professionally?
I will next semester.


Financial Aid


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