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At the University of Pennsylvania, there are 鈥渕ore than enough鈥� resources, funding, and opportunities, and students are constantly encouraged 鈥渢o truly take advantage of it all!鈥� There are four undergraduate colleges鈥攖he College of Arts and Sciences, the Wharton School of Business, the School of Engineering and Applied Science, and the School of Nursing鈥攁nd students appreciate the range: 鈥淚 can take a course in old Icelandic and even another one about the politics of food.鈥� That said, note that this prestigious Ivy League school is 鈥渧ery challenging,鈥� perhaps even more so at Wharton, which carries a 鈥渟trenuous course load鈥� for its 鈥渉ighly competitive鈥� and 鈥渃areer-oriented鈥� enrollees. Those interested in dual-degree and specialized programs can tack on interdisciplinary studies, with access to 鈥渃ourses in any of the schools, including graduate level courses.鈥� While 鈥渃ourse and exam materials are difficult,鈥� professors balance that out and are described as being 鈥渄own-to-earth and approachable in general鈥�. The academic support is great.鈥� Between being 鈥渧ery passionate about what they do outside the classroom鈥� and 鈥渋ncredibly well-versed in their subject (as well as their audience),鈥� faculty are 鈥渁lways willing to offer their morethan-relevant life experience in class discussion.鈥� Students appreciate the student-to-faculty ratio, and report that when they 鈥渞each out,鈥� professors are 鈥渉appy to reciprocate.鈥� This personal touch even extends to the application process, with one undergrad having enrolled because the campus outreach team 鈥渕ade me feel like I wasn鈥檛 just another set of applications; instead, I was an actual human being鈥攐ne that they valued and wanted.鈥�

The UPenn student body is comprised of 鈥減eople from all over the world, of all kinds of experiences, [and] of all perspectives. Students describe their peers as 鈥渄etermined鈥� and 鈥渆ither focused on one specific interest or very well-rounded.鈥� Some find the academic atmosphere at UPenn to be competitive, though one student points out that 鈥渉yper-competitive鈥� peers can be 鈥渉elpful.鈥� It also makes overachievers feel right at home, and it says a lot that some describe their peers as 鈥渙ff-the-charts brilliant.鈥� Given each student鈥檚 鈥渟trong sense of personal style and his or her own credo,鈥� the net result for many is a feeling of being 鈥渇ascinated by everyone else.鈥�

The 64-acre campus at UPenn offers 鈥渢he perfect mix between an urban setting and a traditional college campus.鈥� Located in West Philadelphia, students need only cross the Schuylkill River to access all of the City of Brotherly Love鈥檚 delights. There鈥檚 also easy transportation to other East Coast cities, and the weekend buses to/from New York and D.C. 鈥渁re always packed.鈥� Not that there isn鈥檛 plenty to do at UPenn: there are lots of guest speakers, cultural events, clubs, and organizations for the 鈥渕ighty Quaker鈥� students to channel. Conversations vary: 鈥減olitics and religion come up often, but so do baseball, types of wine, and restaurants.鈥� Overall, 鈥減eople are constantly trying to think about how they can balance getting good grades academically and their weekend plans.鈥� Some report that 鈥減artying is a much higher priority here than it is at other Ivy League schools.鈥� Students looking for a night out might find themselves 鈥渟plit between the downtown club scene and the frat/bar scene, depending on your preference.鈥� But make no mistake, when it鈥檚 time to focus, 鈥減eople get really serious and鈥�buckle down and study.鈥�

Penn鈥檚 Career Services is an amazing resource for students who wish to discover opportunities on- and off-campus. A bursting job board (with over 13,000 individual position postings), trips to New York City and Washington D.C. to learn about organizations and industries, as well as hundreds of employer information sessions give students tons of chances to network and research fields. One neat perk: along with other offices like Civic House, Kelly Writers House, and Penn Global, Career Services provides funding to finance research and unpaid (or lowly paid) summer internships. Career days each year bring over 600 employers to campus (Amazon, IBM, and Bloomberg, to name a few), and PennApps, a weekend-long 鈥渉ackathon鈥� for student developers, draws prospective employers like Intel and Microsoft for sponsorship and presentations. Alumni mentoring is also available to help students find their path. Penn grads who visited PayScale.com report median starting salaries of $73,700.