How I Chose Neuroscience as my Major

My interest in neurology was almost forced on me by my dad. I knew I wanted to be a doctor, but I wasn't sure what specialty. At first, I wanted to do pediatrics, but I didn't know if I could do it forever. I also don't like the idea of making mistakes when treating a child because of how fragile they are. My dad was the one who told me to do neuroscience. I didn't listen to him because I thought neuroscience was boring. I decided to prove that by applying for programs that were centered on medicine as a whole rather than specifically neuroscience.

In the summer of ninth grade, I had the opportunity to participate in the Penn Summer Prep program at the University of Pennsylvania. In participating, I was introduced to elements of the STEM field while taking the “Physics of Energy” class and gained basic insight into the “physics” portion of medicine. The following summer I had the opportunity to attend the Biomedical Research Academy where I was introduced to biomedical research through skilled professors, guest lecturers, and cutting-edge technology.

Fall junior year, I had the opportunity to take a class at Penn in the Young Scholars Program. While taking the “Introduction to Experimental Psychology” class, I learned the psychological aspect of medicine and saw the interconnectedness of psychology and neuroscience. Although I have not taken a formal neuroscience class, this was my first exposure to it. Learning about it there heightened my interest in the brain, and it was not until I was exposed to it again in my IB Biology HL class was I positively sure that brain surgery was the path for me. Neuroscience is one of the most fascinating topics that I have learned because of how intriguing the information is. It brings to light the importance of the brain and how it is nearly impossible to function without it.

Now that I’m in college, I was able to narrow down my interest to genetics in neuroscience and the role of autism in the brain. I ended up writing my white paper in my writing seminar class about the stigma surrounding autism. All this to say that whatever you choose to study before college may change in college and there’s nothing wrong with it. I would advise to find what you’re interested in and see if you can find a major or minor that coincides with it. You shouldn’t worry about being too slow or too fast in choosing your major because there’s always time to change your mind if you discover another interest.

- Joyce D.

3 Things I Wish I Did Before my Senior Year

Learn how to use SEPTA:

Granted, I didn’t live in Philly during the COVID-19 pandemic (my junior year), but I wish I had learned how to use SEPTA efficiently much earlier. SEPTA is very simple and convenient to use when traveling off campus, but I had a hard time getting familiar with the different stops and transferring between the Market-Frankford and Broad Street lines. Using SEPTA is a fast and cost-effective way to get around different parts of Philly, which you could use to get to off-campus volunteer and work opportunities, or even to go out to try different restaurants in the city! It’s definitely worthwhile to plan a trip with some friends and get familiar with how SEPTA works.

Take a language class for fun/outside of the requirement:

Being pre-med and a biology major, I had a lot of requirements to fulfill during my four years at Penn. However, there were a few semesters where I had the ability to take a class or two of my choosing. I usually ended up taking sociology classes because this was another academic interest of mine, but I wish I would’ve also taken a Polish language class. I’m half Polish and have always been interested in learning the language, yet I never realized I could have taken this language at Penn. For some language classes, like Polish, introductory classes are not offered every semester, so you can only start the sequence in the Fall. I wish I had known this as well as my interest in taking language classes again much sooner so I could have a more enriched experience overall.

Learn how to use Handshake (and not be afraid of it):

Handshake is a very popular platform at Penn used to connect students with jobs and internships. I was always a little bit intimidated by Handshake since I associated it with pre-professional culture at Penn. That being said, as a senior now looking for gap year opportunities, pre-professional culture is not an entirely bad thing, especially as you start to complete and move on from your academic journey at Penn. One important thing I learned only this year is that Handshake has more than just job postings. There are lots of different information sessions and workshops related to applying to graduate schools, developing professional skills, and more. Additionally, you can sign up for email lists/Listservs based on your career interests to get catered information about new internships and positions that may be a perfect match for you. The pre-health Listserv has already presented me with several amazing opportunities, and I wish I had learned about this sooner.

Don’t be afraid to learn more about the resources you have here at Penn!

- Victoria B.

Study Habits

I didn’t realize how much my study habits changed since COVID. All of my virtual exams were open notes, open book, open everything so essentially, it was like completing a worksheet. I didn’t prepare for them as much as I prepared for in-person exams because I wasn’t required to memorize all the information. I would have access to them anyway so a quick glance over was enough for me.

Then the transition to in-person classes and exams came and hit me like a ton of bricks. I didn’t realize how much I used to study in high school back when things were normal. Doing very poorly on my first in-person exam since high school opened my eyes tremendously. I would have to do a lot more readjusting to school than I thought. It’s funny: I didn’t think COVID had affected me that much but I definitely saw I became a lot lazier. Since IB exams were canceled, I wasn’t expected to do much studying or work which I accepted gracefully. Obviously, college is a much different environment.

Having just finished midterm week with two in-person midterms in chemistry and biology, best believe I studied hard for those exams. The feeling of opening my biology exam and recalling all of the information I studied caused a wave of nostalgia to flood over me. It took me back to my IB biology class, breezing through my exams after intense studying of the overly detailed study guides I made a couple days in advance with my study group. It was honestly a great feeling and motivated me to get the right study habits back and continue to ace my in-person exams. Covid’s dying down and so are my bad study habits.

- Joyce D.

A guide to Penn acronyms!

With a name like the “University of Pennsylvania”, it’s no wonder why Penn likes to shorten things up a bit! Here are just a few of the Penn-isms you’ll need to know before heading to campus:

VP

“Van Pelt”: Penn’s largest library. Home to many all-nighters and midterm cram sessions. 

SABS

“See and be seen”: a very typical Penn pastime where students sit in highly visible areas (steps of College Hall, anywhere on Locust Walk, etc.) in order to be observed and people watch

Steiny D

“Steinberg Dietrich”: one of the Wharton buildings. This one is known for its fancy, Grecian columns and its cafe (Joe’s)!

ACK, DAC, TAC-e, SMAC, SAC, PAC

“Performing arts groups”: Yes! They really do all rhyme! These “arts councils” are home to a lot of talent! If you ever go to a student performance on campus, you’re sure to see these acronyms plastered everywhere

DRL

“David Rittenhouse Laboratories”: the math building where pretty much every student has a class at least once. Located on the far east side of campus, it is typically used in sentences like “I’m going to be late since I’m coming from my class in DRL”

HSOC (pronounced H-Sock)

“History and Sociology of Science”: one of many interdisciplinary majors at Penn, the HSOC major explores public health and medicine from a sociological perspective

WilCafe

“Williams Cafe”: a student-run coffee shop in Williams Hall known for its quirky vibes and unique delicacies (goat cheese croissant, anyone?)

NSO

“New Student Orientation”: The week between move in and the first day of classes. Expect: lots of free Penn merch, campus tours, and awkward ice breakers!

CURF

“Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships”: The hub for student research. It even has a super helpful directory listing all of the current research projects seeking student assistance!

M&T

“Management and Technology”: a super cool dual degree program housed in Wharton and the School of Engineering. Bonus tip: pretty much every dual degree or special program has an acronym (BFS, LSM, JWS…)

You are now well-versed in Penn-speak, but be forewarned, you could fill a whole dictionary with the full list of Penn acronyms! Don’t worry, though, you’ll catch on fast once you’re on campus!

- Jules P.

Studying Abroad in College

Want to study abroad in college? Penn is the perfect university to do just that!

I knew I wanted to study abroad in college before coming to Penn, and I finally had the chance to fulfill that wish by studying at Queen Mary University of London last semester. I took many interesting courses while abroad, but one of my favorites was a class on the history of Capitalism and Colonialism. Each week, we visited different parts of London that were significant to our class discussions, and I quickly learned how to use the Tube through this course and became comfortable navigating London. Outside of the classroom, my favorite activities included bike riding in Hyde Park, visiting different castles (highly recommend visiting Windsor), and going for Afternoon Tea with some friends. Overall, studying abroad was an enriching opportunity filled with unexpected twists and turns- from getting adjusted to a different educational system, to catching a £5 flight to Lisbon, Portugal on a whim- it was an educational and cultural experience of a lifetime.

If you are undecided on whether you want to study abroad in college, that is normal! Some students worry about falling behind on their required course load or missing social events on campus. If you are worried about falling behind on your course load, I would advise you to inquire with students in your major/desired major who have studied abroad and get their perspective on the pros and cons of doing so. By consulting Penn Abroad, they will find someone in your major to speak with about their abroad experience. If the latter is your concern, there will be the same social events every year, but getting to study abroad is a once-in-a-lifetime experience! 

If you want to go abroad, but you do not want to spend an entire semester away, Penn offers a lot of study abroad opportunities for their students outside of the conventional semester programs. There are Global Seminars, which are semester-long courses with a short-term travel element designed to strengthen your knowledge of concepts discussed in the classroom. Penn also offers GRIP (Global Research & Internship Program), which provides undergraduate students with the chance to intern or do research with a range of organizations and corporations throughout the world for 8 to 12 weeks over the summer. Penn offers so many opportunities abroad, and I highly recommend embarking on an enriching cultural opportunity while in college! 

- Ami I.

Why I Love the Dining Hall

Looking back at my Penn experience as a senior, I realized that one of the most special places on campus for me is the dining hall at Hill College House. It isn’t one of my favorite places because of the food, but because of all the great friendships I developed through it. 

The dining hall was were all of my friends connected after a long day of classes in different areas of campus. We had the opportunity to take a short break to get to know each other and each other’s company while sharing food. Every single day during the week, I looked forward to lunchtime to see all of my friends gathered around the table, laughing and sharing stories. 

As my first year progressed, the dining table was witness to all of my best memories—whether they actually occurred at the dining hall or were merely shared through stories. At Hill, I laughed when my friends got busted for taking multiple cookies, shared the story of my first failed midterm, and jumped with joy when my friend got her first internship. 

So even with all the amazing and beautiful buildings at Penn, when I think back on my time here, the dining hall will always be one of my favorite places. 

- Fernanda B.

Just for Fun

While Penn is known for its pre-professional orientation, I am a staunch advocate for “just for fun” extracurriculars. There is obviously so much value in joining clubs like the pre-law society or consulting groups, but not every moment of your free time needs to be (or should be) spent on resume packing.

As students, we need a break from the academic grind. When I step foot into rehearsal, I forget about my to-do list for a few hours; instead, I get to sing and dance and joke around with my castmates. It’s a creative outlet that not only distracts me from impending responsibilities, but relieves my stress in the long term.

College is, for some of us, our last chance to try something new or keep up an old activity. In this way, clubs challenge us to live in the moment rather than constantly plan for the future. You have your whole life ahead of you to work as a consultant, so why not spend these four years tap-dancing or playing club volleyball?

These clubs can be, quite literally, “all fun and games”, but that’s not to say that they don’t provide value in the same way that pre-professional organizations do; many “just for fun” clubs offer opportunities to hold leadership positions or hone employable skills like teamwork and communication. I attribute much of my success in public speaking to my theatrical background! Many long-established clubs like Glee and Penn Singers also have immense alumni networks.

So the next time you’re scrolling through pennclubs.com, don’t write off the “fun ones” just yet.

- Jules P.

Penn Global Seminars at Penn

This semester, I am taking HIST329: The Great War in Memoir and Memory. This is not your usual history class, as it includes an exciting travel component to France. In this blog, I will share my experience applying, and getting into this Penn Global Seminar.

I first heard about this class through the Penn Abroad newsletter, which announced the return of abroad and travel opportunities for Penn students. Here is where I saw the exciting title “The Great War in Memoir and Memory.” I had recently taken a class about East Asia Diplomacy, where I learned (for the first time) about the importance of Japan in World War I. Realizing I had no idea about this key player in the war, I was curious to see what else I had yet to learn about World War I. Furthermore, in this class, we read the memoir Bridge to the Sun written by Gwen Terasaki. This made me realize that my favorite lens to learn history comes from reading about the personal experiences of those who lived through it.

If the written words of Gwen Terasaki were so impactful to me, I could only imagine how enriching an experience a global seminar would be. The trip to France includes excursions that will allow me to see the world through the French’s lives, and to compare them to my current understanding of World War I through the Japanese and German stories I’ve collected.

Now, as I take the seminar, I can only say it has surpassed all my expectations. My peers and their diverse experiences and backgrounds make for interesting conversations. The material is captivating and varied, allowing me to learn about World War I through different perspectives, and making me think about the war through unconventional lenses. 

I am excited to continue the conversations this semester, and to update you all with my experience in France! 

- Majo R.

I asked my friends...What's your favorite class?

Leo: My favorite class at Penn is History of American Baseball 1840-Present with Sarah Gronningsater. Through discussion she teaches us about American history through the lens of baseball. Many of the students aren’t even baseball fans but Professor Gronningsater is so amazing that everyone leaves the class raving both about how much they learned and how much they loved the experience. 

Naomi: My favorite class at Penn I have taken so far has been Intro to Data Science (PSCI 107) with Dan Hopkins. The class provided me with an insight into a side of politics that I have never seen before and allowed me to combine my interests of statistics and political science. I loved being able to write code and explore data that connected to things I saw in the news.

Rosemary: My favorite class was CLST 201: Hercules Ancient & Modern. Not only was it a fun class in general, but it was also interesting to see the evolution and persistence of Hercules through centuries of written works and art. We also had a few classes in the Penn Museum where we were able to study Ancient Greek and Roman coins and vases up close. 

Michael: My favorite class I’ve taken at Penn was Writing for Television (CIMS 117). I got to work with my classmates to develop our tv shows, and wrote an entire pilot script. It was great to try something new and different from my other classes, and produce a script I was really proud of.

My favorite class: My favorite class that I’ve taken in the college so far is The Struggle for America’s Soul (PSCI 010), a freshman seminar about the role of evangelicals in US politics. I learned so much about the ways in which political scientists ask and answer questions and it was great to discuss recent political events through a new a different lens. We also had a super interesting line up of guest speakers. Lastly, the class helped me meet some other first year students during my first semester, which I’m glad for!

- Lucy K.

Advice from a Second Semester Senior

As my last semester at Penn begins and graduation nears closer and closer everyday, I can’t help but find myself nostalgic and reflective. I reminisce on all the friends I’ve made, experiences I’ve had, things I’ve learned, and milestones reached. I’m proud, but I also feel a deep sense of duty to my underclassmen friends and to prospective students. College is a time when advice, solicited and unsolicited, tends to bombard you from every corner of your life. It’s an inevitable part of being among so many young people all trying to figure themselves out at the same time. And inevitably, with time, you become the one giving advice too. So here’s some of my classic pieces of advice to any prospective student or underclassman.

1. Get over yourself!

Sounds harsh, I know, but once I explain, it’ll make more sense. I think so many of us enter college with an immense amount of unspoken anxiety. That anxiety, at least for me, manifested in me trying very hard to “play it cool” most of freshman year. While I still had a great freshman year, I feel like I would have benefited from throwing caution to the wind and just being the silly and outgoing person I am, instead of restraining it all for the sake of being “cool.” While I eventually realized this before my sophomore year, I highly recommend going into freshman year understanding that it’s ok to embarrass yourself and put yourself out there when making friends, even if it doesn’t always work out.

2. Office Hours, Office Hours, Office Hours

I wish I had gone to more office hours over the course of my four years at Penn. While I managed to make great connections with professors who taught me in smaller seminars, I generally didn’t make an effort to connect with professors who taught me in larger lectures, even when they made themselves very available. Oftentimes, it’s those conversations with professors that can help you figure out what you want to do after college, or what you want to major in, or just simply what class you want to take next semester. For the most part, your professors are eager to get to know you, so you should reach out!

3. You’ll make friends at every point in college!

There is a LOT of unreasonable pressure to “find your people” within the first few weeks of freshman year. Not only is that not sustainable given that you’re probably living away from home for the first time, taking college-level classes for the first time, and adjusting to a new environment, but it also reinforces a completely false idea. Speaking from experience, while I was lucky to make some great friends freshman year, it certainly didn’t stop there. I have very close friends who I didn’t even know existed until my sophomore, junior, and even senior years.

While it’s great to have a good group of friends that ground you while you experience life as a first year, don’t forget that you’ll have opportunities to make lifelong friends later on too.

- Karin H.

Discovering New Interests

I took computer science as an elective for all four years of high school, and it was something of a love/hate relationship. On the one hand, I loved the challenge of solving problems through code; it felt like a puzzle and was immensely satisfying to get right. On the other, surrounded by classmates who were members of the robotics team and interested in pursuing engineering, I never quite felt sure of myself in the Comp Sci classroom. I just felt like the concepts came more naturally to my peers than they did to me.  

So Computer Science was never something I considered as my main area of study when I came to Penn, but I decided to give it another shot with PSCI 107: Intro to Data Science, a political science class that teaches the programming language R and could also count for my major. I thought the class would provide me with useful data analysis skills to apply both in college and beyond, but I didn’t expect to become so quickly engrossed in the material. Within three weeks of starting to learn R, we were working with real county level election results from presidential elections, and a couple of weeks after that I was creating pretty awesome graphs and visualizations with that same data. Now, in the last weeks of the class, we’re running regression analyses on a survey that measures how favorably people view the Affordable Care Act. These projects perfectly intersected with my interest in politics and policy. Better than any Comp Sci class I took in high school, PSCI 107 showed me how I could apply knowledge of R and data science to real world questions in fields that I’m interested in. It turned a subject that I had been lukewarm about before into something I’m excited to explore more.  

Now, I’m planning to take PSCI 207: Applied Data Science next semester and pursue a minor in Survey Research and Data Analytics, which is an amazing interdisciplinary minor combining data science, statistics, and American politics. With so many options to explore and so much flexibility, you never know when your academic path might change in the College. My advice would be to keep an open mind when considering courses, minors, and even majors; there could be a new passion right around the corner! 

- Lucy K.

A Day in My Life

There really is no "typical" day at Penn (especially since you never know who or what you might see on Locust Walk!), but here’s a little glimpse into my life as a Psychology student at Penn.

9am: Wake up and make a quick breakfast in my apartment. My go-to is oatmeal with peanut butter and bananas since it’s quick and dorm-friendly!

10am: Meet my friend, Ellie, to walk over to class together.

10:15-11:15am: Social statistics lecture. Every psych student has to take statistics. I highly recommend SOCI 120 because it is geared towards the social sciences and really prepares you to participate in research!

11:30am: Grab a quick lunch from Pret or Gourmet Grocer and bring it back to my apartment to eat while doing some work. I have a few cases to read for my Legal Studies class on Tuesday, so I get started on that.

3:30pm: Marketing 101 lecture. A really awesome part about Penn is that you can take classes in any of the four schools (and even the grad schools, too!). I am pursuing a minor in Consumer Psychology, a joint degree between the College and Wharton, so I study the intersection of marketing and psychology! It’s super interesting and supplements my liberal arts education with more of a pre-professional focus.

5:15pm: Developmental psychology lecture. This is, hands down, one of my favorite classes I’ve taken at Penn! Our professor usually brings in guest speakers in careers related to psychology; we’ve had a clinical psychologist, family lawyer, and child life specialist come to our class, just to name a few!

7pm: Meet my roommates at Commons to eat dinner. We chat about our day, share funny stories, and enjoy taking a break from schoolwork. My favorite foods at the dining hall: turkey burgers, mac n cheese, and the chocolate cake!

8-10pm: Dance rehearsal! I head to our campus gym, Pottruck, to rehearse for an upcoming football game performance with my dance team, the Quaker Girls. It’s a great way to let off steam and be active.

10pm: Head back to my apartment and finish up some work for tomorrow or chill with my roommates if I finished everything for the night.

Midnight: Bedtime! I have an 8:30am tomorrow so I try to get as much sleep as I can!

- Jules P.

The Best Spots on Campus for Every Type of Study Session

There’s a varied spectrum of study styles and moods; sometimes I need a silent environment, but sometimes I want to be surrounded by other people. No matter your preferences, Penn has got a spot for you!

The midterm cram session:

Need a place to really hunker down and get your work done? Van Pelt is the obvious choice. Every Van Pelt frequenter has strong opinions on their favorite floor: some say the 6th is super quiet, while others are partial to the basement. Try out the different floors to find the best fit for your study mood. Pro tip: reserve a GSR or booth ahead of time to get a quiet, private space. Other solid options are the Hill study lounge and Penn Museum Library.

The unproductive, yet fun group study session:

If you’re anything like me and my friends, group studying usually means we talk more than we study. For a chatter-friendly spot, I recommend Panera, Houston Hall, or a high-rise rooftop lounge!

The “romanticize-your-life” study session:

Fisher Fine Arts Library—duh! The red hues, ornate windows and wall carvings, as well as the domed ceiling, give off major light academia vibes! It’s like a little slice of Hogwarts right here in Philadelphia.

The “coffee shop” study sesh: 

There’s certainly no shortage of Starbucks and Dunkins around campus, but for insta-worthy pics and pretty decent coffee, there’s some better alternatives. United By Blue has a cozy ambience and plenty of seating. Bonus: you can fuel your essay writing with one of their vegan treats! For more minimalistic vibes, Joe’s Cafe is a great spot to work. The best part? They take dining dollars!

The “gotta get out of my room” study session:

There’s nothing quite like studying outside on a sunny day. Besides the laptop glare and lack of access to outlets, studying outdoors is the best way to take advantage of the few days of good weather. Lucky for us, Penn has a ton of green spaces! In the springtime, I love to set up shop in the corner tables tucked away by Annenberg because it’s surrounded by tulips! Other great spots are the bio pond, high rise field, and the tables next to Fisher Fine Arts.

Spruce up your studying by trying out a new spot. Who knows! It might amp up your productivity and become your new go-to!

-Jules P.

Penn Face

One of the most intimidating things you hear about going into the University of Pennsylvania is the illustrious "Penn Face." Penn Face is a very real thing; everyone around you will seem like they have a concrete plan for their future, and that they know exactly what they're doing in life. It certainly gets very overwhelming at times.

During our current transition from online courses to in person classes, it has been a very rough adjustment period. In one of my chemistry study groups, there was one night where we all sat and talked about our mental health and the problems we were experiencing. This is definitely one of the most unifying experiences I have had so far at Penn. It reminded me that we're all just students on an even playing field trying as hard as we can to succeed. It's very helpful to remember that we are all going through struggles, and we're never truly alone. 

-Adrien W.

My Experience with ISP

Coming into the College, I was interested in many different subjects in humanities and science. With my diverse interests, I applied to the Integrated Studies Program (ISP) to explore different courses while completing Gen Ed requirements.

The first semester was hard. Being both at home and taking online classes, I missed out on one of the main benefits of being in ISP: tight-knit community and living in Hill. Initially I had considered myself a “humanities person”, but nine grueling essays later I was contemplating dropping ISP after the first semester. I told myself that being in the program was a mistake. 

Eventually I decided to stick with the program, just because I was interested in the material taught during the second semester: religious despair and positive psychology. For context, each ISP course takes up 2 credits of your freshman year school, and you take one course in the fall and one in the spring. Each course is taught by two professors from different “streams”, or areas of expertise and the purpose is to think about the courses as a whole to discover new insights. The two streams in each semester vary year by year. 

While I can’t say that BFS was the best experience, I appreciate how the material engaged me and taught me to think from other perspectives. Writing essays challenged me to be a better thinker and reading the books required made me think beyond my current struggles. Doing BFS also made me realize that I didn’t enjoy humanities as much as I thought I did, and that I was actually more of a STEM person!

- Leilei H.

Up Close at the Penn Museum

One of my favorite things about Penn is that we have so many resources and opportunities, whether they be in arts, culture, or STEM, at our fingertips to enhance our classroom educations. Instead of heading to the classroom in Williams Hall for my Art History recitation, the past two Fridays I have taken the slightly longer walk to the Penn Museum, where we had class in the galleries. My TA lead our class through the Ancient Near East galleries, where we looked at cylinder seals, cuneiform tablets, and other amazing artifacts from the royal tombs of ancient Mesopotamia.

The next week, we held class in a collection room, where papyrus scrolls from ancient Egypt had been laid out specifically for our class' close observation. Because of COVID, this was my first experience having a college class outside the classroom, and as a lover of museums in general, it couldn't have been a better one. It was incredible to be able to read about artifacts in the textbook, hear my professor describe them in lecture, and then only a few days later take a ten minute walk and see those same artifacts in person.

Spending time at the museum and seeing the objects up close added to my experience taking an Art History class because it made the art and the civilizations that we had been discussing that much more real, and I think it's awesome that Penn students get to supplement classroom experiences with such cool outside experiences. I will definitely be going back to the museum on my own time, but I hope I'll get to go again for classes as well. 

- Lucy K.

Finding Your Major through Intro Courses

Going into college I always thought I wanted to be a doctor. At a young age, my vascular surgeon grandfather would force me to sit down and study surgeries with him. Since then, my love for health care and medicine only grew.

But when I got to Penn, and took CHEM-101, all of that changed. I was struggling to keep up with the problem sets and understand the complex way chemicals interact with one another. I toughed it out in Chem but luckily, during my second semester at Penn I got exposure to a new major that I had never heard of: Health and Societies. My major advisor told me I should take an intro HSOC course and I truly fell in love. I was able to look at healthcare from an entirely new perspective, focusing on populations instead of individuals and making a larger impact on the world.

With 6 different concentrations, HSOC is so broad but you have the ability to focus on whatever you feel most passionate about. This experience taught me the importance of keeping an open mind. Just because you think you might know what you want to major in, doesn't mean you should close all other doors. It is also important to keep in touch with your advisor. They are here to help so use them as resources!

- Alexandra M.

So, What's Your Major?

“So, what’s your major?”. For many, this is just an ice-breaker—a go-to query to prevent awkward lulls in conversation—but for those of us who are undecided, it’s the dreaded question we constantly have to field at family dinners and introductions. All of freshman year I attempted to formulate an answer that didn’t make me sound like a flounderer with commitment issues:

“I’m not sure yet. Maybe anthropology?”

“Criminology looks cool, but I don't know” (fun fact: Penn is the only ivy to offer a crim major!)

I switched so many times that my roommates began asking what my “major of the week” was. They thought that was funny. Me? Not so much. The problem for most of us that fall under the undecided umbrella is not a lack of interests, but too many. This produced somewhat of a dilemma when course registration rolled around: I wanted to take everything! Politics of Food? Sign me up! Infectious Diseases? Seems topical. Sex with Shakespeare? Sure, why not? Without a major to guide my choices, I didn’t feel pressure to pursue only one path. I dipped my toes in just about everything, satiating my curiosity while allowing myself to give each subject a fair shake.

While psychology turned out to be “the one”, I don’t regret any of the courses I've taken. Each one refined different skills and offered opportunities to connect with a new set of professors and students—that, my friends, is the beauty of a liberal arts education. *Eyeroll* I know, but the College is the perfect place to be undecided (even if you have to field the dreaded question until you finally figure it out).

- Julia P.

My First Superlab Experience

Signing up for a lab course where you have to design your own research project sounds intimidating, but the lab class I am taking this semester has been so much more fun and enriching than I could have ever expected. I had taken all kinds of lab classes before, particularly the intro biology, general chemistry, and organic chemistry labs. These classes were oftentimes fast paced and it was hard to build connections with other students besides your own lab partner. So when I signed up for BIOL 425 - Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics Superlab, I was expecting a very similar lab environment.

To my surprise, the lab environment of the class was extremely friendly and collaborative, facilitating great connections between me and my classmates. Although I work closely with my lab partner, we always share resources between tables and ask questions ranging anywhere from “What buffer are we using?” to “Can I look at the data you collected?” Something I particularly did not expect was how often we would actually use and analyze data from other groups in the class to make meaningful comparisons with.

Another thing the class does really well is normalizing running into problems when doing science: we come up with an idea for an experiment, try it, find out what doesn’t work, and try the experiment again with some changes. My lab group has run into our fair share of issues, whether it be accidentally putting antibodies in a negative control or having an antibody not bind to cells like we expect. However, there are never any “failures," and Dr. Wagner and Dr. Punt maintain a very positive environment while we problem solve and refine our experimental methods. They help guide the individual research projects each pair in the class is pursuing, and their insight and interest in our work is so inspiring.

Still to this day, my friends are always shocked to hear how excited I am to spend 6 hours in class (3 hours twice a week!), but it honestly is a class I would highly recommend to anyone interested in biology research!

- Viktoria B.

My Experience with the College Advisors

As I sit at the first lecture of my Intro to Data Science class I realize a wonderful thing about the College. Somehow, maybe by magic, my classes all compliment each other. However, this is no magic, rather a mix of great academic guidance.

In the College, you will have three different kinds of advisors throughout your academic career. One is the peer advisor; an upperclassman who helps you figure out where your classes are, advises you on which classes to take, as well as gives you survival tips (for example, what the best way to arrange your classes in PennInTouch is). The second is the Academic Advisor. These are advisors in the College Office who aid you in exploring possible majors. The third is the Major Advisor, which you get when you (surprise) choose a major. 

Fresh out of High School, I was completely baffled as to what I wanted to do in my time at the College. Luckily, I put time and effort into building a strong relationship with my Academic Advisor, so he could get to know me, my skills, and my potential career interests. Doing that allowed me to have a solid start to my career and academic path.

Now, looking back at my transcript, I remember the way each class complemented and balanced each other out. The knowledge I gained from my Modern Latin American History class prepared me for in-depth discussions on my U.S Intervention in Latin America class. My Intro to Psychology class facilitated my understanding of addiction, which we dove into at my Addiction: Understanding How We Get Hooked and How We Recover class. Now, as a junior, I realize that my Major Advisor’s advice on taking a language course, along with a data science course allows me to challenge myself and think in different ways.

I am thankful the College provided me with these awesome advisors, who have played a key role in my search for my passions and interests.

- Majo R.