Don’t over do it!!!

The time has almost come! You must make your decision as to which university you should attend. Put simply, choose Penn!! Trust me, you will not regret your decision. Whether you’re the hard worker whose only passion is work, or the work hard-play hard kind of person, or the student-athlete or the international student looking for a welcoming environment or any other type of person, you will find your place at Penn. And sooner than you think.

Said this, and assuming that anyone who reads this blog will immediately choose Penn as their destination (!), let me tell all prospective Pennsylvanians not to be overwhelmed by the College experience. Don’t think that you have to do everything your very first year. Currently I’m involved in a couple of activities, including research with a professor, but that wasn’t the case last year. Honestly, I really didn’t do much and I personally think that’s the way to go. Moving to university and adjusting to a completely new environment is of course doable but it’s no easy task. It takes time and so you don’t want to immediately have a hectic schedule. By all means, do start exploring things but make sure to keep ample time to adjust yourself and make friends. Don’t feel that you have to be the all-you-can-be right away. Take it easy, relax, do well in your courses and slowly begin increasing your commitments. You don’t want to burn out your very first year! It may be hard to resist the temptation since Penn has so many things to do and all of you were most probably overachievers in high school but try.

Ultimately, what you want do is find one or two extracurricular commitments, or even 3 if you’re that of an eager-beaver, and really dedicate yourself to them. Don’t become members of clubs just to fill your resume. You want these experiences to be memorable, meaningful and fun as well. So, start your freshman year by exploring activities: attend some meetings, send emails, talk to your Residential or Graduate Advisors, talk to your academic advisors. In short, inquire about things so that towards the end of the year and/or in your sophomore year you can begin getting involved. Keep in mind that most clubs/organization etc accept new members both in the fall and spring.

If you follow this don’t-dive-into-things-right-away strategy I’m sure you’ll have a meaningful experience at Penn.