Look over there! A group of wide-eyed kids are setting foot on campus for the first time. They clump together as they rove from one fraternity house to the next, exchanging phone numbers at any chance they get.
For us onlooking or partaking upperclassmen, that feeling isn't too distant. As a freshman, the sense of being lost in a big new world was exciting, but at the same time I treasured every bit of advice I could get. And there are still many things I wish I would have known then. Now that I'm a few years older, I thought I'd share some thoughts. More importantly, I went around and asked some of the most accomplished Penn students for what recommendations they'd give to freshmen.
Though we're all Quakers, I hope this advice will be valuable to any college student, and possibly even to human beings of other categories.
People
Learning
Finding and Cultivating a Passion
Spirit of Adventure
Self-Discipline, Efficiency & Other Hacks for Well Being
This little guide would not have been possible without the following people's advice:
- Gina Ah-Fenne (Co-Chair of Wharton Council)
- Adrienne Edwards (Penn Consortium of Undergraduate Women)
- Isabel Friedman (Penn Political Coalition, Vagina Monologues, Dropbox)
- Matt Jayson (Wharton Class Chair 2013, Google)
- Alexey Komissarouk (Founder of PennApps)
- Pulak Mittal (Dorm Room Fund, Organizer at PennApps)
- Spencer Penn (Class President 2014)
- Dan Shipper (Co-Founder of Firefly)
- Jonathon Youshaei (Class President 2013, Google)