In this article, let’s take a look at all the pros and cons of studying at the University of Pennsylvania to understand whether it is worth the money for studying engineering, computer science or not.
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So without further ado let’s dive right in.
Table of Contents
Is UPENN good school for CS, engineering and worth it?
Yes, UPenn is differently a good school for studying computer science engineering and other branches.
This university is one of the most highly prestigious and top universities in America, there are lots of courses and research opportunities for the students, It is one of the top ivy league schools, us news ranks this in 8th best National University in America and 13th best university in the world, the university also offers need based scholarships to the students.
Now let’s take a look at all the pros and cons of studying in University of Pennsylvania to understand whether it is worth it or not.
Benefits and drawbacks of studying in Upenn
Benefits of studying in Upenn (special things about Upenn)
- One of the main advantages is that the University offers a lot of courses for both UG and PG, the university is divided into four colleges which are colleges of arts and sciences, College of engineering and applied science, Wharton school and school of nursing, and you can find courses from history to law, philosophy and engineering to medicine and many more, you can also find dual degree and interdisciplinary courses in the University, and the university has 96% of graduation rate which is really amazing
- Another advantage is the University has a great history and reputation as it is founded back in 1740, It is considered one of the oldest universities in America, It is one of the 9 colonial colleges charted before the declaration of independence of America, the founder of the University is Benjamin Franklin, who was one of the founding fathers of America, apart from being old and is also one of the top universities as us news ranks it 8th best National University, 13th best global universities by Q’s report and of course it is one of the 8 ivy league schools which again is a big thing
- Another advantage is that just like other Ivy League colleges this university also offers need based financial aid and scholarships to the students, there are no merit or performed based scholarships to the students whatsoever, more than 46% of the undergraduate students receive scholarships and financial aid, 56000 dollars is the average amount of money students receive in scholarships, 10 million dollars is the average amount of money the University pays for international students as scholarships, and apart from the scholarships you can also get Pell grants, loans and employment opportunities to make money for your education
- Another advantage is the University has a great alumni, It includes 36 Nobel laureates, 3 supreme court justice of America, 33 US senators, 46 US governors, 2 US presidents, 64 billionaires, 21 Marshall Scholars, 16 Pulitzer Prize winners, alumni who have won 20 Tony Awards, 16 Grammy Awards, and 4 Academy Awards (Oscars),43 Olympic medal winners, and more, for example Anil Ambani, Donald Trump, elizabeth Banks, Elon Musk, John Legend, Sachin Pilot, Sundar Pichai, Tory Burch, are notable alumni of the University.
- Another advantage is it is located in a great location which is in Philadelphia, there are lots of grounds trees, schuylkill river, there are lots of restaurants museums and many other tourist spots you can visit in Philadelphia and more importantly it is quite near to New York City as the distance is only 100 miles between the two cities which is not very long, there are companies like IBM Comcast Lockheed Martin spectra and others which are located in Philadelphia
- Another advantage is the University offers a lot of networking opportunities for the students, there are more than 900 student clubs you can join, This is an open campus university, there are lot of sports you can play like baseball basketball football wrestling swimming golf soccer tennis Which will increase your interpersonal skills a lot by participating in sports events and competitions among teams and between different colleges, and the University athletes also participate in Olympics and won more than 30 Olympic medals which shows that the infrastructure and facilities for sports are really great
- Another advantage is the professors in the university as there are more than 5000 faculty, the student faculty ratio is 6:1, Just like other Ivy League colleges the teachers here not just teach the subject but also do the research along with the students and the University offers one-on-one mentorship of teachers with the students so that they can have good relationship with the students, work as a mentor, help you with the research projects, many are Pulitzer Prize winners, and a few are Nobel laureates, authors, scientist, etc
- Another advantage is the University has amazing infrastructure and facilities for the students like there are many libraries, research facilities and laboratories, dining halls, museums residential areas sports complex, athletics, and many more
- Another advantage is the entrepreneurship culture as you must have heard Wharton which is the business school of the University, one of the top three best business schools in the world and it offers many courses for entrepreneurship and innovation for the students, there are lots of pathways, education programs, mentorship, training programs, etc You get from the University, PayPal Morgan Stanley Snapdeal Cisco Comcast BlackRock SpaceX metro Bank Vista equity partners WhatsApp zynga are few notable companies started by the alumni of the University
- Another advantage is the research opportunities is very great, the University Spends more than 1 billion dollars in R&D every year, the research continues in the university in various departments like health business technology science, there are more than 5000 research faculty, students also can participate in research projects along with the faculty, and there are more than 180 research centres and laboratories, the university is more than 5000 awards for its research and discoveries every year, more than 36 people have received Nobel prize due to the research and contributions from the University, Ferris wheel polio vaccine crayons toilet paper roll lightning rod smiley face emotion, movie theatre gas station are a few inventions of the University which are popular
- last advantage is placement offers of graduates, since we are talking about computer science and engineers the average salary is around 109,000 per annum keeping in mind this is the average salary, You salary usually increases with experience and specialisation, also depending upon the company and location, You can get jobs in top companies like Google Facebook Microsoft Apple Accenture IBM and others, etc, also keep in mind this is one of the most popular and highly prestigious colleges in the world which can help you crack any job by just mentioning You graduated from this University in CV when applying for the job
These are all the advantages of studying in University of Pennsylvania.
Drawbacks of studying in Upenn
- The main disadvantage is like other Ivy league is acceptance rate which is close to 9%, even though the acceptance rate is better than other ivy league like Harvard, Yale, and Columbia but still it is not enough, it is actually very difficult to get admission in UPenn as apart from good SAT and ACT scores, you also need to have some specific characteristics to get admission, check more details of admission criteria here
- Another disadvantage is quite obvious but important which is the tuition and education fees are quite expensive, $81,110 is the total fees including tuition fees, books, dining, meals, and others, this is huge money, but thankfully the university also offers need-based scholarships and only 19% of the students take student loans apart from the financial aid for funding their education, but because the universe is located in Philadelphia which is quite expensive place to stay is also an issue, but the education cost in this university is much more expensive than Harvard University and most other Ivy League.
- Another disadvantage is that there are not many scholarships available for international students as compared to the domestic students, $10 million is the amount of money the University pays in scholarships for international students, there are limited funds for international students, there is no merit based scholarships and if the student does not apply for the scholarship in the first year then they will not be getting the scholarships in the upcoming years and the students also have to renew their financial aid every year to get the aid
- Another disadvantage is that still there is a less diversity in the university especially for UG programs, in 2021 alone out of 11500 students only 376 students got admission which is 6% acceptance rate which is really low and shows that it is very difficult for international students to get admission to this university as there is a lot of competition
These are all the advantages and disadvantages of studying in University of Pennsylvania.
With that said let’s end the article.
Conclusion
These are all the things you need to know about Upenn
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