I was pondering over the weekend about what topic to cover for this Monday’s entry of my blog. As I was doing so, I went back in my thoughts to a time where I was uncertain exactly about which school to attend for graduate studies. I looked at different programs at different universities, and started to really narrow down what is important to me about the graduate school that I want to attend.
Personally, I wanted a program that trained students for positions of leadership, as I have worked at an American school in the Middle East, and hope to one day be able to be in a position where I can help reform local educational systems. I also wanted a school that was preferably in the North East, as my undergraduate experience at Tufts had me accustomed to a slightly colder weather than what I was use to.
Having narrowed down my search at this point to about 3 schools, I started looking more closely at the culture of each university I was interested in. Because this was my first experience in graduate school, I wanted to find a place that accommodates for the needs of its graduate students, and attends to the many different demands of life in graduate school. Out of all the places I looked at, Penn was perfect! Out of 22 000 students almost half were graduate students! That number popped out of the screen for me because it had many connotations that would just make my graduate experience so much better than other places could.
Out of the 12 schools at Penn, 8 are strictly for graduate level studies. Students from any one of the graduate schools can register for courses at any other. I personally plan on taking a course at Annenberg School of Communication next semester, and hopefully a Wharton business class next fall if my schedule permits. As a graduate student at Penn we also have two supportive organizations, the first being the Graduate Student Center, and the second being GAPSA. The graduate center is this building along locust walk that is strictly for graduate students! With free coffee and a great academic support team for those who need help on a dissertation or research, the Graduate Center is a second home for many students at GSE. GAPSA on the other hand (Graduate and Professional Student Assembly) hosts a number of social, as well educational events. This promotes closeness throughout the graduate student community. There are many free events that are sponcered by GAPSA and the Grad Center taking place through out the year. to get an idea on what is happening for us graduate students on campus, here are two links that I think you will find useful and interesting. Being a graduate student at Penn means a lot more in my opinion that just being there, it’s about building a connection with the people and institution that you are in, and it is simply a great place to be at.
Graduate Student Center:
http://www.gsc.upenn.edu/index.html
GAPSA:
http://www.gapsa.upenn.edu/
Monday, October 1, 2007
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