Gettin jiggy in Philly
Just heard back from Penn. Waitlisted.
I think my general perceptions of Philly are that I am not a Northesterner. It's an okay city, but not really anyplace I see myself living.
As far as Villanova goes, I thought the school was alright (they were a B list to begin with), but I don't know how I could ever afford to live near campus- one block away it's mansion after mansion after gated mansion. We got a student led tour there, which was nice, especially as the school was on spring break and pretty much devoid of people otherwise. I had a bit of vindicative joy when the other 2 people on the tour were a current student at Penn and a recent grad of NYU and both of them were on the waitlist at Villanova. It's not often I get to one up the people at big name schools!
My first impression at Penn was not a good one: I was barked at by a rude security guard who was not about to let me in, even though the admissions website basically invited you in if you wanted to look. That was another point I didn't really like either: that you need to go through a security guard to get into the building (and all other buildings it seems: another one on campus had a subway style security point). Just gives off bad vibes, like maybe that campus isn't that safe (at least the security guards could have been nice!).
I found the rest of Penn's law building a bit noisier than I expected (classes were in session there), and I was able to talk briefly to the career services office, where the receptionist told me the school is basically considered a New York law school. NYC, so not for me. The receptionist at the clinic office didn't know squat, but she was able to pass my question along to someone who emailed me fairly quickly.
And despite what the 2 people at Villanova told me, driving in Philly is not bad at all, as long as you stay off the skinny side streets. I didn't get cut off once, and I get cut off at least 5 times a day driving in Austin! And people don't drive below the speed limit on the highway! I think having a New York license plate on my rental car may have helped. ;)
The one traffic problem I *did* have was on my way to the airport. I gave myself 45 minutes, which should have been more than enough time. However, I got caught in a bad traffic jam on a bridge of all places, which I found out from the radio was caused by an accident involving a school bus. Traffic was down to one lane on the other side of the bridge. It took me an hour to get to the airport, I wasn't able to get gas for the rental car because I didn't see a gas station at any of the 3 exits prior to the airport, and I just barely made my flight. It involved a lot of running and asking people if I could cut in front of them. I was all prepared to ask for that rental car back and spend another night there. Thankfully I got back to Austin as planned.
As some of you may already know, I stayed with the incredibly gracious and lovely lls_mutant (and Howard. though I can't squee about Gaeta/Hoshi with Howard :).) They were even willing to put up with the incredibly hokey closing ceremonies for me. (I mean, seriously. Shatner? That was the best the entire country of Canada could come up with?)
On a side note there, I love that Michael J. Fox got basically a standing ovation from the crowd, but he really did not look good. I think the best part of that whole ceremony was watching Jacque Rogge's reaction when that Canadian guy butchered the French language. Lol.
I did manage to survive 2 and 4 year old boys for 3 days, certainly not an easy task for me. :) Oh and in case you didn't know, sea slugs are cool and deep sea fish are ugly. Just sayin.
Overall I had a lovely time with lls_mutant, and though I don't think I'd like to live there, it was nice to visit Philly.
I think my general perceptions of Philly are that I am not a Northesterner. It's an okay city, but not really anyplace I see myself living.
As far as Villanova goes, I thought the school was alright (they were a B list to begin with), but I don't know how I could ever afford to live near campus- one block away it's mansion after mansion after gated mansion. We got a student led tour there, which was nice, especially as the school was on spring break and pretty much devoid of people otherwise. I had a bit of vindicative joy when the other 2 people on the tour were a current student at Penn and a recent grad of NYU and both of them were on the waitlist at Villanova. It's not often I get to one up the people at big name schools!
My first impression at Penn was not a good one: I was barked at by a rude security guard who was not about to let me in, even though the admissions website basically invited you in if you wanted to look. That was another point I didn't really like either: that you need to go through a security guard to get into the building (and all other buildings it seems: another one on campus had a subway style security point). Just gives off bad vibes, like maybe that campus isn't that safe (at least the security guards could have been nice!).
I found the rest of Penn's law building a bit noisier than I expected (classes were in session there), and I was able to talk briefly to the career services office, where the receptionist told me the school is basically considered a New York law school. NYC, so not for me. The receptionist at the clinic office didn't know squat, but she was able to pass my question along to someone who emailed me fairly quickly.
And despite what the 2 people at Villanova told me, driving in Philly is not bad at all, as long as you stay off the skinny side streets. I didn't get cut off once, and I get cut off at least 5 times a day driving in Austin! And people don't drive below the speed limit on the highway! I think having a New York license plate on my rental car may have helped. ;)
The one traffic problem I *did* have was on my way to the airport. I gave myself 45 minutes, which should have been more than enough time. However, I got caught in a bad traffic jam on a bridge of all places, which I found out from the radio was caused by an accident involving a school bus. Traffic was down to one lane on the other side of the bridge. It took me an hour to get to the airport, I wasn't able to get gas for the rental car because I didn't see a gas station at any of the 3 exits prior to the airport, and I just barely made my flight. It involved a lot of running and asking people if I could cut in front of them. I was all prepared to ask for that rental car back and spend another night there. Thankfully I got back to Austin as planned.
As some of you may already know, I stayed with the incredibly gracious and lovely lls_mutant (and Howard. though I can't squee about Gaeta/Hoshi with Howard :).) They were even willing to put up with the incredibly hokey closing ceremonies for me. (I mean, seriously. Shatner? That was the best the entire country of Canada could come up with?)
On a side note there, I love that Michael J. Fox got basically a standing ovation from the crowd, but he really did not look good. I think the best part of that whole ceremony was watching Jacque Rogge's reaction when that Canadian guy butchered the French language. Lol.
I did manage to survive 2 and 4 year old boys for 3 days, certainly not an easy task for me. :) Oh and in case you didn't know, sea slugs are cool and deep sea fish are ugly. Just sayin.
Overall I had a lovely time with lls_mutant, and though I don't think I'd like to live there, it was nice to visit Philly.