For incoming students, the first semester at college represents a tremendous change. At Penn, the Pre-First Year Program (PFP) helps students gain an academic and social edge while quickly becoming familiar with campus and the Penn community.
A Prelude to Penn
Incoming students chart a confident course thanks to Penn’s Pre-First Year Program
Published: September 14, 2023
During PFP, approximately 180 students are introduced to the demands, routines, and exhilarations of the Penn experience. Participants navigate coursework, discover a wide array of campus resources, and build networks and support systems that last for the entirety of their academic careers. Many of the participants each year are students who are the first in their families to attend college; students from modest income backgrounds; students underrepresented in their field of study; and/or from large urban high schools and small rural communities. The Pre-First Year Program draws a unique and talented group of students who are interested in getting a head start on their college careers.
PFP is a program based out of Penn First Plus, the University’s hub for efforts to enhance the academic experiences of students who are the first in their families to pursue a four-year baccalaureate degree or come from modest financial circumstances. Its mission is driven forward by the generosity of Penn donors who recognize that access to opportunity should not be limited by economic background.
At the PFP Opening Ceremony in Houston Hall, a keynote panel led by Camille Charles, Faculty Co-Director of Penn First Plus, and Sharon Smith, Associate Vice Provost for University Life, set students’ expectations for the weeks that would follow. Those expectations included attendance at all academic and co-curricular courses and events, and a roughly five-hour commitment per day devoted to classroom activities, homework, and social engagements. Photo by James Wasserman.
The infinite mystery of mathematics came into focus under the tutelage of Robert Ghrist, the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education and Andrea Mitchell University Professor at Penn Engineering. Ghrist, who served as an inaugural Faculty Co-Director for Penn First Plus, strives to make advanced math concepts accessible and appealing to broad audiences. Photo by James Wasserman.
Students peer into the microscope in a biology course offered by Penn Arts & Sciences. Each of Penn’s four schools offering undergraduate degrees—Penn Arts & Sciences, Penn Engineering, Penn Nursing, and Wharton—provide curricula for PFP designed to prepare students for the next four years of their academic careers. Photo by Eric Sucar.
Students listen intently to a lecture in the PFP Nursing Science course, which uses an interdisciplinary approach to study the disease diabetes mellitus (DM). The course, which also includes elements of physical assessment and nursing interventions, is designed to provide an introduction to the Penn Nursing curriculum and related skills using DM as its framework. Photo by James Wasserman.
PFP students work hard, and they play hard, too. The program’s “Study Breaks” are opportunities to unwind and socialize. PFP peer mentors energetically design and lead these activities. Here, PFP participants enjoy a Study Break dance session led by peer mentors and members of Onda Latina, a student-run, internationally recognized Latinx dance group at Penn. Photo by Eric Sucar.
Other extracurricular activities included the “Water Ice Social” held by the College of Arts & Sciences at the Penn LGBT Center, where PFP participants cooled off with a sweet treat and connected with their pre-major advisors and key campus resources. Founded in 1982, the LGBT Center is one of Penn’s six cultural resource centers, which work to promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging throughout the University community. Photo by James Wasserman.
Following the 2023 PFP closing ceremony, participants came together with faculty and staff affiliated with the program for a group photo on the steps of Fisher Fine Arts Library. PFP’s continued success is bolstered through support from devoted Penn alumni and friends, ensuring that outstanding students can experience the full breadth of a Penn education regardless of their financial or family circumstances. Photo by James Wasserman.
Header photo by James Wasserman.
