Does the workload ever affect your personal life?

Answered

Workload can vary significantly depending on how many courses you take and how rigorous those courses are. Students will take an average of four classes per semester, which is usually challenging but manageable. However, you will still see some students taking upwards of 5 classes. For many Penn students, work bleeds into their personal life. It's common for entire social groups to be formed around academic/career pursuits. This can be great if one is sincerely excited about the work they do and eager to build community around it but perhaps, not as great if you like to keep work endeavors and friends separate. You'll have more agency over how you structure your time in college than you did in high school which makes having strong executive function skills (aka adaptable thinking, planning, self-monitoring, time management, and organization) an asset. Obviously Penn is an academically rigorous school but if you choose your classes intentionally and develop strong executive function, you can build a schedule that allows you to prioritize self-care and personal relationships!