Coming to an entirely new country, especially after only just really feeling settled at home in Edinburgh in second year, is obviously incredibly intimidating. For me, too, coming to the University of Pennsylvania as a third year from a different country made me worry that I would struggle to fit in with the general student culture here. Luckily, I’ve found that my fears were totally untrue, and at Penn I’ve found a community that’s accepted me with open arms despite my status as an exchange. To that end, I thought I’d impart a few of the things I’ve learned about social life from my year here, so that those coming in future (or just anyone interested) might become a little more informed.

Greek Life (Fraternities and Sororities)

Let’s start with the elephant in the room. Yes, “Greek life”, as it’s known (due to the letters frats and sororities generally use to name themselves) absolutely exists at Penn and at a large proportion of US schools. While they may seem equal parts eye-rolling and terrifying to an incoming exchange student, they’re largely not as insane as they’re often made to seem. The culture varies massively between organisations depending on the specific one: some are like the ones you’d expect to see based on stereotypes in film and media, but a lot of them (especially the ones that I’ve made friends with while here) are much less intense, and are generally just tight groups of friends who live, hang out, and go out together.

While not the case for exchanges at Penn, several of my friends at other schools have been able to join frats and sororities, so it may be possible if that’s more your speed. And yes, frats do throw semi-regular parties that make up a major part of the social life here: while you need to be 21 to drink at these given the laws here (which I’ll get onto later), entering is only 18+. A lot of these go on during NSO, Penn’s equivalent of fresher’s week, so I’d definitely recommend going to some of those to meet people and see which kind of groups and places you like. Far more important than officially joining is making friends and having fun, and I’ve been lucky to be able to do a lot of that here.

Going Out

On that topic, going out generally was a big adjustment in a country where, initially, I wasn’t even able to legally drink. You can have a lot of fun at parties before you’re 21, too. But once you are of age, alcohol laws vary a lot depending on the state you’re in, so definitely do some research before arriving. In Pennsylvania, at least, liquor has to be bought from state-owned stores (which are within walking distance of campus), and, much like Scotland, alcohol can’t be bought from any shops after 10 pm, so plan accordingly.

Nightlife in Philadelphia is an awesome time and I definitely recommend exploring beyond your campus while you’re here. Worth noting, though, is that a lot of places don’t take foreign IDs aside from passports—nonetheless, a few of my friends have gotten official driving licenses here (especially given that public transport is essentially non-existent outside of the north-eastern US), so look into learning if you’d like to avoid any risk of losing your means of getting home.

Events and Clubs on Campus

The typical, very integrated American campus life is huge at Penn. Clubs are hugely important to your daily, pre-professional and social life. I’ve had some unforgettable experiences out of the ones I’ve joined here: from running and attending conferences through the Model UN club, training and playing on the Ultimate Frisbee team, to writing articles and covering events with the student newspaper here. Even more so than at home, there will be a club out there for whatever you’re interested in: put yourself out there and get involved!

Another huge factor to life here is the big “school spirit” weekends: major events in the year where everyone gets together to celebrate. A few of the bigger ones include homecoming—the last (American) football game of the year and an excuse for a school merch bonanza—the classic St Patrick’s day where campus becomes awash with green, or the upcoming Spring Fling, where the school throws a massive concert to celebrate the weather warming up again as the year comes to a close. These are some of my favourite memories of the year, as they really enhance the sense of community and togetherness that is so central to the American university experience.

Everyone’s exchange experience is bound to be different: hopefully, some of what I’ve learned proves useful in working it out for yourself. My overall advice is just to get stuck in: you’ve only got a limited time here, so make sure you make the most of it while you can. You’ll cherish the memories and friends you make here for a long time.

—AB x