All Penn students have the opportunity to experience a small, liberal arts education -- but it just might not happen on campus.
The Quaker Consortium, which includes Bryn Mawr, Haverford and Swarthmore colleges as well as Penn, is a program in which students in one school can take classes at any of the others.
"It's a nice way to add a dimension to a student's experience," said Steve Heacock, executive director of marketing and communications at Haverford.
Yet the Quaker Consortium is little-known among Penn students, and less than five students from the University participate in the program each semester, according to Godlove Fonjweng, an assistant dean for advising in the College.
"That's the sad part about it -- for a very good program like this, the numbers are very low," Fonjweng said.
These numbers differ greatly compared to those of other schools in the consortium.
Last semester, about 125 to 150 Bryn Mawr students took classes at Penn, according to Nancy McCool, an assistant registrar at Bryn Mawr.
Most students who take part in the Quaker Consortium do so because they wish to take classes that aren't offered in their own colleges.
"The languages are quite popular," said McCool, who noted Hindi, Bengali, Vietnamese and Korean as languages that students choose to take at Penn.
Kennette Banks, a junior at Swarthmore, took three semesters of American Sign Language at Penn.
"There's no sign language program at Swarthmore," Banks said. "I was able to get credit for it, so it was a good deal."
The consortium not only serves as a means for students to take classes that are not offered in their own schools, but also as an opportunity "to experience another campus," according to Fonjweng.
"It's a cultural experience for the students to go to a city campus and experience the pluses and minuses of that," said Diane Collings, an associate registrar at Swarthmore College.
Students noted the difference in attending schools of larger size.
"It's not as comfortable," Banks said. "Penn is more intimidating."
Amanda Pitt, a College senior, took a class on constitutional law at Swarthmore in the spring of her sophomore year, even though the class was offered at Penn.
"I thought it'd be fun to take a class at another college," Pitt said. "I learned more in that class than I have in any other class, and I really enjoyed it" even though "the class was much harder than any class I've taken at Penn."
Pitt said she also noticed a difference in atmosphere at Swarthmore.
"It's very intense ... everyone's really socially and educationally involved," said Pitt, noting that Swarthmore students were "driven to learn, driven to forward their education," rather than caring about their grades.
However, the commute to and from the schools proved to be difficult.
College junior Trina Gordon took an advanced painting class at Haverford last semester, and she said she had a "bad experience."
"The class was phenomenal, but the logistics of getting there were really awful ... I was constantly late," she said. She had to set aside about two hours per day just for travel.
Additionally, Penn does not pay for or subsidize the costs of transportation, whereas the other three schools do.
Pitt spent close to $300 on transportation over the course of the semester. But despite the inconveniences of commuting back and forth to the schools, she said she she had a rewarding experience.
The Quaker Consortium
The consortium is an agreement between local universities and colleges that allows students to take classes for credit at any of the participating schools. They are: University of Pennsylvania: Penn usually sends a disproportionately small number of students to other schools through the program Bryn Mawr College: This all-female college sent 125 to 150 students to Penn last semester. Bryn Mawr students can major at Haverford without any additional fees Haverford College: Like the other two liberal arts schools, Haverford reimburses students for the cost the transportation Swarthmore College: Some students who take classes at Penn report that they are easier than those at Swarthmore
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