Penn forming strategy to exit areas affected by Hurricane Katrina

The School of Social Policy and Practice hosted a Hurricane Katrina study group at the Sheraton Hotel April 29-May 1. The Schools of Engineering and Applied Science, Dental Medicine, Nursing and Design, as well as the Fox Leadership Program have worked for the last three years with other universities and the public welfare offices in Hancock County, Miss.

Law students face job deferrals

Though almost all students graduating from Penn Law have secured full-time jobs, about a fifth face staggered starting dates and may have to go for as long as a year after graduation with no full-time job. Those deferred will receive moderate stipends to do public service work while waiting for their jobs to start. As a result, many will have to delay repaying student loans and find alternative health insurance until the deferral period ends.

Report aims to help students with private loans

By SAYANI MUKHERJEE Staff Writer mukherjee@dailypennsylvanian.com A report published this month by the National Consumer Law Center aims to help students with private loans who would otherwise have difficulty making payments. Titled, "Too Small to Help - The plight of Financially Distressed Private Student Loan Borrowers," the report was developed by the NCLC's Student Loan Borrower Assistance Project.

Ph.D. applicants up, admits not | Interactive graph

Despite significant increases in the numbers of applicants to Penn's Ph.D. programs, the number of acceptances at most schools will remain relatively similar to past years. Some schools, such as the School of Arts and Sciences, School of Medicine, Graduate School of Education and School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, saw smaller increases in applications, while others, such as Wharton and the Annenberg School for Communication, reported much larger increases.

Ph.D. programs see rise in applicants, but admit rates remain steady

Despite significant increases in the numbers of applicants to Penn's Ph.D. programs, the number of acceptances at most schools will remain relatively similar to past years.=Only 10 of Penn's 12 graduate schools offer Ph.D. programs - the School of Law and the School of Dental Medicine do not.

GAPSA releases list of best landlords

The best landlords are those east of the Schuylkill River, according to the Graduate and Professional Students Assembly's Landlord Survey. That was one of the principal findings in GAPSA's survey that rates landlords in the area based on 1,200 responses collected November through February.

New GAPSA chair Corbett Brown plans to continue past projects | Audio

Last week, the Graduate and Professional Students Assembly elected its new executive board, which will take effect May 1. Nursing Ph.D. student Corbett Brown, the new chairman, has been an assembly member since last September. He sat down with The Daily Pennsylvanian to discuss his goals for next year.

Wharton to cosign loans with Digital Federal Credit Union

Wharton announced yesterday that it will cosign loans with Digital Federal Credit Union for international MBA students who lack a U.S. credit-worthy cosigner. The loans can help pay tuition as well as living expenses and can also offer low interest rates, no origination fees - a processing fee - and attentive customer service.

Study: Financial uncertainty a problem for international grad students | Interactive feature

In today's economic climate, financial uncertainty is problematic for many international students applying to U.S. universities for graduate study - and a Council of Graduate Schools survey released last week confirmed these concerns. Based on preliminary numbers of international graduate applicants, the survey found that doctoral applications increased over the past year, but master's applications decreased.

Organizational Dynamics program teaches sustainable development

Dow Advanced Materials, a chemical company formerly known as Rohm and Haas, recently donated an undisclosed six-figure amount to the School of Arts and Sciences' Department of Organizational Dynamics. The Rohm and Haas gift will be used over three years to create a concentration in Organizational Dynamics' Master of Philosophy and Master of Science programs and a sustainable development graduate certificate program.

GAPSA asks U. to fight legislation

The Graduate and Professional Student Assembly passed a resolution March 25 to raise awareness among students and faculty about the Grassley-Sanders Amendment to the federal stimulus bill. The amendment, passed by the Senate unanimously in February, places restrictions on the hiring of foreign workers holding H-1B visas by companies receiving Troubled Asset Relief Program funding.

Students think 'Beyond Water' at global forum

Last week, a group of 14 students traveled halfway across the world to address global water issues at the the fifth World Water Forum. Attendance at the event - which took place in Istanbul, Turkey - was required for the students, all taking Earth and Environmental Science professor Stanley Laskowski's course, "Global Water Issues," which specifically centers around the Forum for the semester.

University will co-sign international grad students' loans

To aid students struggling to pay tuition costs as a result of recent economic downfalls, Penn's Board of Trustees passed a resolution last month stating that Penn will share risk with a U.S. bank that has yet to be named in order to to secure loans for international students.

Study says U.S. engineering schools lack hands-on coursework

The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching studied 40 U.S. engineering schools last month and found that most schools heavily emphasize textbook learning rather than hands-on experience, leaving students unprepared for the real world. But while some School of Engineering and Applied Sciences students say this is the case, others say they are happy with their courses' practicability.

Stimulus will fund research and renovations

Many at Penn praise Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) for his instrumental work to increase the National Institutes of Health's budget by 34 percent in the stimulus package President Barack Obama signed Feb 17. Yet the unclear time frame for and method of distributing stimulus funding has caused much anticipation.

Engineering students lack real-world preparation, study finds

The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching studied 40 U.S. engineering schools last month and found that most schools place heavy emphasis on textbook learning and not enough on hands-on experience, leaving students unprepared for the real world.

Students redesign a city across the world

Graduate studios in the School of Design sometimes travel across the world to work on real-life, client-based projects. Past groups have worked on projects in the Netherlands, Venezuela and India. Students in Michael Larice's graduate Urban Design Studio, called The Public Realm, returned from a trip to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates to create a plan to redesign the city's Central Business District.

Penn research leads the way across iBridge

Penn is leading the way for research in nanotechnology. About 900 Penn-based innovations are listed on iBridge Network, an online forum to facilitate an exchange between researchers and companies looking to license new technology. The site was launched in 2005 by the Kauffman Foundation, one of the largest in the country that supports innovation and entrepreneurship.

Top business schools use GRE-GMAT comparison tool | Interactive graphic

For most MBA aspirants, getting the perfect GMAT score is a major part of securing a seat in a good business school. However, the Education Testing Service has developed a GRE-GMAT comparison tool that allows a student to apply to business school with a GRE score.

Some scale back for Valentine's Day

For Leandra Kern, a staff member at the School of Engineering and Applied Science, Valentine's Day last year meant a ski trip to Vermont with her boyfriend. But the state of the economy this year has forced them to take their celebration down a notch. "We are doing dinner and a few presents this year, nothing big," said Kern.