A big part of becoming a member of ISP involves not only the benefits of living in Hill College House, but sharing your initial college learning experiences with your fellow ISPers. You will be learning together, living together, discussing Descartes in the food halls, staying up late combing over the virtues of different political theorists from Aristotle to Arendt, helping one another to figure out the different stages of modern cosmological theories such as the Big Bang, or collaboratively writing your own re-interpretations of Milton's Paradise Lost.
At the same time, you will get the opportunity to connect with a network of upper classman who have gone through ISP and are currently BFS in the college. This network of students can be critical in helping to guide your initial studies in ISP but it also lays the foundation for collaborations and good friendships as you go through your Penn experience. ISP students have gone on to form residential living arrangements like the Integrated Living Program which fosters continued interdisciplinary work. The intensity of the ISP experience establishes lasting friendships and intellectual collaborations that continue well beyond your first-year experience.