University of Pennsylvania
Greetings from the University of Pennsylvania! Founded as America’s first university in 1740 by founding father Benjamin Franklin, the University of Pennsylvania 一 or Penn (never to be confused with Penn State) 一 is a private research university where history has been and forever will be made. Just minutes away from Independence Hall, the birthplace of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, this Ivy League school located in University City, West Philadelphia, is the current home to about 10,000 diverse and ambitious undergraduate students.
And I happen to be one of them 一 as well as one out of every eight admitted students to the University of Pennsylvania Class of 2021 who were among the first in their families to apply to college. All first-generation, low-income (FGLI) students enrolled at Penn automatically belong to a community led by Penn First, a student organization that provides support and mentorship programs to FGLI students, so that we may never feel out of place in spite of the various obstacles we have yet to face as we embark upon each of our adventures here at Penn.
To scratch the surface of its legacy, the University of Pennsylvania is an academic paradise responsible for countless firsts, including establishing the first school of medicine, law lecture hall, school of business, student union building, and collegiate football stadium in the United States of America; and in more recent history, the first general-purpose electronic computer in the world. As a student interested in majoring in psychology, I myself was drawn to study and intern at the oldest continuously functioning psychology department in North America, where the fields of clinical psychology and positive psychology emerged at Penn and changed history.
Remembered as the “First American,” Benjamin Franklin had a vision (using the bifocals he invented) for the University of Pennsylvania, which came true as evidenced by its present-day academic rigor and excellence. Combining pre-professional studies with a liberal arts curriculum that emphasizes both classic and scientific exploration, Franklin’s proposal for education is the gold standard for colleges nationwide. Penn undergraduates discover passions as unique as their backgrounds among the School of Nursing, the School of Engineering and Applied Science, the Wharton School, and the College of Arts and Sciences in order to create knowledge with an open access to sunny Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a metropolitan community defined by a thoroughly American charm.
When it comes to classes, service, work-study, internships, research opportunities, extracurriculars, leadership positions 一 everything 一 the University of Pennsylvania is extremely competitive yet cooperative at the same time. As the “Social Ivy,” Penn really does live up to its “work hard, play hard” reputation. No matter how they manage their time, Penn students manage to invest their all into their passions. At the end of the day, hard work and true talent make the pursuit of happiness and the American Dream worth waking up for each morning.
To high school seniors applying to the perfect college, follow your heart. It will lead you through the college admission process, between the lines of the supplemental essays, past the interviews, and towards the school you ultimately belong. Here is a secret: there is no such thing as a dream school. The best school for you will accept you for all that you are, as long as you accept yourself for all that you have become upon turning in your masterpiece of an application. Good luck, prospective Quakers!
LO VE,
Caroline Solus, QuestBridge Scholar
