Minority Weekend offers taste of Penn

Students from across the country saw the social and academic side of Penn. Prospective students from across the country got a taste of Penn this week as part of the University's annual Minority Scholars Weekend. Unlike previous years, this year's program -- which overlapped with Penn Preview Days -- was held after the visiting students had already received letters of acceptance. But the late timing -- right before the end of classes and final exams -- made finding hosts for the visiting students somewhat difficult. "It's hard to host now because it's crunch time, so I can understand why we had trouble finding hosts at first," said Seung Lee, co-admissions liaison for the United Minorities Council. Despite the initial difficulties, however, the College sophomore said he was forced to turn down hosts by the end of the application process because too many had expressed interest. Many of the visiting students had attended Minority Scholars Weekends at other schools as well. "I definitely think that so many of the visiting students will choose Penn over other schools because of this weekend's success," said former UMC chairperson and College senior Susie Lee, who hosted a student this weekend. And Seung Lee said almost everyone he spoke to had listed Penn as his top choice after visiting this weekend. "I think the weekend has always been very successful because it's not only a time for the [prospective] students to see Penn, but a time for them to mingle with Penn students and ask questions which they might not feel comfortable asking admissions officers," said Karen Chance, co-admissions liaison for the UMC. Other hosts emphasized the necessity of Minority Scholars Weekend, marking it as an essential way of retaining a minority presence on campus. "The Admissions Office needs to do more recruiting -- this needs to be a continuous, ongoing, year-long process," said Chance, a College sophomore. The weekend started off on a bit of a rocky note, according to Susie Lee, who said "I think [the event] was a little frustrating in the beginning, because registration was disorganized -- the Admissions Office could have improved a lot on that." Despite the frustration, the prospective students received a comprehensive view of the University, as the students saw both the social and academic facets of the University. Although the students spent much time exploring independently, they met the UMC and other ethnic groups, received a tour of Philadelphia, went to a few parties and discussed the academic and financial support programs at the University throughout the duration of their stay. The hosts said their students spent much time on their own this weekend exploring the University's diversity. "I think Penn can be very segregated, but it is also what you make of it," said College junior Kiyana Bernardo, who served as a host. "Since there are so many programs that cater to different programs on campus, it is important for [the prospective students] to be individuals and meet as many different kinds of people as possible," she added. Although the prospective students are also looking at universities such as Harvard, Duke, Johns Hopkins and Virginia, the hosts of the weekend said the high schoolers seemed impressed with Penn. "I know the two students I hosted really enjoyed the performing arts night, meeting other ethnic and cultural organizations on campus, and just spending time with other scholars," Bernardo said.

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