Admitted students explore Locust Walk during Quaker Days festivities on April 13.
Credit: Jackson FordOver 1,400 newly admitted students visited Penn's campus for Quaker Days from April 11 to April 13, with the all-day events continuing despite wind and rain.
Programming this year featured an opening ceremony at Irvine Auditorium, a student life fair on Locust Walk, campus tours hosted by the Kite and Key Society, and panels directed towards specific schools and dual-degree programs. Each Quaker Day ended with the “The Last Hurrah,” where students gathered in the Palestra and watched several performances by student groups at Penn.
Several incoming students told The Daily Pennsylvanian that they appreciated the opportunity to learn about Penn's academic offerings and experience the activity of campus life firsthand.
Penn released its admissions results for regular decision applicants on March 28, following a record-breaking cycle with over 65,000 applications. 1,515 students registered for Quaker Days and 1,475 attended across the three days, a Penn Admissions representative wrote in a statement to the DP.
Other events open to incoming students included a tour of the Penn Museum, 60-Second faculty lectures, and a spring research symposium hosted by the Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships. The weather did not significantly impact the programming of the event, and activities that were planned to take place outdoors remained outdoors.
“We’d been planning for the possibility of rain for many weeks, so we had appropriate back-up plans and a lot of rain ponchos to share with our guests,” Penn Admissions wrote.
Incoming Engineering first year Karina Gupta said that she initially “didn’t want to be here” because of the weather, but her mood quickly lifted after the rain stopped.
“We were all talking about how much of a difference weather makes on your view of the school,” Karina said. “We were like, ‘Oh, my God, it’s so depressing.’ But as soon as it became sunny outside, we saw people walking around, and everyone just seemed happier.”
Karina is a triplet whose two other siblings were also admitted to Penn. One of them, incoming Wharton first year Gia Gupta, accompanied her to Quaker Days, as their other sibling had visited the day before. Unlike Karina, Gia is not yet set on coming to Penn, but she said that her Quaker Day experience “definitely” positively influenced her decision.
“From everyone I met, everyone seems so kindhearted and welcoming,” Gia said.
She added that her favorite part of the day was walking on Locust Walk and experiencing campus in full swing.
“I think what’s really nice is that it creates a space for serendipitous interactions,” Gia said. “When you’re walking around, you can just find someone else walking near you and talk to them. It allows you to bond with other admitted students and talk to them about if they’re interested in choosing Penn.”
For incoming Engineering first year Harini Thiagarajan, the academic programming was her favorite part of Quaker Days. She said that she enjoyed the Engineering Campus tour at Levine Hall, where she was able to visit the labs and other engineering facilities at Penn.
“You could see a bunch of students just being very involved and hands-on with their research at labs,” Thiagarajan said. “I thought it was really cool to be able to be in that space.”
Incoming Engineering first year Christian Kim has also not yet completely decided on coming to Penn, but he said that Quaker Days was “helpful” in his decision making process.
“I liked learning about the school and seeing the campus because I just like seeing and making sure that I can envision myself here in the future,” Kim said.
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