IVY League Possible??? Social Scene???

College Search & Selection
33

<p>A characterization of Penn as “pretentious, or blue-blooded and rich” “because they seem to have a very high admittance rate for legacies” is belied by the facts.</p>

<p>First, only 15% of the Class of 2011 are legacies–that’s 360 out of 2400 students:</p>

<p>[Penn</a> Admissions: Incoming Class Profile](<a href=“http://www.admissionsug.upenn.edu/profile/]Penn”>http://www.admissionsug.upenn.edu/profile/)</p>

<p>I’d bet that the other schools you’re considering have similar percentages of legacies in their undergraduate student bodies.</p>

<p>Second, about 40% of Penn undergrads receive financial aid, with 524 members of the Class of 2011 coming from families with annual incomes of less than $90,000 (meaning there are 1 1/2 times as many students from that background as there are legacies), and 284 of those students come from families with annual incomes of less than $50,000:</p>

<p>[A</a> Look at the Facts, Comparing Penn’s Cost](<a href=“http://www.sfs.upenn.edu/paying/paying-pro-look-at-the-facts.htm]A”>Submit My Documents | Penn Student Registration & Financial Services| Penn Srfs)</p>

<p>Again, as percentages of the entire freshman class, these numbers are comparable to the other schools you’re considering.</p>

<p>Third, as I pointed out in post #22, above, many Penn students are heavily involved in community service and social activisim and advocacy.</p>

<p>Fourth, Penn has had the highest percentage of international students in its entering class of any national university in the country (including, of course, the entire Ivy League):</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/374418-national-universities-percent-international-students-recent-freshman-class.html?highlight=international[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/374418-national-universities-percent-international-students-recent-freshman-class.html?highlight=international&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>So to sum up, be careful about accepting overly simplistic stereotypes and generalizations you may hear about schools, especially ones with undergraduate student bodies as large (10,000) and diverse as Penn’s.</p>