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Rachel Nierman holds a framed photograph of her family.[Photo illustration by Evan Goldin & Julia Zhou]

Scattered among the throngs of Long Islanders, Californians and international students that choose to attend Penn is a select group that hails from a much closer locale.

These students are the sons and daughters of Penn's professors, medical staff, administrators and janitors. Around 120 such students apply every year under the allure of special admissions considerations, tuition breaks and what many say ultimately results in closer family ties.

According to Dean of Admissions Lee Stetson, the admissions process for students whose parents are Penn employees is not nearly as rigorous.

"The University policy on admissions allows special consideration for students of faculty and staff," Stetson says. "We treat them as family members of the University [and] give them an extra special look."

However, in an era that stresses the importance of college rankings that have led to increasingly daunting admissions standards, simply having a parent on staff at Penn "does not guarantee admission," according to Stetson.

But there certainly are good reasons for the children of faculty and staff to make Penn their top choice for college. Perhaps the main reason -- which does not require a Wharton MBA to realize -- are the simple economics that often factor into the decision.

According to the University's Policy Number 407, the dependent children of "full-time faculty, regular full-time staff and limited service employees who have completed three years of full-time service at the University are eligible to receive tuition assistance."

That assistance, in the form of a scholarship equal to 75 percent of all tuition and technology costs, brings expenses down considerably.

In fact, for the 2003-2004 school year, after room and board, these students would pay a grand total of $15,971, as compared to the standard $37,960.

And, for those long-standing employees that have been serving the University since before July 1, 1997, the rewards are even greater. The children of those staff members receive a full tuition waiver.

College sophomore Kali Alexander, whose mother Sherrill Alexander works in the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania's Central Processing Unit, says that some of her friends joke that she goes to Penn for free -- which is not far from the truth.

Making the deal even sweeter, the children of those employees can go to any of Penn's graduate schools on the University's dime. Wharton's MBA program and the schools of Medicine, Dental Medicine, Veterinary Medicine and Law are the exceptions -- for those degrees, Penn will only pay 75 percent of tuition.

However, it appears that the generous scholarships offered by the University are not the only factors in the decision-making process for eligible students.

"I think the scholarship is helpful, but it's a good school, and [my mother] just happens to work here," said College sophomore Nicholas Pulos, whose mom, Anne-Marie Knott, is a Wharton professor.

Adding to that freedom are another set of benefits reserved for certain employees. Aside from the scholarships offered to attend Penn, some high-level University workers are offered compensation packages that provide for scholarships no matter where their children attend college.

College freshman Judy Lavi, whose father Ehud Lavi is a neuropathologist at HUP, said these incentives applied to her.

"Because of the benefits that he gets, they pay the same amount for Penn as for any other school," Lavi said of her father's contract.

However, despite the advantages of being a Quaker, students still question whether they want to work alongside their mothers or fathers in their hometown for four years.

For Pulos, that debate was not a difficult one, as it was expected that he would apply to Penn coming out of high school.

"It was kind of a given that I would apply, but there was no pressure to go here," Pulos says. His mother "was indifferent as to whether or not I would go here."

Pulos was not the only one to experience a lack of parental pressure.

College sophomore Joshua Shaneson, the son of Mathematics Department Chairman Julius Shaneson, says that although his parents encouraged him to attend Penn, the ultimate decision was his.

"They would be happy for me to go anywhere else," Shaneson says. "But it would have to be a good enough reason to offset all the good things that come along with going to Penn."

In return for substantial tuition discounts comes the added bonus of having a parent only steps away. While constant access to extra lunch money may be nice, a surprise dormitory room visit in the midst of the hall beer pong finals may not be as welcome.

But some students are more than happy to have their parents nearby.

Alexander says that she gets to see her mother more than she did before coming to Penn.

"She takes the train into work early, so I would never see her in high school," Alexander says. "But now that we're both in the city, I see her all the time."

Shaneson also likes being close to his father.

"I really enjoy having my dad around and being able to see him a lot," Shaneson says. "It is a challenge in terms of personal independence in some ways, but in the end, it is definitely a positive."

Pulos also thinks that the experience, although unique, is a positive one.

"I definitely have a different experience than other people because I run into my mom on campus," Pulos says. "I can get free meals sometimes when I run out of money."

Additionally, Shaneson feels that the physical proximity has actually strengthened the relationship he has with his father.

"I see my dad almost every day," says Shaneson, adding that "it is one of the best parts of being at Penn."

Shaneson's father agrees.

"We see each other when we want to, and it's really very nice," the elder Shaneson says.

He went on to add that he and his son are now able to avoid the "little collisions" that plague people who live in the same house.

College junior Rachel Nierman, whose father Eliot Nierman is a Penn physician, grew up having Penn practically in her backyard -- being from Center City, she was literally across the river from Penn.

And when the time came to choose a college, she had initial reservations about going to a school that had "the same skyline."

"For me, it was the city that was holding me back," Nierman says. "I always had that idea of college being somewhere else besides Philadelphia."

But despite her initial reservations about staying so close to home, she eventually decided that Penn was the right fit.

"My parents told me they can make Penn feel as far away or as close to home as I want it to be ... . I took [them] to be honest on [their] word."

She went on to say that while the tuition benefit is "an added plus," her parents "did not want that to affect my decision."

Despite the average teenage mentality that necessitates getting as far away from parents as possible, it appears that these students have found their ideal closer to home. The equation of the right school at the right price, in addition to a local address, seems to make sense in the end.

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