Perspective Sidebar: The pressures and privileges of a Quaker family

For many legacy students, the benefits of having alumni connections extend beyond the reassurance gained during the application process.

These connections also helped put Penn in their minds as they begun to consider various schools - even though some had doubts about following in their family's footsteps.

College sophomore Lauren Cowen said she is happy she finally chose Penn, but that, at first, she felt torn because she wanted to make sure she was choosing Penn for the right reasons.

"For me, I was almost turned off by the fact that a lot of my family had gone here," Cowen - whose parents and older brother went to Penn - said. "Early on, I didn't think to consider it, but, as I grew older, I realized that it was a good school for me."

College senior Kyle Madden-Peister , whose father went to Penn, also understood that having an alumni connection would help him.

"The basis of me looking at Penn was because of my father," he said.

These students also felt that their early exposure to Penn helped them when they entered freshman year.

Dubroff, who said he directed his fellow freshmen to parties during NSO, found that his familiarity with Penn made the adjustment to college life much smoother.

"I haven't really worried about finding my way around," he said. "It's freed me up so I can focus on other things."

Cowen agreed, saying she knew more about Penn due to past visits with her family than if she had just attended a campus tour.

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