More students than ever are staying in Philadelphia after graduation.
17 percent of the Class of 2014 reported graduating to work in the Philadelphia area — up 3 percent from the Class of 2013, according to Director of Career Services Patricia Rose.
“I would agree that more students are now looking for or considering full-time employment in Philadelphia after graduation,” Rose said. “Of course depending on their career interests, some students may focus their search in New York City or other areas, but that is not because they are less-satisfied with Philadelphia.”
Wharton junior Lauren Lauer is one of the many that will be working in Philadelphia this summer. Lauer will work as an analyst at LLR Partners, a private equity firm. She came across the opportunity through Penn’s on-campus recruiting.
“It was one of the few private equity firms listed and I knew that’s what I wanted to do,” Lauer said. “I looked at New York and Washington but in the end, I was happy to live in Philly since I already rent a house here.”
Lauer also said that a majority of her friends will be working in Philadelphia this summer. However, “post graduation, I’d prefer to live in New York City,” Lauer said.
Though trends still favor New York over Philadelphia for Penn graduates, more than two-thirds of Philadelphians recently surveyed said they feel positive about the trajectory of the city and that they expect it to improve more over the next five years, according to a poll conducted by The Pew Charitable Trusts. This was the highest rating in the poll’s history since 2009.
When he spoke at Penn at the Division of Public Safety Commendation Ceremony on Apr. 2, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter confirmed that the student retention rate in Philadelphia is higher than ever.
“Eight years ago, we were holding on to about 29 percent of our nonnative Philadelphia college or university students,” Nutter said. “Today, that number is 49 percent. It is one of the many reasons why we have seen population growth officially for one of the first times in 60 years.”
“More and more young people come here, not only for a great education, but they come here to stay,” Nutter said.
Correction: A previous version of this article stated that a poll cited in this article was conducted by the Pew Research Center. The poll was conducted by The Pew Charitable Trusts. The DP regrets the error.
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