As part of the Quaker Days festivities, a student engages with an admitted family during the Locust Walk Fair on April 14.
Credit: Benjamin McAvoy-BickfordHundreds of admitted students visited Penn’s campus for Quaker Days between April 13 and April 15 marking a return to all-day events.
Each Quaker Day included a Class of 2027 welcome and opening session, campus tours led by the Kite and Key Society, and academic programming specific to each school and dual-degree program. The days concluded with a “The Last Hurrah” celebration at the Palestra.
Last year, Quaker Days returned to in-person programming following a hiatus of two years due to COVID-19. The programming spanned over five days between April 11 and April 19 with morning and afternoon session options.
A Penn Admissions spokesperson wrote in an email to The Daily Pennsylvanian that Penn Admissions is "thrilled to welcome" students through virtual and on-campus programs throughout April.
“I think Kite and Key has been really making sure that there’s a variety of ways that students can engage with the campus when they get accepted, despite COVID-19 and everything,” College and Wharton sophomore and Kite and Key tour guide Alicia Xiong said.
Each registered student for Quaker Days was limited to one guest. Visitors were strongly recommended to use face coverings while indoors.
Vice Provost and Dean of Admissions Whitney Soule welcomes admitted students and their families at Irvine Auditorium on April 14.
The Kite and Key Society led both general campus tours and academic programming centered tours during Quaker Days, according to Xiong.
“We have special tours that are a little bit shorter and more targeted … on things like housing and resources that are available on campus, so it’s a lot more directed,” Xiong said.
College senior and Kite and Key President Brittany Darrow, a former DP staffer, said that virtual programming, which started because of the pandemic, helped students who do not have the ability to attend Quaker Days in-person experience campus.
This year's Quaker Days marks the first in which the Kite and Key tour guides received compensation from Penn following a shift to a paid model beginning last semester. According to Darrow, this change increased tour guides’ internal and external motivation to perform well for incoming students.
"Each day will move through iconic spaces across campus, including Irvine Auditorium, Locust Walk, the Palestra, and various academic facilities, and will include a variety of student performances and experiences that will highlight student research and campus life," a Penn spokesperson wrote in discussion of the plans.
The April 14 Quaker Day included a Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships Poster Symposium in Houston Hall’s Reading Room. This event focused on the diversity of research done by Penn undergraduates and provided the incoming class an opportunity to learn about different ways to get involved with academic research.
Incoming Wharton freshman Madeline LaSata said she attended Quaker Days to learn more about campus and about student organizations through the club fair.
“I felt like I didn’t have a good feel of what the campus was previously, so I wanted to get a better feel for where I would be living,” LaSata said.
Admitted students can also connect with their peers through the Penn Admitted Students Network, managed by Penn Admissions.
Darrow said that the best part of Quaker Day celebrations would have to be the students — introducing and then seeing them on campus, especially once the school year begins.
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