Senior columnist Diya Choksey shares why she chose Penn and offers an insider’s sneak peek for the admitted class.
Credit: Ellie PirtleDear Class of 2029,
First, congratulations. You’ve done something extraordinary — not just because the numbers say so, and not because Ivy League admissions are edging into Nobel Prize-level territory, but because I know exactly what it feels like to get here. The sleepless nights over that one extra problem set. The ACT grammar-induced existential meltdowns. The months of waiting and wondering, all culminating in one looming question: Is this the right place for me?
When I got into Penn, I didn’t cry. I didn’t scream. I just sat there, wide awake at 5 a.m., clutching my childhood pillow, trying to process it. After being deferred, I’d buried my Penn merch and made peace with the possibility of rejection. And then, like every ex whose photos you had just deleted, Penn came back.
Maybe that’s where you are now. Texting friends, deep-diving into Reddit threads, and stalking the DP. Waiting for a sign. I won’t pretend to have all the answers. But I can tell you this: I would choose Penn again. Every time.
Let’s get this out of the way: the stereotypes? Probably all true. We’re more than a little preprofessional. Philadelphia has its questionable moments. The weather makes no sense. And yes, someone really did organize a Luigi Mangione lookalike contest.
But there’s also so much more the stereotypes don’t capture.
Right now, I’m writing this SABS-ing (you’ll learn what that means soon) by the ARCH on a warm spring afternoon. There are cherry blossoms above and music in the background. Students are handing out flyers for clubs, shows, protests — most of which I’ll forget to attend but take anyway. Because that’s the thing about Penn: It’s not just the buildings or classes. It’s the energy. The hum of movement. The constant feeling that something is happening, whether that’s Mark Cuban casually swinging by campus or the infamous Econ Scream echoing through Locust Walk.
No matter how long you’re here, there’s always more to discover: a tucked away Joe’s Café I found too late, a shortcut I wish I’d known before that 8:30 a.m. lecture, a class that quietly but permanently changed the way I think. Faces on Locust Walk that slowly became familiar then essential. For a city girl like me, Penn somehow feels like a small town (with the privilege of a skyline just 15 minutes away).
Of course, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. Our Instagram feeds from Saint Patrick’s Day or the Super Bowl parade don’t show the all-nighter that came before. There are mornings during finals season when giving up feels dangerously close. But then, the next day comes. And somehow, you stay. You grow. You find something new to look forward to, like a late-night Kiwi run with friends or screaming your lungs out at Spring Fling.
Part of what makes Penn extraordinary is also what makes it intimidating. You’ll meet people who’ve published novels, launched companies, and competed in the Olympics. You might never be the most impressive person in the room again. And you’ll be rejected and humbled — far too many times to count. But all of this is also exactly what pushes you. You begin to realize the ceilings you once imagined for yourself were never real. You stop seeing rejection as a mirror and start using it as a fuel to reflect and recalibrate. Slowly, comparison gives way to curiosity. Envy softens to admiration. In just two semesters, I don’t think I would’ve grown this much anywhere else.
I know elite universities are under scrutiny lately, and Penn isn’t immune. We have hard questions to answer here as we imagine the kind of institution we want to be. But I don’t believe you can hate a place into becoming better. You have to love it enough to expect more from it — and care enough to expect more from yourself inside of it.
And that’s how I feel about Penn. It’s not always easy. It’s not always fun. But it is, without question, one of the most meaningful places I’ve ever had the privilege to be.
So if you’re sitting there, undecided and uncertain, still refreshing that Reddit thread, I won’t tell you what to do. But I will say this: I would choose Penn again. One thousand times over.
And I hope you give yourself the chance to experience it too.
DIYA CHOKSEY is a College first year studying cognitive science from Mumbai, India. Her email is dchoksey@sas.upenn.edu.
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