Penn Quaker Days

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went to Penn Admitted Students Day for DC1 and found the parents there to similar to what OP described. A bit uptight and shouldering others.

Was just at the UChicago Open House this weekend for DC2 and I thought it was much better. Down to earth parents. One thing that bothered me was when the professor in the mock Philosophy class asked questions for the students, the parents raised their hands and detracted from the students’ answers.

It's the midwest. I grew up in Michigan and lived in Chicago for over a decade -- that things were better at U Chicago doesn't surprise me.

[Anonymous]

Sorry to hear this. At the admitted student day we attended (for another Ivy) swag was given to the students at registration. Not to parents

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went to Penn Admitted Students Day for DC1 and found the parents there to similar to what OP described. A bit uptight and shouldering others.

Was just at the UChicago Open House this weekend for DC2 and I thought it was much better. Down to earth parents. One thing that bothered me was when the professor in the mock Philosophy class asked questions for the students, the parents raised their hands and detracted from the students’ answers.

At UChicago I saw a manic mom grabbing 5 pairs of branded socks from the table. The look on the staffs’ faces was truly hilarious. Otherwise, agree

[Anonymous]

Ou my, how awful!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:wish they separated the students from the parents in some events. parents were grabbing the free swag and hogging up the tables.

Agreed! Parents of Penn admits seemed obnoxious and clout-chasing.

I had the same impression. I was surprised how many parents rubbed me the wrong way during breakfast, the arts & sci break out, and open house. Everyone seemed to radiate a very intense competitive energy. I remember thinking, "calm down, your kid got into a school with so many resources, enjoy it" but many seemed to be sizing up the other parents, grabbing merch or asking me directly (after a brief hi) which other schools my kid got into and asking me to name names. Weird energy for sure.

Were we at the same event? I experienced NONE of this. All the parents and kids were perfectly fine. I did not notice any type of "clout chasing" or asking of inappropriate or socially inept questions. Is this a you problem? And where on earth were they "grabbing merch"? The only place they were really giving out "merch" was at check-in and it was a very orderly process. None of this is consistent with our experience - but then again, I wasn't looking for issues to get worked up in a tizzy over.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:wish they separated the students from the parents in some events. parents were grabbing the free swag and hogging up the tables.

Agreed! Parents of Penn admits seemed obnoxious and clout-chasing.

I had the same impression. I was surprised how many parents rubbed me the wrong way during breakfast, the arts & sci break out, and open house. Everyone seemed to radiate a very intense competitive energy. I remember thinking, "calm down, your kid got into a school with so many resources, enjoy it" but many seemed to be sizing up the other parents, grabbing merch or asking me directly (after a brief hi) which other schools my kid got into and asking me to name names. Weird energy for sure.

Were we at the same event? I experienced NONE of this. All the parents and kids were perfectly fine. I did not notice any type of "clout chasing" or asking of inappropriate or socially inept questions. Is this a you problem? And where on earth were they "grabbing merch"? The only place they were really giving out "merch" was at check-in and it was a very orderly process. None of this is consistent with our experience - but then again, I wasn't looking for issues to get worked up in a tizzy over.

+1. I was there too and saw none of this and had perfectly pleasant conversations with other parents!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:wish they separated the students from the parents in some events. parents were grabbing the free swag and hogging up the tables.

Agreed! Parents of Penn admits seemed obnoxious and clout-chasing.

I had the same impression. I was surprised how many parents rubbed me the wrong way during breakfast, the arts & sci break out, and open house. Everyone seemed to radiate a very intense competitive energy. I remember thinking, "calm down, your kid got into a school with so many resources, enjoy it" but many seemed to be sizing up the other parents, grabbing merch or asking me directly (after a brief hi) which other schools my kid got into and asking me to name names. Weird energy for sure.

Were we at the same event? I experienced NONE of this. All the parents and kids were perfectly fine. I did not notice any type of "clout chasing" or asking of inappropriate or socially inept questions. Is this a you problem? And where on earth were they "grabbing merch"? The only place they were really giving out "merch" was at check-in and it was a very orderly process. None of this is consistent with our experience - but then again, I wasn't looking for issues to get worked up in a tizzy over.

or maybe you were the drama yourself?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:wish they separated the students from the parents in some events. parents were grabbing the free swag and hogging up the tables.

Agreed! Parents of Penn admits seemed obnoxious and clout-chasing.

Students too!!! Hopefully my kid doesn’t become one!

Ha. I totally hope my kid doesn't get accepted to Penn either. The horrors.

[Anonymous]

Oh Penn, never change ...

- signed a Penn alum

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went to Penn Admitted Students Day for DC1 and found the parents there to similar to what OP described. A bit uptight and shouldering others.

Was just at the UChicago Open House this weekend for DC2 and I thought it was much better. Down to earth parents. One thing that bothered me was when the professor in the mock Philosophy class asked questions for the students, the parents raised their hands and detracted from the students’ answers.

WTF?? That’s insane.

In addition to the parents being obnoxious, why would the professor even choose call on a parent if kids’ hands were raised??

Also, why were the parents even allowed to attend the class in the first place? We just did Northwestern’s Wildcat Day for accepted students, and it was clear that the mock classes were for students only. No parents allowed.

On a related note, Northwestern did a great job of separating kids and parents for parts of the day, including lunch. The school handled the communication about that with grace, and parents seemed happy to comply. Great for the kids, and I met some very nice parents. Warm, encouraging vibes across the board.

[Anonymous]

Someone wants to get off the Penn waitlist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Someone wants to get off the Penn waitlist.

penn is famous for this culture tho ...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That’s funny, I thought the parents were all very nice. Not pushy or irritating. Maybe because they all feel secure now that their kid got in.

Agree that the parents were great at Quaker days

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:wish they separated the students from the parents in some events. parents were grabbing the free swag and hogging up the tables.

Perhaps schools should be interviewing parents as well before accepting the kids…kind of like when you get married, you don’t get married to a person, you get married to their family.

Too many Asians!!! Saying this as an Asian American.

The ones who didn't get in are going further south to JHU in Baltimore. What school is next to be filled with 50% Asians?sigh.

Dumb take.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to Penn Admitted Students Day for DC1 and found the parents there to similar to what OP described. A bit uptight and shouldering others.

Was just at the UChicago Open House this weekend for DC2 and I thought it was much better. Down to earth parents. One thing that bothered me was when the professor in the mock Philosophy class asked questions for the students, the parents raised their hands and detracted from the students’ answers.

WTF?? That’s insane.

In addition to the parents being obnoxious, why would the professor even choose call on a parent if kids’ hands were raised??

Also, why were the parents even allowed to attend the class in the first place? We just did Northwestern’s Wildcat Day for accepted students, and it was clear that the mock classes were for students only. No parents allowed.

On a related note, Northwestern did a great job of separating kids and parents for parts of the day, including lunch. The school handled the communication about that with grace, and parents seemed happy to comply. Great for the kids, and I met some very nice parents. Warm, encouraging vibes across the board.

Appreciate the feedback! We are headed to Northwestern next weekend and were not sure what to expect.