Why Penn??

From across the table, his probing eyes study me with bold curiosity. “So you want to attend Penn?” he asks.

“I do,” I answer, somewhat meekly.

“You seem a little hesitant-”

“Yes, I would love to!” I pronounce firmly.
His lips curve upward in a half-smile, but his eyes still focus intently on mine.
“Good answer. Now justify it. Why Penn? Why Wharton?”

Why indeed? The gears in my brain rotate at speeds faster than the speed of sound and generate a hundred responses for the epic question that never fails to surprise the interviewee. I clear my throat and pronounce with a careful combination of solemnity and enthusiasm.

“Many reasons, Sir. The Wharton School of business is ranked among the top in the nation, and it has an excellent undergraduate pre-business program. I am very interested in the marketing concentration. But I also have a great interest in science and humanities. Wharton’s undergraduate program allows for me to pursue my other interests. I am not yet certain, but I believe I would like to minor in anthropology. I know that Penn has a great anthropology department and even has its own museum for anthropology! I am also very interested in astronomy, psychology, and philosophy. I know that Penn is very strong in almost every department, so I plan to explore them and perhaps uncover other interests that I am not now aware of.”

He stares at me, unimpressed. I know I had been a bit cliché, but truly, those traits do appeal to me.

“And I know that Penn has an excellent foreign language department. I want to brush up on my Chinese and Spanish. I have a strong foundation in both, especially Chinese. I am familiar with Mandarin, Cantonese, and the Fu Zhou province dialect. I was actually rather interested in the Huntsman International Business Joint-Degree program, but I know I am not that skilled in Spanish or Chinese. I imagine in the future I will also pursue international business. China is an emerging economic power, and there is so much opportunity for Asian business majors! I know for certain that I want to study abroad one summer or semester or maybe both. I searched the Study Abroad options that Wharton has, and the ones that most appeal to me are Penn-in-Alicante (Spanish summer program) and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Wharton Exchange (semester program). I am so excited!”
He suppresses a yawn. I imagine he is probably thinking to himself “Typical Asian… And nice attempt to throw in some specifics, but… she hasn’t hooked me yet.” Man, why do I get a hard one to impress?

“The campus is really diverse and beautiful! I went on the Virtual Tour,” I offer lamely.

He snorts. I blush.

“Well, I did visit Philadelphia once when I was nine. It was a family vacation, and I saw the Liberty Bell and went inside Independence Hall. I was too young then to really begin dreaming about college, you see, so I didn’t tour the Penn campus. But I find that Philadelphia is a lovely city that is alive with history and modern pleasures. I love urban places, and I know I will grow to love living in Philadelphia. But really, it is all about Skinner’s behaviorism. If I am happy at Wharton, then I will pair this positive
emotion with the city.”

“And do you think you will be happy at Wharton?”

“Are you kidding me?? If I didn’t think I would be happy at Wharton, would I, in my right mind, apply to Wharton?”

“Calm yourself and justify your reasoning or I, as a responsible interviewer with Penn’s best interest in mind, may be forced to write that you emotionally unstable, easily excitable, and indirect in addressing the questions asked you.”
Just my luck to be stuck with a picky interviewer. I smile sweetly at him and continue, “Well, as I mentioned before, the Wharton undergraduate curriculum does really appeal to me. It is a competitive environment where I am certain to find individuals with similar passions and ambitions. And I have been browsing through some of the Penn organizations listed online. I am really drawn to some of the sororities and singing groups. I LOVE singing. This may not be apparent in my transcript or list of extracurriculars, because I sing mostly for self-pleasure. Plus, choir couldn’t fit in my school schedule. I have still tried to get involved through the school by singing though. I have sung the national anthem for the school, and I am performing in the school’s annual Showcase. I performed a duet this past summer in Boston too. I sang Whitney Houston’s part in “When You Believe”. I want to join Penn’s Gospel Choir, and one of its many A Capella groups. There is a plethora of opportunity at Penn. I would be an dunce not be able to find anything of interest to get involved in and to not be able to make one good friend from Penn’s 10,000 undergrads. But if those would indeed be the circumstances, then Sir, I would not be happy at Wharton.”

He raises one eyebrow in a quizzical look. I secretly attempt to imitate his amazing feat but only manage to raise both my eyebrows. Fortunately, he does not seem to notice, and he continues to his trickiest question.

With a big grin on his face and a twinkle in his eye, he asks me, “Well, Miss Cheung, all the wonderful things you have mentioned about Penn and Wharton have been already mentioned by other applicants. And it seems that many of the programs and groups at Penn can be found that are very similar at other great universities. Tell me then, why Penn over some other great university? Why is Penn more special than say another Ivy school? WHY PENN?”

Why Penn? I feel like John Nash in A Beautiful Mind trying to find proof that he loves Alicia. He knows it, but he still searches for the proof.

I look him square in the eye and state bluntly, “That, Sir, is what I want to find out.”



A note to the reader: This imagined interview is in no way an attack on Penn alumni interviewers. Especially since I have not yet met one. I purposefully made the guy a challenger for “comic relief”.




Linda Cheung Lambertville, MI