Student 'Loves Penn's Urban Setting,' Has Not Left Campus in Two Months

Penn’s campus—beautiful, compact, and in the nation’s fifth-largest city—offers students an urban setting combined with a campus feel. In the heart of West Philadelphia, students have the unique opportunity of interacting with a diverse population of over one million. Together they share ideas, promote causes, and discover new interests. One senior says that this combination was a major reason she came to Penn. “I love the duality of an urban setting and an Ivy League Campus,” said Sara Knoell (C ‘18). "I try to explore it once every few years."

We asked Knoell to elaborate on how she has taken advantage of the setting. “The last time I went to the city was for a downtown about two months ago, I think.” Knoell claims to have thoroughly enjoyed the night out "in the city," although she only spent a minute outside of the Uber before making it inside the venue. Knoell went on to say that “living in a melting pot” has provided her with a diverse college experience and has exposed her to wildly new perspectives. When asked how the environment has impacted her education specifically, Knoell said that she “gets to be catcalled sometimes, while [her] friends at Dartmouth and Cornell can’t say the same.”

And while Knoell hasn’t seen much of the city just yet, she intends to rent a bike and go explore sometime soon. “Maybe I’ll go see a museum or two. Do we have any good museums?”