Penn Admissions Distributes 'It’s Been Real' Stickers to Students Also Accepted to Harvard, Princeton, or Yale

Quaker Days—the grandiose commoditization of the college admissions process by wining and dining high school seniors—allows the University to give prospective students a raw, authentic, no frills look into what their lives as Penn students would look like. We as current students are constantly treated with delicious free meals, decorative cookies and Amy Gutmann appearances, so this makes sense.

However, Penn Admissions took a rather different marketing approach to the day’s giveaways this year. Instead of the classic “I Chose Penn!” and “Proud Penn Parent” buttons and posters, office employees distributed white stickers with black, Times New Roman Font reading: “It’s Been Real.” To make matters even more interesting, they were quite selective with these stickers’ recipients.

As the bright-eyed, bushy-tailed guests skipped up to the table with their new “best friends” by their side, an admissions officer demanded for their names, while another furiously checked a massive spreadsheet. Only some students were lucky enough to receive the sticker, and the officer threw it at them with the scowl and muttered something to their nearby parent about “not just the ‘Social Ivy.’” Meanwhile, the other students received a glow-in-the-dark Silly Bandz bracelet and a Juul that had “Hurrah for the Red and Blue” etched on the side.

One of the admissions staff members gave some intel to UTB. “Oh, the spreadsheet? If their name is marked in red, they were accepted to Harvard, Princeton, or Yale, and they’re eligible to receive one of the stickers. Look, we’re just trying to be realistic here and give the kids what they want. They’re not choosing us, so we’re not choosing them. Actually, we technically already did choose them, but whatever. It’s all about the self-awareness.”

Admissions, hats off to you for the creativity and mindfulness. And, who knows, maybe the chocolate fountains and overnight stays in the Quad will at least tempt the potential Baby Quakes.