I'm sure we all saw prospective students walking around campus the last two weeks sporting buttons that said "Penn Chose Me." These were part of Penn's marketing campaign to convince the accepted students from the class of 2014 to choose Penn over other schools to which they were accepted. To go along with the buttons, Penn Previews tour guides wore shirts that said, "I Chose Penn. Ask Me Why" and parents received buttons proclaiming that they are "Proud Penn Parents."
I volunteered at Penn Previews both last year and this year, and last year there was not nearly as much emphasis put on how "special" it was to be chosen to attend Penn. It will be very interesting to see if Penn's yield (the number of accepted students who ultimately matriculate here) increases this year compared to last year. I would assume that the big marketing push targeted at accepted students comes from the fact that yield is one of the measures by which schools are ranked, and Penn is committed to remaining at the top of the U.S. News and World Report rankings. Sometimes I forget that academic institutions, like companies and business, also have to work hard to maintain an image and a brand.
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As Facilitating and Planning Chair of the UMOJA Board, which is the umbrella organization for all black student organizations on campus, I have the privilege and honor of working with administration to maintain the Penn prestige and recruit the top students to our alma mater. After attending meetings with executive officials, I have learned the importance of the PENN brand to them. Careful attention is given to how Wharton and the other colleges market themselves; differentiation exists upon how it presents itself internationally and domestically. Penn officials pitch its excellence in academic fields and career resources to foreign students and its social atmosphere and legacy to domestic students. The slogan on the new shirts and bookbags are also very telling; Penn wants to emphasize it has works to establish a personal relationship with each of its new applicants. This is critical given the spike in competitive applicant pools.
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