<p>The acceptence letter says we’re the 253rd class since Ben Frankling founded Penn in 1740.</p>
<p>But… 1740 plus 253 = 1993, which is not 2009. What happened to the other classes?</p>
<p>Maybe the British occupation of Philadelphia? </p>
<p>Anyone know?</p>
<p>Founding and opening are quite different in this case.:</p>
<p>Eager to create a college to educate future generations of Philadelphians, Benjamin Franklin presented to the men and women of Philadelphia in the fall of 1749 his vision of a school to be known as the “Publick Academy of Philadelphia.” Circulating his ideas in a pamphlet titled Proposals for the Education of Youth in Pensilvania, he advocated an innovative concept of higher education, one which simultaneously taught both the ornamental knowledge of the arts and the practical skills necessary for making a living. The four colleges then in existence in the English colonies – Harvard, William and Mary, Yale, and Princeton – were all schools for educating the clergy, rather than preparing their students for lives of business and public service. With his characteristic zeal and intent on seeing his Academy of Philadelphia become a reality, he assembled a board of trustees and looked about for the least costly way to build a campus.
Although one of the trustees offered a well-situated building lot, Franklin focused on the property and unfinished “New Building” of the evangelist George Whitefield. </p>
<p>There, in 1740, a group of working class Philadelphians had decided to erect a great preaching hall, the largest building in the city, which would also serve as a charity school for “the instruction of poor children.” The fundraising, however, for both the building and the school had fallen short and the plans for both chapel and school were suspended. Franklin saw an opportunity to open his Academy quickly and inexpensively and in January 1751 did so, incorporating and also opening a charity school in accordance with the intentions of the original “New Building” donors. </p>
<p><a href=“http://www.archives.upenn.edu/histy/genlhistory/brief.html[/url]”>http://www.archives.upenn.edu/histy/genlhistory/brief.html</a></p>
<p>even though it was founded in 1740, the first class did not enroll until 1752 and did not graduate until 1757…i think that accounts for the difference</p>
<p>Ah ha!</p>
<p>Thanks a lot for the quick replies.</p>
<p>the spirit of your curiousity sends tingles up my newly quaker’d spine.</p>
<p>Mmmm. I just wrote an email for withdrawl of the only other application I sent out - St. Joseph’s U in Philly. </p>
<p>I know not, nor will I ever know, the sting of rejection…</p>
<p>when withdrawing other apps, can you do it by email? or do you have to send it in with your signature and whatnot? i need to withdraw my miami app/scholarship packet stuff and am unsure exactly how to proceed.</p>
<p>thanks!</p>
<p>hmmm i was wondering…i sent out my usc app an hr before finding out i got into penn:)…so im gonna call monday to have it rescinded–but do i get my 50 bucks back?</p>
<p>choco, I don’t think you get it back.</p>
<p>I have another Q: How does Penn get so many people to apply? It gets more apps than anyone in the Ivy League (maybe Cornell gets more), and most if not all top research institutions. How do they do it?</p>
<p>Because more people think that they will get in. I think Penn has one of the higher acceptance rates in the Ivy League, and also considering that they fill up 45% of the class with EDers.</p>