Penn Culture

^{U.S. President Donald Trump and Elon Musk speak in the Oval Office before departing the White House in Washington on March 14, 2025. | Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images}

by Anonymous, 2025

The two most powerful men in America are President Trump and Elon Musk. Both men are racist, arrogant, and narcissistic, viewing their wealth as the measure of their genius. They are also both graduates from the University of Pennsylvania. But our university cannot take full credit for these esteemed men; they embody the wider culture of a declining US capitalism, which has always elevated the shallow intellect, tolerated racism, and worshiped economic parasites. But Penn, the training ground for the US business class, places these values at the heart of the institution. To the freshmen who know what they signed up for, who desire social and financial success: congratulations, you have come to the right place. However, many find themselves here incidentally, or later become disillusioned with the vapidity of Penn experience and struggle to see themselves as potential bankers or consultants. This article is for these folks, to let them know that they are not alone and that “Penn Culture” can be understood and combated. 

What is Penn Culture? We discuss it all the time, but rarely define it clearly. This will be an attempt to understand the structural roots of Penn culture and hopefully provide some insight into its origins. Penn shares in a common elite college culture. Elite refers to a handful of Ivy League and other top universities whose students can expect entry into the most financially successful and prestigious sections of the workforce. These elite colleges are attended by the children of US and international elites, allowing them to pass on their class status onto the next generation. They also provide a handful of lower class Americans a chance to escape their social origin and join the ruling class. The culture of these universities naturally reflects the values of this class: the importance of meritocracy, achieving similar success to parents, and an obsession with luxury commodities. 

However, Penn occupies a specific role within the general elite college culture. The division of labor within the ruling class has historically manifested in a division between various universities. Some part of the elite are needed to become intellectuals (Yale), others to serve in government (Harvard), and some to develop technology (MIT). This division is highly overlapping, but usually one aspect defines the general specialization and culture of a school. At Penn, the specialization is business, concentrated in the Wharton School but infused throughout the entire university. This leads to an overwhelmingly pre-professional environment, with students seeking immediate high power employment after graduation. The tremendous expansion of the financial sector in recent decades has developed a similar pre-professional business culture at most other schools. However, at Penn, the business focus is the oldest and therefore most firmly rooted. Additionally, we still have the premier business programs and a massive social infrastructure developed to assist it. 

This business focus manifests concretely in Wharton, as well as the many pre-professional degrees in The College. In addition, Penn has 250 pre-professional clubs, whose sole purpose is to assist in landing a business job and building a “network.” Greek life dominates campus, even for many who are unaffiliated, and drives a business mentality into social life. Rushing is a dress rehearsal for getting a job, primarily based on networking and coffee chats which have direct corollaries in the recruitment process. Those who enter fraternities are socialized into the masculine, competitive culture similar to that in business. Then there are the economic facts of student life themselves, with students struggling to gain high-powered connections and land internships. This infects all aspects of student life, into various clubs and even social interactions. It manifests in a networking mentality and an artificial cheeriness mixed with veiled hostility. There’s also a competitive culture of overwork, where academic and social life eat into sleep and time for personal relaxation. Basically, Penn culture is a kind of company culture, an attraction to some and a repulsion to others. Is it possible to escape? 

The short answer is no. As this article has shown, Penn culture has a firm material grounding and is buttressed by the elite culture outside the University. It influences every aspect of university life like a magnetic field which cannot be escaped. Yet, “escaping capitalism” will always be an illusory proposition, no matter which school you attend or job you get after graduation. The important question facing all of us is how we want to live within that system. In this sense, Penn is early preparation for the rest of your life. Will you seek to conform to a toxic culture or join with others in trying to make something better? This does not just mean student activism, but finding something you’re genuinely passionate about, that might not have any use for yourself after college. On campus explore the many communities Penn does have to offer and off campus appreciate this incredible city that you get to inhabit for at least four years.