Early decision hits new peak in selectivity

Of the record 4,148 students who applied for early admission to the University in November, 1,180 learned last month that they will join Penn's Class of 2010.

Several more students were admitted early this year than last, but the rate of admission fell sharply, decreasing from 34 percent for the classes of 2008 and 2009 to 28 percent this year.

Admissions Dean Lee Stetson said the early applicant pool was significantly more diverse this year than last.

Accepted students include 89 Latinos and 81 blacks -- all-time highs -- and five Native Americans. Last year, 67 Latino and 58 black students were accepted early. Male and female students were accepted in approximately equal numbers this year.

Geographical diversity also increased, with 45 states and 43 countries represented. The proportion of admitted candidates from the Northeast and mid-Atlantic states declined but remains strong, with 65 percent compared to last year's 69 percent, while record numbers of students were admitted from 6 eastern states and 9 states in other regions.

Among 534 international early applicants, 100 were accepted, up from 85 last year.

The admitted students include 798 in the College, 202 in Wharton, 151 in Engineering, 29 in Nursing, 24 in the Huntsman Program in International Relations and Business, 18 in the Jerome Fisher Program in Management and Technology and 14 in the new Vagelos Program in Life Sciences and Management between Wharton and the College.

Though this batch of applicants was the first to take the new SAT, which includes a writing section and is graded on a different scale, Stetson said that those accepted scored in an average percentile comparable to last year's, "which was very strong.

"It looks like it's going to be a great year for Penn," he said, adding that he predicts an increase in total applicants.

Stetson said the Undergraduate Admissions Office has not changed its recruitment methods. He instead attributed Penn's 21 percent increase in early applicants -- a significantly greater increase than those of other Ivy League schools -- to its attractive interdisciplinary programs and increased coverage in the national press.

"Penn is a school that is on the tips of more tongues than it was a couple years ago," he said.

Stetson and Stacy Steinberg, an early decision applicant who was accepted to the School of Nursing, both cited the 2006 Kaplan/Newsweek College Guide, which named Penn the "Hottest for Happy-to-be-There" university, and the University's fourth-place spot in the U.S. News & World Report rankings as encouraging early applicants.

Steinberg, a senior at Cypress Bay High School in Weston, Fla., added that the fact that Penn accepts a large percentage of each class early likely prompted more students to apply in November.

Ariel Colangell, a senior at Harrison High School in Harrison, N.Y., and an incoming College freshman, said Penn's diversity and balance of elite academics and appealing social life motivated her, as well as six of her classmates, to apply early.

"I think that's a real incentive for kids who want to go to an Ivy League school but don't want the intensity" often associated with those schools, she said.

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