Penn's acceptance rate holds steady at 9.9 percent

Penn’s acceptance rate fell below 10 percent for the second year in a row.

Yesterday at 5 p.m., regular decision applicants to the Class of 2019 were able to access their decisions via the online applicant portal. Of 37,267 students who applied to Penn in the early and regular rounds, 3,697 were admitted, leading to an overall acceptance rate of 9.9 percent. Last year’s overall acceptance rate was also 9.9 percent.

Penn plans to enroll 2,420 students in the Class of 2019 across the College of Arts and Sciences, the Wharton School, the School of Engineering and Applied Science and the School of Nursing.

This year’s admissions cycle was unique in that applicants had an extra four days to submit application materials — the Office of Admissions chose to extend the deadline in order to provide students with more time to enjoy their holidays. Previously, the deadline had only been extended in the case of extenuating circumstances, such as Superstorm Sandy in 2012 and Common Application glitches last year.

An all-time high of 54.4 percent of the Class of 2019 was filled with early decision applicants, making the regular decision round more competitive.

Students in the Class of 2019 come from all 50 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and Guam. Pennsylvania has the highest representation with 483 students, 170 of whom are from Philadelphia, followed by New York with 439 and California with 412. New Jersey, Florida, Texas, Illinois and Massachusetts also have significant representation in the incoming class.

Fifteen percent of the accepted students are international, hailing from 84 countries around the world.

Thirteen percent accepted students for the class of 2019 are first-generation college students, while another 14 percent have parents or grandparents who attended Penn. Forty-five percent of the class self-identified as minority students on their applications.

Over 8,600 alumni offered interviews to 91 percent of applicants through the Penn Alumni Interview Program, falling short of the program’s goal of interviewing 100 percent of applicants by this year. However, the number is an improvement upon the 86 percent of applicants interviewed last year and 51 percent interviewed in 2012.

“These students will come together in late summer to begin their shared experience as a class, but Penn’s admissions officers were drawn in over the last few months by their individual stories,” Dean of Admissions Eric Furda said in a statement. “Each class develops their own identity over time, and there are no fixed conclusions. The experimental nature of bringing together a class is what transforms and revitalizes our campus and community each year.”

Were you just accepted to the Penn Class of 2019? Check out our class of 2019 page at thedp.com/penn19!

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