Admissions office on a roll

Early admissions applications up; more students visit campus The Admissions Office is on a roll. Last month, the office announced it had received five percent more early decision applications this year than last. And this week, Admissions Dean Lee Stetson said more perspective students are visiting campus than ever before. To the University, which was worried about a possible backlash over controversies that engulfed campus last spring, the office is the bearer of good news. Interim President Claire Fagin said "it's obvious" what the news coming out of the Admissions Office means. "We are hitting our prime," Fagin said yesterday. "Our reputation is finally getting to the point where it is beginning to match the reality. Over the next couple of years we are going to see further improvement. We are the place to be." The latest figures show that more than 2,250 perspective students visited campus in September and October – an increase of 233 from last year, Stetson said. He added that 300 more students took campus tours in September and October of this year than in the same period last fall. But the 1,454 early decision applications received last month, compared to 1,386 collected last year, are the clearest indications of what officials hope is the University's rising popularity. "It's once again an indication that students and parents are willing to make a commitment to Penn as a first choice," Stetson said last month. "They are eliminating other schools and saying they really want Penn." This increased interest may be due to the overwhelmingly positive impression current University students convey to their peers and community about the University. According to a poll conducted last month by The Daily Pennsylvanian and The Vision, nearly 92 percent of 377 students polled said they were very satisfied or satisfied with their University education. Of those, 99 percent said they would recommend the University to a high school senior. Fagin said student and faculty complaints that cross her desk sometimes make her wary of how the majority of students feel about the University. "It's very, very, very spotty," Fagin said. "When we are talking about 22,000 students, it is inevitable that we will have some complaints. And, at some points, you think that's all that's there." But, she was quick to add, "This is a great place and there is no question about it."

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