U. takes 44% of early applicants for Class of 2001

The University admitted 44 percent of early decision applicants this year, in an increase from last year's record-breaking low of 35 percent, according to Admissions Dean Lee Stetson. The Admissions Committee deferred 31 percent of applicants until the spring and rejected 24 percent of the applications outright. Although the early application pool was smaller this year -- 1,829 applicants, as opposed to last year's 2,046 -- testing profiles among those accepted in the class of 2001 were stronger, Stetson said. And he noted that this year's early acceptance process was still more selective than two years ago, when 52 percent of early decision applicants were admitted. The average SAT verbal score went up one point to 667, while the average math score increased ten points to 698. The average SAT II score also rose -- 675 from last year's 662 -- while the average class rank remained constant, with most students in the top 4 percent of their class. Stetson said he expects the final class to have a similarly high profile. "Having a larger group of students accepted early allows us to be more discerning and selective in the regular pool," he said. The 808 students already accepted make up 35 percent of the Class of 2001. Women make up 48 percent of those admitted early, down from last year's all-time high of 52 percent. The College of Arts and Sciences accepted 506 students from its 1,145 applications. Wharton took 195 students from a pool of 476. The School of Engineering an Applied Science admitted 87 out of 172 applicants. And the School of Nursing selected 20 students from among 31 applicants -- the largest pool in eight years. Of the total number of accepted students, 224 are minorities -- 28 percent. By contrast, 159 minority students were admitted early last year. This year, 152 of the students admitted early are Asian or Asian American, 33 students are African American and 74 are Hispanic. The early decision class is the most geographically diverse in the University's history, with 44 states and 23 foreign nations represented. The number of students accepted from Pennsylvania and New York decreased, although the number of student from New Jersey rose from 126 last year to 144. The rash of crimes near campus in early fall probably contributed to the decrease in early applicants this year, Stetson said. And several of Penn's peer schools -- like Princeton, Yale and Stanford universities -- changed their policies from early action to early decision, which may have lured away potential Penn applicants. "This is not just conjecture," Stetson said. "We've gotten feedback from students applying to Penn."

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.