Admissions
More housing could increase future freshman class sizes, but Furda isn't making promises
Don’t expect an influx of students next year: Penn’s target freshman class size will remain at 2,445 students for the Class of 2021.
Early decision acceptance rate drops to 22 percent
For the first time in Penn's history, half of students admitted to the School for Engineering and Applied Sciences in the Early Decision round are female.
Penn severely lacks in socioeconomic diversity, study shows
Among 1,113 randomly selected Penn undergraduates, zero came from a ZIP code with a median household income in the lowest quintile of income groups.
Penn is offering an online course about how to apply to college
Students who complete the ten weeks of modules will learn how to research, apply to and make the transition to colleges.
UPDATED: The number of early decision applications to Penn reached a new high this year
This year, Penn received 5,999 applications in the Early Decision round.
Penn developed an efficient way to read applications — and it's encouraging other schools to get on board
Penn is encouraging other universities to pilot a team admissions strategy that Penn implemented four years ago.
Former Yale interviewer criticizes college application systems at top US universities
Former Yale interviewer criticizes college application systems at top US universities, claiming it is "unpredictable, opaque and ... disappointing".
Harvard applicants' information will be released to court in affirmative action case
Harvard is releasing years of applicants' private information to federal court for an affirmative action lawsuit.
Why all those Clinton volunteers have been trying to switch your voter registration to Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania is a key swing state for the 2016 election season and throughout Penn’s campus numerous advocacy groups have been registering students to vote in the Keystone State.
Penn Admissions doesn't actually check the social media accounts of applicants
A college admissions counselor estimated, however, that 30 to 40 percent of colleges do use social media to judge its applicants.
Uncertainty about financial aid changes causes concern at Penn First summit
Penn First, the student organization for first generation, low income (FGLI) students on campus, implemented a range of projects after their inaugural summit in April this year.
School at home to home at Penn
Penn “encourages applicants from a growing number of homeschool students”. Although homeschool has been a growing trend for the last decade, Dean of Admissions Eric Furda estimated that Penn receives only about 20 applications per year from homeschooled students. He stressed that the figure was not exact.
Penn just reversed the new early decision policy it announced over the summer
The change, which was enacted over the summer, restricted students from applying Early Action to private schools while simultaneously applying Early Decision to Penn.
Penn was ranked #8 by US News & World Report — but what do rankings actually mean?
Penn's rankings fluctuate from year to year and across publications.
Penn made a major change to its Early Decision policy over the summer
The new policy aims to ensure that early applicants are as committed to Penn as possible.
Why Penn reversed its standardized testing policy
Penn reversed its position on Score Choice, which obliged students to include all of their recorded standardized test scores on their application.
Sexual assault allegations put admitted freshman's status 'on hold'
An incoming Penn freshman was accused of sexual assault in a legal complaint, The Boston Globe reported Wednesday.
Universities face rising admissions yields and growing class sizes
Predicting yield is proving challenging as students’ application habits are changing. This past spring, nearby Pennsylvania State University was faced with an unexpectedly large incoming class. Nearly a third of admitted students accepted their offers by the decision deadline, up 30 percent from the year before.
Supreme Court upholds affirmative action
Abigail Fisher, a white woman who was denied admission to the school, brought the case against University of Texas at Austin in 2008.
