Admissions
Finding a path to Penn
Close to home but a world away for many Philadelphia high school students, Penn's high standards make it nearly impossible for many students to apply or to be accepted at the university.
National decline in foreign students coming to the U.S. for college not reflected at Penn
New research from the U.K. Higher Education International Unit shows that in the last decade, the number of international students going to college in the United States has dropped by over 6 percent.
Release date for Penn's regular decision applicants approaches
The Class of 2020 application pool for Penn this year was the biggest in university history, with a record number of 38,792 applicants.
Bringing college admissions to the digital age
Over the last few years, technology has made an enormous impact on the college admissions process — for better or for worse.
First high schoolers will take new SAT on Saturday
This Saturday, high school juniors around the country will rise early to tackle the SAT. But for the first time since 2005, it's a different test.
For prospective students, older siblings at Penn are a resource and a perk
Having an older sibling at Penn may seem as if it could be hard to live up to throughout the admissions process, but many current freshmen with older siblings feel that their brother or sister was actually a great resource at the time.
Penn endorses campaign to prioritize kindness in college applicants
When considering what traits colleges look for in their applicants, kindness and compassion do not immediately spring to mind.
Kite and Key guides talk funny tour moments
"How many sexual partners have you had since being here?" and other inappropriate questions to ask on a college tour.
Early Decision pool becoming more diverse
For the Class of 2020, 44 percent of ED students self-identify as minorities.
Penn the 10th-highest fundraiser among all American colleges and universities
The University netted $517.20 million in funds, according to an annual survey conducted by the Council for Aid to Education.
For Penn's admissions office, geographic diversity is a growing priority
This year, Dean of Admissions Eric Furda said, the University had about 11,000 high schools in its applicant pool, which is higher than in past years.
For College students, no rush to choose or stick to a major
In the College of Arts and Sciences, “undecided” is the most popular intended major — only around 30 percent of students actually indicate a major on their application.
Penn received record number of applications to the Class of 2020
In total, there were 38,792 applicants — a 4 percent increase from last year.
Homeless student defies the odds to earn a ticket to Penn
Johnathan Phillips, a senior at McKinney North High School in Texas who has struggled with homelessness for most of his life, will become a Penn freshman in the fall of 2016.
BREAKING: Early decision acceptance rate for the Class of 2020 falls to 23.2 percent
Penn admitted 23.2% of its Early Decision applicants this year, down a fraction of a percentage point from last year’s 24% admittance rate.
The future of paying for Penn
In 20 years, a year of Penn tuition is projected to cost $110,370.
U.S. law school admission predicted to be especially competitive this year
Kaplan conducted its annual survey of 120 law schools and found that 88 percent are confident that their number of applicants will increase this year.
Admissions interviews, then and now
Almost every student currently applying to Penn this year will have an alumnus reach out to them for an interview, but it wasn’t always this way.
Picking Penn from afar
For some students, visiting Penn wasn't feasible before they made their college decisions