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Applicants with connections were more likely to be accepted to UT Austin. But this phenomenon occurs subtly at colleges everywhere, with Penn being no exception.
The top fifty online students will have their application fees to the Wharton MBA program waived and, if accepted into Wharton, the top five students will be granted a $20,000 scholarship.
While upperclassmen advisors relish the opportunity to help younger students, some feel that their helping hand is not always reached for. They would like to see improvements in the program that encourage additional interaction throughout the school year.
Without the option of merit-based scholarships, Penn cannot lure outstanding athletes or writing prodigies with money — but recruited students do find value in community.
The University should work on promoting its Early Decision policies to lower-income communities. Penn should work with organizations like QuestBridge, which works with high-achieving, low-income students, and others that help underserved groups through the college admissions process.
While the Admissions Office continues to work towards its goal of interviewing 100 percent of applicants, the effectiveness of the program remains unclear.
When a group of Stanford students publicized a method of obtaining one's admissions file, Penn's admissions office saw an explosion of requests for access to their files.
The new application platform — which would serve as an alternate to the Common App — intends to increase flexibility for member colleges by reducing the number of required items for all schools.
College application does not end with clicking the submit button on the Common App. Alumni interview is another procedure most Penn applicants go through.
“Students are pretty nervous about the interviews,” Laurie Weingarten, a Penn alumna and director of One-Stop College Counseling said.