U.'s appeal rising in West, dean says

The University is attracting a growing number of West Coast students, women, and international students, Admissions Dean Lee Stetson told the Women's Alumni Club yesterday in the Faculty Club. Stetson discussed many of the methods used by the Admissions Office to attract students, especially those from the West Coast. Seventeen years ago more than 87 percent of the student body was from the East Coast, with most students coming from Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey, he said. But Stetson said due to the effort to attract students from the West coast, California is now the fourth most represented state in the freshman class. The University's current freshman class also includes students from every state and more than 10 percent are international students. Stetson said figures show that the number of women at the University is also increasing. "There has been a significant increase in women applying early decision," he said, citing the large number of women in the freshman class. "The quality of students looking at Penn is continuing to grow and women are taking the lead." He also said minorities have increased in number over the past few years, adding that over 30 percent of the students at the University are minorities. Stetson said student applications have increased despite reduced numbers of graduating high school seniors applying to colleges. "It's wonderful to see the [students'] excitement in choosing Penn. About one-third of the incoming class applied early decision," Stetson noted. "Almost 75 percent of current students are here because they want to be here. It used to be 35 to 40 percent." He said improvements in Philadelphia and the University's image are two major factors that have increased the University's popularity. Magazine reviews have also contributed to additional recognition. "Seventeen [magazine] called us the 'Ivy without the attitude; academically rigorous, but user-friendly'," he said. "We couldn't have said it better ourselves."