Applications for admission reach all-time high

Over 15,000 apply to U. The number of applications for admission to the University hit an all-time high of 15,050 this year, surpassing last year's record-setting amount by 10 percent. Admissions Dean Lee Stetson said yesterday that this number is especially impressive considering that five years ago the University received only about 9,800 applications. Stetson added that this year's pool is not only high in quantity, but also in quality. "The early implication is that it is comparable to last year, if not a little better," he said. He attributed this rise to increased publicity -- including coverage of University President Judith Rodin and the campus' appearance on Good Morning America. The University has also gained national exposure from the consistent success of its sports teams, Stetson said. "The raised visibility through successful athletic programs has helped raise national awareness," he said. Equally influential was a joint travel effort with Harvard, Duke and Georgetown Universities as part of a new admission recruiting program. Stetson added that this effort helped the University reach 20,000 more students and parents. With 36 percent of the Class of 1999 already accepted through Early Decision, the Committee meeting in February can afford to have competitive standards. In fact, Stetson said it will be "perhaps the most selective ever." University President Judith Rodin said she is "delighted" about the record number of applications. "I think that the applications are recognizing what we already know," she said. "That Penn is the place to be." The average Scholastic Achievement Test score of the applicants this year was 1252 -- up 10 points from last year. The number of applications from relatives of alumni was 770, a 10 percent increase over last year. Overall, the number of women applying to the University also increased by 11 percent this year to 6,683 women. There were 637 women applicants to the School of Engineering and Applied Science -- the highest number ever. This is up from last year's figure of 527. The Wharton School received the second highest number of women applicants, with a projected 750, up from 668 last year. While there was a 10 percent increase in the number of Hispanic applicants and a one percent increase in the number of Asian applicants, there was a four percent decrease in the number of black applicants. Stetson stressed that this decrease came despite an aggressive recruitment program to attract black students. There was a 10 percent increase in the number of applicants to the College, a seven percent increase to Wharton and a five percent increase to the Engineering School. But the pool for the Nursing School experienced a 25 percent decrease, dropping for the first time in years. Stetson said this has been a cross-country problem, due to health care issues. The number of Philadelphia high school students applying to the University is close to last year's figure at 389 applicants. Sixteen states reached an all time high this year -- Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Virginia and Washington. The state with the lowest number of applicants was Wyoming, contributing only one application. Fifty-seven percent of this year's pool came from the Atlantic Coast, with 35 percent from the five traditional "feeder states" of Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey. International applications, which are the highest to date this year, comprise 17 percent of the applications. All 50 states are represented in the applicant pool, including North and South Dakota, which were not represented in this year's entering class. Stetson said his department is working to represent every state this year. "We would like to have at least one student from each state if we can, but obviously the size and quality of the applicant pool dictates the chances that that would occur," he said.