Prospective grad students can apply on line with 'Penn ExpressApp'

The application is available for doctoral programs and most master's degree programs for a $55 fee. Gone are the days of correction tape and typing paper. To keep pace with the ever-increasing technology of higher education, the University now offers on-line versions of applications for all its doctoral programs and some master's degree programs. The "Penn ExpressApp" is designed to eventually replace the paper version of the graduate application. "The new application provides great ease for students who are applying to graduate school," Vice Provost for Graduate Education Janice Madden said. "It also makes the entire process less costly." At $55, the on-line application is $10 cheaper than the traditional application. It reduces expenses by eliminating both shipping costs and the employee time needed to manually enter the data. Madden added that the "tremendous advancement" had no drawbacks. "This is just a great time-saving device," she said. She predicted that most universities will have Internet-based applications within the next five years. But the application is more than an entry service. Prospective students can check on the status of their application and note the receipt of supporting documentation, such as letters of recommendation and transcript information. They can also begin an application and return to finish it later thanks to the "modify" function. Following in the footsteps of the School of Medicine, which offered on-line applications beginning last year, Mathematics Professor Jerry Kazdan, Madden and many graduate school deans played influential roles in making the Penn ExpressApp a reality. Schools that emphasize their master's programs over doctoral study -- including the Wharton School and the Annenberg School for Communication -- do not offer the Penn ExpressApp. However, modifications expected early next year might bring these schools into the on-line application process, as well. Interactive undergraduate applications are also not yet available on the World Wide Web, though prospective students can send away for computerized applications on disk. Network Administrative Admissions representative Margaret Porigow said the University's undergraduate schools are moving toward putting applications online shortly. "We hope to provide a Web-based application in the future, and we are investigating ways that we can do so," she said. Applicants can now download an application off the Internet, but -- like the computerized application --Ethey must print the final copy out and mail their work to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions for processing.