U. sees increase in early-decision admits

Last month, 920 students were admitted under Penn's early decision program, up nearly 18 percent from last year. The University sent out 920 early decision acceptance letters last month, nearly an 18 percent increase from last year, according to statistics released yesterday. The admitted students came from a record-sized early applicant pool of 2,165, putting the acceptance rate at 42.5 percent. Another 595 applicants were deferred and will be reconsidered as part of the regular decision pool, and 650 people were rejected outright. The early acceptance rate is significantly higher than last year's 36.7 percent, though it still falls behind the 44 percent of the Class of 2001 admitted in December 1996. Those accepted early this year are also a more diverse group than in years past. The accepted students -- who signed a contract promising to matriculate to Penn in exchange for getting a response 3 1/2 months early -- will constitute about 38 percent of the Class of 2003. "This is definitely an encouraging trend," Admissions Dean Lee Stetson said. "Penn admissions are getting more competitive every year." Stetson added that he believed the high number of early applications is due to an increased interest in the University. "More students are deciding to make Penn their first choice," Stetson said. "This year's early applicant pool was larger and stronger than ever before." Stetson said the strong early pool was because of Penn's increasingly positive reputation -- as shown in its rise to No. 6 this year's in the U.S. News & World Report ranking of the country's best colleges -- and the popularity of the early decision process. "The rising visibility of the University combined with increased student interest in applying early contributed to the rising applications," he said. "Students are hedging their bet of getting in by applying early." If the early decision numbers are any indication, next year's freshmen will once again be the most academically gifted ever, Stetson said. The students admitted early this year had average SAT scores of 1387 and average SAT II subject test scores of 694 -- both slight increases over last year. While the mean test scores rose, the average class rank of accepted students remained constant, with the future Quakers placing in the top 4 percent of their high school classes. Stetson declined to release individual statistics for the four undergraduate schools. The students accepted early this year are not only more academically talented than ever before, but also more diverse in their backgrounds. Of the 920 students accepted, 248 were from minority groups, up 16 percent from last year. The minorities include 28 black students, 184 Asians, 34 Latinos and two Native Americans. In addition, 431 women were accepted, making up 46.8 percent of the early decision portion of the class. The Class of 2003 is already geographically diverse. Students accepted early hail from 45 states and six continents.