The number of students agreeing to attend Penn if accepted reached an all-time high, as did the applicants' SAT scores. Penn's reputation is on the rise among high school seniors, if the large jump in the number of early applications received this year is any indication. The number of students applying early to the Class of 2004 reached an all-time record, totaling 2,572 applications, up 18.8 percent from 2,165 last year. All four undergraduate schools saw a rise in individual figures. Applicants to the College of Arts and Sciences rose 20.7 percent; the Engineering School went up 39.8 percent; the Wharton School rose only 4.9 percent; and the Nursing School increased 36.4 percent. This is the largest increase of early applications in recent years. Last year, the number rose just 1.9 percent, after a 10 percent increase the previous year. And that came on the heels of a 10 percent drop in 1996, around the time of a well-publicized crime spree around campus. And the quality of the applicants rose this year also, with average SAT scores up seven points from a year ago to 1349. That average has been rising for the past few years, up from 1310 in 1995. Minority applications reached an all-time high as well, with applications from African Americans rising slightly from 73 last year to 76 this year, Asian Americans rising from 625 to 710, Latinos up from 71 to 85 and Native Americans up from three a year ago to four this year. Early applications -- which had to be postmarked by November 1 -- require the student to sign a contract stating that they will attend Penn next fall if accepted. The rising numbers indicate that Penn is becoming the top choice of an increasing number of high school seniors, according to Admissions Dean Lee Stetson. "It's encouraging to see the number of students choosing Penn as their first choice," Stetson said. In addition, Stetson added, the strength of this year's applicant pool will mean a "very difficult and challenging selection process." "[We] take the very best among the group and leave room for regular [applicants]," he said. Stetson attributed the significant rise in applicants this year to both "Penn's rising visibility and also the energy on the campus" that is apparent to students when they visit. Campus visitors this year have been up by 30 percent, Stetson said. Stetson added that the increase in applicants can be linked to Penn's "up front" policy of informing prospective applicants of their increased chances of admittance if they apply early. His preliminary guess was that the office will admit close to 40 percent of the Class of 2004 from the early applicant pool. Stetson expected that approximately 900 to 1,000 students will be admitted early, 600 to 700 will be deferred into the regular admissions pool and 600 to 700 will be rejected. The yield of early acceptances in the past was 99 percent and the yield on regular acceptances ranged from 35 to 40 percent, making last year's overall yield total 55 percent, up from 50 percent the year before. International applicants also rose this year, up from 216 to 230. Fourteen states and the District of Columbia reached all-time applicant highs, including California, which rose to 212 from 154, Texas up from 62 to 66 and a record 448 students from New York. Applicants to specialty programs also rose, with the most significant increase being applications to the Management and Technology program which more than doubled to 123 applicants. Early decisions will be mailed to students on December 10. Regular applications are due January 1 and decisions will be mailed April 1.
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