Fewer Engineering undergraduates transferred from the school this year than in years past, according to officials.
Each freshman Penn Engineering class starts with roughly 410 members, but because of failing grades, transfers to other engineering schools and transfers to other schools within the University, only approximately 350 students graduate each year.
But in the next few years, that number could increase.
School of Engineering and Applied Sciences Director of Academic Affairs Joseph Sun said the retention rate has been improving but refused to specify exactly how many more students are staying within the school this year.
Most students transfer out of the program between their freshman and sophomore years.
Officials attribute the improved retention rate to recent changes made to both the curriculum and the admissions process.
"We're working very hard so that our students feel at home here ... and at least part of that message is getting through," Associate Dean of SEAS Norman Badler said.
Among the changes made to the curriculum, Engineering students will be able to take at least two courses in the Engineering school during their freshman year.
Previously, due to various math, physics and chemistry requirements -- classes that are offered through the College -- many students were not able to take Engineering courses until sophomore year. Badler hopes that by allowing freshmen to take Engineering courses they will be better able to see what engineering is like and be more likely to stay in the program.
However, many students claim that the intense, quantitatively focused course load required per semester is prohibitive.
"It's really overwhelming to have to take all those college courses and adjust to college life," College sophomore Ilana Kafer, an Engineering transfer, said of her freshman year.
"They're trying to weed you out freshman year," Engineering sophomore Tommy Acchione said. "Engineering is a lot of work and they want to show you up front ... if you're not ready to handle what comes next."
Admissions adjustments are being made so that more students are admitted to the School who have a true interest in engineering. The fact that the School of Engineering loses most of its dropouts to the College or Wharton rather than other engineering schools indicates a mismatch of academic interests, according to Badler.
Plans are also being made to strengthen the school's tutoring program, in addition to its peer, faculty and major advising systems.
"The situation is not improving accidentally -- I personally have a mission to make sure the freshman experience in engineering is the best we can make it," Badler said.
Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences Eduardo Glandt said that the difficulty of the curriculum will not be altered in an attempt to retain more students in the program.
Taking a "perverse pride" in the difficulty of the various Engineering curricula, which require approximately 40 credits to graduate -- more than most of the other majors at Penn -- Glandt said that many Penn Engineering students appreciate the challenge.
"The worst thing a professor could do is dumb down their course to make it more popular," Glandt said.
Still, College sophomore Sanjay Chandrasekaran transferred out of Engineering because of a concern for his grade point average. Chandrasekaran, a pre- med student, said that the Engineering school did not allow him to achieve the high GPA required for admission to medical schools.
"This is the real world and I can't put GPA requirements and extracurricular requirements aside," he said.
