Nations as far-flung as Brazil, Kenya, and Singapore contributed to this year's 7 percent boost in international applications to Penn, maintaining a trend of increasing outreach and expanding international interest in the University.
This increase follows last year's 11 percent rise in international applicants.
"It's not something that's overnight," Director of Undergraduate International Admissions Elisabeth O'Connell said. "Families are going to look at what their options are globally, and I think Penn has increasingly been in a favorable position as a place that's sought after ... families that are looking globally for what is a good fit."
International applicants are representing an increasing diversity of schools, regions and academic interests, O'Connell said.
But many U.S. schools have not had Penn's success in attracting international applicants.
International enrollment in American schools declined 3.6 percent from the 2002-03 school year to last year's, according to the Institute of International Education.
O'Connell and college counselors at foreign schools cited post-Sept. 11, 2001, difficulties in obtaining student visas as a possible deterrent for international applicants.
O'Connell attributed Penn's success to its greater visibility as a prestigious university.
And word of mouth also helps.
"Our own students and the parents of our own students [are], generally speaking, happy with their Penn experience," O'Connell said.
Penn's international recruitment efforts began 20 years ago and have become more extensive. In addition to University President Amy Gutmann's winter break trip to India, admissions officials have visited all major sources of applicants in all continents but Australia in the past year.
Phyllis Clemensen, a college counselor at the Graded School in Sao Paulo, Brazil, said Penn has become "the school of choice" for her top students because of such outreach efforts.
"Twenty years ago, I always had to add that Penn is an Ivy League university in order for our students and parents to pay attention to this suggestion because they thought it was a public university," Clemensen wrote in an e-mail.
Clemensen, Amy Garrou of the Mahindra United World College of India and Lisa Montgomery of the American School in London also cited Penn's Wharton School, academic flexibility, reputed balance of social life and academics, urban location and welcoming atmosphere as reasons the University appeals to the school's students. Garrou added that the influence of financial aid offered to international students is also a factor.
A large international population draws more foreign students as well as domestic students interested in "a true international perspective," O'Connell said.
"No matter which college house you live in, no matter which program you're in, you're going to have the opportunity to interact with students from all over the world," she added.
Global allure - European applications up 5 percent - African and the Middle East: up 10 percent - Canada: up 13 percent - Central and South America: up 32 percent - Pacific region: 10 fewer applicants - The most international applications were from Singapore, at 295, followed by Canada, 272, and India, 261
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