Though many high-school seniors are still hopeful for waitlist acceptances, their chances of securing a place in Penn's class of 2013 may be diminishing.
Though Dean of Admissions Eric Furda initially said he expects "a lot" of waitlist activity, he now says there will likely be fewer waitlist acceptances this year than for the class of 2012. He declined to give the number of students on the waitlist.
Last spring, Penn admitted 180 students from the waitlist, though Furda would also not release the total number of students on that waitlist or the lists in previous years.
The number of spots that open up depend on this year's yield - the percentage of students accepted under regular decision who decide to matriculate.
Penn's yield was 63 percent last year and 66 percent the previous year.
"Obviously, we are also very influenced by other schools' yields and waitlists," Furda said. "If a student deposits here in April and then gets off of a waitlist at another school in the summer, it creates a domino effect."
He stressed that Penn hopes to be done with admitting students off the waitlist in June, "hopefully before students graduate from their high schools."
Although waitlist activity will "not be to the extent it was last year," Furda noted that those students who still hope to attend Penn should let the Admissions Office know.
"Students can show their interest by writing to his/her admissions officer affirming their interest in Penn," he wrote in an e-mail.
Yale University offered positions on its waitlist to 769 applicants, down 27 percent from to last year's total of 1,052, according to the Yale Daily News.
"We did not want to keep students in suspense where we felt it was unlikely we would make an offer," Yale Dean of Admissions Jeff Brenzel told the YDN.
Last year, Yale extended offers of admission to 60 of the waitlisted students.
By contrast, Harvard University admitted approximately 200 students from its waitlist last year, according to the Harvard Crimson.
Cornell University offered 3,311 applicants a spot on its waitlist this year - about 120 more than last year - according to an article in the New York Times.
Other Ivy League universities did not release information about the size of their waitlists this year.
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