Penn Abroad has announced several changes to the study abroad application process in a move it says will make the system more equitable and aligned with student needs.
The changes were announced last month and come after significant updates to the process were implemented last spring. In an interview with The Daily Pennsylvanian, Greta Kazenski, Penn Abroad’s associate director, described the changes as a step toward “equal access” within each program.
“The biggest change is that we have a holding period now in between when students attend their advising session and when they are allowed to open their application for the first time and submit that request form,” Kazenski said.
Previously, students could open their applications as soon as they completed a group advising session, creating what Kazenski described as “competition between students to get an earlier advising session.”
She said that the new holding period will ensure that all students have the same opportunity to open applications, regardless of when they schedule an advising session.
“Now we have about a month where students can come to the group advising sessions at our office, but they can’t actually start working on the application or request that their application is open,” Kazenski added. “Everyone can attend advising, and it doesn’t matter if you attended yesterday [or] the very first day.”
The new timeline was announced in response to last year’s cycle, in which sessions filled quickly — and students reported high levels of stress — according to Kazenski.
She said that Penn Abroad received “a lot of student emails … and visits to our office,” adding that advisors across the School of Arts and Sciences and the Wharton School were given similar negative feedback last year.
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In addition to the new holding period, group advising sessions will now be offered at varying times each week rather than at fixed slots.
“This month, we are trying to vary the times,” Kazenski said. “It is not meant to be confusing. It is meant to accommodate student class schedules. So if you have class every Wednesday at 3 p.m., now you have many … different choices and days and times to attend a session.”
The application request form to study abroad for Fall 2026 or 2026-27 academic year opens on Nov. 17. Once a request to open an application has been granted, there are three corresponding deadlines — Jan. 20, Feb. 15, and March 1 — depending on the program’s competitiveness.
According to Kazenski, the earliest deadline applies to programs at University of Oxford and King’s College London.
According to a DP analysis, London-based programs were also the most popular abroad destination among Penn students in spring 2025.
Students must also request to open their application at least 10 days before the deadline, a policy Kazenski said is intended to ensure students have time to meet with their academic advisors before submitting.
In March 2025, Penn Abroad similarly rolled out a series of changes to the application process, including a cap on the number of applications that can be opened per advising cycle.
