Admissions
Penn appoints Bowdoin College’s Whitney Soule as its next dean of admissions
The University announced Whitney Soule, the current dean of admissions and financial aid at Bowdoin College, as its next vice provost and dean of admissions.
Penn receives record-breaking 56,000 applications to Class of 2025, up 34% from previous year
The large applicant pool, likely influenced by test-optional policies enacted in the wake of COVID-19, is set to result in Penn's lowest-ever acceptance rate, according to Penn Admissions.
Perelman School of Medicine applications jump 21% as pandemic motivates future students
The pandemic has driven an increased number of medical school applications this year, with many prospective students inspired by firsthand experiences with COVID-19 and frontline workers' heroism.
From Guam to rural Iowa, meet five students admitted early decision to the Class of 2025
The Daily Pennsylvanian spoke with five students who were admitted early decision to the Class of 2025 after navigating an unprecedented year for college application processes. Here are their stories.
Penn accepts 15% of early decision applicants to Class of 2025, a record low
The early decision acceptance rate for the Class of 2025 marks a 4.7 percentage point decrease from last year. This year, 7,962 students applied through the University's early decision program, a 23% increase from last year's 6,453 applicants.
Experts worry that Penn's test-optional application process will benefit wealthier students
While most colleges assure students that they will not be at a disadvantage if they do not submit test scores, some college counseling specialists question the assertion.
Online visits and remote info sessions: admissions transitions to virtual programming
The admissions office decided back in March that their fall programming – like tours and information sessions, as well as traveling to speak at high schools – would be virtual, five months before the University went fully online.
COVID-19 pandemic leads to approx. 300% increase in gap years for incoming Penn students
Dean of Admissions Eric Furda said he does not expect the gap year increase to have a “significant impact on the selectivity or opportunity” during the upcoming admission cycle.
‘A legend on campus’: Students saddened by departure of Dean of Admissions Eric Furda
Students, including Kite and Key Society president and Rising Engineering senior Sofia Gonzalez, said they were shocked and saddened by Furda's decision to leave the University after leading the Admissions Office for 12 years.
Dean of Admissions Eric Furda to leave Penn at end of 2020
After leading Penn's Admissions Office since 2008, Furda will join the college counseling team at William Penn Charter School.
Penn accepts 7.8% of transfer applicants, up nearly two percentage points from last year
Penn admitted 196 students out of 2,506 transfer applicants for the 2020-2021 academic year.
Penn Admissions makes SAT and ACT tests optional for the Class of 2025
Although students will be able to submit standardized test scores, those who do not submit will not be at a disadvantage.
University of California will end use of SAT, ACT in admissions entirely by fall 2025
Brian Taylor, managing director of New York City-based college admissions consulting firm Ivy Coach, believes the decision will influence other universities, and said it is likely that highly selective universities, such as Ivy League institutions, will be test-optional in the future.
Here’s how Ivy League universities are changing admission requirements for the Class of 2025
College Board and ACT testing agencies canceled and postponed multiple test dates in response to the pandemic, prompting many universities to change standardized test requirements for future applicants.
Penn Admissions and Kite and Key unveil first live, virtual tour in the Ivy League
Each tour is capped at 50 students, and led by two Kite and Key tour guides and up to four admissions officers to ensure all questions asked through the Zoom platform’s chat feature are answered.
While colleges struggle to fill Class of 2024, Penn has not yet increased waitlist admissions
Admissions experts say schools are anxious about international students possibly not being able to arrive on campus for the fall semester, and about domestic students who may choose to take a gap year instead of enrolling amid the coronavirus.
Penn reminds incoming international students of gap year option as coronavirus spreads
Because U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services suspended routine visa services at all embassies and consulates due to COVID-19, it is unclear if new international students will be able to secure visas in time for the fall semester.
Hailing from Tennessee to Indonesia, meet five members of the newly admitted Class of 2024
The Daily Pennsylvanian spoke with some of the admitted students of the Class of 2024. Here are their stories.
Penn admits 8.07% of applicants to the Class of 2024, a slight uptick from last year
Penn admitted 3,404 out of 42,205 applicants for the Class of 2024. At 8.07%, this year's acceptance rate is slightly higher than last year's 7.44%.