College freshman Michelle Lu, who receives financial aid for approximately half the total cost of attendance, said that while the $3,000 tuition increase doesn’t seem like a lot incrementally, it will be significant by the end of her four years at Penn.

“If this is an admitted student group, then we can decide at a certain point, let’s say the May 1 reply date, that that group no longer exists, that we take the group down,” Admissions Dean Furda said. “The purpose has already been served.”

Furda touted the course recently as a way Penn is attempting to play a larger role in students' lives before they get to college. 

“We talk a lot being first generation low income in college, and we forget what it was like when we were seniors in high school and all of the fees we had to pay,” Alfaro said.

Graduate School of Education Senior Lecturer Anne Pomerantz also examined the influence DeVos could have on the many educational issues beyond Penn, specifically the effect of voucher programs on Philadelphia public schools.

Buzzfeed had partnered traditional higher education institutions as well as a number of online institutions in the past year, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported. Temple University was one of Buzzfeed’s first university clients, with six sponsored articles starting in 2015.

“I was really curious about what went through the minds of the admissions people when they decided to let me in here,” Mandyam said. “Maybe this could shed some light.”

The wealthiest colleges in America may soon need to give a quarter of the donations they receive to middle-class financial aid or risk their charitable status. 

Dean of Admissions Eric Furda noted that housing and staff restraints prevent ConnectED from becoming an overnight program.

According to the New York Times, Penn undergraduates’ median family income of $195,500 represents the 82nd percentile amongst U.S. families. 

Students will have a chance to participate in an interactive website where they will be able to annotate the text and share their comments with the rest of the group over the summer. The groups will still meet during NSO to discuss the text in person.

Penn received a record 40,394 applications to the Class of 2021, including 6,147 applicants who applied through the early decision round. The Class of 2021 applicant pool increased four percent from last year, continuing the trend of two to four percent increases every year.

“Our approach is going to be one in which how can we make sure that students are aware of Penn,” Dean of Admissions Eric Furda said. “How can we work with organizations that are supporting students ... what can we learn overall about students transitioning into college?”

Don’t expect an influx of students next year: Penn’s target freshman class size will remain at 2,445 students for the Class of 2021.

For the first time in Penn's history, half of students admitted to the School for Engineering and Applied Sciences in the Early Decision round are female.

Among 1,113 randomly selected Penn undergraduates, zero came from a ZIP code with a median household income in the lowest quintile of income groups.

Students who complete the ten weeks of modules will learn how to research, apply to and make the transition to colleges.