Admissions

Penn sees increase in LGBT-flagged early decision applications

“Penn consistently, and more recently, has been seen as an environment that is supportive and welcoming across the board of LGBT students and allies,” Furda said. While the Common Application does not include a check box for applicants to indicate their sexual orientation, many students may choose to self-identify as LGBT through their essays and other written material.

Common Application schedules makeover for 2013

About thirty-five years later in the digital age, the Common App announced last month that its online system is scheduled for a makeover in 2013 to better handle the projected increases in application volume.

Wharton School eliminates alumni interviews for MBAs

Recently, Wharton’s MBA program opted to send its admissions officers around the world to interview applicants who cannot physically attend an on-campus interview, replacing alumni who previously filled this role.

Admissions to launch new likely letter campaign

The Admissions Dean’s Advisory Board — which Dean of Admissions Eric Furda brought together last year to involve undergraduates in the University’s recruitment process — is currently piloting a program for academic likely letter recipients.

Application dip prompts competing explanations

Dean of Admissions Eric Furda believes there may be more to the numbers than meets the eye.

'Too soon to tell' if financial aid calculator will impact application numbers

As part of an effort to remain in compliance with the federal Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008, the University released its own version of the calculator in late October.

Common App limits application essays to 500 words

Last spring, the Common Application — the organization that provides the application platform for more than 450 colleges and universities worldwide, including Penn — implemented a 500-word limit for essay length.

Applications to Penn drop by nearly 2 percent

Penn received 31,127 overall applications to its Class of 2016 — a 1.7-percent drop from last year’s total, Dean of Admissions Eric Furda announced on Tuesday.

Furda continues efforts to reach applicants in nontraditional ways

Last week — for the second time ever — Furda contributed a post on The New York Times’ “The Choice” blog, which provides news stories and advice to college applicants and their families.

Harvard, Princeton early action affects Penn

Admissions officers in the Ivy League watched as many universities, including Penn, saw some slowing in their previously nosediving early admission rates, as both Harvard and Princeton universities reinstated early action programs for the first time since 2006.

Early decision admit rate drops slightly

This year, Penn’s early decision acceptance rate declined by almost 1 percent, from 26.1 percent last year to 25.4 percent, Dean of Admissions Eric Furda announced on Friday. INTERACTIVE: Penn early decision

Class of 2016 early admissions decisions to be released Friday

Today, more than 4,500 early decision applicants will find out whether they have a place in Penn’s Class of 2016.

Obama's push for diversity unlikely to dramatically affect University policies

Last Friday, President Barack Obama’s administration urged higher-education institutions to promote diversity on their campuses — a move that Penn administrators say will benefit the University, as well as colleges nationwide. WORD ON THE WALK: Racial Diversity

U.S. medical school applications reach all-time high

This is the largest first-time applicant pool since it began tracking in 1989, according to AAMC. Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine has not yet released its application numbers for this year. WORD ON THE WALK: Med school popularity

Drop in early apps at Penn, peers may be tied to Harvard and Princeton

This fall, the reinstatement of Harvard and Princeton universities’ early action programs, which were eliminated in 2006, may have contributed to diminished applicant pools for many of their competitors, including Penn. INTERACTIVE: 2012 early admissions at peer schools

Panel will address economic diversity on campus

Prompted by a series of opinion pieces that appeared in the Penn Almanac earlier this school year, the panel — which is part of Ware College House’s ongoing “Dinner with Interesting People” speaker series — will take place at 5 p.m. on Tuesday in McClelland Hall. INTERACTIVE: Pell grants around the Ivies

Ernest Owens | Affirmative acceptance

Yes, I did get accepted into Penn because of affirmative action. But so did you — and everyone else.

Snow stalls early decision applications

Since many students were affected by last week’s storm, Penn’s Office of Admissions extended its early decision deadline from Nov. 1 to Friday, Nov. 4.

Value of college rankings brought into question

At a meeting in September, a NACAC committee formed in 2010 to research the annual rankings made a series of recommendations to U.S. News.

Feeling link to U.S. culture, Canadian student applies early

In the third part of a series following students applying early decision to Penn, we caught up with Ontario high-school senior William Xiao, who started preparing to apply to an American university in tenth grade.