Tomorrow morning at 9:30 a.m., Dean of Admissions Eric Furda will be speaking about the college admissions process with Al Roker on the Today Show.

This is the third straight year that Penn’s applicant pool has remained above 31,000, after a 39 percent increase from 2009 to 2011.

In response to the looming severe weather threat of Hurricane Sandy, the Office of Admissions has extended the deadline for early decision applications to 11:59 p.m. on Nov. 6.

The new site, launched on Oct. 3, features new tabs about various aspects of life at Penn, including interdisciplinary learning, extracurricular activities and the city of Philadelphia.

Penn dropped three spots to eighth place in the 2013 U.S. News and World Report rankings of the nation’s top colleges and universities. The Wharton School retained its spot as the top undergraduate business school.

The yield for both the regular and early decision admits was 63.3 percent this year, similar to the yield rate of 62.7 percent for the Class of 2015.

Additional recommendation letters may boost or harm an application, according to admissions experts.

According to the Office of Admissions, 14 percent of Penn’s newly admitted Class of 2016 are first-generation college students whose parents have not attained college degrees.

Students who have been admitted to Penn’s Class of 2016 will begin arriving on campus April 12 for Penn Preview Days.

The Admissions Office waitlisted 2,017 students this admissions cycle, continuing a trend of shrinking the waitlist over the past few years. Penn waitlisted 2,400 students last year and more than 3,500 students three years ago.

Dean of Admissions Eric Furda said the Office of Admissions usually sends warning letters to newly admitted students and their high-school counselors after a “pattern of lower grades” or a failing grade.

Penn’s overall acceptance rate of 12.3 percent for the Class of 2016 is the exact same as the initial acceptance rate last year. INTERACTIVE: Penn Admission Rates Over Time VIDEO: Your Admissions Memories LAST YEAR: Penn admissions drops to 12.3 percent

It’s been almost a year since I, along with other regular decision applicants, got into Penn. Even though March 30, 2011 seems like a while ago, I try to remind myself how fortunate I am to be at Penn.

According to the Office of Admissions, the alumni interview is completely optional and about 6,500 Penn alumni will interview only half of all applicants per year based largely on geographic location and the number of volunteer interviewers.

VIPER — the Vagelos Integrated Program in Energy Research — was announced in the fall and is currently working to finalize its curriculum and admit its first freshman class ever. VIPER will combine courses from the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering and Applied Science to educate students on alternative energy resources.

Penn’s efforts amount to little more than a band-aid on a gushing wound.

Every year, Penn sends academic likely letters to students the University believes will be competitive in the applicant pools of peer institutions.