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.

On Wednesday night, Ware College House hosted the East Coast premiere of First Generation, a documentary that follows the lives of four first-generation college applicants.

Dean of Admissions Eric Furda said there is “a growing public need for people who are willing to give advice” about colleges, which often comes in the form of college counselors.

Tonight, Ware College House will host the East Coast premiere of First Generation, a documentary that follows four first-generation college applicants as they make their way through the admissions process.

“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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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