After Harvard and Princeton eliminated their early-application programs last year, many students scrambled to apply early to another institution. Penn's numbers of early-decision applicants and admitted students, however, remained steady and were seemingly not affected.

Penn freshman Barbara Wei picked up her first table tennis paddle when she was seven years old. She just wanted to try different things, and a table tennis club was conveniently located near her Maryland home. Three years later, she was a Junior Olympics champion.

Imagine paying top dollar, sacrificing your personal life and compounding years of stress into mere months, all in pursuit of a goal you later decide to give up. That's the situation many women face when applying to law school. After spending incredible amounts of time, money and effort to prepare for the Law School Admission Test (LSAT), they receive scores they feel are too low to get into the schools they want.

Savor your club meetings now, because as a graduate student those days might be over. Graduate students simply aren't as involved on campus as most undergraduates, according to recent studies conducted by the Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research.

Harvard coach Tommy Amaker has seen it all in his coaching career. He was a member of Duke's assistant coaching staff for two NCAA championships, made the Sweet Sixteen as Seton Hall's head coach and won the NIT title with Michigan. And now he knows how it feels to lose to Dartmouth.

As Grey's Anatomy draws more prospective doctors every year, Law and Order fans seem to be turning to other fields. In a survey of 190 law schools conducted by Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions, half of the schools reported a decline in applications during the past two years, with a 17.

It's going to be a busy year for newly inaugurated Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, and with his recent staff appointments, the same will be true for several Penn faculty and graduates. Nutter, a Penn graduate himself, vowed this fall to include university minds in shaping his policy and tackling the major problems in Philadelphia.

As food prices increase nationwide, students and West Philadelpia residents are feeling the strain on their purse strings. The price of many food staples, including milk, eggs and bread, rose drastically in 2007, resulting in higher prices at grocery stores and restaurants.

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J., Jan. 15 - Just over a minute into the Quakers' contest at Seton Hall last night, Penn guard Sarah Bucar came up with a loose ball and flipped it to Anca Popovici, who looked up the court for an easy fast break. She saw Maggie Burgess and lobbed up a pass, hoping to hit her on the run.

Since John Giannini took over La Salle's struggling program in August 2004, he hasn't gone for the traditional players. Instead of seeking out those with the best skills, he's gone for the best athletes. Take a 6-foot-5 wing and teach him how to play the point.

Monday Jim Saksa You Sir, are an Idiot College Senior Jim Saksa is finally graduating, so this semester should be spent boozing heavily with his SigEp frat brothers. Instead, he'll spend countless nights writing inane drivel for the DP. Hopefully, you'll appreciate the sacrifices he's making.

Penn's early decision acceptance rate decreased by 1 percent from last year to match the school's lowest-ever admissions rate of 28 percent. Of the 3,912 high-school seniors who applied to Penn early decision last fall, 1,147 were accepted in December. Those students will compose about 48 percent of the Class of 2012.

It's no small feat to reduce a major city's crime rate by 30 to 50 percent - but newly-inaugurated Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter plans to try. In his inaugural speech after being sworn in as mayor last week, Nutter described his plan for a "New Philadelphia," addressing the city's major issues and presenting a series of ambitious goals for his administration.

Actually, they do care. While most students were busy catching z's over the winter break, some Quakers were bearing the cold of Iowa and New Hampshire in support of the 2008 Presidential candidates. In a departure from previous election cycles, this year's candidates are depending on youth involvement both within their campaigns and in voting booths for their success.

For many students, Christmas came early last month. In response to Harvard's sweeping financial aid initiative, which extends coverage to middle and upper-class families, Penn announced last month that it would work toward loan-free aid for all eligible students by Fall 2009.

Two students accused of committing crimes in dormitories during the fall semester are no longer enrolled at the University. Wharton senior Jason Myers, who allegedly burglarized rooms in Harnwell College House, and Diexia Wang, who allegedly stole bras and panties from Mayer Hall dorm rooms, are no longer enrolled at Penn, Vice Provost for University Life spokesman Matt Waller said.

'We would like to return to work with our writers. If we cannot, we would like to express our ambivalence, but without our writers we are unable to express something as nuanced as ambivalence." With characteristic wit, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert announced their intentions to resume their respective Comedy Central shows last week without their striking writers.