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.

A weekly roundup of news from around the Ivy League and the higher-education community

A weekly roundup of news from around the Ivy League and the higher-education community.

A weekly roundup of news from around the Ivy League and the higher-education community.

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

A weekly roundup of news from around the Ivy League and the higher-education community

A weekly roundup of higher education news around the Ivy League and peer schools.

At a town hall meeting on college affordability, the leaders — which included names like Philadelphia Mayor and 1979 Wharton graduate Michael Nutter and former Pennsylvania Gov. and 1965 College graduate Ed Rendell — ran through different ideas to help keep college costs down at Penn and across the nation.

A weekly roundup of higher education news around the Ivy League and peer schools

A weekly roundup of higher education news around the Ivy League and peer schools.

Following Penn’s 1.7-percent drop in overall applications for the Class of 2016, Harvard, Princeton, Brown and Columbia universities have announced decreases of 1.9, 1.7, 7 and 8.9 percent, respectively. INTERACTIVE: Ivy League Admission Rates

While President Barack Obama is in the process of rolling out a series of bold new higher education initiatives, Penn administrators say the White House’s ideas will likely leave the University untouched.

Washington state is having a serious crisis in higher education, according to two Penn researchers.

Over the next two years, Provost Vince Price will be leading Penn in a large-scale internal review of its undergraduate education.

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