Michelle Ma

The landscape of online learning is changing fast, and its latest innovation might be both its most promising and riskiest yet.

Unlike in years past, wide-eyed and newly admitted students this year will not be experiencing Penn on the Friday of Fling. Dean of Admissions Eric Furda said that the Office of Admissions made this decision after hearing “mixed” feedback from students and their families who have visited Penn during Spring Fling in the past.

The Starbucks under 1920 Commons was transformed Thursday evening from a study area to a bustling scene of students and staff from the Office of Admissions writing postcards to 1,200 lucky admitted students.

This year, 12.1 percent of total applicants were admitted to the Class of 2017, a slight decrease from last year’s 12.6 percent and marks a record low for Penn, according to the Office of Admissions.

Prospective students were contacted by Penn’s Dean of Admissions Eric Furda, and will hear from current student volunteer and select alumni regarding their likely acceptance to Penn.

Despite the hype surrounding massive open online courses, some challenges remain for both students and educators.

The SAT, a rite of passage for many college-bound students throughout the country, will be undergoing a redesign.

This year’s new Penn Alumni Interview Program had an ambitious goal of interviewing 100 percent of applicants by 2015, and in this year’s admissions cycle, Penn has gotten closer. .

On a campus like Penn’s, where racial diversity has become a contentious and oft-discussed issue, socioeconomic diversity is a side of the debate that is less visible.

Potential Penn transfers often have a lot of questions on their minds , but not many outlets to direct them toward. This Thursday at 8:30 p.m., the Transfer Student Organization hopes to address some of those questions through their first ever live webchat.