17% overall admit rate

Colleges & Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
41

<p>I disagree. Applications went up by 70%; this is impossible to attribute simply to the city getting “hot.” I might give you a 20% percent increase over 5 years, but 70%? No; that was Furda’s marketing.</p>

<p>You may not know this, but Columbia was ranked around 16th in the 80’s and early 90’s. Yes, Harlem had something to do with this, but Harlem was arguably as bad in the 40’s-60’s, when Columbia was doing great. The ranking increased for 2 main reasons:

  1. The endowment did astoundingly well
  2. Quigley, Furda, et al. consolidated all facets of the admissions department, streamlined them technologically, and ran a wild marketing scheme in California and the midwest.</p>

<p>Furda realized early on that California and the midwest were key, and now he’s implementing that here. Soon every Kansan who applies to Harvard will be applying to Penn, as well; that was not the case previously.</p>

<p>I would guess that Furda can attract at least 3,500 more applicants, just domestically, and that would bring our acceptance rate to roughly 13.5%.</p>

<p>What you need to realize is that Penn has a significant ceiling. Even with its high yield rate (about 66%), it has a large class to fill: about 2400. This means that Penn has to admit around 3640 students to fill its class. If you wanted to get the acceptance rate down to 10%, you would have to convince 36,000 applicants to apply. That’s inconceivable. Cornell has the most applications of any Ivy League school, and even it only gets about 33,000; and that’s with 1,000 more students per class than Penn.</p>

<p>In other words, getting the numbers to where we want them will be hard work. It is doable, and it is likely that within 1-3 years, Penn will have a 13% acceptance rate.</p>

<p>Now, the final factor: financial aid. This is THE MOST important factor to having a low acceptance rate. An amazing financial aid system will raise the yield through the roof. Penn has realized this, and started down this path. If it maintains its commitment in all of the respects I have listed, we should easily remain among the most competitive schools in the nation.</p>

<p>Bottom line: don’t worry, and have faith in Furda. He definitely has a long term plan, and I am certain that it will pay off.</p>

42

<p>Valid points all, but I maintain my death-to-furda stance. I can only hope he is enjoying getting a verbal beat-down from every trustree, one after another, all day today.</p>

<p>The “wild marketing scheme” is a LOT easier for a school like Columbia and a city like New York than a school like Penn (which pales in the number of Nobels and lacks a stunning neoclassical campus) and a city like Philadelphia (which is known in the popular imagination for “Rocky” and “crime” “cheesesteaks” and “oh yeah like the Liberty Bell is there”).</p>

<p>I’m not saying any of these perceptions are valid or even accurate. But they are the perceptions and Columbia marketing is a much easier job than Penn marketing. Penn needs to get someone aggressive and ambitious and get them to do the marketing.</p>

43

<p>

oh, and Columbia doesn’t?</p>

44

<p>No it doesn’t lack it (or, skipping the double-negatives, it does have it) Have you seen a) the campus b) the dictionary (or wiki [Neoclassical</a> architecture - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoclassical_architecture]Neoclassical”>Neoclassical architecture - Wikipedia))</p>

45

<p>Bagels, nice posts on the DP site. :rolleyes:</p>

46

<p>"acceptance rates do not necessarily correlate to selectivity "</p>

<p>Ditto. It also goes with how much $$$$$ they spent on glossy prints and stamps as well as the applicant’s perception how tough to get in, particularly this year. Next year? I bet it will be up big time for Penn and Princeton, down big time for Brown, and down a little for Yale. Harvard will stay the same.</p>

47

<p>I’ve no idea what you’re talking about! I’m innocent!!</p>

<p>All I’m saying is that if Furda doesn’t improve…well…the ID ‘45 percenter’ is already taken</p>

48

<p>

</p>

<p>That would be ideal… oh well, only 365 days to go til we find out…
or is it a leap year…366? damnit!!!</p>

49

<p>Ilovebagels,
I know so many students who apply to Harvard that don’t have a snow balls chance in h### of getting in but apply anyways just to say they applied. I think they think it is the lottery. I think HY have a large amount of these type of applicants. I also think people thought Brown would be easier to get into hence the increase in applicants.</p>

50

<p>North of Connecticut, Penn does not have the recognition that you would think. Most people in RI and MA and the more northern states never think to apply to Penn. We have many friends at private and public schools in those areas and don’t know of anyone at their schools that have applied in the last five years. They all apply to Harvard, Brown, Dartmouth, Cornell and a few to Yale. I don’t know what it is but they don’t seem to go south of New York. Strange!</p>

51

<p>Penn does have a harder time marketing itself than Columbia (primarily because of location and Columbia still has a traditionally stronger brand), but Furda seems to be on the right track. Just like Columbia years ago, Penn’s problem is that, outside the northeast, students aren’t really that aware of it. Marketing should pay dividends down the line when students not hyper-aware of all the colleges and rankings out there look to make their applications decisions. </p>

<p>Also, maybe this is strange thinking but, at this point to most hs students, Penn looks like one of the LEAST selective ivies. Save for Cornell, Penn has the highest acceptance rate in the ivy league, and couldn’t this maybe work in Penn’s favor a bit? I can’t imagine Columbia or Harvard getting that much more selective, and their ~10% accept rate probably deters applicants, but Penn probably has a way to go before this occurs. More hopefuls may still apply in the couple of years ahead precisely because Penn seems to be more accessible than (by outward appearances) what seem to be the more selective schools.</p>

52

<p>Penn may have a harder time marketing itself, but it doesn’t seem to me that they even try. I got viewbooks from Cornell, Columbia, and Brown without asking, but I had to request my Penn viewbook. That may help get a few applicants; the Brown viewbook helped support my decision to apply.</p>

53

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/brown-university/681536-anybody-received-big-envelope-today.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/brown-university/681536-anybody-received-big-envelope-today.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>happy mom</p>

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<p>I am so nervous.</p>

55

<p>My hands are ice cold :/</p>

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<p>^^it would be great if my mom did that!!! haha</p>