<pre><code> The University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia admitted 14 percent of its 26,938 applicants, the smallest portion ever and down from 17 percent last year, Dean of Admissions Eric J. Furda said in an interview today. Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, admitted 18 percent of a record 36,337 applicants, down from 19 percent, Doris Davis, associate provost, said in an e- mail. Penn and Cornell are members of the Ivy League.
Colleges are beginning to notify high school students, by e-mail or through the U.S. Postal Service, of admission decisions. Most applicants who are offered places must pay deposits by May 1 to secure the spots.*
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<p>@skywalker: The numbers begin to trend downward beginning next year or possibly the year after. (A lot of this is due simply to the graduating classes being larger and larger each year, along with the phenomenon of more and more students choosing to go to college.) I have a 2010 senior who is going through this incredibly competitive market with you. But his little brother won’t graduate until 2015, so I am really hoping that things are less competitive by then.</p>
<p>Not necessarily. When I was in high school (not long ago, I graduated in '04) I recall Cornell dealing with 18,000-22,000 applications. Now they have nearly doubled to over 36,000 applicants, yet has the population applying to colleges doubled? No. Students are applying to a higher quantity of colleges now more than ever, I’m sure you’ve seen those here with the “I have 4 reach schools, 6 in the middle, and 3 safety schools that I’m applying to”. Because of this, Cornell and others will have to admit more students, yet expect fewer of them to enroll. </p>
<p>The only exception on yield every year seems to be Harvard. Unless things have changed in the past 2-3 years, they’re still the yield king (was around 75-80% last time I knew).</p>