Undergraduate Applications to Penn, Duke Set Records

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
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<p>Jan. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Applications for undergraduate admission rose to record levels at the University of Pennsylvania and Duke University as students were attracted by financial-aid policies.</p>

<p>The sticker price for students exceeds $50,000 a year at both institutions. Duke, in Durham, North Carolina, received more than 29,500 applications for the next academic year, an increase of 10 percent to an all-time high, according to a statement today. Penn’s applications rose 14 percent to about 30,800, from almost 27,000 a year ago, the university in Philadelphia said in a separate statement.</p>

<p>“We believe that one of the primary reasons for this significant increase is Penn’s no-loan financial aid policies, which enable students who qualify for aid to graduate free of debt,” said Eric J. Furda, Penn’s dean of admissions, who called the number of applicants a record.</p>

<p>At Duke, “families are responding to our commitment to make Duke affordable,” said Christoph Guttentag, dean of undergraduate admissions. More than 60 percent of applicants to the campus indicated they will apply for financial aid, he said.</p>

<p>Duke has “need-blind” admissions and will “meet 100 percent of demonstrated financial need,” according to the statement.</p>

<p>College Costs</p>

<p>Duke’s costs for tuition, fees, room and board total $52,405 this academic year, compared with $51,944 at Penn. The expense for the next entering class hasn’t been set at either institution.</p>

<p>Penn said it will release decisions on regular-admission applicants on March 30. Duke said it will notify applicants in early April. Early-admission candidates have already been notified at both universities.</p>

<p>Students in California sent in 4,032 applications, the most of any state to Penn, Furda said today in an e-mail. That figure was equal to 13 percent of Penn’s total.</p>

<p>Penn’s early applications, which were due in November rather than this month, climbed 19 percent to 4,571, the university said in December. That percentage increase was the largest in the Ivy League, a group of eight universities in the northeastern U.S., according to data provided by each institution. The early applications were included in the total released today.</p>

<p>--Editors: Jeffrey Tannenbaum, Andrew Pollack</p>

<p>That's a lot of applications.</p>

<p>Undergraduate</a> Applications to Penn, Duke Set Records - BusinessWeek</p>

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<p>This makes me want to cry.</p>

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<p>Great. So I’m going to be rejected by Penn :)</p>

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<p>so what approximately 12.5% acceptance rate- Assuming Penn accepts the same number as last year.</p>

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<p>Thank god I’m not applying for FA.</p>

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<p>@uvaorbust, thank your parents first! Someone worked hard for you not to need any fa.</p>

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<p>Ugh, how huge were the Duke numbers?</p>

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<p>If you were meant to get, in the first place, this increase won’t make a difference. The FA is need-blind people…</p>

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<p>But is it really need blind. They can tell you whatever they want, but what they actually do is up to them.</p>

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<p>at least im not applying for fin aid as an international…that should up the chances just by that tiny little bit… :)</p>

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<p>30,800 applicants total - 4,571 ED applicants = 26,229 RD applicants
Last year, Penn accepted 3,830 applicants total with 1,200 ED
Assuming they accept a similar amount this year (but 1,192 ED), that leaves 2,638 for RD
2,638 out of 26,229 is 10% –> RD acceptance rate</p>

<p>4,571 out of 30,800 is 14.8% of all applicants
14.8(26% ED acceptance rate) + 85.2(10% RD acceptance rate) = 12.4% overall acceptance rate, for a slightly less than 2% decrease from last year.</p>

<p>Yay for procrastinating.</p>

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<p>^ It would actually be a slightly lower RD acceptance rate than that. You’re forgetting about the 1,186 ED applicants who were deferred to the RD round last year. So if we assume that 1,200 ED applicants were deferred this year, the RD round would include about 27,429 applicants (30,800 total applicants minus 4,571 ED applicants plus 1,200 deferred ED applicants). And if we assume that Penn accepts the same total number of applicants this year as last year (3,845 per [Penn</a> Admissions: Incoming Class Profile](<a href=“http://www.admissions.upenn.edu/profile/]Penn”>http://www.admissions.upenn.edu/profile/)), and that 1,195 applicants were accepted during ED this year (per the body of this article: [Early</a> decision admit rate falls to 26 percent | The Daily Pennsylvanian](<a href=“http://www.thedp.com/article/early-decision-admit-rate-falls-26-percent]Early”>http://www.thedp.com/article/early-decision-admit-rate-falls-26-percent)), then 2,650 of the 27,429 remaining applicants will be accepted, for a RD acceptance rate of 9.7%.</p>

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<p>and you must realize that Penn has only ~ 2400 seats for people.
The reason the accept 3800 is simply because many students don’t chose Penn and go to a HYPSM instead.
The 3800 includes waitlisted people. So the acceptance rate (per se) is lower. </p>

<p>Don’t lose hope guys. May the best candidates be accepted.</p>

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<p>Does applying for FA make a difference? In reality? Don’t give me the, “Well if it does, you won’t want to go there anyways” response. </p>

<p>If I called and cancelled myself as an applicant for FA would it make a difference?</p>

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<p>^ Penn makes a big deal out of the fact that admissions for North American citizens and permanent residents are need-blind, so it shouldn’t make a difference.</p>

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<p>I would say the Ivy League schools’ biggest claim to fame is their financial aid. A big part of their prestige depends on this. They would not lie about being need-blind.</p>

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<p>The official mantra is need blind, but the amount of aid it grants each year is budgetted. Although no one can prove it, I think it only makes sense that at some point Penn starts favoring full pay students over those who need aid.</p>

<p>Some strong LACs admit as much. The Ivies don’t, but they don’t deny it either.</p>

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<p>its a well known fact that being drop dead poor and broke adds to you college chances.</p>

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<p>It’s okay! I wasn’t going to be admitted to begin with. :)</p>