Early Decision

The number of early decision applications to Penn did not fluctuate greatly from last year, at approximately 3387 applicants, versus 3390 last year.

This year, the SAT average increased from 1370 to 1380, and the grade point averages were also stronger -- with the average applicant in the 97th percentile of his or her high school class.

The College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering and Applied Science both also saw increases -- the College received 2,108 applicants and Engineering received 401 applications this year, up from 2,078 and 388 respectively. The Wharton School, on the other hand, received only 801 applicants, a decrease from 868 last year. The School of Nursing saw a slight rise in the number of applications from last year up to 77 applicants from 56 last year.

There were 81 applicants to the Huntsman Program in International Studies and Business, a joint program between Wharton and the College, and 97 applicants to the Jerome Fisher Program in Management and Technology, a joint program between Engineering and Wharton.

Overall, there were 44 states represented. There were no early decision applicants from Idaho, New Mexico, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota or South Dakota.

The applicants came from a variety of backgrounds as well. Legacies represented 556 applicants and an additional 355 were international students.

Minority applications accounted for 1,240 of the total. Of the minority applicants, 113 were black, 939 were Asian, 157 were Latino, 17 were biracial and 14 were Native American.

About 60 percent of the applicants came from public high schools and about 40 percent came from private schools. This represents the same ratio as the applicant pool from the Class of 2007.

Out of the early decision applicants, about one third is accepted, one third will be deferred and one third will be denied.

Penn expects to fill about 45 to 47 percent of the Class of 2008 with early decision applicants. Last year, 47 percent of the class was filled with early decision students.

Regular Decision

Penn accepted 3,846 students for the Class of 2008. The admissions rate was 21 percent for overall and 17 percent for regular decision applicants, which was a small increase from 2003 when the admit rate for regular applicants was 20.4 percent.

2,541 students were admitted regular decision while 1,120 applicants were admitted early decision. The difference between this total and the total admitted is made up of students who were deferred and then admitted regular decision and holdover applicants who were admitted in 2003.

Average SAT scores were higher for the newly admitted freshman class than in years prior, with an average score of 705 in verbal and 726 in math.

This is an increase from the Class of 2007, which averaged 702 in verbal and 722 in math. The total average SAT score for this year's class was 1431 compared to an average of 1424 in 2003.

SAT II scores also went up to an average of 719, an increase of two points over last year's average of 717.

The total number of students of color admitted also increased. This year, 1,588 students of color were admitted compared to last year's 1,513, accounting for approximately 37 percent of the students.

Matriculation Yield

63 percent of accepted students will matriculate at Penn. That puts Penn among the top 10 schools in the country, marking it as one of the most popular destinations for graduating high school seniors.

The total yield rate combines students who were accepted through the early decision process -- who are legally bound to attend -- with students who were accepted regular decision. The yield rate for regular decision students was approximately 50 percent this year, up from the Class of 2007's 46 percent.

The board of admissions aims to enroll approximately 2,400 students each year. Of a few hundred students on the waiting list, less than a handful will be accepted.

The Class of 2008 is made up of more than 38 percent of students of color. Thirteen percent of the class is from the international community, representing nearly 70 foreign countries from six continents. All 50 states are represented.

For the second year in a row, female students outnumber male students, making up 51 percent of the incoming class.

Fifteen percent of the incoming class are children of legacy parents.