UPENN

[Anonymous]

Engineering

[Anonymous]

I went to Penn in the 90s and would say UPenn or even University of Pennsylvania and most people thought I was talking about Oenn State. They didn’t know Penn. So, yes, among people not Ivy focused like this board that’s a thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There's a thread UVA vs UPENN. We're not looking to compare the two. What can you tell us about UPENN post 2021 - admission process, stats needed etc.? If you have a kid there now as a freshman or sophomore, would like to hear what they're saying about the university.

Soph parent, Penn is amazing. Extremely intelligent kids. You need top of the line stats unless you are hooked (race/athlete/legacy), in the hardest program in your HS, and kick ass all around. Mine got into five ivy/plus /T-15 schools, all RD, unhooked, but cracked stats and resume. Picked Penn, no regrets its amazing. The classes are small, every professor has been approachable and kind, getting undergrad research is easy, sometimes research funding too. The classes move fast and are challenging. There are the hooked kids who seemed to slide in with slightly less academics and have a somewhat harder time with the more difficult classes, but thats at every ivy, and almost none of them are in Penn Engineering or Wharton.

[Anonymous]

Solid state school. Excellent football (but can’t quite get over the hump).

[Anonymous]

DC of close friends started there last fall and loves it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My high stats DC applied to Penn on a lark. I don't have high hopes, but you never know.

Anyhow, if you're applying to Wharton, my impression is that you need HYPSM-level credentials--i.e., immaculate stats, national awards, major hooks, and great fortune. For the other Penn programs, students may be admitted with marginally lower credentials, but it's still a crap shoot.

As mentioned above, Penn has a reputation for (a) "work hard play hard" culture, (b) competitive students, and (c) preprofessional focus, although this will vary from student to student and program to program. Two or three decades ago, Penn had a reputation for being extremely graduate-focused to the neglect of its undergraduate programs. But I think Penn has largely corrected that perception.

Soph parent: Penn is very undergrad focused! Professors are amazing. Wharton and Engineering admission stats have gotten insane and unhooked they all are the same as HYPSM, especially the rare kids who get into the Dual degrees(M&T, Viper, LSM, Huntsman) who usually have multiple ivy/similar admissions to chose from. Engineering was the lowest acceptance rate ever at sub-3.5 % for ED and RD combined(so RD for Engineers is estimated to be under 2% the last 2 cycles), for class of 2026 and 2027, announced at the last two parents weekends, &Wharton is sub -4% for over 3 yrs now. College A&S and Nursing dont release but obviously slightly higher. Still extremely difficult. Wharton has always drawn a lot of applicants, but lately loads of CS/Engineers apply to ivies/T15s these days, especially the ones with Engineering schools. Over 25% of the applicant pool was to Engineering, yet only 1/6th of the undergrads are in the Engineering school. Mine says students are all super smart but collaborative, not cut-throat.

[Anonymous]

Soph parent: Penn is very undergrad focused! Professors are amazing. Wharton and Engineering admission stats have gotten insane and unhooked they all are the same as HYPSM, especially the rare kids who get into the Dual degrees(M&T, Viper, LSM, Huntsman) who usually have multiple ivy/similar admissions to chose from. Engineering was the lowest acceptance rate ever at sub-3.5 % for ED and RD combined(so RD for Engineers is estimated to be under 2% the last 2 cycles), for class of 2026 and 2027, announced at the last two parents weekends, &Wharton is sub -4% for over 3 yrs now. College A&S and Nursing dont release but obviously slightly higher. Still extremely difficult. Wharton has always drawn a lot of applicants, but lately loads of CS/Engineers apply to ivies/T15s these days, especially the ones with Engineering schools. Over 25% of the applicant pool was to Engineering, yet only 1/6th of the undergrads are in the Engineering school. Mine says students are all super smart but collaborative, not cut-throat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Solid state school. Excellent football (but can’t quite get over the hump).

🤦‍♀️

Nope. Just nope.

[Anonymous]

Wondering if anyone has current info on Penn for humanities majors. Is it fun? Is it too competitive?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Soph parent: Penn is very undergrad focused! Professors are amazing. Wharton and Engineering admission stats have gotten insane and unhooked they all are the same as HYPSM, especially the rare kids who get into the Dual degrees(M&T, Viper, LSM, Huntsman) who usually have multiple ivy/similar admissions to chose from. Engineering was the lowest acceptance rate ever at sub-3.5 % for ED and RD combined(so RD for Engineers is estimated to be under 2% the last 2 cycles), for class of 2026 and 2027, announced at the last two parents weekends, &Wharton is sub -4% for over 3 yrs now. College A&S and Nursing dont release but obviously slightly higher. Still extremely difficult. Wharton has always drawn a lot of applicants, but lately loads of CS/Engineers apply to ivies/T15s these days, especially the ones with Engineering schools. Over 25% of the applicant pool was to Engineering, yet only 1/6th of the undergrads are in the Engineering school. Mine says students are all super smart but collaborative, not cut-throat.

Very helpful - thanks!

[Anonymous]

If you say UPenn in Philly that means you are blue collar, white collars call it Penn.
Penn State is called the same by all

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have heard mixed things. It's on my child's list so they have researched it fairly well. It sounds like it has both a "work hard play hard" and "social Ivy" reputation, and also a grind, grind, grind reputation. My kid sent me a link purporting to show that Penn has some of the worst mental health outcomes around. So I'm concerned about it.

We were also concerned about this. My kid chose Dartmouth over Penn for this reason -- wanted a more relaxed and collaborative atmosphere.

We made same decision with the same schools for this reason and not feeling safe at the perimeters of campus.

[Anonymous]

5 kids ED'd from my kid's high school; student with highest stats (also great ECs) was accepted. Next two in terms of stats were deferred. Lowest two in terms of stats (even with great ECs) were rejected.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Solid state school. Excellent football (but can’t quite get over the hump).

Ignore this troll. Probably Envy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Solid state school. Excellent football (but can’t quite get over the hump).

🤦‍♀️

Nope. Just nope.

These people are trolling, and they’re doing it because it works. Enough people associated with Penn are horrified that it could be confused with the state school that they engage back (which I agree is stupid). Just ignore these people, they know the difference.