University of Pennsylvania

Overview

The University of Pennsylvania (Penn) sits in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1740, and its West Philadelphia campus covers 299 acres. The university has 12 schools, four of which admit undergraduates. In fall 2025 Penn enrolled 9,989 undergraduates, with an 8:1 student-to-faculty ratio and a 97% six-year graduation rate. Of the students who entered in fall 2024, 98.6% returned for their second year.

Two kinds of families tend to fit. In the first, the student already has a clear academic direction before applying, because Penn asks applicants to choose one undergraduate school (business, engineering, nursing, or arts and sciences) and the application has to show why that choice makes sense. In the second, the family wants professional training combined with a liberal arts foundation, which Penn’s coordinated dual-degree programs provide by awarding degrees from two schools. For Irvine families, the first question is how the binding Early Decision round fits with the University of California application; the last section of this page lays that out by grade.

Admissions data

4.9%Class of 2029 admit rate

1. Applied72,544
2. Admitted3,570
3. Enrolled2,420

• Other US states72%
• Pennsylvania15%
• International13%

Uses the Common Data Set's in-state, out-of-state, and international categories; California students count as other US states.

• 1500–160063%
• 1400–149022%
• 1300–13909%
• 1290 and below6%

The Class of 2030 middle 50% range was 1440 to 1550 on the SAT and 33 to 35 on the ACT.

The newest class, the Class of 2030, entered in fall 2026. Penn reports 61,264 applications and 2,416 enrolling students, 52% of whom were admitted through Early Decision. Among enrolling students, 15% have home addresses outside the US, 20% are first-generation college students, and 21% are estimated to be Pell-eligible. Penn has not published the number admitted to the Class of 2030, so the funnel above uses Class of 2029 data.

How to apply

Penn accepts the Common App and the Coalition Application and treats them equally; it also accepts QuestBridge. The application fee is $75, with waivers available. Materials include the personal statement, the activities section, two Penn short answers of 150 to 200 words each (a thank-you note to someone you have not yet thanked, and how you will explore community at Penn), and a prompt specific to the undergraduate school you are applying to. The school sends every high school transcript, the school report, a counselor recommendation, the midyear report, and, for admitted students, a final transcript. One teacher recommendation from a core academic subject is required; a second teacher or community supporter recommendation is optional. Two items are new for 2026-27: every applicant completes an English proficiency questionnaire, and applicants indicate whether any high school coursework was taken online.

Testing is required. Penn’s own wording is that applicants “are required to submit scores for the SAT or ACT,” and students facing hardship may request a waiver. Neither test is preferred, and Penn superscores both. Scores may be self-reported when applying; admitted students must send official scores. International applicants whose primary language of instruction was not English must also submit TOEFL, IELTS, or Duolingo English Test results, and those scores cannot be self-reported.

Penn’s list of required materials does not include an interview. International applicants may submit an InitialView interview as supplemental information, but it does not replace English proficiency testing. Admission is need-blind for citizens and permanent residents of the United States, Canada, and Mexico, meaning a request for aid does not affect the decision. For other international applicants Penn is need-aware, and international students remain eligible for aid.

Cost and financial aid

2026-27$94,582billed total

• Tuition$65,670
• Fees$8,308
• Housing$13,644
• Food$6,960

What a family actually pays, by income

1. Up to $75,000Bill $0Aid covers tuition, fees, housing, and dining
2. Up to $200,000Tuition $0Aid covers at least full tuition
3. Above $200,000Assessed on need; 100% of demonstrated need met

Penn aid consists of grants and work-study with no student loans, and it meets 100% of each aided student’s demonstrated need. The income thresholds above come from the Quaker Commitment, in effect since the 2025-26 academic year, and apply to families with typical assets; families with self-employment income, businesses or farms, real estate beyond the primary home, or substantial liquid assets or trusts are reviewed individually. In 2023-24, 46% of undergraduates received need-based aid, with an average package of $66,222. US families file the FAFSA and the CSS Profile. In the last cycle, the deadlines for receiving an aid offer together with the admission decision were November 10, 2025 for ED and February 5, 2026 for RD; dates for the new cycle are posted by Penn Student Registration and Financial Services (SRFS).

Schools and fields of study

Penn’s four undergraduate schools are the College of Arts and Sciences, which awards the Bachelor of Arts; the School of Engineering and Applied Science, which awards the Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE) and the Bachelor of Applied Science (BAS); the School of Nursing, which awards the Bachelor of Science in Nursing and a Bachelor of Science in Nutrition Science; and the Wharton School, where every student earns a Bachelor of Science in Economics and chooses among 20 concentrations. Applicants do not apply to Penn in general; they apply directly to one of these schools.

This list follows Penn’s undergraduate catalog, and Penn notes that majors and concentrations can change from year to year. The College of Arts and Sciences begins a new curriculum with the Class of 2031, the students entering in fall 2027, which means it applies to this cycle’s high school seniors. The curriculum has three parts: Foundations, which includes a first-year seminar, a critical writing seminar, two language courses (or a fluency exemption), and a Perspectives and Difference course; a Distribution requirement spreading coursework across the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities and arts; and one major. College students declare a major by the spring of sophomore year.

Engineering students declare a major by the end of the first year, May 15. Penn Engineering reports about 17,600 first-year applications for the Class of 2029 and an average entering class of about 400. An undecided major does not hurt an applicant, but the application needs to state engineering interests clearly. About 20% of engineering undergraduates pursue dual degrees with the College, Wharton, or Nursing. Penn also runs six specialized cross-school programs: the Huntsman Program in International Studies and Business (College and Wharton, first-year applicants only), the Vagelos Program in Life Sciences and Management, LSM (College and Wharton), the Jerome Fisher Program in Management and Technology, M&T (Engineering and Wharton), Nursing and Health Care Management, NHCM (Nursing and Wharton), the Vagelos Integrated Program in Energy Research, VIPER (College and Engineering), and Visual and Interactive Computing, VIC (Engineering and the Weitzman School of Design). All except Huntsman also consider internal transfers, space permitting.

Campus life

Every Penn undergraduate must live on campus for the first four semesters, excluding summers, and participate in a dining plan. First-year students are placed in one of 13 undergraduate College Houses and can choose a first-year house, where most residents are first-year students, or a four-year house that mixes all class years. According to the 2025-26 Common Data Set, every first-year student who entered in fall 2025 lived in college housing, and 94% of all undergraduates did.

A timeline for Irvine families

The five Irvine Unified high schools differ in when AP courses open, how weighting works, and how the math sequence accelerates, and those four years of scheduling decide whether a Penn school-specific essay has a real record behind it. School-by-school rules are in the IUSD high school guides.

1. Grade 9Set the path, protect grades
   • Settle the math and science sequence
   • Protect core grades
   • Choose one or two activities that can run four years
2. Grade 10Test a school direction
   • Take the first AP courses the school allows
   • Connect activities to one of business, engineering, nursing, or arts and sciences
   • Consider an academic summer program or research
3. Grade 11Finish testing
   • SAT or ACT: first sitting in spring, second before summer ends
   • Dates on the test calendar; prep on the SAT page
   • Choose a core-subject recommending teacher and stay in touch
4. Fall of grade 12Choose the school and the round
   • Settle the undergraduate school or dual-degree program
   • ED: application by November 1
   • File the UC application in the same window; otherwise RD by January 5

Dates and registration deadlines are on the 2026-27 test calendar, and preparation options are on the SAT page.

How EDUBUS helps

EDUBUS college planning runs year by year from grade 9: a four-year course plan built around the rules of each Irvine high school, a testing schedule, help settling on a school direction in grades 10 and 11, and in grade 12 a counselor review of every application component, the Penn short answers, and the school-specific essay. An aid estimate before the ED decision and preparation of the CSS Profile and FAFSA are part of the service. To see where a student stands relative to schools like Penn, start with a free assessment.