University of Pennsylvania Class of 2022 Early Decision Applications

Ivy Coach is cited in “The Daily Pennsylvanian” on UPenn’s Early Decision figures for its Class of 2022.

The University of Pennsylvania received 6,731 Early Decision applications for its Class of 2022, up 9.5% from last year and marking a new record number of ED applications for the university. This new record comes a year after last year’s record-breaking 6,147 Early Decision applications for the Class of 2021. And two years ago, for the Class of 2020, UPenn set a record as well for number of applications received (5,762). Wait, we’re not done! For the Class of 2019, UPenn received a then-record 5,489 ED applications. For the Class of 2018, the school received a then-record 5,149 applications. And for the Class of 2017, UPenn received a then-record 4,812 Early Decision applications. Are you noticing a trend?

UPenn Early Decision Applications on the Rise

To offer some context, for the Class of 2008, UPenn received 3,387 Early Decision applications. That was the last Early Decision round before Eric Furda was named the University of Pennsylvania’s Dean of Admissions. In the thirteen Early Decision rounds that have come and gone since Dean Furda took the reigns of UPenn’s admissions office, Early Decision applications have increased from 3,387 applications to 6,731 applications. And while there have been a couple of years during his tenure in which the school didn’t set a new record for number of Early Decision applications (shocking, we know!), the trend is undeniable. Under his leadership, applications to UPenn go up, up, and away.

UPenn’s Early Decision Pool for the Class of 2022

While decisions won’t go out until mid-December for UPenn’s Early Decision pool, we’ve got some data on this year’s applicants, courtesy of “The Daily Pennsylvanian’s” Harry Trustman. In a piece entitled “Penn received a record-breaking number of Early Decision applicants for the Class of 2022,”  Trustman writes, “Of the students who applied, 47 percent are women, 11 percent are first-generation college students, 40 percent self-identify as students of color, 16.5 percent were educated outside of the United States, and 16 percent are legacies, which refers to students who are children or grandchildren of Penn alumni.”

If you haven’t gotten our hints already, we believe Dean Furda is deserving of credit for UPenn’s ever rising number of Early Decision applications. And we said as much on the pages of “The Daily Pennsylvanian.” As Trustman writes, “The Managing Director of the college counseling service Ivy Coach Brian Taylor agreed, adding that it has been a trend across elite, urban universities to court students in rural areas. ‘After the presidential election, [colleges] made a concerted effort to appeal to students in more rural areas,’ he said. ‘There are Americans in places where schools haven’t traditionally recruited. Schools like Penn have made concerted efforts to attract these kinds of students.’ Taylor also credited Furda’s candor and outreach efforts for the increase in application numbers. ‘When you have an admissions officer who is so forthright about what Penn is looking for, it’s going to encourage people to apply,’ he said. ‘I think college applicants respond to what he has to say.'”

While there are many great deans of admissions at highly selective colleges, there is no more forthright dean of admissions than Eric Furda. He tells it like it is and we appreciate him for it. Oh and one last thing. As the regular readers of our college admissions blog know well, we’ve got a crystal ball at Ivy Coach, one cited on the pages of “The Dartmouth.” Our crystal ball predicts another record-breaking Early Decision round next year for the University of Pennsylvania.