UPenn Class of 2024 Regular Decision Applications

In the Early Decision round, the University of Pennsylvania received 6,453 applications, a figure down 9% from the previous year when 7,109 applicants applied ED. Of course, UPenn was not alone among our nation’s highly selective schools in receiving fewer Early applications. In fact, of the six Ivy League schools that have thus far reported Early application figures (Princeton University and Columbia University have yet to release Early application totals), four of them received fewer applications than for the Class of 2023. But will the same trend of fewer applications hold true for these schools in the Regular Decision round for the Class of 2024?

Regular Decision Applications Down at UPenn for Class of 2024

If UPenn’s newly released Regular Decision application total is a harbinger of the totals other Ivy League schools will soon publish, the answer is that the trend of fewer applications in the Early round will continue into the Regular round. In total, 42,191 students applied to UPenn’s Class of 2024 (a total that includes both Early Decision and Regular Decision applications). This same figure stood at 44,961 for the Class of 2023 and it marked the largest applicant pool in the university’s history. If one subtracts Early Decision applications to the Class of 2024 from the tally, it means the school received 35,738 applications — a mark down from 37,850 for the Regular Decision pool of the Class of 2023

A Prediction from UPenn’s Dean of Admissions

As Leanna Tilitei reports for The Daily Pennsylvanian in a piece entitled “Penn’s RD applications drop by nearly 3,000 for the Class of 2024, a year after record high,” [UPenn Dean of Admissions Eric] Furda predicts that this plateau in applicants will cause Penn to receive applications around the 40,000 mark for the next few years. Penn has already accepted 1,269 members of the Class of 2024 through Early Decision. The target size for each year’s class is between 2,400 and 2,450 students. Currently, admissions officers are in the process of reading applications for Penn’s five undergraduate dual degree programs: the Huntsman Program, M&T, Vagelos, VIPER, and Nursing & Healthcare Management. Furda said the team has to read dual degree applications first, so that students who are not accepted into dual programs may still be considered for the single-degree option.”

Only time will tell if Dean Furda’s prediction will hold true but we’ll be curious to see if other Ivy League schools also report fewer Regular Decision applications to the Class of 2024 as compared to last year. Ivy Coach’s famously accurate crystal ball hereby predicts most Ivy League schools will soon report they received fewer RD applications to the Class of 2024.