University of Pennsylvania

At the University of Pennsylvania, you’ll find a historic, Ivy League school with highly selective admissions and a history of innovation in interdisciplinary education and scholarship. You’ll also find a picturesque campus amidst a dynamic city and a world-class research institution.

Today Penn is home to a diverse undergraduate student body of more than 10,000, hailing from every state in the union and all around the globe. Penn consistently ranks among the top 10 universities in the country. Another 10,000 students are enrolled in Penn’s 12 graduate and professional schools, which are national leaders in their fields. The Wharton School is consistently one of the nation’s top three business schools. The School of Nursing is one of the best in the U.S. The School of Arts and Sciences, Graduate School of Education, Law School, School of Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine and Annenberg School for Communication all rank among the top schools in their fields.

www.upenn.eduAdmissions are among the most selective in the country. Of the 22,718 applications Penn received for admission to the class of 2013, 4,018 (17.7%) were accepted. 95.3% of the students admitted for fall 2009 came from the top 10% of their high school graduating class and scored an average of 1,440 on the SAT. 2,501 students matriculated into this year’s freshman class.

Housing

The University of Pennsylvania is an extraordinary collegiate community, with the 11 College Houses at the center of the undergraduate experience. The houses bring together undergraduates, faculty, staff and graduate students to form shared communities within the larger context of a vast, urban campus.

Each house has one faculty master and one house dean, with at least two College House fellows (members of the faculty and senior administration) in residence. All house deans serve as academic advisors and mentors to their residents, and many teach both credit and non-credit courses. Faculty in residence also serve as mentors, while inviting colleagues from various disciplines into the house for informative dinners and lectures. There are more than 200 RAs and GAs in residence to plan activities and assist students with a wide range of issues. They also serve as academic mentors and guides to campus resources.

All of the houses provide a wide range of programs, services and social opportunities for residents, including academic advising, music lessons, intramural sports, guest speakers, dance lessons, study breaks, charity work and much more. Students may choose to live on one of more than 40 specialized “theme floors,” called Residential Programs, that provide smaller, tight-knit communities within the houses. Typically, Fisher Hassenfeld, Hill, Kings Court English, Riepe and Ware College Houses have a majority of first-year students. Du Bois, Gregory and Stouffer have an equal number of first-year and upper-class students. Harnwell and Harrison have largely upper-class populations, while Rodin is currently housing upper-class students only. Penn does not require freshmen to live on campus, but 99% of them do. The housing application process is administered by the Department of Housing Services.

Penn offers both traditional dormitory living—a roommate and a shared bathroom—and the relative privacy of an apartment. Students can live high above campus in a 24-story skyscraper with panoramic views, or at street level where the city is bustling.