The Wharton School’s Huntsman Hall at the University of Pennsylvania. Courtesy photo

University of Pennsylvania Has A Record-Setting Year For Admissions

This was a game-changing year for UPenn, with a class profile that would be the envy of any university.

Reported by the university’s student-run news source, the Daily Pennsylvanian, UPenn saw an unprecedentedly selective acceptance rate of just 5.4% for the Class of 2028. Out of a whopping 65,235 applicants, only 3,508 were selected. Of the group, the final Class of 2028 locked in numbers at 2,400 students – 14.5% of them in-state.

MOST SELECTIVE WAITLIST ACCEPTANCE IN YEARS

The university also broke new ground by reducing the number of students accepted from their waitlist this year – by a good 72%. In 2026, UPenn placed 3,351 students from their waitlist in their incoming class, with 2,508 accepting a spot. For their Class of 2027, they only placed 147 MBAs.

This is the most selective waitlist acceptance rate they’ve had for the past five admissions cycles aside from the 2020-21 cycle, which had irregular numbers due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Part of this can be credited to a highly accurate yield prediction on UPenn’s part, which one alum notes is a rather tricky thing to do.

IMPRESSIVELY ACCURATE YEILD PREDICTION

“It’s really hard for colleges to predict yield,” says Laurie Kopp Weingarten, a 1986 Wharton grad.

“They have all sorts of metrics in place … and many use outside data companies to help, but in the end, it’s part art, part science.”

The university also reported in-state acceptance rates for the first time ever – 8.8% for their Class of 2027 compared to their out-of-state acceptance rate of 6.4%.

This past year, the Common Data Set template also removed the “racial/ethnic status” category from the list. Previously, the school had to explain how racial and ethnic status was weighted, but for this year, UPenn listed this factor simply as “considered.” Also ambiguously listed as “considered” are standardized test scores and volunteer work, which were previously listed as “important.”

Another change – UPenn’s interview is now listed as “not considered,” while last year, it used to be listed as “important.”