University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, home to the Wharton School and known for an interdisciplinary, pre-professional bent across its four undergraduate schools. Admission is extremely selective — Penn admitted about 4.9% of more than 72,000 applicants and enrolled roughly 2,420 first-years, who carry an average GPA near 3.9 with middle-50% SAT scores of 1510–1570. Penn has reinstated its standardized-testing requirement, and through its no-loan Quaker Commitment it meets 100% of demonstrated financial need. The figures below are drawn directly from Penn's official Common Data Set.
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Penn admissions statistics
Acceptance rate
Total applicants, admitted students, and enrolled students for the most recent admission cycle.
Early decision
Penn offers binding Early Decision. Applying early can meaningfully change your odds — but ED commits you to enroll if admitted.
Admit rate by application plan
% admitted~3.6× higher admit rate applying early.
Standardized tests
Penn requires standardized test scores for all applicants.
SAT Accepted?
ACT Accepted?
Test Optional?
SAT Scores
ACT Scores
Penn supplemental essays — 2026-2027 cycle
Write a short thank-you note to someone you have not yet thanked and would like to acknowledge. (We encourage you to share this note with that person, if possible, and reflect on the experience!) (Up to 200 words)
How will you explore community at Penn? Consider how Penn will help shape your perspective, and how your experiences and perspective will help shape Penn. (Up to 200 words)
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Class rank
Where Penn's enrolled first-years placed in their high school graduating class.
Based on the 23% of enrolled students who reported a class rank. Penn does not publish an average GPA.
Admissions factors
How Penn weighs each part of your application.
Rigor of High School Record
Academic GPA
Standardized Test Scores
Application Essay
Recommendations
Extracurricular Activities
Character / Personal Qualities
Talent / Ability
First Generation
Level of Applicant's Interest
Class Rank
Volunteer Work
Work Experience
Geographical Residence
State Residency
Alumni Relation
Racial / Ethnic Status
Religious Affiliation
Cost of attendance
Estimated full-time annual cost from Penn's Common Data Set.
Private universities charge the same tuition regardless of state residency.
Financial aid
Need-based aid statistics for full-time first-year students.
Frequently asked questions about Penn admissions
Penn admitted about 4.9% of applicants in its most recent cycle, offering admission to roughly 3,570 of more than 72,000 applicants and enrolling about 2,420 first-year students. That makes it one of the most selective schools in the country, and admission is decided through a holistic review rather than any single number.
Penn offers a binding Early Decision plan, and the early round is meaningfully less crowded than Regular Decision: it drew 9,503 applications and admitted 1,266 students, an admit rate well above the roughly 4.9% overall rate. ED is binding, so apply early only if Penn is your clear first choice.
Penn's enrolled first-years report an average high school GPA around 3.9 on a 4.0 scale, and among those who submitted a class rank, about 92% were in the top tenth of their graduating class and 99% in the top quarter. There is no hard cutoff, but Penn weighs both your GPA and the rigor of your course load as very important factors.
Yes. Penn has reinstated its standardized-testing requirement, so it is no longer test-optional and applicants must submit SAT or ACT scores. Among the most recent enrolled class, the middle 50% scored about 1510–1570 on the SAT and 34–35 on the ACT.
A 1500 is just below Penn's middle-50% range of 1510–1570, so it is slightly under the typical admitted profile but not disqualifying in a holistic review. About 96% of enrolled first-years scored between 1400 and 1600, and Penn now requires the SAT or ACT, so a strong score helps — though admission still turns on essays, rigor, and character alongside scores.
Tuition and required fees run about $73,978 per year, with on-campus housing and food adding roughly $20,604 more. Most students pay far less: through its no-loan Quaker Commitment, Penn meets 100% of demonstrated financial need, about 46% of first-years receive need-based grant aid, and the average need-based package is roughly $73,689.
Business is the most popular area at about 20% of degrees — a reflection of the Wharton School — followed by the social sciences (13%) and biological sciences (11%). Computer science (9%), engineering (8%), and the health professions (7%) round out the most-conferred fields.
Yes. Penn rates the application essay as a very important factor in admissions — the same tier as your GPA, course rigor, recommendations, and personal character, and above standardized test scores, which are only considered. With an admit rate near 4.9%, a specific, well-revised essay is one of the clearest ways a strong applicant can stand out.
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Popular majors
Bachelor's degrees awarded in the past year by academic major.
Student-faculty ratio
The number of students for every one faculty member, indicating the average level of access students have to instructional staff.
Campus life
On-campus housing and Greek life participation rates.
Enrollment by gender
Student diversity
Racial and ethnic breakdown of enrolled undergraduate students.
Source: University of Pennsylvania Common Data Set 2025-2026. Figures transcribed 2026-08-20. Esslo aggregates publicly reported data and is not affiliated with Penn. Banner photo by Michel Alexandre Salim, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0). Cite this page as: Esslo College Explorer, “University of Pennsylvania admissions statistics, transcribed from the 2025-2026 Common Data Set,” https://www.esslo.org/colleges/upenn (retrieved 2026-08-20).