University of Pennsylvania Acceptance Rate & Tips

Students who dream of pursuing higher education at the University of Pennsylvania need a robust application. But before starting the application process, if you are aiming at securing a seat in the university, you must know the University of Pennsylvania acceptance rate. This figure includes the UPenn transfer acceptance rate and UPenn early decision acceptance rate as well. But, first, let us have a brief overview of the university.

University of Pennsylvania Overview 

Founded in 1740, the University of Pennsylvania is known as one of the eight colleges in the Ivy League. UPenn was initially working as a charity school. Later, in 1751, it became an academy, mostly due to the tireless effort of Benjamin Franklin.

Presently there are 4 undergraduate schools at the University of Pennsylvania:

• The Wharton School of business education
• School of Engineering and Applied Science
• The School of Arts and Sciences
• School of Nursing

In addition to this, the university also has graduate and professional programs for law, veterinary medicine, medicine, dental medicine, social work, fine arts, communication, and education. 

University of Pennsylvania Acceptance Rate 

UPenn acceptance rate is estimated to be 6- 7%. This figure includes both UPenn’s early decision acceptance rate and regular decision acceptance rate. This data makes the university highly competitive. Here, you need to note that different schools under UPenn have an acceptance rate. The Wharton School of business education has a 9% acceptance rate, whereas UPenn medical school’s acceptance rate is 25%.

With each passing year, the UPenn acceptance rate and UPenn transfer acceptance rate are getting more challenging. For the class of 2023, the university selected 3446 applicants out of 44,961. However, this figure changed drastically for the class of 2025 when the university offered admission to 3,202 students from a large pool of 56,333 applicants. This ultimately lowered the UPenn acceptance rate to 5.68%.

Moreover, a total of 7,962 students applied through early decision programs. But only 1,194 students got the admission offer. This made the UPenn early decision acceptance rate stand at a record-low figure of 15%. Here the good part is even though UPenn’s early decision acceptance rate is highly competitive, it is still higher than the overall acceptance rate.

Therefore, students who apply through the early decision program have a better chance of getting into the university. In addition to this, the UPenn medical school acceptance rate is also higher than any other school under UPenn. So, students applying to this school have a better chance of getting into the university.

Average Score Required for Admission to UPenn

GPA

Although UPenn does not list the average GPA requirements, applicants need to have a GPA above 3.9. There is a reason why the university does not consider GPA as a deciding factor to offer admissions. The GPA metric is pretty hard to compare for all the applicants. Different home schools and international schools have different course rigor, AP subjects, etc. These factors do not facilitate efficient comparisons between applicants.

ACT/SAT scores

The average ACT score required for admission to UPenn is 33-35. Applicants who have a lower ACT score have a hard chance of getting into the colleges of UPenn. For ACT, the University of Pennsylvania expects your score to lie under 1460-1570 to offer admission. 

Class Rank

The University of Pennsylvania does not list the class rank of students to offer admission to students. However, nearly 96% of the applicants admitted to the class of 2025 were amongst the top 10% in their high school.

Importance of Supplemental Essay at UPenn

Essay writing is an important factor the UPenn admission authorities consider to offer a seat to applicants. Therefore, students need to include two or more supplemental essays that are UPenn-specific to have a better acceptance chance. 

To frame a strong essay, applicants need to showcase their long-term interests and goals related to the University of Pennsylvania. For this, students can name the program, professors, and their work. Moreover, prospective university students need to relate these to their social involvements and academic pursuits.

Strong essays also include and highlight how applicants have combined their contrasting areas of interest. While writing an essay to apply at UPenn, you must remember the fundamentals of the University of Pennsylvania’s identity, i.e., the intersection of traditional and practical learning.

Admission Requirements of Different Colleges under UPenn

All four colleges under UPenn have different admission requirements. These requirements are listed below:

• The Wharton School of business education and UPenn engineering college want the applicants to have strong maths preparation. Moreover, applicants with calculus coursework have an advantage over their competitors.  
• The Wharton school specifically requires students to submit their AP Maths scores, including calculus and statistics. Applicants who have AP Economics scores have a better chance of getting attention from admission authorities.
• For engineering college, applicants need to submit their AP Physics and AP Calculus scores. 
• Students applying to the School of Arts and Sciences need an advanced and balanced college-prep curriculum.
• The School of medical and nursing wants students to have a strong Science preparation. Moreover, applicants need to submit their Chemistry and Biology AP scores for admission to this college. The UPenn medical school acceptance rate is comparatively higher than any other college. Therefore, the applicants have a better chance of getting into this college.

UPenn Transfer Acceptance Rate in the Past year

In 2021 the UPenn transfer acceptance rate reached an all-time low figure. Above 3,500 students applied under transfer programs at the University of Pennsylvania. Out of these applicants, only 165 received the admission offer. This marks UPenn’s transfer acceptance rate, a staggeringly low figure of nearly 4.7%. 

Advantage of Early Decision Application to UPenn

When applying to UPenn, applicants must consider the added benefits of UPenn’s early decision acceptance rate. The number of applicants admitted through early decision programs at UPenn is staggeringly high compared to those who applied through the regular decision programs.

For the class of 2023, a total of 7,109 students applied under early decision at UPenn. Out of these candidates, 1,280 got selected for their preferred course. This marks the UPenn early decision acceptance rate at 18%. On the other hand, out of 37,852 applicants under the regular decision, only 2,166 got the admission offer. With this figure, the acceptance rate for regular decision programs is estimated at around 5%.

Which UPenn Colleges have the highest Acceptance Rates?

All four colleges under UPenn have different Acceptance rates. Although all the schools are competitive, some provide an extra edge to applicants for admission. 

The Wharton School of business is considered the most competitive as its acceptance rate is estimated at around 9%. This means that out of 100 students, only 9 students succeed in getting a seat in college. As opposed to this, UPenn’s medical school acceptance rate stands comparatively high at 25%. This is the least competitive among the four schools. 

Therefore, students who apply to the University of Pennsylvania medical college have a great chance of success if they keep their application completely targeted to the school. Moreover, most of the applicants to this college include females. Therefore, the male applicants have a further advantage with UPenn medical school acceptance rate.

How do Improve your chances of getting selected at UPenn?

From the above data, it is clear that getting into UPenn is highly competitive. Therefore, applicants need to prepare strategically in high school to secure a seat in the colleges of UPenn. 

Following are Some Tips that will surely help you in your Preparation for UPenn:

• Focus on achieving at least a 3.9 GPA in high school by taking the most challenging classes. Although UPenn does not specify any minimum requirement for GPA, applicants need to have a high school GPA to secure a seat in the college. Therefore, to increase your chances of selection, you need to have a high GPA score.

• Get involved in Extracurricular activities to stand out from your competitors. UPenn values unique talent and quality while making an admission decision. The admission authorities want to know what benefits you will bring to the school. Activities like creative projects, award-winning research, and club participation with national recognition are great for impressing the admission officers.

• Essay writing is an essential part of the admission procedure. UPenn considers personal qualities and essays important criteria for providing admission offers. Therefore, applicants need to interlink their academic expertise and personal attributes while writing papers. 

• Applicants need to consider the benefits of early decision applications. With a high early decision acceptance rate, applicants stand a high chance of enrolling in the university.

• Letters of recommendation are crucial factors to convince the admission officers about your capabilities. UPenn requires applicants to submit a high school advisor/counsellor letter and two letters of recommendation from faculty members.

Now that you know the competitiveness and requirements to get into UPenn, we hope you will work hard to secure a seat at the university.