Record Number Applies for Class of 2018

45_Percenter
Fri, 10 Jan 2014 17:32:08 +0000

^ Keep in mind that accepted Penn ED applicants are allowed to decline the ED offer if they find the financial aid package to be insufficient. So although not exactly the same as comparing offers from multiple schools, there is some bargaining power for the accepted ED applicant on FA, who can go ahead and apply to other schools without penalty during the RD round if Penn’s ED FA award is insufficient.

But I agree with you that it would be interesting to see a FA comparison between ED and RD admits. However, there would be other factors complicating analysis of such data, such as legacy applicants only being given an advantage during ED, and some of the most financially disadvantaged applicants being admitted through programs such as Questbridge that are administered during the ED round. In any event, Penn is certainly not unique among its peers in its use of a single-choice early admissions program to fill a large percentage of its class and, as I said, it’s not really a binding program for FA students who find their FA package to be insufficient.