Getting in
For Fall 2025, 72,544 first-year students applied to Penn, 3,570 were admitted and 2,420 enrolled: an acceptance rate of 4.9%.
Source: Penn Common Data Set 2025-2026 (opens in a new tab), section C1. Read Sep 30, 2026.
By residency, first-year applicants, Fall 2025
| Applicants | Applied | Admitted | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| In-state | 5,411 | 451 | 8.3% |
| Out-of-state | 49,251 | 2,678 | 5.4% |
| International | 17,882 | 441 | 2.5% |
Source: Penn Common Data Set 2025-2026 (opens in a new tab), section C1, residency table. Read Sep 30, 2026.
By school or major. You apply to one of Penn's four undergraduate schools or a coordinated dual-degree program, but Penn's Common Data Set reports one first-year acceptance rate for the whole university, with no rate by school or major.
Source: Penn Common Data Set 2025-2026 (opens in a new tab). Read Sep 30, 2026.
Early decision. Early decision counts for the Fall 2025 entering class, as the Common Data Set reports them. They are part of the totals above.
Early decision, Fall 2025
| Plan | Applied | Admitted | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early Decision | 9,503 | 1,266 | 13.3% |
Source: Penn Common Data Set 2025-2026 (opens in a new tab), section C21. Read Sep 30, 2026.
Majors
89 majors across 4 schools. Every undergraduate major in Penn's official Undergraduate Catalog, grouped by the four undergraduate schools, with the degree it leads to; Wharton lists the concentrations within its BS in Economics. Minors, tracks and graduate programs are left out.
School of Arts and Sciences55
- Africana Studies (BA)
- Ancient History (BA)
- Anthropology (BA)
- Architecture (BA)
- Biochemistry (BA)
- Biology (BA)
- Biophysics (BA)
- Chemistry (BA)
- Cinema and Media Studies (BA)
- Classical Studies (BA)
- Cognitive Science (BA)
- Communication (BA)
- Comparative Literature (BA)
- Criminology (BA)
- Design (BA)
- Earth and Environmental Science (BA)
- East Asian Languages and Civilizations (BA)
- Economics (BA)
- English (BA)
- Environmental Studies (BA)
- Fine Arts (BA)
- Francophone, Italian and Germanic Studies (BA)
- Gender, Sexuality, & Women's Studies (BA)
- Health and Societies (BA)
- Hispanic Studies (BA)
- History of Art (BA)
- History (BA)
- Individualized Major (BA)
- International Relations (BA)
- International Studies (BA)
- Jewish Studies (BA)
- Latin American & Latinx Studies (BA)
- Law and Society (BA)
- Linguistics (BA)
- Logic, Information, & Computation (BA)
- Mathematical Economics (BA)
- Mathematics (BA)
- Middle Eastern Languages & Cultures (BA)
- Modern Middle Eastern Studies (BA)
- Music (BA)
- Neuroscience (BA)
- Nutrition Science (BA)
- Philosophy (BA)
- Philosophy, Politics and Economics (BA)
- Physics (BA)
- Political Science (BA)
- Psychology (BA)
- Religious Studies (BA)
- Russian and East European Studies (BA)
- Science, Technology and Society (BA)
- Sociology (BA)
- South Asia Studies (BA)
- Theatre Arts (BA)
- Urban Studies (BA)
- Visual Studies (BA)
Source: Penn Undergraduate Catalog, School of Arts & Sciences, Majors (opens in a new tab). Read Sep 30, 2026.
School of Engineering and Applied Science12
- Artificial Intelligence (BSE)
- Bioengineering (BSE)
- Biomedical Science (BAS)
- Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (BSE)
- Computer Engineering (BSE)
- Computer Science (BAS)
- Computer Science (BSE)
- Digital Media Design (BSE)
- Electrical Engineering (BSE)
- Materials Science and Engineering (BSE)
- Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics (BSE)
- Visual and Interactive Computing (BSE)
Source: Penn Undergraduate Catalog, School of Engineering and Applied Science, Majors (opens in a new tab). Read Sep 30, 2026.
The Wharton School20
- Accounting (BS)
- Artificial Intelligence for Business (BS)
- Behavioral Economics (BS)
- Business Analytics (BS)
- Business Economics and Public Policy (BS)
- Entrepreneurship and Innovation (BS)
- Finance (BS)
- Health Care Management and Policy (BS)
- Impact, Value and Sustainable Business (BS)
- Individualized (BS)
- Leading Across Differences (BS)
- Legal Studies & Business Ethics (BS)
- Management (BS)
- Marketing & Communication (BS)
- Marketing & Operations Management (BS)
- Marketing (BS)
- Operations, Information & Decisions (BS)
- Real Estate (BS)
- Retailing (BS)
- Statistics and Data Science (BS)
Source: Penn Undergraduate Catalog, The Wharton School, Concentrations (opens in a new tab). Read Sep 30, 2026.
School of Nursing2
- Nursing (BSN)
- Nutrition Science (BSN)
Source: Penn Undergraduate Catalog, School of Nursing, Majors (opens in a new tab). Read Sep 30, 2026.
Deadlines for Fall 2027
For students applying in fall 2026, entering fall 2027
| Plan | Apply by | Decision | Binding |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early Decision | November 1 | December | Yes |
| Regular Decision | January 5 | April | No |
Penn tells you the exact date and time of its decision release at least one week ahead.
Source: Penn Admissions, First-Year Applicants (opens in a new tab). Read Sep 30, 2026.
Early Decision is binding: if you are admitted, you are required to accept Penn's offer of admission and enroll at Penn.
Source: Penn Admissions, First-Year Applicants (opens in a new tab). Read Sep 30, 2026.
Testing
For students applying in fall 2026, entering fall 2027
Penn requires SAT or ACT scores. If you have not taken either test and face a hardship, such as no test center, cost, a natural disaster or civil unrest, you can submit a testing waiver instead. If you have taken a test, you must submit the scores.
Source: Penn Admissions, Testing (opens in a new tab). Read Sep 30, 2026.
The Common Data Set marks the SAT or ACT as required for fall 2027 applicants.
Source: Penn Common Data Set 2025-2026 (opens in a new tab), section C8. Read Sep 30, 2026.
Applying next year?
For students applying in fall 2027, entering fall 2028
Not announced yet. When we checked Penn's admission pages on September 30, 2026, we found no announced changes for fall 2028 entry. The deadlines and rules above are for fall 2027 entry.
Source: Penn Admissions, First-Year Applicants (opens in a new tab). Read Sep 30, 2026.
Cost, and what families paid after aid
The published cost of a year at Penn, 2026-2027:
| Tuition | $65,670 |
|---|---|
| Required fees | $8,308 |
| Housing (on campus) | $13,644 |
| Food (on-campus meal plan) | $6,960 |
| Books and supplies | $1,412 |
| Transportation | $1,080 |
| Other expenses | $2,008 |
| Total | $99,082 |
Source: Penn Common Data Set 2025-2026 (opens in a new tab), sections G1 and G5. Read Sep 30, 2026.
Average net price per year, by family income, 2023-24:
| Family income | Paid after grants |
|---|---|
| $0 to $30,000 | -$3,012 |
| $30,001 to $48,000 | $316 |
| $48,001 to $75,000 | $10,439 |
| $75,001 to $110,000 | $25,476 |
| Over $110,000 | $55,972 |
| All incomes | $28,699 |
What first-year, full-time students who received federal aid paid after grants and scholarships, by family income, in 2023-24, the latest year the Department of Education publishes. A negative figure means grants and scholarships came to more than the listed cost. Your own price comes from Penn's aid offer.
Source: College Scorecard, U.S. Department of Education (opens in a new tab). Read Sep 30, 2026.
Similar schools
Chosen for how close each is to University of Pennsylvania on acceptance rate, public or private, location and majors offered.
Columbia UniversityNew York, NY · Private4.9% admitted$21,590 average net price
Princeton UniversityPrinceton, NJ · Private4.4% admitted$6,128 average net price
Yale UniversityNew Haven, CT · Private4.7% admitted$23,777 average net price
Duke UniversityDurham, NC · Private5.2% admitted$29,612 average net price
Vanderbilt UniversityNashville, TN · Private5.4% admitted$15,846 average net price
Admitted: each school's latest first-year acceptance rate, so the year can differ from school to school; each school's page names its year and source. Average net price: what federal aid recipients paid per year after grants, 2023-24, and the in-state figure for a public university.