An Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, admitting 5.4% of applicants and home to the Wharton School.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private R1 research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, founded in 1740. It enrolls 10,650 undergraduates and 17,631 graduate students across four undergraduate schools: the College of Arts and Sciences, the Wharton School of Business, the School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS), and the School of Nursing.
Business and social sciences together account for the largest share of bachelor's degrees, followed by engineering and computer science. Penn holds a Doctoral University: Very High Research Activity (R1) Carnegie classification and is accredited through the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE). Penn's graduate schools in medicine (Perelman), law, veterinary medicine, and dentistry are each among the most selective in their respective fields.
Official website: upenn.edu
UCD scores every college on four pillars: Outcomes, Value, Affordability, and Selectivity. Within peer group A (four-year selective institutions), Penn scores 83.97 overall, rated Strong. Outcomes (99.03) and Selectivity (98.94) are near-perfect, reflecting a 96.54% six-year graduation rate and ten-year median earnings of $111,371. Affordability scores 14.86, the weakest pillar, driven by an average net price of $28,699 that is higher than at most peer Ivies and a net price of $25,476 for families earning between $75,000 and $110,000, one of the highest in the elite tier. Value scores 82.09. All scores use verified federal data only.
Penn is among the most selective universities in the country, admitting 5.4% of applicants. Penn is test-optional; submitting SAT or ACT scores is not required. Students who submit scores typically average 1,553 on the SAT, with the middle 50% scoring between 34 and 36 on the ACT.
Penn offers binding Early Decision with a November 1 deadline; admitted ED students must enroll and withdraw other applications. The Regular Decision deadline is January 5. Applicants apply directly to one of Penn's four undergraduate schools; each school has its own character and somewhat different admit profile, with Wharton being the most selective.
Acceptance rate over the last five admission cycles. The trend tells you whether University of Pennsylvania is getting harder, easier, or staying about the same.
Penn charges $68,686 in tuition plus $19,174 in room and board, bringing the estimated total cost of attendance to approximately $90,000 before aid. Penn meets 100% of demonstrated financial need for admitted U.S. students, with no loans in aid packages. For families earning under $30,000, costs are fully covered by grants.
For families earning between $30,001 and $48,000, the average net price is $316. The average net price across all students is $28,699, higher than at most peer Ivies. For families earning between $75,001 and $110,000, the net price averages $25,476, a notably high figure for a need-blind institution. For families earning above $110,000, the average net price is $55,972.
Published cost of attendance, the sticker price before grants and scholarships. Most students underestimate room & board and other expenses.
Application fee: $75 (one-time, due at submission)
Aid is need-based, so net price varies by family income. Here's what each bracket typically pays after grants and scholarships.
Cumulative federal-loan debt across the full borrowing distribution. The 10th and 90th percentiles bracket the typical range; the median sits in the middle.
Median federal-loan debt at graduation broken down by demographic. Each slice's size is proportional to the dollar amount that group typically borrows.
Penn completes the large majority of the students it enrolls. The six-year graduation rate is 96.54% for full-time, first-time bachelor's-seeking students. The four-year rate is 79.51%, and first-year retention stands at 98.49%. These figures apply across all four undergraduate schools; completion rates vary somewhat by school, with Wharton and SEAS students completing on a slightly different timeline due to professional program structures.
Penn graduates earn at the top of the national distribution. Median earnings are $90,555 six years after first enrolling and $111,371 at ten years. At the ten-year mark, 92.45% of former students earn more than a typical high school graduate. Penn's federal loan rate of 9.72% and median debt of $15,715 are higher than at peer Ivies with larger endowments. Wharton graduates and SEAS graduates typically earn significantly above the institutional median; College of Arts and Sciences graduates show more variation by major.
Median annual earnings 6, 8, and 10 years after students first enrolled.
Mean annual earnings 10 years after entry, segmented by demographic. Reveals gaps the headline median can't show.
Median earnings for female grads ten years after first enrolling here.
Median earnings for male grads ten years after first enrolling here.
Earnings of grads from the bottom-third of family incomes at entry.
Earnings of grads from the middle-third of family incomes at entry.
Earnings of grads from the top-third of family incomes at entry.
Share of completer-cohort borrowers paying down at least $1 of principal at the 1-, 3-, 5-, and 7-year mark. Climbing rates show graduates settling into careers and managing debt; flat or declining rates are a warning.
Penn enrolls 10,650 undergraduates across four undergraduate schools on its campus in West Philadelphia. Asian students account for 28.39% of undergraduates; white 27.38%, Hispanic 11.34%, and Black 9.04%. Sixteen percent of undergraduates receive Pell grants, and 18.76% are first-generation college students. International students represent a significant portion of enrollment, particularly in Wharton and SEAS. Penn's location in Philadelphia provides access to a major city, with internship and career networks concentrated in finance, consulting, healthcare, and law.
Undergraduate student body composition reported to the US Department of Education.
Where students live, learn, and connect at University of Pennsylvania. The campus setting, housing profile, and signals that shape day-to-day life here.
University of Pennsylvania offers an extensive catalog of programs: 264 distinct programs across 25 majors. Below are its strongest majors, each with flagship programs and typical earnings. Open a major to explore it in depth, or browse the full program catalog.
Penn operates at a 6:1 student-to-faculty ratio. 78.65% of instruction is delivered by full-time faculty. Instructional spending per full-time equivalent student is $67,953 per year. The endowment stands at $22.35 billion. Penn's research enterprise spans Medicine, Engineering, and the Social Sciences, with particular concentration in biomedical research through the Perelman School of Medicine and the Penn Medicine health system.
2,268 instructional faculty across 5 ranks. The rank mix shows how many senior faculty are teaching versus contingent or junior staff, with average salary equated to a 9-month contract.
| Rank | Faculty Count | Share | Avg Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full Professors | 934 | 41% | $270,702 |
| Associate Professors | 369 | 16% | $164,478 |
| Assistant Professors | 429 | 19% | $158,640 |
| Instructors | 174 | 8% | — |
| Lecturers | 362 | 16% | $87,111 |
Penn's defining strength is the Wharton School, the most recognized undergraduate business program in the country, which drives both the selectivity of the institution and the earnings of its graduates. Outcomes (99.03) and ten-year earnings ($111,371) are near the top of the Ivy tier.
The challenge is Affordability (14.86): Penn's net price for middle-income families ($25,476 for the $75K-$110K bracket) is significantly higher than at peer Ivies, and the average net price of $28,699 reflects a financial aid program that is less generous relative to endowment size than at Harvard, Princeton, or Yale. Best fit for students targeting Wharton or SEAS who will receive strong financial aid; middle-income families who do not receive substantial aid face the highest effective cost among the Ivies.
The questions below address what students and families most commonly search about Penn: how selective admissions are, what makes Wharton different, how financial aid compares to peer Ivies, and what graduates earn. Penn's Affordability score is the weakest among the Ivies; the answers below explain what that means in practice for families at different income levels.
One federal dataset, 3,839 colleges. The median school costs $16,371 a year, admits 78% of applicants, and enrolls 1,259 students. The shape of US higher ed.
Across 1,645 four-year colleges, graduation rates climb steadily with selectivity, from 54% at open-admission schools to 93% at the most exclusive. The gap is real.
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