The University of Pennsylvania, or Penn, is a top-tier American university and member of the famed Ivy League. The University offers one of the only undergraduate business programs of the Ivy League, and certainly the most iconic nationally. Rooted in Philadelphia, the Penn experience is dynamic, intense, and famously full of opportunities to push oneself beyond perceived limitations. Penn puts it well: “Penn is a place for people who want to do something big.” It’s unsurprising, then, that they get a lot of love. Penn received 65,236 applications for the Class of 2028, and offered admission to 5%, or 3,523. For the Class of 2029, it got even more competitive. Penn received 72,000 applications. While they have not released the acceptance rate, it was almost certainly less than 5%.
We help students get into Penn each year, and historically one of the most important questions to start with has been: are you a legacy? For decades, Penn has been heavily committed to practicing legacy admissions, or prioritizing the applications of students with a family connection (most often a parent) to Penn. Now things are shifting, and it’s crucial to understand the state of legacy admissions at Penn when preparing to apply. In this post, we’ll break down what prospective legacy applicants — and their family members — need to know and do when preparing a Penn application.
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First, let’s dig deeper into what’s going on with legacy admissions at Penn.
What’s going on with Legacy Admissions?
Penn does not put information about legacy admissions in an easily accessible space on their website. This is meaningful, because whereas some comparable schools, including those in the Ivy League, are upfront about the role of legacy, Penn isn’t as transparent.
As reported in The Daily Pennsylvanian in 2023, Penn Admissions is shaking things up when it comes to legacy. Until the Class of 2026 admissions cycle, there was information about legacy on the first-year applicants information page on the Penn website. Then, without announcement or fanfare, it was removed. Penn had also phased out the legacy-specific information sessions for prospective applicants that they had previously hosted, and they removed language that implied that legacies should apply Early Decision.
Many of these changes started before the US Department of Education Office for Civil Rights launched an investigation into the legacy admissions policy at Penn, related to the striking down of affirmative action by the Supreme Court, in January of 2024. The case is surely not discouraging Penn from de-centering legacy admissions in their communications with applicants, but that doesn’t tell you anything about what is happening inside of the office of admissions and around the decision-making table.
What Should You Do?
The way Penn talks about legacy has been changing, especially on their website, but they have also stated to the Penn community that they continue to “recognize the legacy relationships among our applicants.” However, they no longer openly offer legacy-specific first-year application advice. Legacy applicants cannot book individual meetings with admissions officials, and there is no special line of communication for alumni with kids who are applying.
All of this can leave someone asking: but what can I do? Well, a lot. Below we go into what the family of the applicant, and the applicant themselves, need to be doing to best capitalize on the legacy boost.
For the Family Member: If you are the reason why a student is a legacy, you need to be involved with the school. First, engage with the Office of Penn Parent and Family Giving. You should also donate, if you can, but engagement matters more than decimal places. Most alumni cannot donate an amount of money that would make Penn blink, so the amount isn’t the point. Rather, it’s about staying on their radar as an alumnus who is engaged and who does care about the Penn community beyond simply the outcome for their own kid.
Look for events to attend, and offer your services if applicable. Perhaps you can judge a student business plan competition or speak to a club about your career path. These sound, maybe, like tiny things but they are important. If you have maintained relationships with any Penn professors or leadership, get back in touch. Don’t lead with “my kid is applying,” but that is, ultimately, the point.
For the Applicant: The bulk of the work, of course, needs to be done by the applicant. We’ve broken it down to a few categories.
Grades
It shouldn’t be surprising that Penn expects to see fabulous grades on an applicant’s transcript. 92% of the students admitted for the fall of 2024 were in the top 10% of their graduating class in high school. But rank and GPA aren’t the only things that matter. They want to see students pushing themselves to get high grades in hard classes, so applicants should be pursuing the most difficult courses they have access to, especially in the subject areas they are interested in focusing on in college.
Scores
Penn cares about test scores, and they expect them to be exceptional. For Penn, strong test scores don’t make up for weaker grades but instead emphasizes strengths. We advise legacy applicants to aim for an SAT Evidence-based Reading + Writing score of 750 or higher, and an SAT Math score of 770 or higher. If they choose the ACT, strong applicants submit a score between 34 and 36. These scores are exceptional, and not easy to achieve for most students. This means that achieving them requires preparation. We support our students in pursuing intensive preparation so that they feel empowered entering a testing site and ready to succeed. All legacy applicants should follow this same model. Being a legacy is not an excuse for a lack of test prep leading to a weaker score than one could have achieved otherwise.
Extracurriculars
Simply being a top student and a legacy doesn’t result in a Penn acceptance. Penn looks for legacies who have pushed themselves outside of the classroom, too. 94% of students accepted in the Class of 2028 participated in activities that have a community impact, including volunteering, justice work, and even family responsibilities like caring for a grandparent or sibling. 95% spent time developing their character and deepening into their passions through employment, internships, and athletics. 79% stretched themselves academically and intellectually outside of the classroom through things like research, academic competitions, speech, debate, Model UN, and more. Most importantly, though, you need to truly care about what you are doing. Pursue passion, and tell that story in your essays and supplements.
Apply Early
Penn heavily prioritizes early applicants, especially when those applicants are legacies. Over 50% of the Class of 2028, in fact, was admitted Early Decision. From 2017 to 2020, up to 25% of applicants who were admitted to Penn Early Decision were legacies. Until a few years ago, Penn was explicit that if you wanted to get in as a legacy applicant you needed to apply Early Decision. They don’t say that anymore, but the rule still applies. If you want to get in as a legacy, you need to apply Early Decision.
Legacies who do not apply Early Decision send the message that Penn isn’t their first choice. This has an impact, as it is noticed by Penn admissions. They want students who want them, and while they know not every exceptional applicant applies ED, they also know that legacies who don’t prioritize them are basically calling Penn a back-up.
Ultimately, the majority of legacy applicants to Penn are rejected. To get in, students, even legacies, must be strong applicants first and foremost, above and beyond the legacy association. Legacy, though, offers that little boost that can tip an applicant from a maybe to a yes. Make the most of it, but don’t try to rest on it. It’s time to get to work.
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