Elizabeth O’Connell, Senior Associate Dean, Director of International Admissions at the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) returned to Sydney last week for the first time since 2019. She has been presenting to Australian students and community for nearly 20 years and it was great to see recruiting efforts in Sydney resume following COVID.
During her presentation, Ms O’Connell spoke of the overall application process to US universities as well as specifics of UPenn. She highlighted the careful consideration students should give to studying in the US due to its different education system. More specifically, the US undergraduate degree focuses on the breadth and depth of academic subjects allowing students an opportunity to academically explore across many subject areas before declaring an academic major at the end of the second year. The first two-year requirements will vary per university so it’s imperative to review the course curriculum of programs you may be considering. After the first two years are completed and a student chooses a major, they will focus on those subjects for the remaining two years of their degree. This means the area in which you choose to study may only make up half of your overall courses required for the degree.
Ms O’Connell also spoke of the outstanding opportunities beyond academia at US universities including involvement within the larger global student body community including living communities where you can surround yourself with students with like-minded interests, the high-level clubs and committees, and the ability to be taught by and interact with your professors.
University of Pennsylvania, as well as most of the 4,000 US universities, undertake a holistic application review in the application review process. This means many different components are considered in the application process, not just a students ATAR. Courses and marks are the most important and most times will be reviewed from year 9. The application also includes a personal statement, letters of recommendation, supplemental essays, an opportunity to showcase extracurricular activities, and an optional SAT or ACT test score. Students applying to commence their studies in fall 2025 at UPenn are not required to submit a test score, however they may if they wish. The test-optional landscape is a result of testing limitations during Covid. When reviewing applications, university admission committees will be looking for ways a student made the most of the opportunities which were available to them at their school both from an academic and extra-curricular point of view. Students will be reviewed within the context of the courses and activities that are available to them. Ms O’Connell also stated it would never be expected that students study or sit exams outside of their curriculum – Advanced Placement (AP) test which follow a curriculum offered in the US are not required nor recommended for students in Australia.
Financial aid was also discussed and UPenn meets 100% of demonstrated financial need for both US and international students. This means for students and families who demonstrate financial need, they will not be required to take out loans to cover tuition and room and board and instead will be offered scholarships which do not need to be repaid. UPenn, along with the other 7 Ivy League universities are part of a smaller subset of universities that extend this policy to international students. UPenn however, does not offer merit-based scholarships nor athletic scholarships for their NCAA D1 sports.
The UPenn presentation was well attended and full of dynamic energy and made me nostalgic for when I worked in US university admissions recruiting students!
Studying a full degree program in the US is an incredible opportunity and available to almost any student. With 4,000 degree granting institutions, there is a university for every type of student. Internationally Educated was created to reduce the stress and eliminate the confusion of applying to US universities. We take great care to ensure best fit institutions are identified for each student and lead them and their families through to a successfully completed application process.
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