Increasing Access
"The excellent education we offer must be more accessible. We must make a Penn education available to all outstanding students of talent and high potential. In a democracy and at great universities, diversity and excellence go together. Keeping them together requires access based on talent, not income or race." –President Amy Gutmann, in her 2004 inaugural address
Enhancing undergraduate financial aid. The University of Pennsylvania is committed to making a world-class education attainable to all talented and hardworking students, regardless of their economic circumstances.
- Since 2004, Penn has increased its undergraduate financial aid budget by 129 percent, to $181 million in FY2013, with an average growth of about 10 percent per year in undergraduate financial aid, even through the depths of the economic recession.
- Through Penn's Making History campaign, generous donors and friends have raised $327 million--and counting--in undergraduate financial aid.
Connecting excellence and opportunity. Penn's no-loan policy for undergraduates ensures that students admitted through our need-blind admissions system can graduate without shouldering a heavy debt burden.
- As a result of this comprehensive no-loan policy, the average net cost for aided students at Penn is less than it was in 2004.
- The number of first-year students with no-loan packages at Penn has increased from 27 percent in 2006 to 48 percent in 2012.
Attracting exceptional students, faculty, and staff. At Penn we believe an ethnically, racially, and socioeconomically diverse community enriches the educational experience for all.
- With double-digit increases in applications from African-American and Latino students, the number of traditionally under-represented minorities in our first-year classes has grown from 12 percent in 2004, to 20 percent in 2012.
- Penn launched its Action Plan for Faculty Diversity and Excellence in 2011, which includes a $100 million commitment to recruit and retain diverse faculty and for research into diversity efforts.
Supporting graduate financial aid. On average, Penn invests nearly $300,000 into the education of a research doctoral student over five years.
- Since 2006, Penn's base PhD stipend has increased by 36 percent, and stipends for students in the School of Arts and Sciences have increased by 75 percent.
- Through its Making History campaign, Penn has raised $26 million in additional graduate financial aid.