Students apply to the Huntsman Program as part of their application to Penn for the freshman year. There is a separate section of the Penn application that must be completed by students who want to be considered for the program. Admission to the Huntsman Program is very competitive with a target of 40 students per class. Applicants who are not admitted to the Program are considered for admission to either the College or Wharton. Deferral from the Huntsman pool does not have a negative impact in the single-school selection process.
Students can apply early decision and are encouraged to do so.
However, it may be difficult for an applicant to complete all required testing, so historically very few students have been admitted during the early decision process. Deferral does not negatively impact an applicant's chances during the regular decision process. Applicants to the Huntsman Program must have outstanding verbal and mathematical academic credentials, intermediate-level proficiency in their target foreign language, and academic and extracurricular activities demonstrating leadership potential, an international awareness, and an ability to work independently. Applicants should take the SAT II Subject Test in their target language. The program has developed its own language tests for Arabic, Hindi, and Russian, and will make arrangements for qualified applicants to take these tests.