ACT Writing Score in UPenn Admission Chances

Hey guys,

Just another thread about admissions in ivy leagues blah blah blah. Anyway, my parents are divorced and both with pretty low income. I made a visit to UPenn a month ago and talked to them about my situation, and they said that I could get a ton of money in grants if I get in. Well, lets just say I’m only applying to save my parents money and ease their consciences. I am a very DEmotivated student (depression, anxiety, multiple suicide attempts, etc) who is not involved in almost anything in school, and I pretty much accept it. I’m still trying to get into UPenn to make them happy. I have an average ACT (32 comp, 32 English, 29 math, 33 reading, 35 science) but a pretty good act writing score (12 comp, 12, 11, 11, 12). I have a couple extracurriculars, but not much. I’m in the top 4% in my class (my school is pretty competitive as many students get 36 comp acts every year). I know Penn is looking for motivated, positive, academically gifted, and influential students, of which I do not fit the description.

I will apply and pay the $75 fee, but I know if I don’t get in the bottleneck will be ACT comp, extracurriculars, and/or my pretty negative view on life.

Many websites I’ve visited say that the ACT writing section carries little to no weight in admissions (to ease the minds of students who got less than what they expected) but since I did surprisingly well (I have no idea how), will that give me a better shot at admission?

Thank you guys for your input and I appreciate if you’ve read this far.

I think the reason why many schools don’t consider writing scores is because you write specifically to the test, and with ample preparation anyone could achieve a high score. To assess your writing capabilities the personal essay/supplements are much more useful. Under UPenn’s CDS, it says the score, if submitted, is only used to verify that the quality of your PS matches your assessed writing skills.