<p>I’m creating this thread for those that were accepted to truly discuss why they think they got in. I think that this will help us that are applying RD. Please post your essay topics, style of essay writing etc…</p>
<p>thanx ahead of time</p>
<p>what if u have no idea?
maybe essays?</p>
<p>I know my scores placed my foot in the door, but they're not the basis for my admission (740 M, 700 W, 640 R). I believe that my essays got me in:</p>
<p>Why Penn?: Half of my essay discussed my intention to improve housing affordability. I talked about how Wharton will propel my future plans. Then I had humorous section about how I envision myself at Penn and Philadelphia. The essay showed a lot of depth in my future plans and it really answered the questions. There is no word limit so, pour your heart out.</p>
<p>Second Essay (First Experiences): I talked about learning how to prepare income taxes for the first time. I meshed this experience with my intention to pursue learning for the sake of acquiring knowledge. Penn encourages acquiring "Pragmatic and Ornamental Knowledge." I believe that my essay showed that I was applying to Penn because I want to pursue more education and acquire more knowledge.</p>
<p>Spend a lot of time on the essays. It could make the difference between a acceptance, deferral or rejection. I should know, it made the difference for me.</p>
<p>i actually really liked my essays too:</p>
<p>why penn: I made it into a love story about searching for mr. right (personified penn, btw my bf's name is actually penn haha how coincidental). i was like i didn't fall in love at first sight, but i gave penn another chance cuz i realized it was the personality that counts. then i described how a life partner should help u grow in all areas of life. blahblahblah. and that a relationship was a two way lane so i can contribute much to penn too. then in the last line, i proposed to penn...thats right i asked the college to marry me...</p>
<p>First experience: i talked about my communal shower experience in china and how i was really awkward and realized that i didn't really fit in china anymore and that i was an american...</p>
<p>M&T essay: my failures as a leader at gov. school for IT...how it made me realize the importance of management and its role in harnessing the potentials of technology. blahblah blah</p>
<p>i liked my essays cuz they were pretty much all laid back with a twist. i made it really personal (even my M&T). </p>
<p>personally i think the essays really got me in cuz looking at other CC members that applied, some of these people are really amazing and are better than me in everything (EC, scores, etc). I mean i have a 2330 and a 4.0 gpa uw but some of these people have that too and still do amazing things outside of school. I'm involved but not insanely...so i feel like essays really contributed...also my teacher recs were great. i love my teachers =]]]</p>
<p>I had nice scores (800 CR, 760 M, 710 W, 770 Math 2, 720 lit) and a nice upward trend (from a 78% in grade 9 to a 90% now)...my recommendations were very flattering and personable--my teachers may not have blindly checked off "one of the top in my career," but basically every teacher and my counselor said that I was hard-working, but had a great sense of humour and was a good person to be around. I felt my essays were pretty good, but not great--both were short; my Why Penn was only 245 words and my page 217 was only 450 words. For Why Penn, I just said that I liked the campus life and the liberal arts education, and for page 217, I talked about the fact that despite having been privileged, I took advantage of my opportunities. </p>
<p>Also, my ECs were a small list of dedicated activities in which I held leadership positions--literary journal, school newspaper, hockey coach, etc...</p>
<p>I think that I was one of those "well-rounded" candidates. I'll admit I'm no genius in any one area.</p>
<p>my essays were weird. i bet no one had a similar page 217. i think it was just my school. penn really, really likes kids from my school. plus im a girl and applied ed. im sure that didnt hurt.</p>
<p>I had an upward trend since freshman year. My SATs were low compared to most CCers, at a 1950. I applied for biology....got a 760 Bio-E score...but a 620 math ic...better than i expected....i took the SAT Is a total of 5 times. HOOKS: a recruit....more than likely...helped me the most....my GPA was good....at least i think so at a 3.94w. also, im a first generation college....so that helps. Essay were perfected to my ability...i will not say they are amazing/blah blah blah. but i believe in quality over quantity....mine were crafted well....under 400 words double space, but made sense....nothing boring. recs- probably good.</p>
<p>I had a powerful essay about my dad's death freshmen year and how I began to work and go from Bs and Cs to all As my sophomore year. Also, I think my teacher rec's were very personal, and I had a lot of "first" as student government president that I included in a supplementary section. Should we post our Why Penn essays or is that too much?</p>
<p>I don't think it's too much...
I would like to see your essay about your father and how you worked your
way up...</p>
<p>i had a 1980 SAT so that probably didn't help much. i got a 730 bio-m and a 4 on the AP test and i took the class online, so that probably helped. I also took a writing course, an honors folklore course, and a mythology course online. and i have ap chem online this year. for one of my essays i talked about the importance of language learning and how i teach myself different languages with my french and spanish at school. in my why penn essay i talked about the museums (i used to want to be an archeologist) and the english department since i like to write. i've also written 3 books and mentioned it. i'm pretty sure that helped. and i'm pretty sure all my recs were really helpful too since i picked teachers that i'm friends with, pretty much. so i'd say it was a combination of things that got me in.</p>
<p>oh, and p.s., i write a lot better in my essays than on CC...as in i use capital letters and real sentences, haha</p>
<p>i dont know how the hell i got in, im just happy!</p>
<p>I'm hot...nuf said.</p>
<p>j/k, maybe essays?</p>
<p>damn, maybe if i sent in a picture, i wouldve gotten into m&t... :D</p>
<p>I showed them who I am.. my essays were really personal. I think that's the main reason..</p>
<p>everything except my SAT Reasoning score, which was average, 2100.</p>
<p>My why Penn essay is really detailed. I mentioned a few specific clubs and activities I want to do. I also wrote on Wharton rather than Penn, but included option of Wharton kids taking classes at college or SEAS or whatever as an advantage. And of course, a few street names in Philly wouldn't hurt. I think RD applicants should especially show strong interest in Penn through their why Penn essay. That's going to make you stand out of the crowd that's only applying because of Penn's prestige. </p>
<p>Oh, and I started both my essays with conversations. AGD would help get the reader's attention.</p>
<p>Oh, also my scores were good 2330/2390 and I was applying from a great high school</p>
<p>i honestly don't know what got me into wharton. I think if anything it was my attitude and personality that got through my recommendations/interview. My why penn essay was very strong but not original and my personal statement was about the bad time i was going through while writing it so i thought i sounded a bit whiny (i guess they thought of it as being cander.) I also only had a 2020 SAT. Statwise, if i helps, I'm really well rounded so nothing quite sticks out (but only because i am really really well rounded.) I go out and party as much as anyone in our party school but i still managed to keep my credentials high (IB 38-40 predicted, 3.9 GPA) I had lots of leadership activites- stuco vice pres, mun two time award winner, developed a new EU simulation conference to have sent to the EU SOCRATES Office, MUN advisor, initiated/lead many fundraising initiatives at school. Captain of the soccer team for two years. that's about it really. good luck guys</p>
<p>Been a lurker for quite some time ever since I picked Penn as my ED school, but ever since i got the acceptance letter from wharton, i decided to sign up!</p>
<p>But, i digress.</p>
<p>Anyway, for those who are hesitating to apply to Penn cause of your "unsatisfactory" SAT Scores (I realized many of the CCers are so critical of SAT Scores, jeez). Look around this thread and the "ED Accepted thread", and you'll realize that many (including myself) have SAT scores of 2000-2100+. Some even have 1900+. But it REALLY, REALLY doesn't matter all that much. Standardized scores are so overrated, and i'm telling you this after analyzing this for quite a bit. You just need to exceed a certain threshold for SAT 1 & 2 exam and that's when the REAL admission process begins.</p>
<p>Teacher Recs, Essays, Extra-curriculars, the X-factor, or hooks are then evaluated to see if you can contribute to the Penn community and create a niche for yourself.</p>
<p>For me, my teacher and college counsellor recs were excellent (top 1%). I couldn't thank them enough after i had received the amazing news. My "Why Penn" essay had a 1000+ words and "First Experiences" essay had 1500+. So like how Lucky98 aptly put it, pour your heart out! It's not like the common application where there's a strict word limit, it's one damn PAGE. My fonts were tiny (9) and i used to smallest spacing possible just to squeeze the 1500+ words in but it was worth it. But remember, if you really want to have quantity, make sure its a good read or else they'll just get bored midway through. I really loved my essay. </p>
<p>For ECs, i had the usual leadership activities, blah, blah and all that jazz... But what i really thought was the X-factor in the application was my 2 and a half years in National Service, where i did very well in and got commissioned as an officer (2nd Lieutenant) in the Singapore Armed Forces. That opened the door for SO MANY leadership opportunities and appointments. I flourished my "what i did after graduation" with my army experience and i think they really found that pretty unique. </p>
<p>Good luck yea, especially to those Singaporeans out there.. I was really fortunate. =D</p>
<p>I truly and honestly cannot say why I was accepted. I come from a HORRIBLE public school in northeast PA. I'm white. I'm male... My SATs were a 1970 (600CR, 800M, 570W). I had one outstanding SATII (MathI: 790). I was ranked pretty high for a gigantic class as well (5/564 - Top 1%)</p>
<p>My "Why Penn" essay was extremely precise. I talked about why I wanted to major in mathematics and -exact- classes, clubs, and programs I wanted to articulate with at Penn (e.g. The Access Science Program). My second essay was on "Taking a Risk/The Right Thing to Do." I gave an account of why I ran for class president in my freshman year, and why I held the position for the rest of high school. It was very very personal, and I think they want that.
( I did not exceed 1 page on both essays; I wrote in 12 pt font; Double spaced; 3 paragraphs each.)</p>
<p>If I had to guess, I would say my acceptance, as well as many of the applicants this year, is mostly attributed to ECs. I am a 4-year class president at Pleasant Valley High School. Coming from a gigantic class, I think that said something. Im also treasurer for National Honor Society. I was -Community Service Director- for PV FBLA (2nd in the state of PA). I won multiple state awards for FBLA. I am a math tutor, I'm in math league. I play varsity tennis. Varsity Scholastic Scrimmage. DO NOT SPREAD YOURSELF TOO THIN ON YOUR APPLICATION. They like to see commitment and excellence, not a multitude of clubs with no credits.</p>
<p>Don't be afraid to write about your social life. I know I mentioned that I was nominated for Junior Prom king, Homecoming King, etc.</p>
<p>My counselor recommendation was horrible because with 564 kids in my class, he doesnt integrate with every student. He knew me by name, basically. ** So dont be too upset if the counselor rec is garbage.**</p>
<p>My recommendations were from teachers of two subjects that related to my intended major. Since I applied for a mathematics major, I got my recs from my pre-calculus teacher, and my physics teacher. It helps. All in all, I made sure every part of my application accented my intended major. Showed specific examples of Penn's unique clubs and programs. Hell, named professors. Who cares.</p>
<p>3 people applied ED from my high school. I thought, at the most, that MAYBE 1 of us would get accepted.</p>
<p>2 of us were accepted, 1 was deferred.</p>
<p>The one that was deferred had no extracurriculars other than band. Wasnt ranked too high (Top 3%). In the lower 2000s on the SAT.</p>
<p>The other person who was accepted had outstanding ECs, minority status, and an 1170 (M+V) SAT, and a 26 ACT. Its all about the ECs. But, he applied for the right major, accented his whole app. with why he picked that major and how he would take charge of it (like i did) and was accepted ED. Clinching essays...</p>
<p>-AJ</p>
<p>(UPENN
2010)</p>
<p>if accepted</p>
<p>how low can GRADES DIP, senior year is TOUGHER then ever, what if 1 B shows up for mid-year, we aren't out of the GAME? i mean, say thats the only B on our transcript in HS</p>