<p>I just thought I'd share some of my thoughts about admissions to Penn (the best university in the world as we all know...lol)</p>
<p>-Get a decent test score (anything above a 2200 on SAT or 33 on ACT should make you a competitive applicant); however, getting a good score doesn't guarantee anything</p>
<p>-Be involved in activities that you have an interest in: If you're thinking about Wharton, try to participate in a business related activity (FBLA, DECA, etc.)</p>
<p>-Really find something unique about Penn that makes it your #1 school...stress on that in your "Penn experience" essay and in your interview (if contacted for one)</p>
<p>-Get recommendations from teachers that actually know you and can say a lot about you: I asked my 10th grade English teacher...even though she didn't teach AP or anything and had me when I was a sophomore, she could elaborate on my writing abilities and potential in leadership which she observed when I was her student</p>
<p>-MOST IMPORTANT THING: make your application an overall package that shows various aspects of you (try to use the essays to reveal various aspects of yourself); again, make your activities, course load, and tests taken (AP & SAT II) reflect your interests</p>
<p>If you have any other questions, feel free to PM me. I was admitted into the M&T program...Penn'15!</p>
<p>I would just like to say that you don’t absolutely need to have any business-related activities to get into Wharton as long as you express your love for business in your essays. However, for M&T you definitely should have business ECs because it’s incredibly selective.</p>
<p>This advice is definitely true. There were a good amount of people who had near perfect SAT scores and gpa and so many EC’s that got rejected/waitlisted. Focusing on yourself in the essays and a few major Extra’s that reflect you effectively help so much in the application. I myself am a recently accepted student to SEAS this coming fall with a full ride and it shows that scores aren’t everything</p>
<p>This OP was absolutely correct and those interested in Penn (or other top school) should re-read this post carefully. “Being good at everything” is meaningless is you are careless with your application. This holiday break, six of my younger friends asked me to read thir applications to Ivy League schools. Four of the six had better SAT scores than I had, but they have virtually no chance of getting accepted to their top choices because their essays were so horrific. The reason why those with 2300 plus SAT scores are rejected each year by Penn (and other top schools), while those with lower scores are accepted, is the applicant’s essays. Everyone thinks their essays are good, but very, very few are truly well written. The worst thing an applicant can do is to wait until the last two weeks before the application deadline to begin writing essays. Essays should be started months ahead of time. They should be read by at least six people who are excellent writers. The supplemental essays should be specific to the school (if you submitted the same supplemental essay for more than one school, you lost an opportunity to shine) and all of your essays, read together, should tell an interesting story. This is a difficult task that requires hundreds of hours of writing. For those in the class of 2016 with great scores, please take your essays very seriously. The summer before your senior year is a very good time to start working on what you want to tell the schools in your essays. Once you figure out the story you want to tell, you will be able to mold this story to whatever the prompts are, once they are released. Assuming you’re not a URM, recruited athlete, or legacy, writing good essays is what will determine whether you are accepted or rejected (assuming, of course, that you have pretty good test scores and grades). It breaks my heart seeing my friends with great SAT scores get rejected because they dropped the ball on the essays.</p>
<p>Getting great scores and grades will get you into the “seriously considered” pool of applicants at top schools. However, to get accepted, your application needs to be top-notch. It’s that simple, people.</p>
<p>I beg to differ with you, Hope Full; it’s not that simple. Of course, it’s important to carefully craft each application; of course it’s important to write informative, grammatically correct essays that reveal aspects of the applicant not otherwise evident elsewhere in the application. However, there is an aspect of luck in every application cycle. There is no way for Penn to accept every qualified applicant; there were 30,000 applications last year! You have to accept that the outcome may be capricious and not feel it’s a referendum on your self-worth.</p>
<p>The essays are a very important way to stand out, but they are not the sole determinant of the decision; so is how one spends his or her free time; i.e. EC’s. A laundry list of clubs isn’t very impressive; doing one or two things well is. My son-an MIT junior-plays multiple instruments, composes, conducts, mentors, and performs (BTW he had tremendous essays vetted by multiple people, and SAT 1600, and still was waitlisted by three schools). My daughter-just accepted ED to Penn-dances, choreographs, and captains her Dance Team. My point is not just to make the EC’s a focus; the activity should truly be loved and be an outlet, a stress-reducer. It’ll be a part of your life wherever you go to school.</p>
<p>neuron39, your children sound extradordinary, but I don’t understand from your message how luck played a role in your children’s applications. </p>
<p>My point wasn’t to say that essays are the sole determinative factor in admissions. My point is that otherwise great applicants often dedicate thousands of hours to grade and ECs but short-change the application itself. They spend years building a great resume and then incorrectly believe that the application can wait until December 15th. That, I believe, is insane. </p>
<p>The role of luck in the college admission process is extremely small. In stark contrast, the role of a well done application in the admission process is huge.</p>
<p>Never assume anything about Penn (or any other school of that caliber) students in general. You learn that very quickly once you arrive on campus.</p>
<p>I have to agree with the OP about essays, they really do require a lot of work, I started my common app essay at the beginning of the summer, and it was finalized the weekend before the ED deadline, now of course I didn’t work on it continuously, but I definitely spent a long time on it. And I find it very funny that every person who has ever made a chance thread on CC says that their essays are “very good” or “excellent”, I can guarantee that more than half of those essays are not “very good” or “excellent” from the stand point of being very interesting to read and revealing personal character.</p>