Another one of these... Deferred Cornell ED, how am I looking for Penn CAS?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
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<p>Hey guys,
It would be great if you could chance me.
Since I've been reading so many of them, I thought I might as well give in and post one of my own.</p>

<p>Applied Early Decision to Human Ecology for the HBHS (Human Bio, Health, and Society) major and got deferred.
My parents are Russian-Jewish immigrants, and I speak Russian at home.</p>

<p>SAT: 720 CR, 780 Math, 800 Writing
SAT IIs:
790 Biology E
760 World History
750 Spanish (not with listening)
680 Chemistry
640 Math I (took it freshman year)</p>

<p>GPA: 96 unweighted (my school does GPA's out of 100) doesn't rank, and doesn't weight.</p>

<p>Classes:
Freshman Year:
Earth Science (required, didn't offer advanced when I was a freshman)
Honors English 9
Math 11-1Y (two years accelerated math)
Honors Global (world history) 9
Spanish 2A (honors)
Music Theory</p>

<p>Sophomore Year:
AP World History
Honors Precalculus (two years accelerated math)
Chemistry X (the options were Regular Biology, Enriched Biology, or Chem X and Chem X was the hardest option available in the sciences)
Spanish 3 (choices were Spanish 3 and 3B, 3 being the more advanced option)
Honors English 10
Science Research</p>

<p>Junior Year:
AP Biology
AP Calculus BC (two-years accelerated for my school)
AP US History
British Literature (most advanced English class for juniors)
Intermediate Spanish (college-level Spanish, through University in High School program at SUNY Albany)
Health (requirement)
Human Physiology (1/2 year elective)</p>

<p>Senior Year:
AP Economics
Mandarin Chinese 1 (first year my school offered the language to any students)
AP Literature and Composition
AP Physics B (considered toughest class in our school, the teacher is tough and the school doesn't offer Physics C)
Calculus 3/Linear Algebra (still 2 years accelerated)
AP Spanish</p>

<p>I had PE every year, so I had a full schedule with one free each year.</p>

<p>AP Scores:
AP Biology: 5
AP US History: 5
AP World History: 5
I canceled my AP Calc BC score because I was pretty sick that day and did poorly.</p>

<p>Awards/Honors:
Toshiba ExploraVision Contest Honorable Mention (10th grade)
Spanish Department Award for Excellence in College-level Spanish
AP Scholar (eh, I got it so might as well list it)
New York State Scholarship for Academic Excellence
NY State Math Honors Society Inductee (also an EC, but I won't list it again)</p>

<p>EC's:
I'm not going to list all of them since it's really pointless to do so on CC so I'll put my main ones.
Worked for two summers 3 days a week for 9 hours a day at a local endocrinology clinic as a checkout person, I took copayments, helped with patient issues, scheduled/rescheduled appointments. I also got to shadow a couple doctors there a few times to see what it was like to be an endocrinologist.</p>

<p>Volunteered at the local hospital for 3 summers (9th, 10th, 11th), ended up shadowing a couple doctors there as well a couple times</p>

<p>Co-President of school Masterminds team (sort of like Quiz Bowl)</p>

<p>Piano for 12 years, performed some high-end pieces at recitals each year.</p>

<p>Those are the main ones, the others aren't as important. Basically, I listed the ones that take up most of my time.</p>

<p>Essays were definitely on unique topics, kind of quirky, but also a bit long.
One teacher rec should be spectacular, the other one I don't really know.</p>

<p>So, yeah, there's my cliched chance thread, please don't berate me for posting one, I truly couldn't resist.</p>

<p>Good luck to all! And sorry for the REALLY long post!</p>

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<p>my stats are almost like your except for sat scores, mine are alot lower, but i got rejected cornell ed. For penn cas is so competitive that i would say your essays really make you stand out, just write good ones and i think you will get in.hope i helped.</p>

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<p>Thanks ndn. Penn CAS is really competitive... I'm writing the Penn essays currently, my autobio one should be quite unique, though I haven't started the Why Penn one yet.</p>

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<p>this is really cliched, but it's riding on your essays. everything looks good, so you definitely have a great shot. just work really hard on those essays. good luck!</p>

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<p>hmm chandlerbing, i didnt write a autobiography nor do i plan to (as it is optional). If i were you i would get the why penn done first, than do autobiography just in case time isnt on your side, i mean you dont want to get stuck writing a bad why penn the day before apps are due.good luck.</p>

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<p>Thanks Crystal and ndn.
I have about 6 applications left to do... and Penn is one of them.
I have ten days to do them all.
Ah!!</p>

<p>I know it hinges on the essays... which is bothering me because I've only done the professor essay and half of the autobio essay for Penn.</p>

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<p>good luck with the rest of your apps chandler!
if you need any help with the penn ones, i'd be happy to help. i was accepted ED.</p>

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<p>Thanks, Crystal!
Congrats!!!! That's awesome! What major/part of Penn?
I might need help with the Why Penn essay, should I write it in a more "creative writing" style or a more generic, businesslike style.
My general style of writing leans toward the creative/dramatic and I don't know the appropriate tone for the Why Penn essay.</p>

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<p>^i'm in CAS for biochemistry (at least that's what i put on my common app. i'll explore around and maybe switch to biophysics instead...)</p>

<p>my own why penn essay was sort of creative but it had its business-y moments. you can spin it however you want as long as it reflects your own personality and how penn fits you.</p>

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<p>Ah I see, I actually know exactly what I'll write about for Penn... Health and Societies major with a concentration in International Health, Hispanic Studies, and East Asian Languages and Civilizations. International Health is PERFECT for me.
Yeah my Why Penn is kinda creative so far, it sort of "defines" the word interest in the beginning and then goes on to discuss my passions? I actually think I'll be okay for this essay.</p>

<p>And I thoroughly enjoyed writing my autobio essay, it's... hard to describe.</p>

<p>Why am I getting myself psyched about Penn? It's impossible to get into ><</p>

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<p>Good luck with Penn, but don't give up on Cornell though! Sounds to me like you belong there.</p>

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<p>Thanks, coolman. I haven't given up on Cornell, but I have to look at other options. Penn's a total crapshoot, and knowing my luck, I haven't got a prayer.</p>

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<p>Any more opinions?
I'd love to hear some more :)</p>

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<p>I'm going to revive this pesky little thread.
Some chancing would be awesome :)</p>

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<p>hmm what happened on your chem SAT II? -_- lol jk. but rele.</p>

<p>i don't think you really have a shot... esp. if you got deferred from cornell - send me ur essays via PM and i can tell you if they compensate for the rest of your app.</p>

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<p>Good stats, good fundamentals, good awards, etc.</p>

<p>Play up what seems to be your passions for healthcare/music and I'd say you have a good shot. Good luck!</p>

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<p>^ Why doesn't he have a shot? </p>

<p>A Cornell deferral in no way has a bearing on a Penn acceptance. </p>

<p>Applicant has a 2300 SAT and what appears to me to be a good GPA. ECs could be better (as it seems the bulk of your interesting experiences occur in the summer when a school may want to see you handle many things at once). I think with great essays he could be accepted. Is his chance out of this world? No, but that's what happens when you apply to selective schools.</p>

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<p>Thanks, you two. Yeah I am a bit worried about the EC situation. The Masterminds/Piano thing is really the bulk of my school-year experience, which may hurt me. But my Penn essays were sort of unique IMO.
My autobio essay was sort of "esoterically", for lack of a better word, written. It had this sense of drama to it, it was about my future life as a doctor in Israel, but it doesn't focus on the doctor aspect. Instead it focuses on the imagery of a city street at night and the imagery of a city where a terrorist attack had just occurred. Maybe risky, but I think it showed something about me that the stats, EC's really can't.
And the Why Penn essay was mainly about my language/healthcare passions and my quirky, foreign-o-phile habits :P</p>

<p>Yeah, my school doesn't weight or rank, but I've taken the hardest courseload possible and have one of the highest GPA's in my class. But I don't think the grades/SATs will get me in, they'll either like my essays or not like them.</p>

<p>The Cornell deferral wasn't about strength of the app actually, they adcom told me it was more of a fit thing (Human Ecology is extremely fit-based, etc)</p>

<p>Any more opinions? Thanks a ton for chancing guys :)</p>

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<p>Like I said, you've got a great chance.</p>

<p>I actually think page 217 is the best opportunity we applicants have. It allows one to blend a future vision for yourself (subtly of course) with a more creative, descriptive piece. Your street one sounds great. I wrote about a vacation I had in my late 40s from my career and (more specifically) about waking up early w/ coffee to see the sun rise of the Atlantic in Maine. I think it was the best thing I wrote.</p>

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<p>Thanks a lot :)</p>

<p>Yes I totally agree! My strength lies in creative writing rather than formulaic writing, and by being able to paint images of darkness, night, a street, an emergency room, mirrors, and even an elevator I could show a different side of myself. I think it was the best thing I wrote for colleges too, I tried not to tout the whole future doctor spiel too much since that's generic, but I subtly wove it in.
I had a lot of fun writing that essay (and I pretty much hated writing all the others...)
Good luck with RD, Ace, I hope we both do well.</p>