Any advice on what to do to increase chances of acceptance into Penn?

Colleges & Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
1

<p>Hey, i know this is not a chances forum but i was wondering if anyone who has got accepted into wharton or Penn has any futher advice on what i can do to improve. Thank you :) I'm also a legacy and applying ED - i don't know how much that makes a difference :/ Also i live in the middle-east, again, don't know if that makes any difference.</p>

<p>Grades IB:
Economics HL: 5/6
English HL: 7
Music HL: 7
French SL: 5/6
Maths SL:6/7
Biology SL: 7
+1/2/3 for TOK and EE so around 40/45</p>

<p>No GPA (british school)</p>

<p>SAT 1: 2200
SAT II: 700 in Lit and 760 - Maths II</p>

<p>E.C:
1. Leadership - House Captain , Ambassador to School, Student Council (elected), School's Creative Arts Co-ordinator - Executive Committee. captain of local cricket club</p>

<ol>
<li>Musical Achievements:</li>
<li>Organised Music Festival ( and played for over 2 thousand people, 50, 000 dhs raised around $15,000)</li>
<li>Battle of the Bands finalist and 3rd place (top 5 in region)</li>
<li>Musical therapy with Autistic Center, and organized concert with the children</li>
<li>Entrepreneurship - Small live entertainment company providing live entertainment for different venues around Dubai.</li>
<li>Invited to do a small concert for the Princess of the U.A.E</li>
<li>Hired private musical teacher in Guitar, Piano, and Vocals.</li>
<li>Invited to record a professional album with BKP studios , for free.</li>
<li><p>Organized a 24 hour project involving Art and Music students, to put together an art and music exhibition</p></li>
<li><p>Work Experience:</p></li>
<li><p>Ernst and Young</p></li>
<li><p>Habib Bank AZ Zurich</p></li>
<li><p>GNP Maritime (uncle's company)</p></li>
<li><p>Shipping company in Singapore</p></li>
<li><p>Certified Hedge Fund Manager</p></li>
<li><p>Charity:</p></li>
<li><p>2 week Gillgit - Pakistan: organised expedition (teaching englislh, organized a trip for several people)</p></li>
<li><p>Take My Junk (distribution of clothes to workers)</p></li>
<li><p>organized lots of school charity events (150 or so hours)</p></li>
<li><p>part of Jess Vietnam Project (school charity) - (100,000 dhs raised for vietnam orphans)</p></li>
</ol>

<ul>
<li>Gold + Silver + Bronze International Award.</li>
</ul>

<ol>
<li>MUN (selected) + Global Young Leaders Conference (nominated from school),
Debate Club (president and founder), S.N.A.P (special needs awareness program), Young Enterprise Club</li>
</ol>

2

<p>help please :)</p>

3

<p>I was accepted ED, lifehouse. Although I’m not an expert, I’d be happy to share with you what I think helped my application.</p>

<p>First, write great essays. Your ED deadline is November 1st. I think the Penn and Common apps are released around July 1st. Start writing the essays as soon as they apps are up. Have adults you trust and who understand the application process (English teachers, etc.) review your essays and offer brutal criticism. Lose your ego during this process. My essays improved greatly because I worked on them for months and allowed others to criticize them. The worse thing to do is to begin the essays two weeks before the application is due.</p>

<p>Second, get to know your regional representative. Mine was very nice and willing to answer each question I had. I don’t know if they are all so nice, but I think it helps that they know how much going to Penn means to you. Also, make sure your rep knows you’re a legacy. Being a legacy and applying ED is a very good combination.</p>

<p>Third, start thinking about letters of recommendation now. Speak to those who will write your letters to make sure they are very enthusiastic about you as a student. Like you, I had good work experience. I submitted an extra letter of recommendation from my job (the others come from teachers). I don’t know how much this helped me, but I did get in so I assume it did.</p>

<p>Fourth, do very well in school this year and the first semester of your senior year. Be sure you’re taking a difficult load. Nothing hurts an application more than bad grades right before the application is submitted.</p>

<p>Lastly, you SAT I and II scores are good but you still have six months to improve them. Penn superscores the SAT I so you may want to try to improve your 2200, especially if one of the three scores was low (I had a 790 in math, a 750 in CR, and a 690 in writing my first time, so there was room for me to pull up the writing score the second time). If your three scores are pretty even (i.e., 740, 730, 730), then maybe a second test isn’t necessary. Your SAT II scores can improve for sure. I would take a few more to see if you can improve on your Lit score. A 700 is good, but you could probably get a 770 on something else. That would help.</p>

<p>Good luck. I hope you get in.</p>

<p>P.S. Your stats and experiences look amazing, and I think you have a great chance of getting in. You just need to stayed focused for a few more months.</p>

4

<p>thanks for the advice :smiley:
yeh i think the next few months are gonna be crazy intense, but hopefully it will be worth it. Im also planning on doing the SAT 1 again in june and SAT II in october :slight_smile:
I shall definitely contact the regional director and also start looking at the letters of recommendation. One of the will be excellent i think because im good friends with my teacher and the other should be ok too. Would you say that it would be more beneficial to submit an additional letter of recommendation from previous work experience or from an extra-curricular at school? (my house-captain supervisor will probably write a good rec cause i’ve been really active this past year, might be slightly better than the work experience). </p>

<p>Again thanks SO much for your help this is all really useful advice :D</p>

5

<p>Generally speaking, I think a third letter from someone unrelated to your school is better. Penn asks for two letters from your school. I’m assuming Penn is convinced that’s enough. A third letter from someone at your school sounds a bit like overkill to me. However, a third letter from an employer offers a completely different perspective, which can be helpful. Lastly, I wouldn’t do a third letter just to do one. I’d offer a third one only if it was amazing. Again, the point isn’t just to submit another letter. It’s to offer a different perspective that shows how great you are. I’d recommend it only for those students who had great work experience, which is rare. You have that kind of work experience. </p>

<p>Again, good luck.</p>

6

<p>so basically, i REALLY messed up on the SAT and didn’t get what i had hoped. There is no time to take it before ED cause i’ve already signed up for teh SAT IIs. I got a 1920. I know its very low, but is there any chance i can still get in?</p>

7

<p>It’s not mandatory that you apply ED. It was just a suggestion. I wouldn’t apply ED with a 1920. I’d retake the test in September/October and then apply RD. Did you do good in some areas of the SAT and poorly in others? If, for example, you received a 700 in Math, a 700 in CR, and a 520 on Writing, you could focus the next few months on writing to increase your overall score dramatically. </p>

<p>I wish you the best!!</p>

8

<p>well, it was pretty evenly spread out but i’m sure i can improve my score. The thing i am worried about is that by applying RD i lose my legacy status. If my SAT IIs were to improve to 750+ in each before ED and i apply with a 1920 and legacy, would it be better than applying RD with higher SAT 1 and no legacy?</p>

9

<p>any advice? Please guys i need the help!</p>

10

<p>ok so i didnt rly believe this in HS (big mistake on my part), but you really only need to do things your passionate about EC-wise. So, just follow your interests there, but do try to get officer positions and awards in the things your passionate about. believe me, thats all you need to do. You do hav very good ECs tho!</p>

<p>Stats:
Idk…your fine on your SAT. It wouldnt hurt you at all. If you want to maximize your chances, I’d get it up to a 2300+. Additionally, I dont like the 700 on lit. Try to get your score up to a 750+. Though, your fine statistically already.</p>

11

<p>thanks :slight_smile: i don’t think you read the last few posts, as the SAT mark actually resulted in a really bad score. I ended up with a 1920 and was wondering, is it better to apply with that score ED and claim the legacy benefits or apply RD with a higher SAT score after december retake?</p>

12

<p>sorry to keep bringing this thread back up but i’m just curious to know whether i have any chance applying ED at penn with all my stats (above) with a 1920 in the SATs. I’m a legacy as well.</p>

13

<p>ED helps a lot (!!) esp if you’re legacy. The legacy advantage is lost in the RD round. (Penn states this on their website, if I remember). I don’t think you should give up the boost ED gives you in hopes of raising your SAT scores further. Penn superscores so your 2200 (am I correct that you have a 2200 on your first SAT I and a 1920 on your second SAT I?) is what will count, not your 1920. They’ll simply looks at that as a bad day and disregard it.
But if you want it from the horse’s mouth, so to speak, I would actually consider posing your question from 2 posts above (“is it better to apply with that score ED and claim the legacy benefits or apply RD with a higher SAT score after december retake?”) to your regional rep. I suspect she or he will suggest you apply ED. I suppose another possibility is to take the fall ACT. But on the whole I think your app will be REALLY strong and that the scores won’t matter very much. They’re only one component of your app.</p>

14

<p>see this webpage:
[Penn</a> Alumni: Alumni Council on Admissions](<a href=“http://www.alumni.upenn.edu/aca/earlyregdec.html]Penn”>http://www.alumni.upenn.edu/aca/earlyregdec.html)</p>

15

<p>unfortunately around 2200 is what i was regularly getting on practice tests, and i ended up getting a 1920 (my only SAT score). I’m doing my SAT IIs in October so there is no chance of a re-sit until december. That’s why i am worried about applying ED</p>

16

<p>Is the November test date not offered internationally? If it is, you can retake your SAT’s in November and rush your scores; Penn ED will accept that. If not, I’d switch your October registration from SAT IIs to regular SAT’s. Your SAT II scores are fine right now whereas the 1980 is low for Penn. Alternatively, you could try the September or October ACT dates. Any of these options would allow you to raise your scores while still preserving your legacy ED “boost”.</p>