<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>