Appealing My Decisions

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
1

<p>Has anyone had experience with this? I was recently rejected from Wharton and M&T, and after paging through the decision thread, I am even more baffled. I say this only because I have a rather unique set of accomplishments in business. I don't see these as being reason for acceptance alone, but I also have quite a bit of football experience. Considering that sprint football is not allowed to recruit, 'recruiting' falls into the hands of the admissions staff. If anything, I would just like some insight into my weaknesses, so that I don't go through this again for grad school.
Here is a copied list of my stats:
Objective:</p>

<pre><code>* SAT I (breakdown):n/a
* ACT: 35 comp (34 E, 36M, 34 R, 36 Science)
* SAT II: 2400 MathII/PHY/CHEM (Think they saw 2350)
* Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):4.0
* Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):1/200
* AP (place score in parenthesis):5 BIO/LANG/CALC BC
* IB (place score in parenthesis):n/a
* Senior Year Course Load: 8 classes, maxed on APs/Honors (school only offers 5 APs though)
* Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): 1st/2000 teams in the stock market game, yielded 97% in 10 weeks by trading over 47 stocks, Science O Champ in 3 events
</code></pre>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<pre><code>* Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): (4 years Varsity Track, Captain), (3 Years Varsity Football, Captain), (Science Olympiad, Captain), (Spanish Club, Founder), NHS, State Powerlifting Champ
* Job/Work Experience: 3 Jobs from 8th-10th grade before founding an online retail company with $3,500 which now has over $400,000 in sales
* Volunteer/Community service: Over 200 hrs, assorted
* Summer Activities: Various Jobs, Took Classes at Community College
* Essays: Took me over 5 months
* Teacher Recommendation: Best Student Ever, wrote their AP curriculum
* Counselor Rec: Best Student Ever, but counselor is unexperienced with top schools
* Additional Rec: n/a
* Interview: not offered
</code></pre>

<p>Other</p>

<pre><code>* State (if domestic applicant): Mid-West
* Country (if international applicant):
* School Type: Parochial
* Ethnicity: White
* Gender: M
* Income Bracket: Middle
* Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Started with $0 at 14 working at an auto factory, made over 100k in 4 years through business/stocks.
</code></pre>

2

<p>Wow..those are great stats, but maybe you were missing something that they were looking for--besides stats
You sound like an amazing student though
I'm not sure if very selective schools (like Penn) ever agree to admit applications they once rejected. And, even if they saw a 2350 instead of a 2400, I doubt that 2350 would've been held against you. A 2350 is ALWAYS a really good score, regardless of where you are applying</p>

3

<p>I would not bother appealing. They are not going to reconsider your application in any meaningful way unless there was some error with documents (mixed up transcripts, scores, essays, etc.) You have great stats, but admissions decisions, especially at schools of high caliber, also depend on intangibles. It is understandable how this might frustrate you, but it is best to just move on and not dwell on this decision. Your stats suggest that you have a bright future wherever you may go and whatever you decide to do. Good luck.</p>

4

<p>Give it a rest and move on with your life. You can probably get into other great places with those stats.</p>

5

<p>Do you have SAT I?
Is this the reason? your stats are looks very strong on everything</p>

6

<p>It's not about pure stats.</p>

7

<p>a friend of mine got rejected from penn, called his regional director, and they had a conversation about his app--maybe you should do the same for closure, clarification, or whatever</p>

8

<p>I've been told secondhand my someone on Cornell's admission board that there is no point to appealing. All they will do is maybe waitlist you and make sure you don't get off the waitlist. Why waste your time, especially if they didn't take you in the first place?</p>

9

<p>@collegegal, thanks, that is exactly what i'm looking for. i'm not overly upset; I prefer MIT over wharton. I am just surprised I was rejected considering my interest and accomplishments in business. I want to know what my weakness is so this doesn't happen again in the future.</p>

10

<p>don't waste your time. they won't tell you anything you don't already know. this year, they weren't looking for a student like you - that's all.</p>

11

<p>
[quote]
I want to know what my weakness is so this doesn't happen again in the future.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>There doesn't have to be a "weakness".</p>

12

<p>yes, i don't think you have any "weakness"...you have an excellent record, starting your own business and all...when you potentially become a famous multimillionaire in the future and have your pictures posted in BusinessWeek, Forbes etc, and you announce to the world that you're a Wharton reject, Penn will know that it was their loss that they rejected you lol :D</p>