<p>So, I plan to apply to Penn next fall entering as class of 2016. I'm not sure how I stack up as of now, but want some tips on how I can improve my application for next year.</p>
<p>I attend the North Carolina School of Science and Math, which is a super competitive residential high school in NC, obviously. It's pretty much like college, not just because we live here, but because most courses are on the college level. Right now I'm taking Pre-Calc with Modeling, Physics, American Studies (which is American history & literature), and Intermediate Spanish. I plan to take AP Chem with Advanced Topics, AP Bio, Molecular Genetics, Classical Genetics, AP US History, British Literature after 1860's, and Advanced Spanish...I'll probably have room for more classes also. (Our school has trimesters, allowing us to take a lot more classes.) My SAT score is a little low...almost 1800 as a sophomore(ok, very low.) but I plan on taking it numerous times and I'm pretty sure I can get at least 2000. We are required to do work service here, which is volunteer work 3 hrs a week, and 60 hours each summer. I'm a member of the Newspaper, LINK (liberation in North Korea), Student Government, and a few other silly clubs we have here. I play Varsity volleyball as well. I want to study communications.</p>
<p>Sooo...what would you suggest for me to do to improve my application? Penn is possibly my dream school :)</p>
<p>I don’t remember what my GPA from sophomore year is…I think it was like 3.9 unweighted?? And I was in 4 Honors. My old school didn’t offer APs for underclassmen.</p>
<p>4 honors is actually small, the 3.9 unweighted is ok. What about freshman year?
You need an absurdly high gpa… i.e you better have a 4.0 junior year. Good luck.</p>
<p>Ha, I don’t think you fully understand the rigor of my school. Its almost next to impossible to achieve a 4.0 GPA. Only about 6 students, in 32 years of this school running, have achieved a 4.0. You’d have to kill yourself to get a 4.0. Especially with the course load. We have about 4-6 hours of homework, every night. Most classes are on the college level.</p>
This is not much. This is about 4 - 8/10. This is very standard (for the sort of people attending Penn). This year, for example, I am taking 4 AP classes, a sophmore-level college class (literally, in college…) and have a 6-hour job. And I am not complaining.</p>
<p>As for the rigor of the classes,
make me giggle a little. Even your “AP” classes aren’t on college level. Advanced Placement isn’t that advanced in the grand scheme of things.</p>
<p>Do not consider your school to be that prestigious in making college choices. It will come to haunt you.</p>