<p>I will be applying to the University of Pennsylvania 2015. Please tell me what you think my chances will be.</p>
<p>Gender: M
State: FL</p>
<p>High School
GPA: 4.5 weighted, 4.0 unweighted
Rank: Top 3%, about 18/656
Courses: "Very demanding"
APs: Chemistry and Government (3 and 4, if I had to guess)
Senior schedule: AP Calc AB, AP Stat (highest math at my school), Physics Honors, Eng IV Honors, Spanish III Honors
Awards: Rising Sunshine State Scholar, won various local competitions</p>
<p>Extracurriculars
Clubs: Math Honor Society/Mu Alpha Theta/Math Team (president), Academic team (captain), Robotics team (parts manager/historian), NHS (vice president)
Community Service: Math tutoring every week grades 10, 11, and 12. Relay for life team. About 80 hours mentoring children.</p>
<p>Hooks: None. If possible, I will work into my application my love of cooking.
Essays, recommendations, etc: I am confident they will be good.</p>
<p>SAT: Critical Reading 660-750
SAT: Math 690-780
SAT: Writing 670-760</p>
<p>ACT Composite 30-35</p>
<p>While your scores are in the range, they are at the bottom. GPA is great, as are your ECs (Pres., VP, and Captain). You should retake the ACT and SAT. Even those with perfect scores are readily rejected from the Ivies. As for the rigor of your courses, I would have get a sense of the context of your school. 4 APs, depending on what your school offers, probably isn’t rigorous enough. Make sure your essays are outstanding. You have a shot. (Sorry for the negativity, but Ivies are a reach unless you have perfect scores, perfect GPA, perfect ECs, double legacy, a big-donor parent, and cured AIDS.)</p>
<p>The highest anyone takes at my school is about 7. However, most take about 4 maximum. The kids who do take 6 or 7 normally get B’s or go crazy. I made a mistake and could’ve taken 5. I don’t want to go above 5 or I’ll go insane, but also, my parents won’t let me.</p>
<p>The reason I have very demanding and not most is not because of AP, but because of honors classes. I made some scheduling mistakes freshmen year and took many non-honors classes. The guidance counselor simply checks “most demanding” for the top 3 ranked people.</p>
<p>Also, I am working on my test scores. Thanks for the feedback.</p>
<p>If I can raise my ACT score and get a few rank spots higher, do you think I have a much better chance? From my research, no one seems to put much emphasis on the “very/most demanding” check box.</p>
<p>Penn looks for well rounded students – more than just academic kids. Since Penn is dedicated to learning with a purpose, it makes sense to admit kids who have less than perfect GPAs but incredible extra curricular involvement, especially in random things. Penn looks for passion. I don’t want to sound negative toward you, but this is the reality: Your scores put you in the range, so don’t worry about those. Your extra curricular involvement isn’t ideal, though. You may have leadership positions, but it’s tough to judge the commitment level of an Honor Society officer: at my high school, it was a joke… literally the officers met twice over the course of my entire senior year, and they didn’t even do anything; at other schools, however, the officers had legitimate jobs. It is much easier to judge the commitment level of an athletic team captain, a school newspaper chief editor, student council president, etc. Additionally, your extra curricular activities are a little one dimensional, though the robotics team is something interesting and different that you might want to emphasize. </p>
<p>In your application, if you sound like a one dimensional student, you will be lucky to get wait listed at the most selective schools. Show off your different skills and interests, and if you get in, you get in. If not, oh well, you’ll do fine wherever you go. Prestige is overrated</p>
<p>I plan on emphasizing robotics team (I spend 4-5 hours a week on it) and my math tutoring an hour a week for 3/4 of my high school career. I don’t feel like I am one dimensional, I was actually on the swim team for grades 9-10. I quit for academic pursuits, as I was a very bad swimmer. I didn’t have a chance at being captain. I hope I don’t seem one dimensional : (. I really want to convey my depth. </p>
<p>So basically, although my test scores are low, you think getting a few points higher on the ACT won’t help as much as better EC’s? I am just unsure as to how I can alter my extracurriculars now, it’s kind of late for that. I cook dinner for my family every night, I was hoping I could somehow describe in the community essay how I could fit into the campus by doing cooking/soup kitchen type stuff. Is that just a bunch of baloney?</p>
<p>PS-I am also a fraternal twin! Well, that’s about 1/100 odds?</p>
<p>Show your individuality and passion in your essays. If you are passionate about neurosurgery, fine. If you are passionate about pulling weeds, great. As long as your essay shows your ability to think critically, deeply, and as stated above shows your passion and individuality, you have a shot. </p>
<p>Colleges don’t just look at the box checked “demanding” or not. They look at your actual courses. If the maximum people at your school usually take is 7, then that gives me some context. At my school, the top ranked students right now are taking as many as 10 or 11 and making all As. If you have a weighted GPA of less than 4.0, you are not even in the top 25%; however, a kid at my school taking 4 APs wouldn’t be considered anywhere near to your rigor. In the context of my school, 4 APs is nothing, but in your school, it’s rigorous. </p>
<p>You’re right, there is not much you can do about ECs right now except maybe go to a really prestigious summer program like TASP, RSI, or your state’s governor’s school.</p>
<p>I am sure you are not one-dimensional, but there is no way to tell over an internet forum. ;)</p>