<p>I am a Junior.
I have just under a 94 unweighted gpa (96 weighted) in a competetive, upper-middle class, suburban public highschool in New York. I have a cousin and 6 or 7 aunts and uncles that attended UPenn.
My father was born in Argentina and moved to the United States as a teenager, which means that I am hispanic.
I took the SATs for the first time recently and got 2250: 710 Critical Reading, 790 Math, 750 Writing (essay score of 8).
When I graduate from highschool I will have taken AP Chemistry, US history, Physchology, BC Calculus, Spanish, and English.
I have been the President of my class and played varsity lacrosse since sophomore year. I also tutor a learning and socially disabled classmate in geometry once a week. He had a 70 in geometry for the second quarter when I was asked to help him. He know has an 87, and is hoping for a 90+ for the fourth quarter.
My other extracurriculars include: Soccer and Basketball (I've played a sport every season each year of high school). Math, Science, and Foreign Language Honors Societies, National Honors society.
During the summer I work as a custodian for 40 hours a week in my towns school system.</p>
<p>My concerns are that my GPA is too low (I got a 90 freshman year, 95 sophomore, around 94 Junior) and my SATs arent high enough to balance it out. I am reasonably sure that my highschool grades will be at the lower end for Penn applicants. I am also afraid that other students applying to Penn will have far better resumes in terms of community service. Although it cannot hurt, it would not surprise me if being hispanic does not really help me.</p>
<p>I know UPenn is a reach for me, but can I get in? Should I even apply?</p>
<p>2250 not being good enough? Honestly, I think that after ~2100 or 2200, colleges stop looking at the number. What difference (academically) is there really between a 2200 kid and a 2300 kid? One more retake? </p>
<p>I think you should be fine. I’m hispanic/latino (but I’m an actual international student, I really did get to live the culture which is what I feel matters most), I had a 2230, somewhat similar community service, but a higher GPA and some job experience. I don’t see why you shouldn’t get in. Have amazing essays, reccomendations, and try to pull up your GPA. Those first two alone should make the greatest difference.</p>
<p>Penn really isn’t that much of a reach for you at all. I got a 2200 (2210 SS), and I got in, so you should really be solid. Plus, you’re URM.</p>
<p>However, from your EC’s, I don’t see much of a pattern or, frankly, anything exceptional. You just seem to have rather run-of-the-mill extra-curriculars, which may penalize you more heavily at schools like Penn, where they assume you’re a good student, but you need to prove your ability to show that you’re well-rounded and competent.</p>
<p>You have solid chances, but since nowadays there are so many kids applying to so many colleges, it’s really hard to predict if you actually have a good chance of getting in. Definitely apply, though.</p>
<p>Try and do everything kayb92 said. And try to have a killer interview. I found out that the thing that really makes the difference, at least for me, was the interview. See, I got into all the colleges I felt I did great in the interview (and that includes Penn). There will be so many kids similar to you, that the thing that will make your app stand out is what your interviewer thought of you.</p>
<p>I totally agree with all of you about the extracurriculars. I just dont understand how people make time for all these ECs. School ends at 3 and I have a meeting a couple days a week for student government and then I get home at 6 from practice, or 7 if I had a game. Both my parents work so I make dinner a lot of the time. I’m not gonna spend the rest of my time doing work or doing community service because then I’ll go crazy and won’t sleep. On the weekends I’m going to hang out with my friends. There are only so many hours in a day. I have my whole life to be stressed out and overworked, for me thats just not what highschool is about. If getting into an top ranked school means foregoing my childhood and not having fun, then its not for me.</p>
<p>Don’t give up your childhood! I think your ECs are fine. Some math, some languages, some sports. Maybe leadership positions would be better, but honestly I had a couple mismatched ECs and I feel those really showed what kind of person I am.</p>
<p>You dont have legacy unless someone directly in your family (parents, grandparents or siblings) went to school. I dont believe aunts count although you can ask.</p>
<p>Your SAT score is fine. I cant figure out what your GPA scale is (100?) and so when you state a low GPA, I cant correlate.</p>
<p>Your hispanic status should get you in. You should call/email UPenn counselor for your area to discuss. If you apply ED, they should probably take you.</p>