Chance an ED Legacy Applicant!! :)

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
1

<p>Hey everyone! :) I love, love, love Penn and would be ECSTATIC to be accepted…. BUT I realize Penn is near impossible to get into and I’m not a top-applicant by any means. </p>

<p>So, what do you think my chances are of:
-being accepted
-being deferred
-being rejected</p>

<p>ACT: 32
AP Scores: Eng-5, US-5 Bio-4</p>

<p>Rank: 6/215
Grades: 3.83/4 UW</p>

<p>9
Honors English 9 A
Honors History 10 A+
Honors Geometry A-
Honors Physics 1 A+
Honors Biology A
PhysEd (req.) A+
Computer Science (req.) A
French 1 A-</p>

<p>10
Honors English 10 A<br>
Honors History 10 A+
Honors Algebra 2 B+
Honors Chemistry A
Art (req.) A
French 2 A+
French 3 A</p>

<p>11
AP English Lit A
AP Biology B+
AP History A-
Honors Pre-Calc B+
French 4 B+
Creative Writing A+
Art 2 A</p>

<p>12
AP Calculus A-
AP Psychology A+
AP Macroeconomics A+
AP U.S. Government A+<br>
Honors Physics 2 A-
AP English Lang next semester
Art 3 next semester</p>

<p>Extra Curricular Activities:
These are strong, but not outstanding. I’ve held several leadership positions, and shown commitment/passion to a few areas in particular. I’m a member of NHS like most applicants… I’m very involved in community service (I’ll probably graduate with 300-400 hours of documented service). I’ve held a steady job (15hrs/week school, 40 hrs/week summer) all throughout high school. I play sports—captain of my team… etc. etc. </p>

<p>In short, I doubt my ECs won’t get me in, but they shouldn’t keep me out. </p>

<p>Essays/Recs:
I think I will have one really, really great rec, one “good” rec, and I think my counselor rec will be pretty strong. I worked hard on my essays and expect them to have a positive influence on my apps (I’ve gotten good feedback), but ya never know! =)</p>

<p>Thank You!</p>

2

<p>To be honest, there’s not that much special about you on face value (to be fair though, good grades, and you are in top quintile) and your test scores are a tad bit low.</p>

<p>That said, you have a hook: you’re legacy. This changes a lot. I think the chances of you being outright rejected are pretty low; but deferred is currently the more likely scenerio… although it depends to which college you applied to…</p>

3

<p>i think you’re a fairly strong applicant. even without legacy you’d have a shot. with legacy i would feel pretty decent about your chances if i were you.
chance back?
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-pennsylvania/807391-ed-wharton-what-my-chances.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-pennsylvania/807391-ed-wharton-what-my-chances.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

4

<p>Accepted would be my guess with giving your ECs the benefit of the doubt. Even without ED+Legacy, you have a pretty good chance to get in, so I think more likely than not, you are in. Good luck.</p>

5

<p>Thanks guys!</p>

<p>Euroazn- that’s pretty much what I was thinking… even if I don’t get in, I’d like to be deferred at least. I think it’d be a bit of an ego-booster, ha.</p>

<p>nymets- Thanks! I wouldn’t call myself a strong applicant but I’m just hoping an admissions officer will love my essays or something… it would be amazing to have the oppurtunity to go to Penn! (I’m going to chance you back now…)</p>

<p>Anyone else have any thoughts?</p>

6

<p>Wow! Thanks ttparents! That’s nice to hear. I wish you were the admission officer reading my app, lol. I’m certainly not betting that I’ll get in, (or even that I have a good shot) but, again, it would be so awesome!</p>

7

<p>i just realized you already did Hopeful_Underdog haha so dont worry about it</p>

8

<p>haha yeah, I realized that too once I checked out your thread… but I responded again! :slight_smile: lol</p>

9

<p>you’re getting in. any concerns about you will be ignored because of Maine location and legacy status.</p>

10

<p>I just want everyone to know that the acceptance rate for legacies ED is only %40. I am not sure if everyone realizes it, but the majority of legacies that apply ED are not accepted. I say this as a legacy applicant myself with almost identical stats as hopeful_underdog. I truly hope he gets it in, but everyone should realize that just because one is a legacy, he or she is not automatically accepted. I believe you will get in (deferred in the worst-case-scenario) nevertheless because you seem like a strong applicant even without your legacy boost. Hopefully you expressed your love, knowledge, and fit/match for penn in your supplement essay because that is what they are looking for from legacy applicants.</p>

11

<p>Thanks guys! </p>

<p>And xs0itg0esx–I totally agree. I almost feel more pressure applying as a legacy applicant because everyone’s like “oh, you’ll get in!”… so it’s like damnnn I actually probably won’t get in and then what will you all say? ha
… and I tried to get across my fit/interest in my supplemental essay, but I guess I won’t know how good of a job I did until I find out whether I’m in or not!
I’ve actually heard that a good amount of applicants get flat out rejected–something like 30% accept, 40% defer and 30% reject. (For all applicants ED, not just legacies)… so there is a real possibility I could be flat out rejected. I really hope they at least defer me though!</p>

<p>Anyone else have anything to add?</p>

12

<p>Oh, and will being from Maine really help? I think something like 5-6 kids from Maine are attending as Freshman this year… is that a good thing?</p>

<p>I know coming from a state like CT would be super tough because of all of the competition, but at what point does being from a smaller state become difficult–because they are apt to accept fewer kids?</p>

13

<p>^^ lol I think it’s a good thing that you are from Maine. Personally, I am from NJ and I have much more competition. The only benefit of living in NJ, however, is that I am at Penn at least three times a month… so I pretty much know about the social/academic life inside and out. You should be solid though because I am sure you have heard a lot about Penn through your family. Also, there are probably a low amount of legacies in Maine (unlike the million in NJ) so you are in good shape.</p>

<p>I also agree with the pressure and stigma that comes along with being a legacy. When I tell people I am a legacy, they say I will be accepted before they hear my GPA or SAT score. And if I am accepted, I bet people will believe it was only because I am a legacy. Of course I am very fortunate to have a slight boost in the application process, but I wish everyone knew that 60% of legacies in the ED round are not accepted. </p>

<p>Nearly all of my family attended Penn (mom and three grandparents), but that can only help to a certain extent. Besides our location, we are pretty much in the same boat. I have similar grades/courses and scored a 2200 on SAT (which i think is equivalent to 32 on ACT). Let me know how you fare, and good luck! I hope you are accepted =]</p>

14

<p>I’ll let you know for sure! I have a feeling you will get in! :slight_smile: By the way, I’m pretty sure your testing is better than mine–I think a 32 equates to about a 2130. </p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

15

<p>I know that by bumping this thread I am being quite pathetic and desperate… but I AM pretty desperate, ha! 6 more days! AHHH! :/</p>

16

<p>I’m also a legacy, and I understand Penn admissions well. I think Hopeful_Underdog is going to get accepted. You have to understand that very few applicants actually have “chances.” Most applications are clear cut, easy decisions. Penn wants to try to nab one person from each state ED, to guarantee representation from all 50 states. His transcript, legacy status, and ACT score suggest that he can do the work, so my money would be on Penn grabbing him. If he gets deferred, it will be because of his B’s junior year, which are serious missteps.</p>

17

<p>^ that is not always true. I, for instance, live in NJ. Even though there are a lot of alumni in my family (mom, three grandparents, two uncles even tho they don’t count as legacy), i bet there are many applicants from NJ w/ legacy. So i don’t believe it is always “clear cut”</p>

18

<p>Yes, there are many legacies in NJ/PA/NY. But I’m not sure what your point is. I never argued that anything was always true. I did argue that the majority of decisions are clear cut, because that’s true. Relatively few apps are actually brought to the committee and debated over. Of all the legacies in NJ, many will be clear-cut deferrals(legacies typically get deferred because rejection angers alums), many will be clear cut admits, and a few will be argued over for 30 minutes in committee. See what I mean?</p>

19

<p>Wait… so do you think I have a shot because I’m from Maine and they want a ED applicant from Maine? </p>

<p>Because I would never ever think of myself as a clear-cut in admit… and you are saying that most applicants are either clear-cut in, defer, or out… I’m a little confused… </p>

<p>and yeah, I’m super worried about those few Bs junior year… ugh. I’m hoping my better senior year so far will help make up for it. I’ve been trying to keep mainly As and A+s.</p>

<p>I just want it to be next Friday already! I’m really hoping that the next 6 days go by quickly! Us Penn EDers have to wait and watch as Dartmouth and Cornell EDers get their decisions. At least we’ll have the weekend to kind of chill after decisions unlike the people getting decisions earlier in the week.</p>

20

<p>You are almost a copy of me accept I’m from Massachusetts and not a legacy. Reading this thread makes me feel a little more hopeful. Good luck.</p>