CHANCE AT UPENN/COLUMBIA/NORTHWESTERN???? RD

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

SAT: 1590 (790R/800M)
SAT II: Math II 800
UW GPA: 3.71 [3.85 If you exclude my sophomore year in which I would suffered from a severe medically diagnosed concussion which made school extremely difficult for a period of time. Sophomore year semesters are the only period dragging my GPA down).
GPA w/ Bonus Points (+.018 per Honors.AP Class): 4.2 [Would be 4.4 excluding sophomore year]
Class Rank: 33 out 165 (Top 20%) [Excluding Sophomore Year would be Top 10%]
ACT: 34 [Not sure if I will/should submit this or not]
Awards: NMSF, AP Scholar, Currently Finishing on AP Capstone Diploma
Curriculum: 100% Most Rigorous available at my school, Math Classes at Local College, 6 Years of Chinese Study

of APs Taken: 11 (Remainder are all Honors Classes where AP is unavailable)

Extracurriculars:
Viola - (10 Years, City-Wide Advanced Philharmonic Symphony, 3 Years Section Leader, Founder of Only Stringed Ensemble/Orchestra at School)
Tennis - (10 Years [4 Years School Team] 3 Years Varsity, Team Captain`, #2 Singles, 2x State-Qualifier, State-Ranked USTA Player, Several Local Tournament Championships/Placements, Team Top 5 in State)
Musical Theatre (7 Years, Summer Camps, Civic Theatre Acting/Musical Theatre Classes, Leading Role in School Production(s))
Math Team - (11, 12; Team Captain, State Math Competitions, 2nd Place Individual Event, Team 1st Place Overall)
School’s Stringed Ensemble - Leading Violist, Founder/President)
Varsity Choir/Vocal Performance - (12, Previously only Did Musical Theatre but a newly discovered passion, Leading Bass In School’s Advanced Exclusive Audition-Only Capella Group)
Quiz Bowl - (11, 12; Co-Captain, State-Qualifying Team)
Chinese Club - (9, 10, 11, 12)
Model UN - (10, 11, 12)

Essay(s): 10/10
Why Penn: 8/10
Teach Recs: 8-10/10 (Will be good for sure but unsure about the passion in them, both could definitely write me a great one but they could both also write me a generic one, haven’t read either)
Counselor Recommendation: 10/10 [Super Close to her, definitely great]
Additional Rec - 10/10 From Capella Group Director and Musical Direction of School Musical Productions, After hearing me audition for the musical my junior year he literally begged me to join the Capella group, definitely a great rec.)

Gender: Male
State: MI
Race: White
Income: 100-150k
School Type: Private Catholic
Hooks: (LGBT?, Essay about my struggling gay identity/orientation in a conservative environment at my high school)

2

@jaymiegaymie You have a decent chance. Your GPA, with or without your bad semester, is a tad lower than the average at Penn (3.93 last year), but you definitely are still well within the feasible range for admission. Your scores are great but I would also recommend taking a second subject test. Penn recommends two subject tests. Depending on the specific program/school you will be applying to at Penn, they have specific recommendations for one or both of the two recommended subject tests. Your ECs look solid. Are you applying ED or RD to Penn?

3

@Penn95 The 3.71 UW GPA would actually be my GPA after 1st Semester of Senior Year (with straight As which I’m confident I can achieve, so RD), if I apply ED to Penn, my UW GPA will actually be a 3.67. Should I apply ED or is that GPA too low? Do you think the admissions committee will be willing to overlook/consider my counselor-cleared sophomore year?

4

@jamiegaymie i think there is a chance if you make sure you explain clearly what happened and cause your GPA to drop. Under normal circumstances, a 3.67 GPA would be rather too low but since u had a legitimate issue, Penn adcom might overlook the resulting GPA dip. If Penn is your first choice I would suggest applying ED. There is a significant advantage to applying to Penn ED vs RD. RD is a total crapshoot. But if Penn is not your first choice, then you prob should not do ED.