CHANCE ME! :)ed applicant

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
1

<p>I’m doing ED to CAS.
I have a 3.6 GPA (I’ll explain this soon)
2100 SAT
700 W
720 CR
680 M
Essays:
my common app essay is excellent( not so humble moment, sorry about that haha). I worked on it for over a month, until it was finally perfect. It’s in a creative format; it’s a letter to one of my best friends, who died a few months ago, and how his death due to violence has influenced my goals to work in public school administration. (Public schools here aren’t)
my supplement on engaging academically at Penn is original, so to speak. It talks about my majors, which are not very common, some things I love about Penn, study abroad program in specific places, and the fantastic opportunities to do community service in West Philadelphia schools.
The Benjamin Franklin one is honestly also pretty good; I talk about how I’m all three, and respectfully disagree with Mr. Franklin, whilst still maintain that people usually DO have a characteristic that predominates in their personality
Recs: both excellent
Extracurriculars:
• VP of the Model UN club(been doing the club since 7th grade(I was historian last year). I’ve competed locally(5 competitions a years) as well as nationally.
• Editor in Chief of creative writing magazine at my school(9th-12th grade. Editor in chief 11th and 12th )
• Treasurer of env awareness club(9th-12th grade. Treasurer 11th and 12th.) – I developed a recycling program in my school, and also in the public school I work at.
• Head of the library and summer counselor at public school I’ve been working at a public school for the past four years. I’ve done three summers as a summer counselor, and I go twice a week to offer tutoring to my kids there.
• VP of a chapter of a national organization dedicated to the environment(10-12th. VP in 12th.) - we won a national award which recognizes our school as being eco-friendly
• Tennis – I don’t play competitively, just once a week at a local tennis club
• NHS- give tutoring in school and do lots of fundraising activities
• Volunteer and conduct research about pollution on plants at a natural reserve. I work alongside botanists in efforts to save native species.(10th-12th)
• Volunteered at a pediatric oncological hospital. I visited patients with cancer and spent afternoons with them. (9th-11th)
Awards:
* National AP scholars with distinction
*high honor roll all quarters junior year and high honor roll first quarter of senior year
*won a NATIONAL price at a documentary-making competition
*Model UN- I’ve won lots of prices, ranging between 1st place and 4th place
*highest average – English 11, Film Analysis
*second highest average- AP US Gov</p>

<p>My biggest activities are the first five. I’m more about quality over quantity.
I’m also Hispanic, fullly. I also speak three languages(all fluently)
Now, about the bull in the china store…(read below)
The reason for my GPA is that I entered high school at 13, so I was extremely young In addition to that, I came from a school that where I was bullied a lot, so it really took a toll on my freshman and sophomore grades. I had NO Cs whatsoever, and my lowest grade was a B. I had an average of about a 3.4 between those two years. However, junior year I really went up. I got a 4.3 cumulatively between the two semesters, straight As. Senior year first quarter I received 6 As, and 1 A+. I feel this is my weakest point. Everything else is strong, though. I hope it doesn’t have too strong of an impact.
What do you think?</p>

2

<p>Medium chance: 40%</p>

<p>Strong points:
Common app essay: My condolences to your good friend; may he rest in peace. Regarding the essay itself, I think the topic can be moving and the format appropriate. I would imagine that it is heavy in recollection of the events and circumstances with some hindsight interpretation and light but poignant on reflection in aftermath. Be aware that the second half may tend toward an expository summary. Avoid this because your format will make the inconsistency obvious, preventing the reader from seeing the essay as a cohesive whole. Make sure to illustrate the scenario so that the reader can grasp the significance of the events as they unfold at each step in the chronology.</p>

<p>Tenure in Model UN Shows dedication and true interest</p>

<p>Editor in Chief - Believe it or not, this will probably stand out due to its leadership nature and Penn’s encouragement of creative writing student-run publications.</p>

<p>Weak points:
Supplemental essay: I’m sorry but literally everyone writes about these things and thinks their essay is excellent. At the very least, make it about your comprehensive ideal or dream and how the resources at Penn will support you in that pursuit. It would be better to expose your goal’s essence and risk incorrectly assuming a few things about the role of the university than to play it safe and dispassionately cover your bases in terms of what you think Penn wants you to write about.</p>

<p>GPA Considering that it’s below 3.8 on a weighted scale will hurt, especially since your SAT score is not above 2200. As long as it is an upward trend of progressively tougher classes and better grades, its impact is reduced considerably. Keep in mind, however, that many applicants have much higher GPAs and this is a university, where all the influential faculty had stellar GPA throughout their entire lives and will judge you for it.</p>

<p>Math score is a little weak 680 isn’t exactly good, but stranger things have happened.</p>

<p>Extracurriculars Nothing besides UN and EIC stand out. The rest are pretty typical and boring and can’t help you or hurt you.</p>

<p>SAT Subject Tests Where are they?</p>

<p>Your racial minority will help, but I’d say it’s a long shot. Best of luck.</p>