Chance me for UPenn ED :)

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
1

<p>I'm a senior, considering biological basis of behavior major, or some kind of neurobiology stress within the "general biology" (or something equivalent to MCB- molecular and cellular), and pre med</p>

<p>Stats:</p>

<p>SAT I (by section): 2110 last year, waiting for my October scores
SAT IIs: 800 Molecular Biology 780 US History
GPA, Weighted and Unweighted: 3.7 UW, weird weighting system but I'm guessing about 4.21
Rank: school doesn't rank
ACT: didn't take it
APs (including this year's): self-study AP Environmental Science (4)- 10th grade (the first one i took too! Juggled it with Honors Chemistry!), AP Biology (5), AP US History (5)
Senior Yr Courseload: heaviest possible:
AP Physics, AP Calculus BC, AP Studio Art drawing portfolio, AP English Lit, Spanish 4, Gov/Econ, History of World Religions+ Philosophy (required for seniors), Thermodynamics (SPECIAL CLASS)
... Newspaper reporter and AP studio art portfolio after school and independently</p>

<p>Other stats (Awards, etc.): Commended scholar PSAT (I heard this doesn't do anything!), LA Brain Bee contestant (neuroscience competition), outstanding research presented at California NanoSystems Institute symposium: August 2010, CSF Council Vice President for this year's chapter</p>

<p>Subjective:
ECs listed on app: 1 JV sport, 13 years of art (plus AP portfolio), violin (no orchestra tho), neuroscience competition, Ayn Rand essay competition (not finalist), then the general "reading a lot, freelance writing, etc"
Job/Work Experience:
2009 summer: photovoltaics research grant: small group of 4 at my school researched (w/ Ph.D supervisor) and created solar power plan for our school
2010 summer: research at UCLA w/stipend (so if I'm paid, it's considered work then...)
plus shadowed a doctor for a few weeks last year (worked too)
2011 summer: microbiology and embryology research under PI at CalTech
Volunteering: teacher's assistant on Sundays (2 years), volunteer at hospital, doctor shadowing
And in 2011 summer (before research started): 1.75 weeks of international service and ecological research in Costa Rica
Essays (subject and responses): talked about passions + unique combo of AP portfolio and major science research
Teacher Recs: great... AP Bio and AP Eng... i love both of them and talk to them a lot</p>

<p>Hook (TASP, RSI, Research, etc.): research? two contests? (they weren't a big deal though)...
Location/Person:
State or Country: CA
School Type, Average Stats of School (if available): private, Catholic, really small, really competitive!!!!
Ethnicity: Indian (Asian)
Gender: female</p>

<p>Strengths: EC's, writing, passion!
Weaknesses: GPA!!! SAT!!!</p>

<p>General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations,etc:
I hope people respond! The weather, the people, the atmosphere, the professors would all be perfect for me! I visited in December and was amazed with the libraries especially </p>

<p>My passions are biology and art mainly, and I've delved deep into both.</p>

<p>chance meee? GPA not amazing, and scores TBD!!! gahhh so scared</p>

2

<p>correction! weighted GPA is actually around 4.1</p>

<p>:(</p>

3

<p>That’s some great stats for a science major! I think you’ll have a great chance.</p>

4

<p>being a contestant isnt something you can put on your app -__- no one cares that you took the AMC or were in the spelling bee</p>

5

<p>My stats are almost identical to yours, the only major differences are that I’m a white male from MA. I applied ED as well.
I honestly can’t chance you, but I wish you the best of luck!</p>

6

<p>A weighted GPA of 4.1 isn’t that stellar for a 3.7 UW. that means that not all your classes were honors and you had more electives than APs.</p>

7

<p>my school puts a cap on AP’s</p>

<p>Max of 4 AP’s per year</p>

<p>so…
I self-studied for an AP in 10th grade; 3 Honors classes
Two APs in 11th grade; 3 Honors classes
Four AP’s in 12th grade</p>

8

<p>bumppppp</p>

<p>and my SAT raised to 2240</p>

9

<p>Make sure you write some great essays - they are considered the most important part of the application process - more important than GPA or SATs.</p>

10

<p>What if I liked my Common App essay
but my Penn essay sounds really generic (I talked about a lot of specific aspects of Penn but it sounds like a traditional “I would fit with this school” essay)
Does the Penn-specific essay have to be fancy?</p>

<p>(I already submitted Early Decision)</p>

11

<p>@aleesha101: I can’t guarantee this, but I think the essays are more about content then uniqueness. Uniqueness helps, but I feel as if adcoms are more focused on what you are saying and what you wish to convey to them.</p>

12

<p>Ok, and also, what do you guys think about my GPA? And other factors… how they compare.</p>

<p>Plus I have a few updates on extracurric’s but that may not make much of a difference on a chances thread</p>

13

<p>you have very strong link between your research work and what you want to pursue in undergrad. How many can claim to have published research and you have two. That’s +++. Your SAT are very good too.</p>

14

<p>bump :slight_smile: :)</p>