Chance Me UPenn ED??

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
1

Intended Major: Environmental Sciences/English with minor in Chem (i want to be in Science Journalism)
State (if domestic applicant): NY
School Type: V Competitive
Ethnicity: Indian/Hispanic
Gender: F
Income Bracket: Prob wont get financial aid so not applying lmao

ACT : 35; (34, 36, 36, 34)-- first try
SAT II: Math 2: 790 ; Chem: 760

UW: 3.65//W: 5.2 (3.34–> 3.73–> 3.93) I know this looks super bad but my aunt, who was basically my second mother died the summer before freshmen year, it was hard and i’m definitely going to explain this in the additional info section; also took hardest courses you could at my school; I also had a super big upward trend when mostly everyone at my school went down junior year :confused:
Ranking: Def top 15-20% for sure; they dont tell u

AP Scores: APUSH (4), AP Lang (5), WHAP (4), Calc BC (3); AB Subscore (4) ← they only offer Calc AB at my school rip (should i report this?)

Senior Year Course Load: AP Lit, AP Chem, AP Physics C, Applied Calc, AP French; Largest load you can take (i quit history lol)

Major Awards:
-Statewide Chemistry Environmental Research Competition: First Place
-Statewide/National Princeton University Environmental Competition: Second Place
-General Assembly Award from State Rep for environmental work I did for my state (idk if this counts lmao)
-First Place in International Music Comp for piano (looks p impressive but its not LOL RIP)
-Honorable Mention in New York Times Writing Contest (THIS IS SO STUPID BUT IDK)

Extracurriculars:
-Executive Editor of International Literary Magazine
-Chemistry Club (VP)

  • Astronomy Club (VP)
    -Founder/Director of environmental non-profit that works to make my town more eco-friendly/sustainable (i have the full support/funding from the Board of Ed/Mayor;; also won an international Grant for the project)
    -Piano (12 years); p advanced lol
    -President of District-Wide student run environmental club (we hold assemblies to our elementary schools and explain global warming/what they can do to help lol)
    -Editor of a National Science Journal
    -NASA Journalism Intern
    -Volunteering at Science Museum (over 200 hours; might actually get a job there later)
    -English NHS, French NHS, Math NHS, Social Studies NHS

Teacher Recommendations: AP English Teacher: prob 7-8/10 & Chem Teacher: 8-9/10; she loves me/runs Chem Club too
Counselor Rec: she has to write a lot but i went to her when I was dealing w/ grieving and stuff so she knows me better than the other kids 6-7/10
Additional Rec: Gonna get it from Board of Ed VP who loves me and was previously an English teacher prob 8/10

Colleges I’m applying to: UPenn (ED), Brown, Duke, Vanderbilt, Northwestern, CMU, Dartmouth, UCLA, UCBerk, USC, NYU, UChicago

Hooks: 50% Hispanic (lol?), went through rlly hard time freshmen year, single parent (had to take on lots of sibling responsibilities since my dad died when i was 7)

Thanks for taking the time to help me :)))

2

I would say honestly your chances would be low if not for your hooks. I think those will help you a lot.

3

I hope you also plan to apply to a couple safety schools (NY has some very good state schools), as every school on your current list is a reach (for everyone).

4

Yes, you have a fighting chance, and your URM status along with ED is going to be helpful. Grade, an issue. Top schools like Penn don’t take excuses. If you had excelled EVEN THOUGH you had those issues, it would be a plus. But you did not. Are you from an east coast state? Asking to see if demographics favorable or not. Are you applying for financial aid? Are you going to be very low income , high need? Qualify for free school lunch? I suggest you look at QuestBridge.

Also if you are counting on financial aid, be aware that Penn used CSS Profile and any non custodial parent and step parents financials will be taken into account before you get any aid. All of the private schools on your list other than UChicago will use PROFILE. Also unless you have a parent in CA, the UCs are not good about giving money to OOSers.

You really should have a school you know will take you and you know you can afford on your list as should everyone. All of your schools are high reaches

5

hey
thanks for the advice
to answer some of your questions i dO live in New York, but I don’t think I qualify for finanical aid, my mom has a really great job to support me and my sibling. IDK if this is a rumor but I heard it is somewhat of a plus to not apply for fin. aid sometimes bc colleges are about money and although they will gladly help those in need they do favor applicants who dont need aid?

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also i am applying (of course) to a few safeties bc i would be stupid not to
the ones i stated for the schools I’m really hoping to go to bc they are amazing institutions

7

@meebee apply for fin aid if you know you’re going to get something lol colleges like penn are need blind. unless you’re international then if you can afford the whole tuition, it’d help to not apply for fin aid.