Chance me UPenn RD 2024 CAS (econ)

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
1

Race: Asian Male
School of choice: UPenn CAS (econ)
SAT: 1450 (790 math/660 RW)
GPA: 4.45/5 W, 3.96/4 UW (rank not reported)
Course rigor: 7 dual enrollment, 4 aps, 17 honors (All As, one B+ in Calc)
Others from school: 0 applying , live in rural north carolina, don’t know anyone else applying
Interview: Went amazing, said to me that they hope Penn realizes I have a lot to give + followup. Said to stay in contact.
Extracurriculars:
->Founder/President of a non-profit helping lower income for educational purposes (52 weeks yr/10 hrs a week) (12)

->Small business/owner, selling handmade goods via boutique online, sold 10,000+ items online, 90k revenue generated, 54k profits (52 weeks yr/10 hrs a week) (10,11,12)

→ Sneaker reseller-> 2.5k revenue to date (30 weeks yr/1 hr a week) (11,12)

->Local tutor, tutoring ESL students and elementary students (paid job)/ (50 weeks yr/5 hrs a week)(9,10,11,12)

->Teacher assistant intern for company, authored microeconomics articles (12 weeks yr/5 hrs a week) (12)

->Art volunteering (36 weeks yr/5 hrs a week) (9,10,11,12)

->Homeless shelter (20 weeks yr/2 hrs a week) (9,10,11,12)

->Latin Club (36 weeks yr/2 hrs a week) (9,10)

->Farmers Market (20 weeks yr/5 hrs a week) (12)

→ NHS member (36 weeks yr/1hr a week)(12)

Awards (generic)
→ Principal List
→ AP Scholar with honor
→ Honor Roll
→ Cum Laude NLE exam

Others (mentioned via resume)
→ 3rd dan certified blackbelt
→ Varsity golf for freshman year

LORS: I know my teachers would not screw me over. I think 8+/10.

Essays: I did pay editors to edit them from ivies. They aren’t bad 8+/10 and have been polished for months.

Additional comments: I know Penn is a reach for me, so all I can do is pray. Best of luck to everyone!

2

Already accepted to UNC Chapel Hill and NCSU and Fordham Gabelli School of business as a Loyola Scholar with 88k in merits and awards.

Applied to Cornell cas econ, CMU tepper, Dartmouth cas econ, northwestern econ, UMich ross, UChicago econ

3

The 660 ERW where 700 is 25th percentile is not at all helpful to your chances.

“Essays: I did pay editors to edit them from ivies. They aren’t bad 8+/10 and have been polished for months.” - Probably wasn’t a good idea.

Admissions officers are well aware of how common professionally reworked (and ghost written) essays are.

After reading your essays, they’re likely to be asking themselves “does this read like the work of a kid with a 660 ERW?”

If they think it does, that won’t help as it would put your essays somewhere below the 25th percentile, and if they think it doesn’t read like you wrote it, your chances are sunk.

4

Editing is not hiring ghost writing. I hired them for grammatical and structure (NOT writing if for me). I grinded it out myself and I am very proud of it for months on end. Additionally, did submit 19/24 SAT essay. I tried my best improving my SAT score from the 1000s to the 1450.

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CLARIFICATION. I hired editors for last minute (grammatical and flow) revisions. NOT GHOST WRITING NOT REWRITING. I wrote from my heart and to be accused of that off the bat is not what I intended to convey. Just to clarify.

6

Forgot to include: Passed all APs still submitted, 5s and 4s on Calc and Econs.

7

You asked to be chanced. A well below 25th percentile standardized test score makes your chances very poor.

Convincing anyone here about the originality or degree of outside editing of your essays won’t change your chances in any way.

8

Thanks anyways! I appreciate your comments and thoughts regardless. I do have to say reflecting on Chanceme’s over the past few months and all that is just unnecessary stress as the people who are predicting haven’t seen the LORS or Essays that go with a certain application. To add, we are groups of nervous 17 year olds trying to rate our own essays which are usually rated higher than it is actually is. Additionally, most of us here are just speculating based on our own personal experiences on the college process and others. I do think my chances are low as you have said as UPenn is my ultra-reach. Thanks for your input. Have a blessed day! All love no hate! <3

9

Without a doubt the 90k generated in revenue + the nonprofits are very, very impressive. I think that those should propel you further into the application process. The NHS, Farmer’s Market, sneaker reselling, etc… those don’t really matter just because everyone’s got something like that on their resume. Sneaker reselling isn’t exactly appealing to admissions officers and the general public who probably think the business is super shady and backdoor.
You’re also lacking some national awards / international awards. As much as colleges like to see involvement, they like to see winners and placements. So making 90k revenue is great, but making 90k on top of winning Conrad? That would edge you out.
However, besides the lack of national rankings / international rankings / awards, your extracurriculars are very, very impressive and I’d say your ECs won’t get you rejected.

I think the biggest issue would be your SAT. A 1450 is lower than the 25th percentile, putting you at risk that admissions won’t get to your application. And as an Asian male myself… we’re in a spot where even 1550 might not be good enough.

With all that said, if you do end up getting into UPenn, it’s not a miracle. You’re clearly qualified and have demonstrated your ability to coordinate, collaborate, and excel with what you’re given.

tl;dr: ECs great except for lack of specific national awards, SAT too low, but great chance otherwise.

much love from atl :slight_smile:

10

Thanks for your input! Best of wishes! <3 UPenn is my ultra-reach school and I know that. Hoping for the best, knowing why if they reject. Keeping a smile and my head up! Have an awesome day!