Hey Everyone, I know its a far stretch for me to get in, but id possible could someone chance me. I was not offered an interview which has only led to even more nerves.
GPA: Freshman-Junior 4.125 Weighted. 3.833 UW.
Senior Year so far: 4.66 (I talk about why my GPA was low in my essay)
Class Rank: Top 5%
Class: No other Penn ED. No Penn Alum.
ACT Super Score: 35
ACT Composite: 34
Subject Tests: 770 US History, 740 World HIstory, 710 Math 2, 690 Lit
AP Classes: AP Calc AB/BC, AP Micro+Macreo, AP Gov, APUSH, AP World, AP Physics, AP Psychology, AP Lit, AP Lang,
AP Human Geo,
Classes in State School System(No relation to HS/Not Duel Credit): Calc 2(top of class) and Calc 3 (may switch with AP Stats at a later date)
Rec Letters: Teacher I had from Algebra 2 all the way up to AP Calc BC. Teacher who I worked with as part of a student mentorship program I am the president of. President of the railroad I am a VP of.
Essays: Reflect on a very hard and unusual time in my life and how it led me to mentor others in need of help.
UPenn Suppl: How I want to help rebuild and desegregate my divided former industrial town.
Consensus: My SAT 2, GPA, and EC all could be better. I am really hoping that my essays help make up for my downfalls in other areas. At the end of the day I know I will do well where ever I go…
Academic
Honors:
National Merit Semi-Finalist ,National Honor Society ,National English Honor Society, Lettered in Academics
, AP Scholars, National Geographic Bee State Bee 2012, State Finalist: 4th Place 2014
Extracurricular Activities ,H.S. Years Active, Positions
Activities:
Freshmen and New Student Mentorship Program 2016-2018 President
Key Club 2016-2018 Chairman of Fundraising
Scholar Bowl 2014-2018 Varsity, Nationals Participant, Assistant Coach
Asian Culture Club 2014-2018 President
Class Executive Council 2014-2017 Class Officer
Natural Helpers 2016-2017
STUCO Election 2017 2017 Campaign Manager
Missouri A+ Program 2016-2018
Other Honors &
Activities:
Boy Scouts (Eagle Scout) 2006-2016
Roles: Assistant Senior Patrol Leader
State Senate Resolution ,State House of Representatives Resolution, Letter of Recognition from the Governor, Civil Air
Patrol (U.S.A.F. Aux.) 2016-2017
New KCI Terminal Special Election 2017
Canvassed Neighborhoods in the city. Distributed Fliers, Buttons, Yard Signs, etc.
Answered voter questions on social media and at community town halls.
Was involved with post election community outreach programs.
Received Recognition from the deputy director of the airport and others.
Community
Service:
Local School: Mentor, Tutor, Technology Assistant 2017-2018
Kansas City Northern Railroad 2017
Roles: V.P. of Marketing and Technology, Station Agent, Train Engineer and Conductor, Mechanic
Boy Scouts
Eagle Scout Project: Mapped a Pioneer Cemetery for National
Trails(Project is being used as an example for other projects across the country.)
Other:
Blacksmithing:
Built Own Forge, Self-Taught Blacksmithing
Coal Resale: Buy Coal from local stores and resell online for profit
@kcrag You have decent chances at Penn but your Math II is kinda low. Wharton places a lot of emphasis on that.
Harvard is Harvard so who knows, it is a lottery schools for kids with your profile (i.e. very qualified but not extraordinary/prodigies). Chicago and NU decent chances but they are of course reaches, especially Chicago because they now accept a higher % of their class EA/ED than any other top school so RD chances are crazy low. You have very good chances for NYU.
I think the problem may lie in your essays, but I have not read them so I can’t necessarily judge… if you explicitly state in your essay “I know my GPA is bad” or “this is why my GPA is bad” that tells them you do not think you’re ready for a prestigious school. You are in the top 5% of your class, your gpa is in no way bad! This is coming from someone with a ~ 3.7 UW. GPA is really not a deciding factor in admissions at elite schools. At lead 70% of applicants have high GPAs, but there are other things to set you apart. Anyways good luck in admissions! KC resident here
If you aren’t accepted, it isn’t due to your GPA or test scores. Both are sufficient for you to be considered. Beyond that, it’s up to the quality of your essays and LORs and how well your application as a whole represents you as a person who would offer each of those colleges what they’re specifically looking for. Hopefully you didn’t waste valuable essay space writing about your GPA. Without seeing the essays and the “story” the app shows, there’s no way to know how it appears to AOs.
With stats that are high enough to check the box for “qualified to attend”, if you were writing future apps, here’s what I’d recommend:
Focus on the unique parts of the story. Blacksmithing and coal trading? Working on a railroad? Could be very interesting. Definitely something to explore a bit.
Think about what story you are telling and organize the EC list to reflect that. Put the important and interesting things first and in an order that makes sense. Don’t list the immaterial ones that only clutter or detract.
Don’t exaggerate. Selective college AOs have a very limited time to assess each app and competition is fierce. If they catch a whiff of puffery, they don’t have the time - nor do they need - to investigate if the app is full of BS, they’re likely to just put it in the questionable pile and move on to the next app. Unless there’s a very unique story - and if there is it should be part of your essays - it would seem unusual that a student was a VP of Marketing and conductor at a railroad, for example. If an AO picks up on one thing they view as a falsehood, it makes them wonder what other things are exaggerated; don’t risk this.
The custom for how people list things on CC isn’t helpful for showing how they told their story on the app, so hopefully the app shows what an interesting person you are. Good luck.
These are tough schools to get into NYU might be the only one that you should feel confident about. Most kids only report their Math II if the get 790-800, so that may hurt you, especially if you are applying to Wharton. Harvard and Chicago are a reach, but they’re reach schools for 98% of their applicants. Northwestern is also a reach because it has gotten so much more competitive over the last decade. Keep working hard, but definitely consider some safety schools as applying to only top schools is risky. Good luck.
