Applying ED to CAS, double-major in Biological Basis of Behavior and English.
I’ve already been accepted into UM - Twin Cities, two weeks after I turned my application in.
Financial aid: Free-ride category
School type: Large public high school in Wisconsin, usually one kid per Ivy every year
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Sexuality: Lesbian, noted on application
GPA: 3.96 unweighted / school does not weight
SAT I: 2250 / 2400, R: 780, M: 670, W: 800
SAT II: Biology E (750), Math II (730), Literature (700)
ACT: 35, E: 36, M: 34, R: 35, S: 36, W: 33
AP: European History (5), US History (5)
School does not rank
Common App essay: 9/10, talked about how superheroes have influenced my life and how I want to go into writing comics. I show my work (I reference 16 separate heroes and 6 creators). It’s outside the box, shows I have big ambition, and ends with a Squirrel Girl reference. Downside is officers might not think I’m taking the question seriously.
Supplement essay: 10/10, showed it to a Swarthmore admissions counselor who works with Penn admissions and he said it’s exactly what they’re looking for.
Teacher Rec #1: 10/10. My junior English teacher who gave me one of the rare As in his class both semesters. I also read War and Peace for his class when I had an option not to, and I still talk to him in the hallways. He also used to be a professional writer.
Teacher Rec #2: 10/10. My junior APUSH teacher, asks me for book recommendations all the time, always wants to know about my life, I got the highest grade in her class, my final project was a 90-page screenplay about President Grant, and she admits she loves writing recs.
Counselor Rec: 6/10. My counselor likes me a lot and I gave her a pretty detailed brag sheet to go off of, but she has 600-odd students to look out for and so she’s not real tight with any one.
Supplemental Rec: 10/10. I worked with a zoology professor at University of Wisconsin for two summers, doing real lab research. My professor adored me, thinks of me as the daughter she never had, and said I basically have my Master’s degree already from all the work I’ve done. She also has worked with a Penn professor in the past.
Supplemental Attachment: I threw in my research abstract from the aforementioned work. My professor and I workshopped it for about a month.
Senior-Year Course Load
- U.S. Gender Studies
- AP Chemistry
- English Literature Honors
- AP Environmental Science
- Honor Band
- French 4
- AP Calculus AB
- Theatre 3
- Trends in 20th Century Literature Honors
Extracurriculars, etc.
1 - School bands, first chair clarinetist, section leader (9-12)
2 - Aforementioned research (10-12)
3 - Jazz band, clarinetist in big band, vocals in a rockabilly combo (10-12)
4 - Model UN, secretary, positions include Secretary of Defense in US Cabinet, Minister of Defense in Israeli Cabinet, and France in Security Council (x2) (10-12)
5 - 4H, VP, president, and secretary (bylaws say a member cannot hold a position for consecutive years) (9-12)
6 - Volunteer at a feral cat rescue (9-12)
7 - Pit orchestra, clarinet, bass clarinet, E-flat clarinet (9-12)
8 - Softball, JV catcher (10-12)
9 - Theater department, stage and admin crew, directing a one-act play this spring (10-12)
10 - Work at a bookstore (12)
Honors
- National Honor Society
- French Honor Society
- State Fair selected exhibit, wildlife art
- National Merit semifinalist
- I also skipped a grade (I’ll enter college at the age of 16) and jumped from French 1 to French 3
Hooks: LGBT, unusual location (Wisconsin)
Strengths: National Merit, recommendations, essays, research background in intended major
Weaknesses: SAT & Subject Tests, # of AP exams, a legacy is applying RD from my school, Generic Smart White Girl