Chances at UPenn ED?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
1

Hi CC! I’ve been a lurker for a while, and next school year I’m applying to colleges. This forum has helped me in my high school career, so I plan on posting all of my information and acceptances/rejections on the “results” threads next year. However, I thought I’d ease my nerves a little by posting a chance thread here with all I’ve done so far.
I really love UPenn and will be applying ED there.

UWGPA (at the end of this year, will be): 3.89
SAT: 2330 one sitting
ACT: 35

No class rank, school has no valedictorian etc

APs: World (4), Environmental Science Self-Study (5)
Projected APs for this year: Calc BC (4 or 5, math is a strongsuit), US History (4), Bio (5), English Lang (4 or 5), CompSci (5), Calc AB Self-Study-ish (5 I hope)

If all goes well, this will give me National AP Scholar before 12th grade

Senior Course Load:

  • AP Literature
  • AP European History
  • Calculus Multivariable
  • AP Spanish
  • AP Physics C
  • Computer Seminar

Additional:

  • My GPA isn’t what I’d like it to be not because of 10th or 11th grade, actually I got straight As this year and last (well, one A minus), but I was a very apathetic student 8th and 9th grade. Science, math, and spanish DID count in 8th grade for me and ARE on my transcript.
  • I took Precalculus in the summer between 10th and 11th grade, so I took AP Calc BC as an 11th grader (this yr).
  • Despite being in a smart, competitive (public) school, my grade isn’t close to competitive. Lots of kids looking at good colleges, but not the ones I’m looking at. Maybe 5 kids of solid competition for me in a grade of 150.

Extra Curriculars:
CLUBS:

  • Yearbook 8th to 12th gr, Editor-in-Chief this year and next.
  • Mock Trial since 10th gr, VP this year and President next
  • Class President this year, last year, hopefully next yr if election goes well
  • Entire school president this year and hopefully next yr if election goes well
  • Chess Club 10th gr, BS “manager” position 11th and 12th gr
  • Brainstormers (quiz bowl) regular member, not that active, 10th to now
  • Founder and President of a club supporting a charity that I started, 11th and 12th gr
  • Science Olympiad
  • Robotics
  • NHS president
    INTERNSHIPS / WORK / COMMUNITY SERVICE:
  • Local government internship for the past summer that bled into this year, less active this school yr than I was in the summer
  • Peer tutor
    OTHER:
  • Speaker for a national charity, I go school to school (universities, middle schools, elementary schools - oddly rarely ever high schools) and talk about a certain disorder that my family is affected by
  • Started my own 501©(3) for said disorder, work closely with another bigger charity (not the one I speak for) and I’ve raised about $100,000 but I hope to raise more at a large upcoming event
  • I’ve had local media coverage for both of the above, after this large event I’m hoping to get bigger coverage (I’m doing this event with a charity run by a celebrity, who knows me personally through all of this)
  • 210 hours community service (projected by the end of this yr)
  • Wrote a children’s book about said disorder, in the process of being published (not self publishing), all proceeds go to my charity which then go to research and other charities
  • Won a local public speaking contest with a $1000 prize last yr
  • National Merit Scholar Finalist

Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: I don’t know exactly, definitely high. Live in a privileged area and go to a school that is definitely known for having privileged and college-obsessed kids.
Live in the Northeast US

Recs / Essay:
I’m thinking about writing my CommonApp essay about the aforementioned disorder, but I’m not personally inflicted by it, just my little brother. But I feel like I’ve done so much for it that I have to. I love to read/write so I think it’ll be well written.
TEACHER REC: I’m considering my APUSH teacher / mock trial adviser, 10th grade English teacher known for writing beautiful recs
SUPPL REC: Definitely considering aforementioned celebrity, know him very well and have worked closely with him. Full disclosure, he has been voted for things like “Xth most politically influential person in state X”
COUNSELOR REC: Knows me well as a hard worker and has attended a lot of my events, should be good

Prospective major: Maybe American Gov’t, Political Science, I’m not sure. All likely Pre-Law.

So, thank you so much for reading, I’m applying to:

ED UPenn
RD Dartmouth, Yale, Princeton, Harvard, Stanford, JHU, WashUStLouis, Columbia, Stanford, UChicago, Cornell, Duke, Northwestern, Brown, UC Berkley, UMich, UCLA, USC

Please tell me how my odds look! Thank you so much. The ones in the title are the colleges I’m truly emotionally invested in. If you want my opinion on anything please link it here.

EDIT: Let me know of anything I can do in the little time I have to strengthen my odds! I know I need to do more competitions, I did really well in NHD (Don’t want to disclose placement)
EDIT: I’m so so open to criticism, but please don’t be blatantly rude for no reason. Any kind of helpful is fine, but please at least make it helpful…you guys rock! Thanks!

2

You seem to be a competitive applicant if you apply ED. Given the amount of other qualified applicants, there’s no way to guarantee that you’ll be admitted, so I’d just say make sure you go all out on you supplemental essays if Penn is the place you want to be.

Just a couple other comments:

  1. You’re taking both the AP Calc AB and BC exams this year? I thought that wasn’t allowed, but I guess that has changed in the past few years, or I am just remembering wrong.
  2. You should add a couple safety schools to your list for RD. It’s good to play things safe. I don’t know where in the northeast you are from, but I’d just pick one of the top state schools from your respective state (e.g. Rutgers, Binghamton, Penn State, UConn, etc.).
3

@WhartonPenn2017 You are not allowed to take the AP Calculus AB and BC exam in the same year. Also because he said he is self studying calc AB he must of already purchased his test but college board wouldn’t allow it because he is already taking bc in school. Plus, he has only 2 posts which leads me to think this account and stats are all made up…caught in the act

4

That would be a lot of trouble to go to for nothing, Gatotristan. He can take the AB even if he is enrolled in a school based class called Calculus BC. He can’t take both the AB and BC exam but he can take the BC and will get a proxy AB score.

5

@WhatDoIUsern you seem a very impressive applicant and most importantly you seem to be specifically what Penn is looking for, i.e a student who excels academically but also has leadership positions and meaningful ec’s outside of class. As for you GPA I would not be too worried. The average for last year’s incoming class was 3.91 so you GPA is still within the competitive range. Also your SAT are way above the 2200 Penn average and 2230 median and the fact that it is all in one sitting and also that you are white makes it even more impressive. Keep doing what you are doing and you will be fine. Take time to focus on your essays and make sure they convey effectively your love and enthusiasm for Penn.
Also just to get you even more excited abt Penn, at Penn upperclassmen ugrads have the chance to take graduate school courses so you could take classes at Penn Law as a Penn ugrad.