Chances: Brown or UPenn ED?

Any chance at all???

Caucasian student at a rigorous private, ACT 34/35, APs 4/5, 770 English SAT subject test, overall GPA unweighted: 3.8, junior year 4.0, honors Algebra 2, senior year will be all advanced classes except Art History, head of poetry club, active and leadership in LGBTQ community, lots of community service around art and social change (that’s the big theme), impressive internship creating original publication for internationally-known institution, great teacher recs, solid sports with end-of-year award (not recruitable), good summer jobs, comic art activist. Great essays. Full pay.

MODERATOR’S NOTE:
In the interest of transparency/clarity, the OP appears to be the parent.

Sorry, I’m new to this. I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to post something as a parent. Is there a place where parents can post or is this site only for students?

And I got permission from my student to post this FYI.

Tons of parents post - so no worries with that. Usually, though, most will indicate they are parents - so, in the case of this post, they might say something along the lines of - my D or S is a …Caucasian. I’m new here too - hope that helps.

It appears as if she will be a competitive candidate and will get a hard look at both schools. However, IMO it is impossible to chance at colleges which have such low acceptance rates. Penn and Brown must be considered reaches for any unhooked applicant. While ED can help a bit, keep in mind that the ED acceptance rates include the hooked applicants (ex. recruited athletes, legacy etc.) who typically apply in that round.

As an aside, I hope she has also found a group of match and safety schools that she would be excited to attend – that is a hugely important and sometimes overlooked part of the college application process.

FWIW I always felt Penn and Brown have fairly different vibes. She should choose which (if any) she wants to apply to ED carefully.

Parents are certainly welcome to post on behalf of their kids. My preemptive post is because in most of your other posts someone asks if you are a parent of student. It just helps to know to whom we are speaking. Usually when a parent posts they say my kid, my child, DS (dear son), DD, etc.

Additionally, users are allowed to post questions on behalf of themselves or their dependents only]. “Asking for a Friend” posts are not allowed. So posts that start “student” are a bit too vague for the moderators’ comfort.

As she visited both in a meaningful way? spent the night on campus? sat in on a class? As she talked to former students from her school about what they think? (even if she didn’t know them well / wasn’t in their friend group, ime alums from prep schools tend to be very generous with their feedback, and they can give really specific comparisons & info). I don’t see a meaningful statistical difference in the likelihood of acceptance to either school, so going by fit is probably the best way to make the ED call.

Kids in top tier prep schools who are not at the top of their cohort are in an invidious position: no matter how much is said to the contrary, in spring of senior year the coin of the realm is how “good” a name did you get into. It takes a lot of self-confidence for a student to choose something other than a big name and not feel as if they are ‘less’.

Encouraging her to 1) identify specific elements that she is genuinely interested in, and look for places that offer that, and 2) explore the offerings of her match schools thoroughly looking for elements that she can get excited about, can help. The explanation to the school community on ‘why’ this college is then ‘they have this amazing program that fits me perfectly’ instead of ‘it’s the best name I got into’ (which, sadly, I have seen). This isn’t just a face-saving exercise (though it can help with that): it sets your daughter up to be genuinely pleased with her college choice, both at acceptance time- but also for the next 4 years.

The name of the college she goes to will never matter more to her than it does next April, when it will dominate her world, and she will struggle to see how short a moment that is.

I think she is quite competitive, however, admissions to Ivy League is typically a crapshoot regarding strong candidates. When you have kids who have started massively successful businesses and such, it’s difficult for every qualified candidate to make it in. You are going to have to find a few match schools and safeties. I would suggest UVA and UofM for potential high match schools, and potentially NYU or one of the many Boston universities, as I presume y’all are from the Northeast. Villanova is a great school in Philly as well.

Oops, just saying: starting a business isn’t a tip. Lots of kids across the country do this or start a non-profit, some initiative or whatever.

The issue is you have a full app package to complete. The more you understand what a particular college offers, why you want it, and more importantly, how you match what they want, the better your presentation can be.

OP, working toward social change is good. Lots of kids talk the talk but never walk the walk. In general, you want depth and breadth.

From another thread, the B grades in soph year may affect her chances, depending on what courses those were. But as she’s in a boarding school, your best source of advice is the guidance counselor. They know the tippy tops and the competition from her school.