<p>I am a junior at a top public high school in Indiana and I am looking to get into Penn (along with Cornell are my two "reach" schools). </p>
<p>SATI: 2140
ACT: 31
SAT II: 750 Math II, 700 Physics, 730 Literature
GPA: 3.8 uw, 4.1 w
AP World - 4, AP US - 4, AP Calc AB - 5, AP Gov - 4, AP Lit - 5, will have four more AP's by end of senior year
Class Rank: Top 8% of class, very competitive haha.
EC's
Tennis 9-11
Speech 9-12, Treasurer in 11th, President in 12th (i know this for a fact)
State Qualifier, NFL Distinction
Summer Job after tenth grade
Volunteering 120+ hrs
IJCL competitor (state latin competition) placed in 5 events
State DECA competition 11th and 12th grades
11th 6th in event
National Honors Society
National Merit Commended, Maybe Semifinalist.
Student Government Committee chair for school activities week
Helped Run Blood Drive</p>
<p>Does it look like i have a shot at Penn? I know many people make threads like these but I just want to know if I'll be able to get into the biomedical engineering at Penn and then apply to the dentistry school there.</p>
<p>Also, i know ED means early decision but why have i read on these forums that it can be quite an advantage to apply ED? Why doesnt everybody just do that then?</p>
<p>Any responses are appreciated, thanks a loooootttt.</p>
<p>Yes you have a chance…and from my personal experience the essays are very important, stats and ECs only go so far. So if you can write an essay that makes you stand out to the admissions staff then yes you have a chance (though it wouldn’t hurt to bring up your SAT or ACT score a tad).</p>
<p>When you apply early decision to a school, you must sign a contract stating that you will attend that university if you are accepted. Early decision applications are usually due November 1 and decisions are announced in mid-December. Not all early application programs are binding like early decision, there are also various early action programs that vary from place to place. Penn does early decision, so you should only apply early decision to Penn if you know it is your first choice and you don’t need to consider any other schools.</p>
<p>^^that.
and all of the athletes and legacies apply early decision (that’s the only time they’re considered), so it’s not necessarily as drastically easier as you might think.</p>
<p>don’t use it as your key for admissions, it won’t work.</p>
<p>“Also, i know ED means early decision but why have i read on these forums that it can be quite an advantage to apply ED? Why doesnt everybody just do that then?”</p>
<p>Applying early likely gives no advantage at the most selective schools (when it’s even possible), but may help a little at some other schools, especially at need-aware schools in the current economy when you can pay full price.</p>
<p>“When you apply early decision to a school, you must sign a contract stating that you will attend that university if you are accepted.”</p>
<p>Think of it as an agreement, with possible consequences for reneging. If you’re asking for financial aid, and not enough is offered to support attendance, there is no consequence at all for saying thanks but no thanks, and applying RD later as if you never applied ED.</p>
<p>ED should be used only at your one dream school above all others, when you don’t care about comparing financial aid offers, where your only question is: Can I afford it?</p>