Chances of getting into UPenn?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hey guys, I was wondering about my chances of getting into the College of Arts and Sciences at UPenn. Trying to major in bio. Unlike most of the people who are dead-set on attending UPenn, I'm applying Regular and I'm afraid any chance of getting in is gone. I keep hearing that getting in RD unless you have a near-perfect application is almost impossible. I just want a little clarification so that I know whether to get my hopes up or not. </p>

<p>Gender: Male
Race: Caucasian
High School: Blue Ribbon School in suburban Philadelphia, about 320 class size.
Unweighted GPA: 3.61 (I really fucked up my freshman year)
Ranking: (N/A)
Course Strength:all honors and AP except for math. taking honors calculus this year though
Current Courses: AP Chem, AP Bio, Precalculus CP, College-level Social Science Seminar, Honors Calculus, English H
(on course to get all A's for my mid-year report)
APs: European History (4), Psychology (4), Biology (current), Chemistry (current). I actually had no idea that AP classes were a thing until halfway through my junior year. My school does a horrible job of telling new students (moved from Russia before 9th grade) about things like AP classes and what the difference between honors and CP is.
SAT 2: World History (780), Literature (680)
ACT: 33 (34 E, 29 M, 35 CR, 33 S, 10 essay)</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:
School chorus: (11-12)
Mock Trial: (11-12) Made varsity expert witness my first year and team won Delaware County championship and went to States. Personally won 3 best witness awards.
Speech and Debate (11-12) Made varsity my first year and went on to quarterfinals of Villiger Tournament. Qualified for States in Public Forum. National Forensics League Scholar with Merit.
Soccer: (9-11)
Indoor Track (11-12)
Outdoor Track (11-12) (never really put in the effort for sports so don't have any varsity letters)
Ultimate Frisbee Club (11-12) (co-founder)
Chess Club (11-12) (vice president)
Annual participant of Relay for Life charity event (36 hours total)
Volunteer EMT at local fire department (100 hours or so)
Nationally Registered EMT, took the certification class at Swarthmore College and along the way became CPR certified and adept at BLS (basic life support) techniques.
French Foreign Exchange Trip (11th grade) (Spent two weeks in Vannes and in Paris)
Studied Abroad in Moscow, Russia for a year (8th grade) (Fluent in Russian)
Spent every summer since 7th grade in Russia. Shadowed doctors, volunteered, and observed various surgeries at the Burdenko Military Hospital in Moscow. (200 hours)
Worked as Russo-English translator for my aunt's Medical Transport Job. She travels to various countries and transports Russian citizens who are in critical care back to Moscow for treatment. Been to Zurich, Geneva, Munich, Milan, and Copenhagen. (100 hours)</p>

<p>Recommendations and Essays:
AP Euro teacher: hands down my favorite teacher. Probably the best one I have ever had, I took AP Euro just so I could have him a second time (had him in 9th grade). No doubt will write me an excellent recommendation.
Physics teacher: the nicest teacher I have ever had, I have only heard good things about her recommendations and I'm sure she will write me a good one.
Math teacher: I chose him because he was the teacher who is responsible for my turnaround in math. First and only math class i will ever get an A+ in. Hopefully he will write about me as hard-working and motivated
Guidance Counselor: She encouraged me to look at Penn late my junior year and has seen how far I've progressed since freshman year. Will probably write about hard-work and motivation as well. Probably an excellent rec</p>

<p>Essays: havent written the final draft yet but CA probably will be about my experiences adapting to life in Russia during my study abroad. Really taught me the value of hard-work and that the journey to success matters more than success itself.</p>

<p>I am really worried that the admissions office will take one look at my GPA and my CP math classes and throw my application in the trash without a second thought. Ever since I realized how important GPA and course rigor is, I have been working my ass off to right my wrongs and level the playing field. I don't really know how much bearing my foreignness can have on the decision but my experiences in Europe: adapting to new situations and going out of my comfort zone will hopefully appeal to the admissions office. Also, I'm the first in my family to attend college in the United States and my socio-economic status doesn't reflect the area I live in. I live just with my mother here in US. Again, I don't know how much bearing any of this will have on the decision but I'm just listing things I have heard are considered by the admissions office. </p>

2

<p>Wow, you’re volunteering and community service makes you stand out of the crowd. You’re GPA is sub-par for top schools, but if you emphasize on the growing trend you showed you might have a chance. UPenn is an Ivy, but its not as strict with admissions like other Ivies, so good luck!!!</p>

3

<p>I’d say that it’s a reach, but it’s like that for everybody with ivies. I wouldn’t be dead set with my hopes up all the way, but i say that you have a fair shot. It could go either way since it’s such a good school. Good luck!!</p>

4

<p>Thanks guys! could anyone else also chance me for Cornell? I’ve recently decided I want to apply there as well to increase my chances of getting into an Ivy</p>

5

<p>Honestly, even though your GPA is much lower than the average there, I feel that your app may get you in. I’m impressed.</p>

<p>UPenn is a reach, as it is for anyone. Same goes for Cornell. But I don’t think it’s by any means out of the realm of possibility for you to get in.</p>

6

<p>From a recent Penn ED admit
Your GPA is in the 10th percentile but your ECs are pretty good. As long as your GPA is an unward trend it’ll be fine.</p>

7

<p>@mmmmmmmmm‌ where does they list the gpa percentiles?</p>

8

<p>Your GPA is low but, assuming that it is largely due to freshman year grades and that you’ve shown an upward trend (straight A’s on the midyear report is a nice touch), that shouldn’t be as much of a problem. ACT is solid, volunteering and community service is great, difficulty of courseload is a bit below average. You have a good shot as long as you really emphasize that upward trend.</p>

9

<p>bump</p>

10

<p>I think your ECs are outstanding! Especially since you’ve been immersed in the culture of Russia and France! That will present you as more of world-class expert which is exactly what they are looking for in schools like Penn! As everyone said, your gpa is low, but it seems that you have a lot of other things to support it. Unfortunately though, ivies are a reach for everyone. I would definitely apply but be sure to focus on more match and safety schools. Because if you only keep your mind on Penn and get rejected, you’re not going to be happy anywhere else. Good luck!</p>

11

<p>Your ECs are great but I’m not sure if they would make up for your low GPA at a top college like Penn. You definitely have a shot though. Good luck!</p>

12

<p>Idk about you but I got deferred ED with a 4.0 UW, 2260, solid ECs, and URM status</p>

13

<p>You seem to have started most all of your ECs in 11th grade, which may hurt you but it’s good that you won some awards in them. The stuff you did over the summer sounds really good and unique though, so I would highlight those in your essays. Chances aren’t high but you still have a shot with the upward trend, essays, recs.</p>

14

<p>My friend is half hispanic/ half middle eastern, speaks 5 languages, is cultured in 3 countries, has a 4.1 GPA, he had a 2160 SAT (which I guess is like a 32 or 33 on the ACT), he showed a huge interest in the school and made it very clear, but his ECs were ok (VP of our student body for 1 year and the secretary of the animal wellness club and maybe a few other things) – he was flat out rejected from UPenn
This Asian kid who is #3 in my grade has like a 4.5 GPA, a 2340 on the SAT, has won a bunch of science awards, though the rest of his ECs are not that great-- he was deferred from Cornell </p>

<p>My bottom line is that numbers can only get you so far. At the end of the day, a lot of it is based on what kind of PERSON you are (though dont get me wrong, who you are as a student is also very important)-- as long as you’ve shown progression, I think you stand a decent chance with UPenn and a good chance with Cornell. Esp. since your academic load does include rigorous courses. </p>

15

<p>If I were you, I would leave out all of the expensive summer trips abroad. If you put them down, it’s really going to seem like you have a lot of money and that everything was handed to you (unfair, I know) and despite that, you have a lower GPA. This isn’t to offend you. Also, you don’t really seem to have a trend in your extracurricular activites aside from debate. I would emphasize that throughout my application. Another conflict that might been seen in your application is how late you have started all of your ECs. That will surely hurt you because you have 7 that you began doing in your junior year and it’s impossible to fully commit to 7 ECs in one year with a rigorous schedule.</p>

16

<p>I think that your ECs are good but your GPA makes it a reach. All depends on those essays and recs now :slight_smile: chance back?
<a href=“Chance me for Vassar I'll chance back :) - Vassar College - College Confidential Forums”>Chance me for Vassar I'll chance back :) - Vassar College - College Confidential Forums;

17

<p>your travels and experiences and your volunteering make you stand out. id say you have a good chance</p>

18

<p>@CaliCash‌ thats actually a really good point about the trips abroad. my friend brought it up once before and im hoping that colleges will see that im pretty poor and that accommodations werent exactly 5 star on my trips abroad. short of flat out saying that on my app somewhere, colleges will have to extrapolate that from the info ive given them on my financial background</p>

19

<p>Your ECs are definitely your selling point! Your numbers are okay, but low enough to still make it a reach. I’d suggest that you put all your drive into your essays and hope your recs are good, since those and your ECs will be your main strengths.</p>

<p>chance back?: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1724114-chance-me-for-uc-berkeley-ucla-nyu-usc-columbia-brown-and-bard.html#latest”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1724114-chance-me-for-uc-berkeley-ucla-nyu-usc-columbia-brown-and-bard.html#latest&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

20

You’re looking at a Reach with that GPA. A strong message addressing this portion of your application may give you a reconsideration.

I’d say UAlabama, UF, UT Austin