Chances of getting into UPenn

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
1

<p>Hi! I’ve been wondering about my chances of getting into UPenn, since it is my first choice school. I still have some time though because I am a Junior. Here is the summary of my resume.</p>

<p>Freshman year schedule: Honors English, Journalism, Basic Public Speaking, World History, Honors Geometry, Honors Biology, CP French II, Phsyical Education, Health Lab 1</p>

<p>Freshman year unweighted GPA: 4</p>

<p>Sophomore year schedule: Honors English II, Yearbook Design (club-class), Honors US History I, Honors Algebra II, Honors Chemistry CP French III, Spreadsheet and Database Management, Radio Broadcasting, Physical Education II, Health II</p>

<p>Post-sophomore year cumulative unweighted GPA: 3.9871</p>

<p>Junior year schedule: AP English Language/Composition, Yearbook Design, AP US History, AP Psychology, Honors Math Analysis, AP Chemistry, Honors French IV, Phsyicla Education, Health</p>

<p>Post-Junior Year Cumulative GPA (unweighted-tentative): 3.906 (with a B in AP English Lang/Comp, and a B+ in AP Psychology), 3.86 (with a B+ in AP History as well), 3.82 (with a B+ in Honors Math Analysis as well)</p>

<p>Volunteering: 100+ hours at St. Peter’s University Hospital, 40 hours in Star Program which is the school tutoring program, 240 hours at local mosque</p>

<p>Extracurriculars: Key Club (2 years), Media Production Club (1 year), Robotix (3 years), Yearbook (2 years), Newspaper (3 years), Painted Words (3 years), Chemistry Olympics (2 years)</p>

<p>Leadership positions: Section head for Yearbook this year, will most likely make editor next year in Yearbook, editor in school newspaper, Senior volunteer at St. Peter’s</p>

<p>Standardized Tests
SAT: I got a 2000 on my diagnostic, and I’ve gotten mixed results on other practice tests. On the four practice tests that I took, I got 2030, 2180, 2270, back down to a 2130. I’m waiting for my March SAT scores since they were delayed, but judging by what some of my friends have gotten, my confidence has been shattered. [Math and writing are not very hard for me, but critical reading is disgusting. My scores have ranged from 550-650, and I’ve only once gotten a 730 on a practice test. My counselor said that based on a study the SAT critical reading is very poorly written. What annoys me even more is that I get hundreds on the AP English critical reading practice packets that my AP English teacher gives us to do.]</p>

<p>[ACT: After having a chat with my guidance counselor yesterday, I decided to look into the ACT. I had heard about it and did some reading on it but never did much about it. My counselor said that my school actually recommends the ACT over the SAT. She said to take it in June, so I’m prepping for it. I took a diagnostic of the ACT back in January before this chat and got a 31 on it, which now that I looked up mys core on ACT charts is a 99 percentile, which makes me feel stupid since I wasted time on the SAT and should’ve just gone for the ACT instead. So, I will take this in June.]</p>

<p>[SAT IIs: I plan on taking the SAT II Chemistry in May, since I’ll be ready cause of APs. I also plan on taking SAT II Biology in May and SAT II Math II/C in June. Basically, I’ll need to prey for SAT II Biology only. Our Honors Math Analysis teacher holds after-school sessions for SAT II Math II/C since she sees it as a cumulative final for that course. Since she has started these prep sessions, no one in her class who’s taken the test has gotten below a 720, so I’m confident about that.]</p>

<p>What would be a good ACT score to get into UPenn? What would I need on the SAT IIs that I plan to take to get in? If I do well on my standardized tests, do you think I can get into UPenn with everything else that I have?</p>

<p>Thanks
tux</p>

2

<p>15.9%, I'd say ;)</p>

3

<p>I strongly doubt that anyone is going to read all this. Put it into 20 words or less and maybe you'll get a response. Sadly, it won't be accurate because you'll just cram your basic numbers into the post. Best of luck. If I were a betting man, I'd say you're going to be rejected (like 84% of applicants).</p>

4

<p>the admissions committee has reviewed your application, kthnxbai. we urge you to apply to some of the other excellent schools in the area like drexel. (heh)</p>

<p>seriously though? wall of text? just apply.</p>

5

<p>I guess all of this might be pointless, but can anybody tell me target ACT and SAT scores to get into UPenn? I'd just like to know what I'd be working with.</p>

6

<p>It's easy enough to look up Penn's 25th/75th percentile SAT range in a book or online. Realistically, if you do not have a "hook" (minority, athlete, from Kansas, etc.) and especially if you are the opposite (from Northeast, Asian, school that feeds a lot of kids to Penn every year, etc.) you should be at the mid to upper end of that range and not at the 25% point. In other words, somewhere in the 2100+ range (ACT 31) and better yet 2250+ (ACT 34) (and even then there are lots of rejects up to and including 2400). That being said, if they take some inexplicable liking to you, they might take you with a lower score - it's been known to happen, but I wouldn't bet on it.</p>

<p>If you really want to get in, I highly recommend early decision where your chances are somewhat better, but still not guaranteed.</p>

7

<p>I'm looking at UPenn or Cornell. Cornell's early decision acceptance rates have stayed in the 40 percent range for around 3 years. UPenn's is around 29 percent. We'll see what happens.</p>

8

<p>the average SAT score is about 2140 ( I can't remember where I read this, possibly the daily Pennsylvanian). But this number is skewed by recruited athletes, URM's, etc. So I would say 2200 or 2250+ is needed.</p>

9

<p>Penn and Cornell are very different places. Do you like snow and trees or do you prefer civilization? Have you been to visit yet? Feeling the vibe on campus is totally different than reading about it in a book - by the time your visit ends you should have a very strong feeling about which one you like more.</p>

10

<p>It starts already</p>

<p>oh god</p>

11

<p>Cornell is poop.</p>

12

<p>ur chances are represented entirely by the state from which you apply</p>

13

<p>if you sell your body, your chances go up .2% </p>

<p>Trust me, I tried. Works wonders</p>

14

<p>I decided to list the selling of my organs to offshore multinationals as my main EC- that along with my male pimp activities-, I actually think thats what got me in.</p>

15

<p>I'm pretty sure being in charge of a multinational drug operation (think Business Leadership EC) was what helped me get in.</p>

16

<p>Corrnell's early decision acceptance rates have stayed in the 40 percent range for around 3 years. UPenn's is around 29 percent. We'll see what happens.</p>

<p>early acceptance rates don't necessarily reflect easier odds, they just reflect the fact that schools like to pick more from a stronger pool of applicants, to which you will be just one of many stronger applicants; since its decision the know its binding, they will pick thebest students and hence the increasng odds. throw in legacies, athletes and super applicants who went to the moon, and your odds are back down (mst likely) to the regular acceptance rates. </p>

<p>heres a tipp for penn; work hard on their essays. theres a reason why i think they want 2 and possibly a third essay. they really emphasize those essays in my opinion...</p>

17

<p>Thanks guys.</p>

18

<p>Try a sex change. Makes one hell of an essay.</p>

19

<p>haha , I sort of feel guilty, we're being of absolutely no help whatsoever in our advice...sorry dude haha</p>

20

<p>No, I think we're helping a lot. Future applicants need to realize that Penn's admissions is basically a crapshoot. Some people with low sats, weak EC's get in while people with perfect SATs and the whole shibang. It's very arbitrary. Just remember that Penn cares a lot about: gpa (that's very important), family history (first gen. college? awesome), and volunteering. SATs they don't really care about.</p>