Chancing with the stars! Your Christmas gift to me!

Colleges & Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
1

<p>Thanks for reading this! I'm an asian male applicant from the suburbs of Philly not applying for financial aid (could this get any worse?). I was rejected from my early school straight up so I'm a bit worried about my other schools, could you chance me?</p>

<p>Objective:
ACT: 35 Composite 36 Math 35 Reading 34 English 34 Science 12 Writing
SAT II: 800 Math II 730 USH did not send
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.96
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 5% (highest rank given)
AP (place score in parenthesis): BC Calc 5, Lang and Comp 5 USH 5, Physics C Mechanics 4
Senior Year Course Load: AP Comp Sci , AP Psych, AP Lit, AP Physics C E&M, AP Latin, Newspaper
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None. Other Awards: George Eastman Young Leader Award, Student of the Month (Local Rotary Club and for a local grocery store), School Student Achiever, NMSF, AP Scholar with honors, National Latin exam medals, FBLA awards, etc.</p>

<p>Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): All for 4 years unless noted
Student Council (Class President 9-11, Student Body President 12)
Football (Varsity Captain 12, JV Captain 10-11, Most Dedicated Award x2)
Academic Competition team (Varsity Captain 11-12, All County All Star 11, Varsity 9-12)
FBLA (Vice President 12, Nationals Qualifier 11, 2 State top 10, 2 Regional top 2, 4 top 10 state open events)
Newspaper (2 time Editor, Editorial Writer)
Chorus
Saxophone (8 years)
Junior Classical League (2x Officer)
Spring Musical (2 years)
Student Curriculum Council: chosen group of students to help district make curriculum changes by providing student input.
Model UN (3 years)
Science Olympiad (2 years)
NHS (2 years)
(I didn't list the last couple on the app)
Job/Work Experience: Press department intern for US Senate Campaign
Volunteer/Community service: 300+ total hours, my friends and I started a state sponsored environmental cleanup group.</p>

<p>Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: Nada
Intended Major: PPE
State (if domestic applicant): Mid Atlantic
Country (if international applicant): AMURRICA!
School Type: Semi competitive rich public
Ethnicity: Slanty eyed
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: Highest
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None, but I go fishing sometimes? </p>

<p>Thanks so much!!!</p>

2

<p>Well my friend of South-East Asian descent, I think you’re definitely going to be dancing with the stars this upcoming year as outside of the suburbs of Philly, Penn was brutal. But alas, I think your chances are swell; call in with anything extra that you may have happen and make it seem like you care via your essay!</p>

3

<p>^^^I’m not experienced, but I do believe you get a benefit from being from Philly. I’m not sure how ED fared this year, however. Perhaps badly as APAwesome suggested. I do believe that being from Philly will be helpful for you, though.</p>

4

<p>All sounds good. The essay is where it’s at.</p>

5

<p>Well from the Philly area I had 18 friends get in and only 3 denied ED so they actually did well ED. I think the regional bias for Philly though is more that there are so many more legacy/faculty kids from this area, and tons more ED applicants which are always more attractive to schools because they’re binded to go. I dont think it’ll benefit me that much RD, hopefully it does (fingers are SO crossed).</p>

<p>I’m applying to CAS by the way.</p>

6

<p>This year does seem brutal so far from the Philly area (NJ suburbs represent!). I was the only one from my school who got in ED; everyone else was rejected. From nearby schools I haven’t heard of anyone getting in or even deferred, which is quite unusual.</p>

<p>I’d say that you have a decent shot, though I know many kids from the area with similar profiles who are also applying.</p>

<p>I think the way to maximize your chances would be to email and meet with a professor in whatever field you’re thinking of doing and trying to get a letter to admissions from him or her. That’s what I did, and while I’ll never know if it was what got me in, it really can’t hurt to show more interest in Penn.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

7

<p>No, being from Philly does give an actual boost to admissions, its not an effect of more qualified applicants living in PHilly, although that does play a role. I forgot where I read it but in Penn’s Charter Ben Franklin indicated that the university had to provide for the local population or something along those lines, so today that is translated into a slight admissions boost for those living in Philadelphia. </p>

<p>I think you have a decent chance, write good essays and you will probably have a better shot than most people. The way I think of it, if the overall acceptance rate is around 15%, you essentially have to be more appealing than about 7 or 8 other applicants, if you can do that, you will probably get in.</p>

8

<p>Now that I think about it it probably does have a positive effect. My school has done very well with Penn ED, usually 4/6 get in a year, as compared to Columbia or Stanford where only one person each has gotten in in the past 6 years.</p>