<p>Hi!
I was wondering if anybody knows how they may compare students from the same high school applying to different colleges within Penn.
i.e. I'm a white girl applying to CAS and there's an Indian boy from my high school applying to engineering...not sure if the race/gender make a difference, I'm more curious about the different schools.
Thanks!</p>
<p>also interested in this topic- regarding same schools</p>
<p>Well, the only thing I can say is that they DO compare within applicants from your high school to examine course rigor, GPAs, etc. (that way it is within the “context” of your school). So, if the valedictorian applies with all A’s in all AP’s, and you have a 3.9 weighted GPA (a few B’s, maybe a C), things may not be looking too hot for you. Of course, activities, essays, recommendations, etc. all play into effect–but the fact of the matter is and always will be, make sure you have top-notch grades, especially compared to the peers from your high school! Good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks for the response, hardworking21!
I completely understand the logic behind comparing kids from the same school for context. There are actually 11 kids from my school applying RD, though I know some of them are “just for ha-ha’s” and have absolutely no intention of getting in. Also, many are “backups” because they got deferred from Harvard or Yale SCEA, so they may not have shown as much passion in their Why Penn essay.
In my case, if my school were to rank students, I would probably only be behind said-Indian male engineering applicant by a few places (he weaseled out of his counselor that he was ranked 2nd in the internal ranking system that isn’t released). I’m definitely top 4-5% and my GPA is only ~0.08 lower than his.
He’s an outstanding applicant, but I think we bring different qualities to the table, so hopefully they see that!</p>
<p>Class ranking is one of the LEAST important factors in college admissions in general, and at Penn ever more so. (They specifically state this on their site) If, historically, 2 kids get sent to Penn each year from your school, they will take the best 2 from your school that year. They will look at your courses, essays, EC’s, SAT’s, etc…if you can beat him on all those things the class rank doesn’t make the big difference really.</p>