<p>Do you think my son has a shot at Penn ED? Considering SEAS or CAS.</p>
<ol>
<li>Legacy</li>
<li>National competition winner in his main EC </li>
<li>Attending school that regularly sends many kids to Penn</li>
<li>Math SAT 720, Reading SAT 720, Writing 630 (will be retaking but who knows if score will improve?)</li>
<li>GPA junior year 3.5, GPA soph year 3.0 (from school known as elite but still...)</li>
<li>English AP 4</li>
</ol>
<p>It’s a crapshot, I would definitely encourage him to apply ED. Remember, that 65% of all legacies are still denied admission. I would concentrate on his essays as much or more than the SAT scores. It never ceases to amaze me how much time and effort is disproportionately spent on the tests when students could really use that time on something they can really control - namely writing a compelling essay.</p>
<p>Good point about the essay!
I read that it was 62-58% legacies denied for ED – a tiny difference but we’ll take what we can get!!
Anyone else have thoughts on his chances?</p>
<p>That is a pretty low GPA, I imagine it is well below 3.5. Sorry to say that with the given GPA, it is going to be a very difficult proposition. I am no adcom so I don’t have definitive knowledge, but it has been said many times, you have zero chance if you don’t apply. That EC might be a big help but I have no idea since I don’t know exactly what it is. So with that said, his midterm grades for the senior fall semester better be all A’s, get his SAT score up a bit, write great essays as suggested above, if he is a math/science person, may be applying ED to SEAS gives him a little better chance. Also I am assuming that your son is not a URM? Good luck.</p>
<p>Do you know what his class rank is?</p>
<p>School doesn’t rank and he is not an URM.</p>
<p>What national competition? If it’s serious, like USAMO, then he has a decent shot. Otherwise…</p>
<p>better shot at ed than rd</p>
<p>Somone mentioned that “applying ED to SEAS gives him a little better chance.” How/ why?</p>
<p>I said it and it is in response to your post that mentioned he may be interested in SEAS. First, I would say that it is not a quantifiable fact that SEAS is easier to get in. Previously, it has been mentioned that the admit rate to SEAS is slightly higher than CAS but it could easily be explained by the fact the SEAS is more self selecting. The main reason that your son might want to apply to SEAS is because he is interested in Engineering or Applied Sciences, and if he has been a good science and math student where his transcript and grades reflect that he did better in math and science courses, he might get a better look applying to SEAS. OTH, if he is not a science and math leaning person, this whole idea probably does not apply to him.</p>