<p>I am interested in UPenn. It's my top school. I have a gpa of about a 4.3, my sat score is a 2100, and I created a club at school, volunteer, work at a library, and am a member of the NHS. I am also in 3 APs this year, and will be in 5 next year. I haven't taken the ap tests yet, so I don't know my scores. I am a member of 2 charity organizations, and have designed websites for both. I volunteer at a radio station and have some on air time as well, I am also going to be volunteering at a local hospital this summer, as well as the county Republican Committee. I was a peer leader this year and also in girl scouts since kindergarten. I am not a legacy, so that might be a hindrance. Also, what sat subject tests would you recommend? I don't want any math. I am thinking about the Literature one since I'm taking APLAC this year, and consider myself an "English person." AP US history is a two year course.... so i only have half the info as of now, would it be good to just check a textbook out this summer, study like crazy, and take it in Oct?? Thanks for your input, I appreciate it.
(I'm not majoring in any science or applying to any special programs either. )</p>
<p>Simply put: there’s no telling. With all Ivies, and especially Penn, what one might consider a “perfect app” is just like the thousands of other perfect apps coming in. I really feel that the luck of the draw is involved. At Penn people “in the know” say that everyday academic achievement is most important part of your app. So they’re looking for stellar grades.</p>
<p>Take it from an ED deferred hispanic legacy with higher SATs than you but not as good GPA; Nothing is certain.</p>
<p>Ill give you a brief run down of how I view your chances.</p>
<p>First of all, take everything I am saying with a grain of salt. Nobody on here can honestly give you your chances at an ivy. However, I have spent literally hundreds of hours reviewing the results of college applicants to every ivy but Cornell <em>which isnt REALLY an ivy cough cough = D.</em></p>
<p>Stats: Well, I dont have your UW GPA…thats huge as your Weighted GPA really doesnt matter a ton as long as you took the most rigorious courseload at your school. Your SAT…well…is lacking for the ivies. I ALWAYS suggest at least a 2300 for middle/upper ivies and a 2200+ for the other ones. </p>
<p>ECs: Your a bit weak here too. You do have good volunteer experiences and I like how you design websites. However, I cant find any distinct leadership here. Leadership is CRITICAL to these schools because they want students who will contribute to their schools. So, without the ECs your chances will be hurt a lot actually. </p>
<p>Awards: I dont see any…get some. Anything state/national level is good for ivies.</p>
<p>Overall, this is what I think. If you are applying to Wharton (business school) you have a pritty small chance of admission. Sorry, the school is about as competitive at HYPS. However, you have a decent shot at the CAS. I mean its still not a GREAT shot, but you could definately get in. </p>
<p>How to improve: First of all, UPenn LOOOVES interest. To maximize chances visit the campus. Then, if you are dead set on UPenn apply ED…that alone will increase your chances by orders of magnitude. Finally, if you are applying to Wharton I dont care if you “hate” math…take the Math 2 SAT 2. A friend of mine did get into Wharton with a 690 on the Math 1…but he was an hispanic student who came from a family that had connections to big alumni in the school. So, make of that what you will.</p>
<p>All in all, I may not no for sure what I am taking about. I was deferred Yale, got into Dartmouth with a LL, offered a Full ride at Vandy, and am waiting on my other college decisions from HYPS, Wharton, etc. So, as underscored by my Yale deferral, I do indeed have flaws on my app. However, I felt it would be good for you to have a pithy run down of each component of your app with the info you supplied here.</p>
<p>Thanks, I should have mentioned, Medusa National Mythology Exam Corona Laureate freshman year, and Bronze sophomore year. I was in the Deis Committee on my school’s Model UN. Like I said I was also a Peer Leader. What other leadership activities would you recommend? If I join like a big brothers/big sisters program next year would it be too late? I was planning on joining it this year but it didn’t work out. Also, I am a chief editor of my school’s online paper this year. I guess Latin Honor Society too, if that means anything.</p>
<p>“However, I have spent literally hundreds of hours reviewing the results of college applicants to every ivy but Cornell <em>which isnt REALLY an ivy cough cough = D.</em>”</p>
<p>You’re an idiot.</p>
<p>I may b an idiot…but I’m an idiot will attend a better school than Cornell (already in at dartmouth)</p>
<p>Dartmouth isn’t necessarily a better school than Cornell. I can tell you’re an awesome person.</p>
<p>Anyway, at the OP: Which school are you looking at? Wharton? CAS?
This will help me tailor my advice better.</p>
<p>If you think about Dartmouth and Cornell as universities, Cornell is 15th in the world according to US news. Brown and Dartmouth are the only ivies who do not make the top 20. Brown is 31st and Dartmouth 85th. While I’m sure its a great school for undergraduate, Dartmouth is not exactly the best research university. I was not going to apply to Dartmouth for this reason, I was going to apply to Cornell because I knew that I wanted to be at a place internationally known for research and academics.</p>
<p>Well said, Poeme.</p>
<p>^^^^^</p>
<p>Umm, not that well said. I remember reading that “international rankings list” this summer. Schools that are clearly inferior to the ivies like Texas and USC also beat Dartmouth and Brown in the rankings, which is patent BS.</p>
<p>Basically, everyone will concede that Cornell is by far the easiest ivy to get into. Then, once your there, you have to endure horrible grade deflation. However, the real kicker is that it really isnt renowned for anything beyond its Hotel Management School. Ya, it may be the best ivy for engineering, but all the ivies are terrible for that too. </p>
<p>Lastly, if you want to play that rankings game, Dartmouth spanks Cornell in the usual National US News and World Report Rankings. However, I really do have my doubts about the veracity of those rankings as I believe Brown was ranked liked 17th, which again is completely wrong. However, in those rankings, Dartmouth’s indeed hurt by its dearth of prominent Grad schools. So, let me pull up yet another ranking (its about as useless as the one you cited above though). When you look at the top schools for undergraduate rankings, Dartmouth is number one. Yet, as I said, those rankings are complete trash. I believe one of the top schools on that ranking list was something like “Bowling Green State” which is apparently a safety school for the kids of got rejected for Ohio State.</p>
<p>hey, no arguing. can we agree, both schools are great… and frankly, i’d be happy at either of them. </p>
<p>back to the question, do you think i have a chance at upenn??</p>
<p>I was only referring to Dartmouth as a research university. A few of my relatives and their friends are very involved in academic research. They work at many highly regarded universities (including several ivies), so naturally I hear a lot about academics and related topics such as the “prestige” of various institutions. I’m not trying to bash Dartmouth, I know several kids who go there or have gone there. I’m sure that it is a great place for the right person as I have heard great things about the school. However, I really think it’s silly when people try to boil down an entire university into a simple punch line. It makes one sound very uninformed.</p>
<p>And no, not Wharton. CAS definitely.</p>
<p>Idk about Rtgrove123’s whole breakdown of your stats…it’s honestly pretty arbitrary. My sister got into Harvard Yale and Princeton with a 2150 on her SAT, 670 on SAT math I. Honestly I feel like test scores are just initial qualifiers and if there are some minor shortcomings on them they easily overlook them in light of extracurriculars and personality. Granted, they are still pretty important though.</p>
<p>With all due respect…did you sister hav any hooks? If u don’t believe a 2200+ is required for hookless whites, go read the results threads.</p>
<p>Yes we are from Nevada, which probably helped some. :)</p>
<p>Na…being from Nevada prbly wasnt a huge help. Did she have any major awards (Siemens, Intel, USAMO), is she low income, or is she a URM?</p>
<p>There was a kid last year who was white, no hooks (no URM, legacy or sports) who got into Harvard with an 1800.</p>
<p>It’s impossible to say. They get so many great students that it’s no bad reflection on you if you don’t get in. At some point, it’s just chance.</p>
<p>I do not have a print source for this, but I have heard that at a certain point, probably when you have around 700 on each section of the SAT and have been very successful in the context of your school, that numbers become less significant part of your application. Instead the focus shifts to the “soft factors” that cannot really be quantified. How can we be absolutely sure that figures do not confound what admissions is really looking for? Maybe the reason that people with incredibly high test scores (above 2350) are admitted to the ivies at a higher rate has to do more with the fact that many of the students who score well on tests have other attributes that make them appealing to these schools, rather than solely based on their test scores.</p>