ED to SEAS chances (yes, another one)

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
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<p>This isn’t so much of a “chances” thread as it is a “will I be wasting my ED if I apply to Penn?” thread.</p>

<p>Here we go:</p>

<p>Rising Senior, rural public HS in PA</p>

<p>GPA: ~102/100 W
Rank: 1/113
SAT I: 720 M, 700 CR, 710 W (2130)
SAT IIs: 780 US History, 760 Math II, 650 Chem (retaking)
ACT: 33 composite (11 essay) also retaking
APs: AP World (5), APUSH (5), AP Chem (4), AP Calc AB (5), taking Physics C: Mechanics and AP English Lit this yr, self studying Calc BC.
PSAT: Don’t remember, but I was “commended.” I doubt this really matters.</p>

<p>Most rigorous courseload (all APs, etc).</p>

<p>ECs: Volunteer as a mentor at summer camp for at-risk youth (500+ hrs)
Also mentor area youth throughout the school year, lots of newspaper articles, etc for my mentoring work (i know, who cares, just saying)
Organized fundraiser for my church (raised $1000+)
Work at other churchs (2 wks volunteering bible school, etc)
Ice hockey–asst. captain in 10th, 12th
Academic letters, honors roll, etc
Quiz bowl team, math team, national honor society, some more generic ones, clubs, etc.
Some science fair awards.
Active in student council/student congress
lots of school awards: SAT, history student of year, english student of yr, computer student of year…
Pennsylvania Governor’s School for Health care (5-wk summer prgm) - participant</p>

<p>Work: had job last summer, working at the mall this school year</p>

<p>History rec will be very, very good. Other from science teacher will be decent. Essays will be good, but not necessarily outstanding.</p>

<p>Any opinions would be greatly appreciated.</p>

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<p>You certainly have a shot. SAT scores look decent (not perfect but not bad by any means either). No idea what ACT scores correspond to because I never took the test. EC's look solid (again not curing cancer but also not sitting on your butt). So, the best I can tell you is that you have a fighting chance. While this isn't going to ease your anxiety about whether you will get in, you certainly wouldn't have your application immediately tossed (if that's what you're wondering).</p>

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<p>alright thanks. that's basically what i was wondering.</p>

<p>any others want to weigh in?</p>

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<p>Don't bother applying to SEAS man....they're not even ranked top 30 overall engineering wise. You should be aiming for MIT/Stanford if you want to do engineering with your stats.....700+ in all sections of the SAT is good enough for any school</p>

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<p>eh i really wanted to do bio(medical)engineering undergrad, and stanford/MIT doesn't have the major. moreover, i'd like to go to med school, and i was very impressed with SEAS's pre-health engineering track. I also like Brown and Duke's BME departments. Would I be better off going early to either of those?</p>

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<p>Actually, Penn has one of the premier BE departments in the country. Duke certainly is no slouch in the area either. Both, however, are vastly superior to Brown's BE program.</p>

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<p>even if penn engineering isn't in top 30, bioengineering is supposed to be good at penn (don't they have a new building?). I think those stats are good for penn seas.</p>

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<p>Penn actually had the nation's first BE program.</p>

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<p>ziggy, I'd be careful about doing premed studies in an engineering major as your GPA may turn out a lot lower. Medical schools rely heavily on GPA for admissions, which is why a many premeds have undergrad majors in sciences.</p>

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<p>yes i was wondering how hard it was to maintain a 3.5 or so at SEAS. if i were 100% sure that i was going to med school i'd be a bio or premed major. however, i'm not completely sure, and BE is a topic that interests me and i may consider working in.</p>

<p>so, can anyone offer some insight on the difficult of SEAS, it's grading system, etc? should i really shun away from this if i'm considering med school? the University of Pittsburgh has a decent BE program, and I will be able to obtain a higher GPA if I go there. would this be a better option?</p>

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<p>I am also interested in the BE department at Penn. From what I understand, your best bet would be to pursue a BAS degree in Biomedical Sciences and then go for med school. The degree is not accredited, so you will sidestep some of the "hardcore" engineering requirements, replacing them with a more liberal component. That is, unless you want an engineering-based BSE degree. </p>

<p>In terms of difficulty, I remember hearing that the average GPA in SEAS is as low as 2.7ish (somebody may need to verify that stat because I am not sure).</p>

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<p>yes I've heard a similar stat (~2.8) and i also wanted to know if this could be verified. anyone have any info?</p>

<p>thanks for the insight abhim89, that's a good idea. i could probably make a better decision on the aspect of major after applying, but that is definitely something i will consider.</p>