<p>For those accepted to Penn ED, is there anyone who regrets applying ED? If so, why? </p>
<p>I have been asked to give advice to a close friend who is contemplating applying to Penn ED. </p>
<p>Thank you.</p>
<p>No, I have absolutely no regrets. I did a lot of research before I decided to apply early decision and was 100% that Penn was the school for me. Now, as I am getting ready to move in, I am 120% sure. When you are applying to a school, it eventually comes down to the environment (social/educational/intellectual/open/active/diverse however you want to describe it), not just the academics. All of the schools I applied to were excellent academically. But overall, I love Philly and Penn’s campus, and I know that Penn will offer me a great well-rounded undergraduate experience.</p>
<p>I didn’t get accepted to UPENN ED, but did ED for Cornell. I don’t regret my decision, but I could see how someone easily could. For example I got a pretty generous scholarship offer from a good school (top 50 in USNWR) and it kinda made me think about whether RD would have been a better option. If I would have applied RD to Cornell I would have still chosen to Cornell over the scholarship, but my recommendation would be to keep your options open. You never know If you are going to get a surprise scholarship from a 2nd tier school.</p>
<p>I have some regrets. I was admitted ED by Penn and EA by a few other schools. I regret that I never was able to apply RD to schools like Stanford and the other Ivies. In retrospect, it would have been nice to know where I could have been accepted. As is, I’ll never know, and that kind of leaves a bad taste in my mouth.</p>
<p>While I did really like a lot of the other schools I was applying to, I think I will get a lot more out of Penn. My other top choices were Columbia, Yale, Princeton, and Johns Hopkins (especially the BME program). Academically I think that Penn, Columbia, Princeton, and Yale are overall on an even playing field (they all have slightly different strengths, but overall I think they are on the same level), although the latter ones may have slightly more name recognition in the general public, I decided that this was no reason to choose one school over another. Many people involved in academics have told me that Penn has had some of the most incredible success and growth in the past few years, so I’m really excited to be going to a place with such an great history and future ahead of it.</p>
<p>Not to belabor Hope Full situation, but one should apply ED only if the school is truly #1 choice and Financial Aid is not a concern or at least is a minor concern depending where you and your family are in the potential to get FA spectrum. Applying for the sake of getting a little boost in chance of admission could really put you in a very bad position if you want to back out of the agreement. If you are in the range to get accepted to Penn ED, you are bound to be in the range for acceptance at many other prestigious schools. Make sure, you and your parents understand fully the ramification of such a decision beforehand.</p>
<p>From what I have seen, the real benefit of applying early decision is that it is less of a crapshoot (more realistic to get in) for a qualified applicant because schools tend to accept a higher percentage of applicants early decision. I really don’t think it works quite as much magic as some people seem to think. Many people who are not accepted ED go on to get accepted by other similar schools including other ivies.</p>
<p>@Supadupaman7: I was wondering how you applied ED to both Cornell and Penn. I thought that is not allowed???</p>
<p>Sorry I worded that funny. What I meant to say was that I applied ED, but not to UPENN. I only applied ED to Cornell.</p>
<p>So I applied ED, got deferred, and ended up coming to Penn (wharton) anyway…but not because I had applied ED…rather, I didn’t get into Stanford, Brown, or Yale–Penn was the best place I got into.
So having applied ED but also done the RD thing…honestly, ED is awesome. Because you don’t have to deal with rejections that you might otherwise have to deal with–not that you’ll necessarily get rejected, but you never know. If you think you’ll be happy at Penn, you should apply ED. If you’re only doing it because you want to get into an Ivy and you think you’d be happier somewhere else, don’t apply ED.</p>
<p>Then again, it sucked to apply ED, get deferred, find out I got rejected from a few places, and then end up at Penn anyway. I think that’s kinda rare though (only 10% of deferred applicants get in RD?)</p>
<p>no regrets here…cant wait for september</p>
<p>Any more responses?
I plan to apply ED to UPenn in a few months but I’d definitely reconsider if I see something significant on here.</p>
<p>If attending an Ivy is what you’re really after and your scores and background give you a shot in all Ivies, then you’re better off emotionally applying ED. Spending the rest of your life wondering if you could have gotten into HYP is not pretty.</p>
<p>No regrets at all…exceeded my expectations in fact</p>
<p>“Spending the rest of your life wondering if you could have gotten into HYP is not pretty” </p>
<p>What difference does it make? Really.
Penn is in the same league as HYP, they are just a name, your experience will be exactly the same or probably even better.</p>
<p>Hey OP. Ask this question to Penn juniors and seniors before you make any conclusions. Penn has to be experienced to be appreciated. Most people don’t know of Penn and that can bother some high schoolers. If someone asks you where you’re going to college and you answer Harvanrd, Yale, or Princeton you always get a “Wow!” When you answer Penn you usually get a blank stare. Penn’s lack of prestige bothers some high schoolers and probably is the reason some people have regrets.</p>
<p>I visited my friend at Penn during Penn Previews. He will be a sophomore next fall. When he was applying to college, I think his first choice was Yale, but he did not get in and ended up at Penn. However, he absolutely loves it. when I was talking to him about how I applied early decision, he said that if he could do it over knowing what he knows now about Penn (not necessarily the outcome of his other applications), he would have applied early decision.</p>
<p>Appreciation and love to all for the thoughful reponses above. The general consensus seems to be that if you are a top candidate and crave the admiration of others do not apply ED to Penn or other university. Instead you should apply RD to HYP and the other Ivies. If HYP do not accept you then choose your college based on the rankings of your choice. But then again if the adoration of others does not drive your every decision and if Penn is your dream school then and only then apply ED. This is the advice I have given my young friend. </p>
<p>One more thought if you will. Having been raised in an impoverished land has made me impatient for those who grasp that which has no substance and I will rudely proclaim this warning to those driven by the opinions of others: If the value you place on yourself depends on the approval of others you will be a miserable person. As certain as the rising sun you will be miserable. The good news is that misery is a choice and you are free to emancipate yourself from this bondage.</p>
<p>Much love to those embarking on the journey of applying to college.</p>
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<p>That was well put…exactly what I needed to hear. If I didn’t care at all about admiration, I would go to UPenn no doubt. But sometimes glamor overcomes people and they want the name HYPS written on them…sometimes we need to prioritize.</p>
<p>I WOULD be miserable if I knew I didn’t do ED to UPenn because I wanted to get into a better school to impress people, and end up getting rejected from those schools anyway. Thanks jamma.</p>
<p>If you are interested in business then forget about YP Wharton is right there with H.</p>