<p>I’m applying to Penn, and I always had optimistic hopes of getting in. Yet after reading CC, I’ve realized that my hopes were too optimistic. Stastically wise, I have a very low chance. My gpa is low, and my act/sat scores are low also. I’ve been reading about how Penn really values GPA, and now I’m kind of sad because my gpa is quite low (3.5uw). However, I have taken the most rigorous course load at my school and I had A’s in all of my ap classes though. I’d always thought that since people told me Penn cares alot about interest in the school and personal qualities, if I could write good essays and get a good interview I might have a decent chance. But after I calculated my AI, I became even more depressed because I found out that some colleges use a cut off of the AI…All i want to know is…Can good essays offset a bad gpa? I know essays don’t count that much, but considering that admission to a top school is very random, is that possible?</p>
<p>Sry, you are pretty much screwd for life.</p>
<p>they, as most top universities claim, use a 'holistic' approach to admissions, meaning they look at the whole person before making a decision.</p>
<p>make sure you play up any extra curric. stuff youve got going as well as your serious academic interests....make your essays personal and show that you are not just a number, not just your gpa+sat and it might help.</p>
<p>penn is super hard only if you are doing wharton or the various crazy programs.</p>
<p>but still, i would prepare for a rejection and apply to more realistic matches and such</p>