<p>Are there any other essays/short answers that I am missing (assuming nothing changes from last yr)…</p>
<p>1) Why Penn
2) pg. 217 autobiography
3) most important moment in history</p>
<p>Anything Else? How many words/pgs are each? I believe #1 & #2 just say one pg w/ no other specifications? What about #3?</p>
<h1>3 is only a couple of lines so basically a few sentences. I ended up having more to say than the provided lines so I printed out a 9 pt. font (I think it was 9) answer with underlines and pasted it into the given space.</h1>
<p>4th question (short answer): "Tell us something about yourself that is not readily apparent in this application"</p>
<p>In 2004, the 3rd question was "What is the best piece of advice you ever received?". In 2005, it was "In your opinion, what was the most important moment in history and why?". So, I believe the 3rd question is likely to change, but the 4th question will remain the same.</p>
<p>If you use the online app, you will really have to limit your words (because you won't be able to adjust fonts or formats). Anyway, not cheating is the best. Good luck.</p>
<p>The 2nd one (pg. 217 autobiography) is actually one of three choices you can do. You can also write on a risk you took and why you know it was the right thing to do. There's also a third option dealing with first experiences but I can't remember exactly what it is. Maybe someone can help me out...</p>
<p>One Idea I had for the "risk" essay was to not write an essay at all and explain in a sentence that the risk you took was not writing that essay. lol </p>
<p>I didn't end up doing that though, and decided to go for the autobiography one. However, don't worry too much about the essay because I BS'ed mine 2 nights before it was due. Just remember that as long as the essay is not too bad (or too good), it won't have a large impact.</p>
<p>I guess this is a general question; it is ok to write about something religious for app essay or short answers. For example for "3) most important moment in history" can you write about Jesus' cruxifiction or Moses' parting the Red Sea or something along those lines?</p>
<p>Essays can definitely make or break your application. So they do have a HUGE impact. Someone with below avg. stats could be admitted because of a good essay and someone with stellar stats can be denied because of a bad essay. Personally, the adcom that reviewed my app told me a few months into freshman year that my essay was probably one of the best ones she had read all year...that's why I got in, if you saw my test scores you'd definitely be surprised that I got into Wharton.</p>
<p>Bern can you PM me your Why Penn essay? just want to take a look at "one of the best essays of the year". thanks</p>
<p>I can back up what bern said. I think I too was admitted to Wharton because of the essays. The adcom said she was "BLOWN away" (quoted verbatim from email).</p>
<p>Hi everyone,</p>
<p>This is my first post, but I am very interested in Penn (possibly ED). Bern and ThinkJose, could you PM me your essays? I understand that you may feel uncomfortable doing that because you don't know anything about me; if so, that is completely fine. If you want, I can send you my stats/background. I truly fell in love with Penn's entire atmosphere when I visited last weekend, and immediately began formulating a response in my head to the "Why Penn?" essay. Does anyone have any tips, suggested points of focus, etc? I know that it is important to create a link between what you have to offer/your goals and Penn's philosophy/resources.</p>
<p>Sorry..that was kind of long!</p>
<p>I recently switched computers so I don't have a soft copy of my essays anymore. All I have is a hard copy and I'm too lazy to retype it. But what I will do is summarize my points. It really is all about just bringing your real voice into the essay...really putting emotion into it. Ok this is what my essay basically said:</p>
<p>I began by talking about how I found out about penn...I told a little anecdote about a dinner table conversation with one of my dad's friends (wharton grad). Then the essay progressed into my entire search and how every college I looked at didn't have everything that I wanted (i stated the things I liked about penn not only academically but socially, etc.) except for penn...Then I talked about how that "love" for penn was reinforced when the adcom came to give a presentation at my school and I mentioned some of penn's traditions, etc. and that made me want to go to penn even more. Next I talked about how finally I was able to make the trip to Philly. I described in detail how when I got on campus I felt at home ( I threw in some funny stuff like my sister commenting on how big of a nerd I was because I already knew the names of most of the buildings and I eagerly pointed them out to my family). I then talked about how that night I really wanted to go see the school (although I was going on the tour the next day) and went for a walk alone through campus (I mentioned how before going I stopped at Cosi for a drink and began to talk to some students and we got into a big political debate, etc.). Then I finished by saying that on this walk I went to Perelman Quad for a while and sat on some steps and just dreamed of going here, etc. </p>
<p>That's the main jist of the essay. As you can see it's pretty standard nothing special. What I think made it good were the little details I threw in and the way you could really really tell that I loved penn and wanted to be there extremely badly. </p>
<p>My tips: Try to shine in the essay and you can do this by being yourself, truly showing how much you want to be at penn, and put some emotion into it. :)</p>
<p>hope that helps !</p>
<p>btw someone wanted stats, I think you can find mine in the archives.</p>
<p>here they are found them (btw I'm technically a URM by the fact that I'm a Mexican natl that moved to the US when I was 10 but I had to apply as an international since I'm not a citizen...so I don't know if internationals are given URM status)</p>
<p>-Attend top hs in AZ (private Jesuit College Prep)
-GPA: 4.26
-RANK: top 5%
- hardest curriculum possible
-PSAT: 209 Selection index
-SAT: 1300
-SAT II: Math600, French800, Spanish800, USHistory710, Writing730<br>
AP TESTS: Euro5, Bio3, French5, EnglishComp5, USHistory5, CalcAB4, MicroEcon5, MacroEcon5, compGovt5, UsGovt5, FrenchLIT5, EnglishLIT5 </p>
<p>ECs/Awards/etc: </p>
<ul>
<li>Varsity Soccer 3 years (letterman, captain)
-Club Soccer(captain): team was ranked 20th nationally, won a few European tournaments as well
-Fluent in Spanish (native language), English, and French
-Attended Institut Le Rosey boarding summer programs </li>
<li>played on institut le Rosey's traveling European soccer team
-Certificate of language proficiency and excellence presented by Institut Le Rosey ( and the former International Olympic Committee president Juan Antonio Samaranch (for being trilingual)
-National Honor Society (10th-12th) EXECUTIVE BOARD PRESIDENT
-organized AZ NHS leadership conference
-French National Honor Society (10th-12th),VICE-PRESIDENT (11th), PRESIDENT (12th)
-Tons of Community service (key club, etc)
-Attended the National Hispanic Institutes Lorenzo de Zavala Youth Legislative Session (program for the top 1000 Hispanic students in the nation
-Presented with an Honorary Citizenship of the State of Texas by Governor Rick Perry (Summer 2002)for outstanding leadership during LDZ (see above) </li>
<li>AP Scholar with Distinction </li>
<li>National Commended Scholar </li>
<li>National Hispanic Scholar </li>
<li>National French Laureate (3rdon the National French Examination)
-Held 2 jobs for past 2 years </li>
<li>one job is at Mexican General Consulate Work as an Assistant/Secretary to the Consul also Staff member of the Community Outreach Office
-Helped organize and coordinate Mexican President Vicente Foxs diplomatic visit to Phoenix, AZ through consulate </li>
</ul>
<p>I have a unique background my mother is Mexican and my dad is Swiss. I lived in Mexico until i was ten.</p>
<p>thanks a lot! in case you ever do get it back on your comp, please send. actually, i got a good answer: i was worried about sounding too sappy and emotional/dramatic, but i did experience some strong emotions after i visited!</p>
<p>jesus does it get any better then that?</p>
<p>Very impressive bern</p>
<p>db06, you can pm your essay to someone for comments. i did that last year.</p>
<p>Wow bern, I can seen how that essay got their attention. From reading that summary, I can tell that you could say a lot about "why Penn" on a very detailed, personal level...while someone who was not as serious about Penn, even when assisted by a "hired" essay writer, could only have written generic praises for the school.</p>
<p>wow, bern, thats a lot of information. How did you fit the essay in one page?</p>
<p>I was wondering, bern, did u tie in stuff about ur ECs and academics as well, or was ur essay concentrated mostly on the emotional and personal connection u felt u had with penn?</p>
<p>pimp: lol I made it 10 pt font with like 1 cm of border around...</p>
<p>njchino: It was mostly concentrated on the emotional/personal connection but I did include in the beginning the things that I looked for in a school academically, socially, etc. and how penn was the one school that combined all my needs.</p>