High Anxiety over Penn ED- please chance me!

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
1

Hi college confidential!
I applied ED to Penn’s school of engineering. Because the notification date is coming soon, I am losing sleep over it. I think about Penn every free moment I have. I just need someone to chance me to put my mind to ease! If possible, give me a percent chance.

Grades-
Unweighted: 95.51% (3.91)
Weighted: 105.22% (4.61)

Class Rank- 9/570

High school-
Decent public highschool in PA. Send about 1-5 students to top 15 schools per year. Last year’s valedictorian got into Harvard, Penn, MIT, and others. If it means anything, my guidance counselor told me that 50% of students from my school with similar grades who apply ED to Penn get in.

I sent a first quarter grades report even though Penn did not request one. My cumulative grades at the end of junior year were UW- 95.09% (3.89), W- 103.79 (4.53). Rank was 18th.

Course load:

Freshman year-
Honors Algebra 2
Honors Biology
Honors World History
Honors Intro to Engineering
Honors Spanish 3
Regular English 9

Sophomore Year-
AP Physics (4)
AP Micro Economics (5)
AP American Government (4)
IB Spanish 4
Honors Precalc
Regular English 10

Junior Year-
AP Calculus AB (5)
AP Chemistry (5)
AP US History (4)
AP English (4)
Honors Anatomy and Physiology
Honors Principles of Engineering

Senior Year-
AP English
AP Human Geography
AP Calculus BC
AP Biology
Honors Biochemistry
Honors Architectural and Civil Engineering

Grades have a strong upward trend.

Standardized Tests:

SAT- Math: 800, Reading+Writing:680 (1480 total)
Essay- 6/5/6

ACT- English: 35, Math: 33, Reading: 35, Science: 31 (34 Composite). Essay- 8/8/8/8

SAT 2- Math 2: 770, Chemistry: 800

Extra Curriculars-
Penn State medical center PULSE program (program for high schoolers who are interested in attending Medical School in the future. Lectures are held once a week for a few months with a final at the end) (11-12)

President and Founder of my school’s Russian Club (11-12)

Treasurer of National Honor Society (11-12)

Completed a competitive Internship program at a well known and very reputable hospital in my area (31 hours)

25 hours of shadowing a Physician (Rheumatologist if that means anything)

Went on two mission trips in Maine repairing homes for the less fortunate and handicapped (80 hours total)

Member of Technology Student Association. Participated in regional competition.

Lots of time spent taking care of family members due to mom having breast cancer.

Awards:
5th place in regional Chemistry Olympiad (out of 97)
Participated in National Chemistry Olympiad (only top 10 qualify)

Bausch + Lomb Honorary Science Award (Science teachers from my school nominate one student who displayed exemplary work in science. All teachers in science department then vote on one student to award)

Rotary Club Student of the month (awarded to one male and one female in the region by the regional Rotary Club)

Award for perfect attendance to Penn State Pulse

AP Scholar with Distinction

Teacher Recommendations-
AP Chemistry and AP calculus teachers: both will be very great letters. In both classes I participated a lot and showed interest in the curriculum and beyond the curriculum because I frequently came in before and after class to ask questions. I had my calc teacher for 2 years, so she would be able to testify about my growth and maturity from algebra 2 as a freshman to calc as a junior.

Essays-
Common App Personal statement is awesome. It is a very unique topic and will surely make me stand out. I showed dedication, persistence, and passion. I also think it was very funny.

Supplemental Essay: For my Penn supplement I wrote about my sit in on a class called intro to Biomechanics. I wrote about how much I liked my conversations with the students and the classroom/student environment. I also wrote about how a bought and built a 3D printer and how I am excited to apply my skills to class work and the research that a particular professor is performing.

My English teacher really liked both essays. She is the hardest English teacher in the school, is really particular, and definitely let’s you know when something is wrong with your essay.

Interview went great. The person I spoke with told me that I really displayed a lot of knowledge about the school and that it looks like I have a good plan.

Race- White
Gender- Male
Hooks- first generation American, Bilingual (Russian)

Location- Pennsylvania

Will be applying for financial aid.

Thank you all!

2

I view grades as just a way to get your foot in the door, and it seems that you have that. If you were able to fully develop your essay, then I’d say you have a good shot, as it seems very interesting. Also, your EC’s are very strong and relevant to your field. Good luck to us both!

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Looking at all your stats, i’d Think you’d have a good chance, however I cannot attest to how UPenn thinks.

4

I’ve been there and like you I had ‘High Anxiety’ as well. There were many schools that I was interested in. Some of which I thought I had really good chances. My top two were surely reach schools. In the end some of the school where I thought my chances were good at, I was rejected. Some of the schools I considered to be reach I was accepted. I applied to 13 schools and was accepted to 5. My advice to you is go for what you want. I think your numbers are good, but remember that does not guarantee acceptance.

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Here is my issue with my grades. Over all, I have 4 B pluses. 2 freshman and 2 sophomore year. Junior and senior year is straight A’s, and all are really high A’s. How much will that affect my chances?

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@IBXavier2017 I appreciate your response. My biggest issue is that I barely have any of my other college essays written right now! So I need to get in or else it will be crunch time for me!

7

It IS Crunch time. You can’t pin your hopes on a single application, and I suspect you’re smart enough to know that.

So log off CC, and get those essays written… Today, December 2. It’s not quite 8 am on the east coast… you have to get these done.

Putting all your hopes on one application is pretty much spitting into the wind.

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MODERATOR’S NOTE:
Closing thread. The OP has asked the question enough times already. Repetitive threads violates ToS.