How in the H e l l was i deferred?

Colleges & Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
1

<p>So I applied ED for Huntsman/Wharton and i was deferred, but to be honest I don't really know how or why... maybe you guys could give me an idea? And if you guys could chance me for RD too, that'd be great!
ACT: 27, I am taking the ACTs again this saturday ( i was going to take them last weekend, but it was rescheduled to this weekend)</p>

<p>SAT 2: Math Lvl 2: 600
Spanish: 710
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):3.8</p>

<p>AP: French, Spanish Language, Spanish Literature, Chemistry, Calculus
IB (place score in parenthesis):Full IB <---death. School that does the IB program won very prestigious award for international focus.</p>

<p>Senior Year Course Load:
@ High School :
AP Spanish
AP Chemistry
AP Calculus
AP/IB Spanish Literature
IB Lit
IB History
IB theory of knowledge
IB Projects
@ College
International Economics
Writing Class
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): none</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): </p>

<p>Varsity Tennis (captain), Varsity Soccer ( captain), ASB President, NHS, Drama( costumes), EIHS President ( the IB school, that won goldman sach's award for international focus, inside of my school, i can explain if I need to), on the YAT which is a group of students on the board of education for my state. we are advisors for the superintendent.</p>

<p>Job/Work Experience: None</p>

<p>Volunteer/Community service: Over 150 hours, 100 in spanish by senior year. I started and lead a group that goes around my city and helps hispanics that are having trouble with school because of a language barrier and tutor them one on one. By the end of senior year, i would guess that I would have 200+. Also doing a fundraise for Children's Miracle Network.</p>

<p>Summer Activities: Taking a course at University and doing community service. Also visiting colleges.
Essays: I have a couple ideas. Talking about teachers and how they transformed me. Especially french.
Teacher Recommendation:I have solid ones.
Counselor Rec: she loves me</p>

<p>New things I am sending to Penn: New recommendation from leadership teacher who is talking about how i have transformed leadership. New ACT score. Another letter saying how badly I want to go to Penn ( will be good) and recent accomplishments such as: Student of the month for my newspaper, it's a big deal where i'm from, second team all league for soccer and in a group of students who is raising money for children's miracle network. Thanks everyone!!!</p>

2

<ol>
<li><p>URM status</p></li>
<li><p>My guess is that you got deferred rather than rejected because they see you as a potential acceptance if you end up raising your test scores</p></li>
</ol>

3

<p>Your SAT and ACT scores are both weak especially for Wharton and Huntsman and you say you’re taking the ACTs again. I think a respectable score is somewhere above 31. I hope I don’t sound rude, but the “How the H E L L” seems a little indicative of arrogance. I HOPE I didn’t misconstrue that, but that’s what it seems like to me. Perhaps a little self-efficacy in the essay might work? Or add some personal story of how you affected the life of someone in your school (younger student etc) subtly and without sounding arrogant.</p>

4

<p>Wharton 09’er here.</p>

<p>A 27 ACT is like mid-1200 old SAT or so… that’s way low for Wharton and for Penn in general (average is like 1420ish for all schools taken together). Likewise with the 600 SAT II Math IIC, that score is VERY low for Wharton. At Wharton, math is very important – many students have 800’s or near-800’s in Math IIC. Definitely get those scores up.</p>

<p>As someone who was also full-IB at an Oregonian school back in the day, we had three people including myself apply to Penn – and we all got in. We were all full-IB with 4.0 GPA’s and great SAT scores (something like 1470, 1560, and 1590 back on the old SAT, all with Math IIC 800’s). We weren’t even a private school or anything. We were all fairly involved much like you are, and so they probably deferred you to see how your scores will change (in my opinion). Try to at least boost your scores into the 700 range or nail a 31+ ACT.</p>

5

<p>It’s all about you scores…</p>

6

<p>like i said earlier, i’m taking the ACTs again this saturday. If i can get a 30, what do you guys think my chances would be?</p>

7

<p>Honestly, a 30 isn’t that great of a score either. You need a 32/33+ to get into Penn unhooked. Have you tried the SATs?
As funkmu said, it’s rather presumptuous of you to believe that you were a shoo in when your scores were below the 25th %ile. Just write a letter reaffirming your love of Penn with updates to your application, if applicable…</p>

8

<p>Improving your scores will improve your chances;</p>

<p>but applying to HYPS is a crapshoot for almost everyone because:
1- there are many more talented people than there are slots
2- some of the slots will go to legacies, sports, etc</p>

<p>Data:
14.5% of U Penn admits last year were sons/daughters of alums
The mid 50% ACT range for Penn is 30-35
[Penn</a> Admissions: Incoming Class Profile](<a href=“http://www.admissions.upenn.edu/profile/]Penn”>http://www.admissions.upenn.edu/profile/)</p>

<p>Kei</p>

<p>P.S. GO FOR IT . . . but love thy safeties :-)</p>

9

<p>I think, (and I might be wrong) that many of you misunderstood the OP’s question. I don’t think he meant “Why didn’t I get in?”, but maybe instead “why wasn’t I rejected?”. </p>

<p>Let me know if I’m wrong hopeful2b_yank3e… I made this assumption because I remembered seeing this post of yours the day after decisions came out:</p>

<p>“I honestly was surprised I was even deferred. I have a C on my transcript that I have yet to change and a 27 ACT score with 600 Math LVL 2 and 710 Spanish. I am soo surprised I didn’t get rejected.”</p>

<p>Either way, if you can bring up your ACT to at least a 30+ and you can keep up good grades this semester, I think that as a URM from Oregon you’ll have a decent shot. Best of luck!</p>

10

<p>low ACT, relatively low GPA</p>

11

<p>i completely misunderstood what you guys were saying about my title. Yes, hopeful_underdog is right, i meant i don’t understand why i wasn’t rejected. I never, ever, thought that I would even get deferred from Penn. I honestly left school already telling people i didn’t get in. sorry!!</p>

<p>and wouldn’t my hook be URM from a not exactly well represented state? I dunno…</p>

<p>I will try my hardest to get a 32+ on my ACT this Saturday, but i have no idea how well it’s going to go… apparently it was really hard</p>

<p>but I am sending in a letter saying i do really want to go to penn, the new act score and such. thanks everyone</p>

12

<p>Honestly, I think he was deferred because he is clearly taking a heavy courseload with a decent (3.8) GPA and lots of EC’s and probably decent essays/recs. They just want to make sure you can do the work here at Wharton, and it’s hard to say if you can with scores in your current range (the math is a lot harder than what you see on Math IIC, for instance. Even 800 IIC kids can wind up with a B in Math 104). Get some study books and go to town – hope for the best. Good luck!</p>

<p>Note: Out of the other kids from Oregon who got in during my year, we all had decent scores/stats (most of us were clear into the 1400+ range), so that may help you gauge things a bit. None of us were URM, but it’s just something to consider.</p>

13

<p>Maybe that’s it, and i did really like my essays so who knows. and i’m studying ACT right now, I guess my Chemistry grade will suffer a bit… </p>

<p>anyways, Max, where are you from? like in oregon.</p>

14

<p>I’d rather not share on a public forum but I’ll PM you</p>

15

<p>Hopeful, i think you’ll have great chances in the regular decision round, from your stats you’re a solid candidate. maybe they just wanted to see if you could bump up your numbers a bit. Good luck man!</p>

<p>and btw a 3.8 isnt a bad GPA as people keep saying. that’s my UW and wharton took me.</p>

16

<p>Abivin, hopefully that’s the reason why, maybe i’ll go to wharton next year ( even thinking about it puts a smile on my face, wow)</p>

<p>and yeah i guess. I really have taken the hardest courses possible at my school though even if that means college level french and spanish freshman year. who knows.</p>

17

<p>I’m guessing they think you can bring the SAT II/ACT up (definitely retake both). Other than that you sound like a good candidate for at least regular Wharton; the 3.8 UW sounds perfectly fine with the full IB (unless you’re outside of top 10%, then you’re almost guaranteed a rejection).</p>

18

<p>People get deferred all the time with much better scores than you. Penn gets applicants with your credentials (and better) all the time. It isn’t all about showing that you are taking the hardest courses / have a good GPA – you have to set yourself apart from the other thousand applicants exactly like you. Be unique. Good luck in the RD round.</p>

19

<p>hopefully I can, and i feel like my leadership things might have set me apart ( would that be something that’s considered different?)</p>

<p>i’m not really sure how to set myself apart though…</p>

20

<p>Esssay mannnn! Write a great essay! As far as I can tell, Penn loves people who will contribute to the school and not just suck an education out. Tell a story or something on how your leadership has affected students, underclassmen etc in your school. Obviously make it subtly done, but if they can see that you enjoy engaging with other students and helping them then they can see that bridge for you at Penn as well.</p>