How to get into upenn

Colleges & Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
1

<p>…I don’t know either.</p>

<p>anyway, I know how much you all hate “what are my chances” threads, but I love Penn, I’m nervous, and I’m not gonna let it stop me… so I’d really appreciate any input…</p>

<p>gpa: 96.5 (school doesn’t rank, and the weighting system is bananas)
classes: 8 ap classes, 5 senior year: french, calc ab, lit, government, environmental science; 3 junior year: psych-5, stat-5, english-4; all other classes honors
upward trend
SAT: m 800, v 710, w 800
SAT 2: mathIC 700, mathIIC 700</p>

<p>in school activities:
debate team 4 years (ranked in top 10 at a few competitions, qualled for state championships as a novice)
model UN 1 year (just started at my school this year, i’m fundraising chairperson)
key club 3 years
french club 3 years
NHS 2 years
national french honor society 2 years</p>

<p>service activities:
“team tutoring” 4 years (tutored children with learning disabilities at local elementary school)
interned at geriatric center 2 years
“community hebrew high school” 5 years (taught younger classes as a junior/senior)
“reading for a reason” 1 year (co-founder, co-president, book club with emphasis on community service, runs book drives and reads with local elementary school children)
BBYO 1 year
all together comes to more than 1000 hours of community service; it’s my real passion</p>

<p>other:
worked at a sneaker store 10hrs/week for past two years
training to box competitively
spent last summer at BU taking credit courses in poli sci and econ
spent summer of '04 at Georgetown taking classes in communications</p>

<p>I’d really appreciate any input that any of you have about my chances RD, and good luck to everyone who applied ed :)</p>

2

<p>you have some sexy sat scores</p>

3

<p>i never knew stats could be sexy.......interesting</p>

4

<p>looks very good to me. What sort of school do you go to though, and what's your competition like?</p>

5

<p>We should make it a rule that from now on if you post anything on this Penn message board, you cannot post any numbers that are greater than 680....better yet, if you even post any "what are my chances" threads, you are breaking wombat's new "some-what-official law" which as a result will give you the honor of detestation by wombat306.</p>

6

<p>I can't say I'm a big fan of taking Math I AND Math II as your subject tests...seems like a cheap way to fulfill the two test requirement.</p>

7

<p>actually no its not. Its smart. Good luck man.</p>

8

<p>I like "Reading for a Reason"...that's a really cute effort. Anyways, if you've got over 1000 hours, you should definitely emphasize it in your essays or during an interview. Your SAT scores are good...especially Math and Writing. What do you plan to major in?</p>

9

<p>"actually no its not. Its smart. Good luck man."</p>

<p>You're supposed to show your breadth with the SAT Subject tests. To choose Math I+II (and not even do that well on them--seriously, if you're going to narrow your focus so much, you should at least be getting 750+) is not very impressive.</p>

<p>Whatever, he has great stats aside from that and stands a good shot if he's ED.</p>

10

<p>yeah my friend did two maths because he couldnt switch into french with listening...and penn told him that it's not gonna give them a view of what he's like since it's all math. i think on the penn website...it says for wharton...theyd like a math SAT II and for the college they'd also like to see a language...however.....you really dont need the language part....if you plan on being a science major you need a science sat ii....but in the end they dont really recommend having two maths.</p>

11

<p>lol well first of all I'm a SHE not a HE, and I intend to double major in political science and communications (with a concentration in poli comm). I apologize about the original post, I really don't intend to show off my SAT scores. In all honestly I'm nervous because I know my scores alone can't get me into a school like Penn, because they're looking for something unique (which I lack.) About the SAT 2's, my problem is that the subject I'd do best in (writing) is no longer an option. Hopefully they'll see that I did well on the writing section and consider it a third SAT 2, because math is the only other subject on which I thought I'd do well. Science is not my thing by any means, and although I'm interested in history, last year my teacher didn't teach us nearly enough information for me to have done well on the US test.. so, here I am. Anyway, I reeeally appreciate all the input and GOOD LUCK to everyone who applied ED. Penn's amazing.. have fun under the button..</p>

12

<p>Your stats are great, although I don't understand you GPA. Did you apply early anywhere though?</p>

13

<p>My school calculates grades as numbers out of 100, with the general understanding that 95-100 = A+, 90-94 = A etc.. what sucks is the weighting system.. for an AP class they take the difference between your grade and 100 and multiply it by .5 (.4 for honors classes) and add that back to your original grade (ex: a 90 in ap lit would become a 95.. a 90 in honors english would become a 94) so you can never have above 100.. and lower grades get an enormous weight while higher grades' weights are insignificant. My unweighted average is a 96.5, I've taken all honors/ap classes throughout high school and my weighted average is like a 98, while friends of mine have averages in the high 80s that become low-mid 90s once weighted. You'd think getting 100 in an AP class would become much higher but it stays the same. It's silly really. To answer your other question, I applied to Georgetown early action</p>

14

<p>that is a retarded weighting system and incredibly unfair to people who get good grades, wow.</p>