<p>I am applying ED to Huntsman.</p>
<p>out of those 3 assumptions you listed, the last one is probably the only one you really heard. I think you're lying about the first two, because any penn advisor who said those things would've gotten fired a long time ago regardless of whether they're true or not.</p>
<p>to what extent does political/cultural involvement is a plus?</p>
<p>Basically all of my ECs are cultural or politically based... I just love doin some sort of culturual/political/business actitivities.</p>
<p>Bernardolw, I think that the majority of applicants are involved in political/cultural/business-related activities, so sure, these activities help, but involvement won't make you stand out unless you have significant leadership and/or national recognition.</p>
<p>You don't have to have <em>national</em> level leadership and recognition(whatever that means in the humanities field) to indicate clear passion for business/cultural/political issues. For instance, you could probably show good interest by writing the Huntsman essay on the issue you care a lot about, whether it be sex trafficking in Cambodia or the genoice being perpetrated in Darfur. It's not like Huntsman will throw your application away just because you haven't mobilized your metropolitan area to take action on a certain matter by forming an advocacy organization at the age of 17 or something crazy like that. Just do what you love.:p</p>