Is my Shot at U Penn CAS killed because of my lowwwwwwwww SAT scores?

Colleges & Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
1

<p>Hey i am an indian male(ORM)</p>

<p>and my sats are terrible. I'm a horrible standardized test taker, and i really tried for this too</p>

<p>670 math
630 reading
630 writing, 12 essay</p>

<p>1300 and 1930...............</p>

<p>subjects
770 chem
780 Biology M</p>

<p>Rank 2/373
GPA: 5.08/6.0 weighted, 3.80/4.0 unweighted</p>

<p>taking 7 ap classes this year
Ap bio,ap macro, Ap micro, Ap cal bc (took without ab as prerequisitie, just jumped in),Ap cal ab,Ap us gov, and Ap Lit</p>

<p>took 6 in previous years, 5 ap psych 4 ap human geo 3 world 3 chemistry</p>

<p>recs: good,
essay: why penn is about 7900 characters/7900 characters- - i have been told it was good
essay: common app is good</p>

<p>Extra curriculars:
1.) Medical Science Club
-member 9th grade, secretary 10th grade, vice president 11th grade, and vice president 12th grade
-Hosted and planned 14 blood drives
2.) Chess Club
-member 9th grade, club cancelled 10th grade due to budget cuts, secretary 11th grade, vice president 12th grade
-won 3rd place in school wide chess tournament in 11th grade
3.) Varsity Golf Team
-member 11th and 12th grade
-won 1st round districts game in 11th grade
4.) Varsity Tennis team
-member 11th and 12th grade
5.) Business Professionals of America
-vice president 11th grade and 12th grade
-Won 2nd place in Medical Office Procedures in regionals, qualified for states in February of 2009
-Won 1st place in Parliamentary Procedures in regionals, qualified for states in February of 2009
- Won 1st place in Insurance Concepts in regionals, qualified for states in February of 2009
-Won 3rd place in Legal Office Procedures in regionals, qualified for states in February of 2009
6.) School wide Math Tutor
-in 9th grade, 11th grade, and 12th grade
-tutored students in Geometry, Pre-calculus, Calculus AB, and Calculus BC
7.) Ecology Club
-secretary 12th grade
8.) Mu Alpha Theta (Math Club)
-secretary 12th grade
9.) PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals)
-member and donor of money
-I have been a class 1 vegetarian during 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grade
10.) Youth Crime Watch
-secretary 11th grade, member 12th grade
11.) Ambassadors club
-member 11th and 12th grade
Projects
1.) Sent a basket of school supplies (one basket includes paper, rulers, pencils, color pencils, markers, notebooks, sharpeners, scissors, and a tape) following an international crisis to needy Iraqi children in 10th grade
2.) Participated and constructed pinwheels for Pinwheels for Tots Program to help give toys to needy children in 11th grade
3.) Won 3rd place in Plywood Reggata
-my team built a boat from given wood and caulk, raced it, and won 3rd place in regionals (against all other participating high schools) in the two day tournament in 10th grade</p>

<p>Would my low sat scores kill it for CAS? or do i have some sliver of hope. im really sad about my scores, i really did study and try...............</p>

2

<p>I don’t think it’ll kill, but it won’t help. You look pretty good otherwise, and looking at the other schools’ threads, SAT scores isn’t the determining factor. Make sure your essays are good. Best of luck!</p>

3

<p>Your chances aren’t shot, but they’re not great. Your ECs and high school record are impressive, so perhaps they will mitigate some of the damage of your SATs?</p>

4

<p>wow thanks guys, but i mean its just unheard of a 1930 sat get in pen CAS, i was really bummed, but thanks i have some hope</p>

5

<p>no your shots aren’t killed, i know people w/ sub 2000 and even a few sub 1900 SAT scores who got in, so you still have a shot especially considering the rest of your profile</p>

6

<p>omg thank you flareneo, i was considering not applying to save 70 bucks, even though i really love u penn. wow im so glad my chances arent killed. :)</p>

7

<p>I would definitely be impressed by your statistics, and I don’t think your SAT’s would kill your application, necessarily. But they probably can’t help you a whole lot; it certainly could be a liability, especially considering your status as an ORM (lol).</p>

<p>Just so you know, you can take the SAT one more time in January for RD… A first-time taker is frowned upon at Upenn, but a re-take in January is accepted normally, I think. There’s still a few more days to register, I believe.</p>

8

<p>potentially could hurt a lot…
strong rest of the application though…
i’d definitely retake bro…</p>

9

<p>Um, I don’t know exactly why everyone’s acting like the apocalypse is coming; people have gotten in with scores like that before.
[Penn</a> Admissions: Incoming Class Profile](<a href=“http://www.admissionsug.upenn.edu/profile/]Penn”>http://www.admissionsug.upenn.edu/profile/)
12% of CR scores with your range get accepted. It’s not like you have a -5% chance or something.</p>

10

<p>SATs cant get you in, but they can keep you out…</p>

11

<p>i disagree with kclee12… i’m pretty sure all my scores were below penn’s avg. they were in the mid 50% range though. but still, those bottom 25% sat scores have to come from somewhere… they value your HS record the most, so they’ll consider your rigor within your school and then how you succeeded in that. also my subject test scores were 670 and 730… way lower than yours and i still got in</p>

12

<p>If you’re from Jersey I’d say you’re done. Too many Indians from there anyway at Penn. Your SAT scores are at the low end though. Either way, there are too many Indians here and Penn needs to work on that. </p>

<p>While someone has to make up the bottom 25% of SAT scores, keep in mind, who that could be. You have recruited athletes, legacies, people whose parents donate a ton of money, and those with lopsided SAT scores (800 in two sections and a 600 in the third). Unless you have some sort of circumstance that can somewhat explain a “low” SAT score (learning disability, low family income so no opportunity for SAT prep, need for a job during school to support family so no time to study for SAT, etc.) I’d be a little worried. Apply and see what happens, but have a realistic view and know it’s an uphill battle to get into Penn.</p>

13

<p>I think it’s a big stretch. If your scores are at the low end, you need something very strong to counterbalance it, and good grades are probably not sufficient. You need to have a good list, with more reasonable matches and safeties. Admission to Penn isn’t impossible for you, and it isn’t absurd for you to apply, but it needs to be part of a broader strategy.</p>

14

<p>Sorry to hear about your problem with standardized tests. You did seem to do very well on your SAT subject tests, however, so it is puzzling. </p>

<p>Did you only take the general SATs once? With your resume, I would have thought you would have taken them starting last year, and re-take this fall if needed. Is that your highest score? Did you take the ACT? </p>

<p>‘Why Penn’ would be an important part of your application, I would think. It’s so hard to predict things, and there is alot more to an application than the SAT scores. </p>

<p>Best of luck!</p>

<p>[ps: PETA? Admire your convictions, but not sure that’s a huge hook… ;]</p>

15

<p>sorry to be a downer
but i really don’t think you have much of a shot…
…maybe even none sry</p>

16

<p>Look at other schools.
Look for scholarships at ‘lesser-known’ institutions instead of overshooting with the highly-ranked schools.
I wouldn’t include even a fraction of your EC list from above; you seem to have done too much just for show, and unless you’re genuinely a nice person…iono…the top colleges are looking for applicants with focused areas of passion</p>