<p>im a junior in high school who is pretty much star struck by the entire college app process. thus far i think that i have ivy league credentials </p>
<p>NPA 100
Courses: AP calc BC/ AP Span/ H Civics and Econ/ H Chem/ AP Eng 11 (the max aps that kids in my school can take junior year is 3)
ECs: School Newspaper (10- Editor in Chief), Marching Band (9- Section Leader), Comedy Sketch Group (10- assistant chief writer) Youth Group (9- Vice President), lots of volunteering
SAT: Spanish W/ Listening 730, PSAT 205 (plan on taking ACT, SAT, SAT II MATH II, Chem, Lit)</p>
<p>and i have my heart set on attending an ivy leaguer</p>
<p>so far, upenn is one of my top choices. i am a quadruple legacy (mom, dad, grandpas on both sides {one of which was international from panama}), am hispanic, have visited the campus several times, and have made friends/ contacts with several of the professors there. many people at upenn have told me that i have an extremely high chance of getting in. </p>
<p>as much as i should be loving this school right now, every time i visit i feel very insignificant. the student body seems awfully snobby and nobody (aside from the professors) seems to care at all about me. I do not feel connected at all to the students I meet (aside from the Kellys writers house, which i LOVE) and am afraid that is i attend there i will be just another upenn kid.</p>
<p>id call myself a hippie, and the urban environment is also somewhat daunting to me. i really would love somewhere with wide open spaces, but really do not want to be in the middle of nowhere</p>
<p>im into environmental studies and i know upenn has an awesome program. but is upenn right for me? will i fit in? thanks a bundle!</p>
<p>As a junior in high school, it is far too early for you to be thinking about the process.
You should not have your heart set on attending a school just because of its reputation and prestige. That is a shallow and pointless intention.</p>
<p>As a Hispanic with a strong legacy, you're practically guaranteed admission.
You have a nice courseload and decent ECs as well.</p>
<p>Whether or not Penn is the "right" school for you depends on what matters most to you.</p>
<p>I'm sure you know that the "Ivy League" is an athletic conference.
Consider some liberal arts colleges.</p>
<p>It sounds like you have good chances of getting into Penn, but I'm not sure that you'd like it. </p>
<p>I really don't think the student body is snobby, at least towards each other. But you have to consider that pretty much everyone is extremely smart, talented, etc..we know we go to one of the best schools in the country and we're proud of it. There are definitely a lot of snide remarks made about Drexel, state schools, etc. Ok, but I'm getting off topic. To get a true feel for the student body, you should make an overnight visit. You can't really feel like part of the school if you're in a tour group.</p>
<p>Additionally, there aren't too many hippies at Penn. It's a very..pre-professional environment. The student body is pretty liberal, but not in the tree-hugging, let's save the world kind of way. If that's what you're looking for, don't come here. Most Penn students care more about having fun and being successful than random political causes.</p>
<p>Though given the hippie students' probable success at affecting real change with random political causes, rational choice theory dictates that the Penn student body is ahead of the curve on that one ;)</p>
<p>Also, how can you expect to "fit in" when you are a junior in high school?</p>
<p>i completely agree with what you all are saying
and i realize that its early to start all this, but im kinda faced with the reality that college admission isnt the same as it used to be. ive always been the person that wants to get things started as early as possible (not to mention, college profs and such like the motivation) and im just setting the bar high.</p>
<p>the more i think of it, the more i realize that hippie isnt the right word. "very liberal" would describe it better, but not like 'im going to go picket in the streets and burn stuff' very liberal. im very eco-conscience and into human rights and all.</p>
<p>but is my political mindset at all important? does that matter at upenn? what <em>is</em> the normal upenn student like?</p>
<p>Have you considered Cornell? If you can, go visit. It's in a nice sized college town setting, but not urban, has many outdoor activities in the area, has lots of liberal, environmentally aware students, and lots of open green space. Good luck!</p>
<p>Penn is extremely pre-professional and.. capitalist?</p>
<p>A lot of future bankers in the making.</p>
<p>I would apply to Penn--but not ED. Try visiting some others schools; talk to the professors and students. You might find one that fits you better than Penn.</p>
<p>What state/city are you applying from? That kinda influences how much being Hispanic really helps you.</p>
<p>No offense intended, but I don't get who you think is supposed to care about you. And what exactly "care" means. Like make you soup and blow your nose? That won't happen, but everyone's nice. Some people are snobby, yes, but you'll get that at any good school. If you want people who aren't proud, go to a school you wouldn't be proud to go to.</p>
<p>Perhaps you feel insignificant because Penn's much bigger than its many of its peers, or because of its pre-professional atmosphere. If it helps any, that just means that any particular niche is bigger than it would be at smaller schools. Plus it's completely different when you're actually a student here. When you're visiting you feel like everyone is just another Penn student but once you're integrated into the student body you see people as individuals and your peers. That sometimes happens when I walk around campus for half an hour and don't see anyone I know. Then I get back to my dorm and it's a completely different world, or I go to a group meeting and I know everyone's name and hometown and three embarrassing stories. It's just... different.</p>
<p>Just wondering, what do you like about Penn's environmental studies major? Because I was looking into it at first but I kind of hate it. Just curious.</p>
<p>P.S. Would you honestly go to Dartmouth or Cornell over Stanford or Duke (which has a better environmental studies program in my opinion)? Why are you obsessed with going to an Ivy and not "just" any old top-10 institution?</p>
<p>Also, what's an NPA? And make sure you study hard for the SAT. A 2050 (SAT equiv) is no shoo-in.</p>
<p>To answer your question, it doesn't sound like Penn is "the" Ivy for you, although you could find a place here. However, the legacy advantage is greatly diminished if you don't apply ED, so do some more research and try to make a decision well before November 1.</p>
<p>pretty sure you're in. product of four legacies, and an URM. if you even get deferred, call up your gramps and tell them to make a couple phone calls :) .</p>
<p>it's maybe the most pre-professional ivy. you will not hang out in a quaint town protesting stupid issues and eating granola, etc. you will live in the city, take some tough classes, and drink on the weekends. this appeals to me a lot maybe that reflects poorly on me lol</p>
<p>Why Brown: The overall culture is the least pre-professional of any Ivy. There are strong intellectual/ open minded undertones and the student body is laid back and perhaps slightly alternative. The local area is urban, yet it feels catered to young college students. Lots of coffee shops, late night pizza places, whatever. The campus can be beautiful at times. Academically its more undergrad focused than Penn. </p>
<p>Why Dartmouth: Dartmouth seems to be a perfect academic fit. Dartmouth runs a fantastic environmental studies program, with a Dartmouth led environment study abroad in Africa. Add in the opportunity to do a Dartmouth presidential scholarship, the numerous grants available for enviro thesis research (I was anthro and got $10K to do research on a pacific island), and the LACy tightknit feel (you'll get invited for dinner to professor's homes) and its hard to beat Dartmouth's academic feel. Socially there is a big alternative "hippy" scene, particularly in Vermont. Lots of bonfires, parties on the river, etc. There is even a Dartmouth organic farm, a coed social house (Tabard), Foley house, etc. The open spaces really make a difference, and with 4500 brilliant students in the middle of one of the most beautiful parts of the country its hard to get bored.</p>