Hi all,
I am currently an Asian male junior in high school who is considering whether or not it’s worth using my ED on UPenn, a highly selective school. I have a decent GPA (top 3% for my school), a strong SAT (1590), and 3 positions of leadership in various clubs at my school. I also have some non-prestigious internships and volunteering experiences (~100 hours volunteering). My only awards besides NMSQT have been at local competitions. I feel as though there is nothing standout about my application. Is using my ED on UPenn foolish as it’s highly unlikely that I get in, especially when other options like WashU exist with a much higher ED acceptance rate? (WashU ED acceptance rate is 38%, UPenn ED acceptance rate is 19.7%)
Well I personally think that applying ED to a place like WashU, a great school by the way, would be safer. I know dozens of students who wasted their ED by applying to highly selective schools and then getting rejected/deferred. Remeber a 20% acceptance rate is really slim especially since you’re competing with many qualified applicants with similar scores/grades. It also depends on your major though and which school you think will fit best for you. Your application does seem on the stronger side, but as an asian male myself, I can say that your chances are not that great. I always suggest to be safe than sorry, so WashU may be better for you. Hope this helped!
If Penn is your top choice I do think Wash U has EDII which you can use if you don’t get into Penn ED. Double check.
Yea that makes sense, and thanks for the help. I am interested in majoring in finance, and Penn is #1 for that, but like what you said the chances are quite slim, so it probably makes more sense to use my ED on a school that’s more attainable like WashU.