How do we go about this?
Also, who else is interested?
We can even drop our writing resumes (vague summary)!
Past recruitees feel free to help out!
Send an email to Jamie-Lee Josselyn, who coordinates KWH recruiting:
@“45 Percenter” Thanks a lot, how do I phrase the letter? Do I attach a resume? I do not want to seem pretentious…
Just as an FYI to Kelly Writers House applicants - Jamie-Lee won’t be personally responding to emails until after August 13. I recently sent an email to her, and received an automated response which explained this. Good luck to everyone applying!
Any updates from future recruitees?
Hello! I sent her an email today introducing myself and such. Is everyone sending a resume? I’m afraid I haven’t done that much…
@yarnweaver, I haven’t either!
Hi everyone there! I had previously contacted Jamie-Lee about an interest in KWH, and she told me to feel free to submit some portfolio pieces before I applied. That was in July. I know the ED Deadline isn’t for another three months, but I didn’t want to forget about this opportunity. About two weeks ago, I submitted some pieces of mine, and Jamie-Lee said that she received the pieces and that they will be added to my file at Penn. Haven’t heard back since. I did not send a resume.
@hamiltondebater How many pieces did you send?
Four pieces. Three of them were like a page and half long. The other was one page long. I didn’t want to send too much or anything too lengthy.
@hamiltondebater did you do a mix of prose and poetry? (or essays, etc)
@Yarnweaver yea it was three essays from my school newspaper and a poem
@hamiltondebater okay thanks. I gotta buckle down and start writing new pieces ASAP lol
@Yarnweaver haha I wish you the best in your writing! it can be difficult sometimes
@hamiltondebater thank you! lol yeah I wish I wrote more over the summer 
I was “recruited” by the KWH last year when I applied ED to Wharton. I ended up being deferred and then rejected. Being “recruited” helps, but not by much. I am pretty sure the KWH supports hundreds of applicants every year. There are only a few, probably under 30, that are personally supported by Jamie-Lee or the director of the KWH. These applicants get a much larger boost on their application I believe.
I did an online book discussion with the KWH last summer. I participated a decent amount in that and I also filled out a KWH recruitment questionnaire.
@doorrealthe How did you find out that you were recruited? Did Jamie-Lee or the director of KWH send you an email? Like what was the process that you went through?
@hamiltondebater I had been in contact with the KWH since junior year I believe. Here is what I can remember about the KWH recruitment process:
I sent an email to Jamie-Lee introducing myself and asking whether I could come visit. She responded enthusiastically and said that I can stop by anytime. We set up a meeting time.
A few months later I visit the campus and stop by the KWH. Jamie-Lee and I had a very informal chat for around 30 minutes, talking about Penn in general, the KWH, and my interest in writing. I brought samples of work to show her (1 or 2 short stories, 1 or 2 articles I published, and maybe a poem). I gave her my writing so she could put in my file or something like that.
I think I may have also sent her digital copies of my work which is definitely the better way to go because I am sure Jamie-Lee receives hundreds of emails and writing samples.
I kept in contact every few months with a random email.
The summer between junior year and senior year came along and I received an email telling me about a book discussion for prospective KWH “recruits.” I joined and it was maybe a month long online book discussion where we excepts of books written by Penn professors I think. Probably 10-100 other people participated, with maybe 40 or 50 being active. It was a great book group and we had a lot of insightful comments to say to one another about the reading.
Perhaps participation and quality of comments were analyzed by Jamie-Lee and any other moderator of the discussion. I’m sure it had some impact on our recruitment.
After the book group we were sent a questionnaire to fill out about ourselves and our interest in Penn, the KWH, and writing. I got an email saying “If you are receiving this message, you are on our list of prospective students for the University of Pennsylvania’s Class of 2021. As you know, we at the Kelly Writers House care a great deal about recruiting strong writers to the Penn community. I’m writing now to ask you to complete a brief survey which will help us understand your interest in Penn as it relates to our program.”
It was probably August or September by now so senior year was just starting. I didn’t hear anything from Jamie-Lee for a month or two so I emailed her. She said that she had made sure Admissions knows the KWH had been in touch and that the KWH feels “strongly about my candidacy.” I ended up being deferred and then ultimately rejected, but whatever lol. I think part of the reason why I wasn’t accepted was because I applied to Wharton, and even though Penn welcomes interdisciplinary students it didn’t make total sense for me to get recruited as a writer but apply to the business school.
Jamie-Lee does a fantastic job keeping the process informal, but at the same time it was also stressful because you know that being “recruited” helps your application. Hoping this helps!
@doorrealthe thank you so much! This helps a ton!
Does anyone have international writing awards?