My Chances at Penn?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
1

<p>I’m looking to apply ED to penn (the college, not wharton).</p>

<p>Here are my stats:</p>

<p>=========================================
Academic GPA (10-12): 4.26 (Weighted) 3.52 (Non Weighted)
(9-12): 4.25 (Weighted) 3.53 (Non Weighted)</p>

<p>Scores:
PSAT: 237, national merit semifinalist presently, applying to be a finalist
SAT1: Math 800, Verbal 770, Writing 770, Total 2340
SAT2: US Hist 800, Math 2C 800, Biology Eco 800</p>

<p>5 AP tests all 5. Expecting to take 5 more in May 2006.</p>

<p>My school doesnt rank but i think im around top 10%-25%. So something around 15%-20% percentile based on GPA. I’ve actually gotten alot of B’s tho… take a look at my unweighted GPA.</p>

<p>However, my high school is a magnet tech school ranked #2 in the nation. Therefore, classes are substantially harder than in other schools.</p>

<p>Extracurricular:</p>

<p>Won 2 editors choice awards for poetry, poetry published in anthology.
President: Junior State of America (11th-12th Grade)
Vice President: French Club (11th-12th Grade)
Publicity Director: Speech and Debate Club (11th-12th Grade)
Public Relations Director: California Association of Student Councils (11th-12th Grade)</p>

<p>Summer Job: Warehouse Worker from July-August 2005… 40 hrs/week
Summer Internship: California Department of justice Attorney General’s Office June-July 2005… 40 hrs/week, Excellent Service Award (Internship isnt that outstanding tho cuz it’s mandatory at my school)</p>

<p>Volunteer at Summer Camp 150 hrs, July-August 2004, Service Appreciation Award
Volunteer at Hospital 42 Hrs, Jan-May 2005
Volunteer at Library 50 Hrs, Excellent Service Award</p>

<p>Piano Playing for 7 years, Certificate of Merit Level 6… from 1998-Present.</p>

<p>=======================================</p>

<p>I’d say i have slightly above average essays and teacher recs.</p>

<p>Do u think that if i ED… ill be :</p>

<p>a) likely to get in (70%+)
b) possibly getting in (50-70%)
c) tough getting in (30-50%)
d) long shot ( less than 30%)?</p>

2

<p>I'd say that you're a longshot under your definitions (even though I don't see how a 30% chance of admittance at a school that admits 20% is a "longshot")...your class rank is very weak for Penn.</p>

3

<p>hm... i thought so...</p>

<p>i think that class rank/GPA is the main thing killing me. I will be submitting poetry along w/ my app and will try to pursue a liberal arts direction.</p>

<p>and the reason i think <30% is a longshot is because the acceptance rate is 20% for ALL applicants and i'm pretty sure Penn has it's share of totally unqualified applications, which skews the acceptance rate downwards. These applications aside, i think the acceptance rate for "qualified applications" (applicants that actually have a decent chance) is much higher than 30%.</p>

<p>Ugh... any ideas on ways to compensate for GPA?</p>

4

<p>Also, where is the commitment to your ECs? I don't see any activity that you have pursued for more than two years...</p>

5

<p>yeah i didnt really get involved till junior year... bleh i cant do anything about that now though</p>

6

<p>i don't know if you are still checking your forums but i think you have a great chance...your rank should be offset by you gpa...unless its low for the classes you are taking...also jpps appears to be writing you off for one or two things when in actuality, for all the things that schools like penn take into consideration, that one thing probably will not screw you over...i'm not saying that jpps is full of it but you def. have better chances that a longshot</p>

7

<p>ONLY 10% OF penn has rank under 10%</p>

8

<p>I'm calling him a longshot under his definition of it...I would love for a 50% chance at the #4 school in the country to be a "tough chance".</p>

9

<p>jpps1 and dooit make a good point. Unless you went to a very tough/competitive high school where a lot of top seniors get admitted to top schools, the odds are against you (well, they're always against the applicant, but a little moreso in this situation). If you can figure out your exact rank (the difference between the top 25% and the top 10% is a huge one), then it could make all the difference (when making predictions, etc.)</p>

<p>By the way, here's a link showing the incoming freshman profile:
<a href="http://www.admissionsug.upenn.edu/applying/profile.php%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.admissionsug.upenn.edu/applying/profile.php&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

10

<p>A very typical Troy High Student profile.</p>

<p>Very high SAT, Low Class rank / GPA.</p>

<p>Troy is gaining respect, you might get lucky.</p>

11

<p>how about high rank (top 1%) / low sat (2100)</p>

<p>are those better chances?</p>

12

<p>Yes, it is...</p>

13

<p>wait so high rank and high school grades are more important than sats?</p>

14

<p>It doesn't sound right, doesn't it?</p>

15

<p>90% in top 10% of class is somewhat misleading. Nearly half of incoming students are from schools that don't rank and are NOT included in that statistic. That means that overall, far more than 10% of the class does not meet that top tenth criteria. Penn seems tougher than ever this year, but your testing is amazing, don't count yourself out, especially ED.</p>

16

<p>yes, but the college is obligated to acknowledge the rank if the school submits it to the college.</p>

17

<p>If you are from a school that doesn't rank, the school will not submit a ranking unless specifically requested by the college. I asked my GC and she said that out of the hundreds of applications sent out each year, only two get followup requests for rank, and Penn has never done so. If they know the reputation of your school, then it is to the college's advantage not to request rank. They get to recruit strong students without worrying about their own stats falling.</p>

18

<p>You'll make it to Penn. I heard Penn focuses mainly on the essay.</p>