My Little Sister is Applying to Schools!!!

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Okay, so I can't act like the way older sibling whose shocked to see the little sister grow up, (she's only a year younger grade wise, but she is almost 3 years younger in reality), but it's still weird that she's applying to schools. She skipped a year in middle school and even before that she was young for her grade so I feel like she is so little. She just turned 16 last month. </p>

<p>Well, she has fallen in love with UPenn and I'm curious what her chances might be. I somehow managed my way in last year, but I think I got lucky. Here are her "stats":</p>

<p>GPA: 3.84 unweighted</p>

<p>Freshman Year:
Honors English- A
Honors History- A+
Honors Biology- A
Honors Physics- A+
Honors Geometry- A-
French 1- A-
Health- A+
Computer Skills- A</p>

<p>Sophomore Year:
Honors English- A
Honors History- A+
Honors Chem- A
Honors Alg2- B+
French 2- A+
French 3-A
Art- A
Intro to Econ- A+</p>

<p>Junior Year:
AP English- A
AP History- A-
AP Biology- B
French 4- B+
Honors PreCalc- B+
Advanced Art- A
Creative Writing- A+</p>

<p>Senior Schedule:
AP Lit
AP World History
AP Calc
AP Comparative Gov
AP Statistics
AP Psych
Religious Studies </p>

<p>AP Grades: 5 History, 5 English, 5 Bio
ACT- 32</p>

<p>She has pretty solid ECs, lots of leadership in the community and her school, lots of community service, great work experience, not so much in the way of clubs, NHS, sports etc. She is pretty well rounded</p>

<p>So, my parents keep telling her she will get in, (I think because I got in and they don't realize how difficult it is... they're like "hey child 1 got in, child 2 is just as good, why wouldn't she" I don't think they realize how much of a crapshoot it is and so I think she is feeling like she will get in.</p>

<p>What do you think her chances are? I think she needs to be brought back to reality, but I don't know how to tell her it is still a long shot since she seems so sure and since I already got in. I don't want her to think I'm saying "I'm better than you, so what if I got in, it doesn't mean you will". I think she'll take it hard.</p>

<p>Oh, She is applying EARLY DECISION and she is a LEGACY. Hopefully her chances are good! She is a great writer unlike myself. I think she will nail the essays.</p>

2

<p>If it’s ED, she’ll prob get in</p>

3

<p>Hopefully… I think she’d be crushed if she didn’t get in especially since I did and chose not to go, ha. Her GPA is lower than mine was though. I think she is ranked about 12 or 13 out of 280 or something, which is good, but I would assume it is a little low for Penn. She also got quite a few Bs/B+s. I think I had one B+ in highschool, but the rest were better… is it normal to get into schools like Penn with 3 B+s and one B?</p>

4

<p>IDK, it really depends on the rigor of the school</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/751965-claremonts-smith-others-will-chance-back-24hrs.html#post1062964230[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/751965-claremonts-smith-others-will-chance-back-24hrs.html#post1062964230&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

5

<p>I say she’s in. </p>

<p>Her GPA isn’t horrible (pretty solid, actually) and her ECs look pretty well rounded. ACT score is decent, although she might want to work on getting a suitable SAT as well (if she can). Showing versatility in standardized tests is a definitely a pro. I’m sure she could manage a 2200 with some practice.</p>

<p>The three major things going for her is that she is a legacy, her rigor of classes (this is a big factor at UPenn), and that she is going Early decision (33% acceptance!).</p>

6

<p>She’ll likely get in, but it’s definitely not for sure. I’ve heard UPenn doesn’t care too much about legacies.</p>

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<p>Thanks guys. I am actually very surprised that you all seem to think it is “likely” that she will get in. That is awesome. I was thinking more along the lines of “unlikely, but there’s a chance!” This is much better.</p>

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<p>oakley: please do not tell me that you were admitted ED and didn’t go…if so, she is out of luck…</p>

<p>to let you know though, legacy is only considered at UPenn for ED; if you were admitted RD then it was w/o the legacy bump; your sister applying ED will have that bump…no idea if UPenn will consider that you didn’t attend though (even if you didn’t break an ED contract)…</p>

9

<p>I applied RD and chose to go to Cornell, (which I applied to ED, was deferred, and then accepted). I hope that won’t hurt her.</p>

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<p>oh. It would definitely be better for her if you attended, but I think she still has a good shot (unless she’s applying to Wharton).</p>

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<p>She will not be applying to Wharton. She will be applying to the school of arts and sciences.</p>

<p>By the way, I made a mistake in the post. She does not have a 32 ACT. She was a 31… eek. BUT, she is planning on retaking at least once and has been achieving 32 and 33 composites on practice tests, so hopefully she will be able to bump that score up.</p>

<p>Anyone else feel willing/able to give an honest assessment of her chances?</p>

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<p>anyone… ?</p>

13

<p>I think she has a very good chance, assuming she brings that ACT score up to around 33ish.
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/752133-i-will-officially-ban-use-word-chance-verb.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/752133-i-will-officially-ban-use-word-chance-verb.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

14

<p>she has a good shot, especially if she applies ED</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/752367-chance-me-engineering-colleges.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/752367-chance-me-engineering-colleges.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>ED legacy w/those stats… most likely in</p>

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<p>She’s not a legacy, a sib is a tip factor though and I see a lot of sibs getting in every year. The number of B’s junior year hurts. She has a shot but it’s a considerable reach. Also will need to be well within top 10% of class (they know even if no official rank).</p>

17

<p>Yes, she is a legacy. Our dad went there. She does not have a sibling who went there, so I don’t what you are talking about. I chose Cornell and I am her only college-aged sibling. </p>

<p>Yeah, I am worried about her junior year grades as well… hopefully she’ll get some great grades first semester senior year to help boost her a little. </p>

<p>She is well within the top ten percent of her class though. She is ranked somewhere in the 7th-10th range out of 200 students. So she is somewhere between the top 3.5-5% of students in her grade. She is at the top public school in our state (according to online rankings… I think the rankings were done by highest average state test scores at each school).</p>

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<p>See, with colleges like UPenn, you don’t know what to expect.</p>

<p>The fact that you got accepted and decided not to go might make them think that she would do the same - maybe. It depends on how well she writes her essays and how well she gets her interest in the school across to the people reading her essays.</p>

<p>She has good stats and I would tell her to consider taking the SATs.</p>

19

<p>She took the SATs and didn’t do as well so she’s not planning on taking them again. She just wants to focus on the ACT. Hopefully all goes well! I guess we won’t know until sometime in December. </p>

<p>Will me not going really hurt her? I would think it wouldn’t because she’ll be applying ED which will show interest and I did not apply ED.</p>

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<p>I don’t think you will affect her that much at all, especially since she’s applying ED. She needs a 33+ ACT, and even then there’s a certain amount of luck involved. But she still has better chances than many! What did she score on the SAT?</p>