Now that ED decisions are out...

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
1

<p>So I didn't apply ED, but Penn is my first choice.</p>

<p>RD.
What do ya'll think? </p>

<p>AP/IB Taken/Will have taken (Class): AP World History, AP US History, AP English Literature, AP Stats
IB English HL, IB Economcs SL, IB Physics HL (yuck), IB French SL, IB Math Studies SL, IB Theory of Knowledge, IB History of the Americas HL
Full IB Diploma Candidate
Intend to major in Accounting, minor in French.</p>

<p>Asian Male from NY from a public magnet. A gold medal school according to USNews, one of the top 20 according to Newsweek.</p>

<p>GPA Roughly: UW: 3.88, W: 4.02 (school doesn't give UW but based on my calculation)
1 B, 1 B+, 12 A-'s, 7 A's, 3 A+'s.</p>

<p>Note: Though my W and UW are similar, my school decided to deflate GPA this year and last for reasons beyond me. I have taken the most challenging load available.</p>

<p>School doesn't rank, but roughly the second half of the top 10%.</p>

<p>SAT: Highest Single Sitting CR-680 M-750 W-760, 1430/2190
Superscore: CR-710 M-750 WR-760 1460/2220</p>

<p>SAT II's: 740 Math II, 650 USH, 600 French with Listening (non-native)
I don't know why my US History is so low, I was expecting an easy 700+. I got a 5 on the AP. oh well whatever</p>

<p>AP: Psych 5 (Self-Study), USH 5, Micro 3 (Technically self-study), English Lit 3, World History 3.
Senior Year: Plan on taking the exams for AP Stats, World (retake)</p>

<p>EC's Sports:
Varsity Soccer 3 yrs, Varsity Swimming 3 yrs (Scholar-Athlete), Varsity Track and Field 4 yrs (Captain 12)
EC Activities: NYS Math League 2 yrs (Captain 12), Guitar playing 5 yrs, Multi-Cultural Club 2 yrs.</p>

<p>Jobs: Did math tutoring in and out of school, taught English abroad in a formal setting.
Volunteer: 50 hours at an historic landmark, 90 hours abroad doing translation services for the olympics</p>

<p>Programs: Economics for Leaders
Leadership Development Institute</p>

<p>Awards: AP Scholar with Distinction
A College Book Award
Congressional Award Bronze/Silver Certificates
Various school awards
Wendy's Heisman School Winner</p>

<p>New York State Regents:
Earth Science Performance: 22 (out of 23, but on the transcript it just says 22 with no context...gulp)
Earth Science: 92
French Proficiency: 98
French Comprehensive: 99
Physics: 72 (does this mean I'm done for????)
Chemistry: 86
Math B: 88, 91 retake
Math A: 93
Global Hist: 93
US Hist: 98
English Comprehensive: 90</p>

<p>Essay: Common App is pretty good i think.
Supplements: I showed both to a professional writer who works at my school, she said they were incredible.</p>

<p>Recs: Counselor stated that in her 25 years of working she's seen few students as academically dedicated as I am.
The other two should be very good, in fact, one should be top notch.
So will I be heading to Penn in Fall 2010?
Thanks</p>

2

<p>Oh yeah, Wharton is the school I applied to.</p>

<p>Also I’m taking Math methods not math studies.</p>

3

<p>wharton 5%
Penn 30%</p>

<p>nothing really stands out unless you are being recruited</p>

4

<p>Penn - low reach</p>

5

<p>I don’t think you’ll get in RD. You should have applied ED.</p>

6

<p>well they’ll certainly be convinced u can take any course load after all that,
just that u should be able to somehow fit all of that in the common app.
i mean since they dont really ask proof of EC’s and other stuff except transcripts n all they expect the experience u gained thru EC’s to show on you essays.
im not sure y Rastafarian says nothing reaaly stands out,</p>

<p>Im an international applicant n i have no idea what NY regents (and many other terms like those) mean and I can’t take AP’s n stuff here anyways. </p>

<p>But I do think that if you are able to present your acheievements properly u’ll have a good chance. Y dont u apply to other Ivies or other good colleges outside Ivy.Even Rastafarian says 30% chance.Thats still good for an ivy…</p>

7

<p>unfortunately, though within the limits of possibility, upenn and wharton seem like reaches.</p>

8

<p>Hmmm… you have a chance. Definitely write your essays about the Economics for Leaders Program and how that influenced your decision to go into business. Good Luck! :)</p>

9

<p>New York regents are state-wide standardized tests. Generally very easy to get 90+.
How bad does the 72 look? I’m not going to blame it on the teacher it was completely my fault, but does it screw me over?</p>

10

<p>Do you have to report these scores? Could you possibly leave that one out?</p>

11

<p>Nope, those are on the transcript. :(</p>

12

<p>I think you still have a shot. It’s just a test, so maybe you were having a bad day. It would be a lot worse if it was your grade in that class for the whole year.</p>

13

<p>haha it wasn’t a bad day; I put no effort into learning Physics at all.
I managed to scrape by with a B, would’ve been B+ or A- but I just did soooo badly on the exam. XD</p>

14

<p>Wharton is a real reach, although you have a low chance with the mid tier Ivies, I would say: Penn CAS, Columbia, Brown, Dartmouth. Nothing guaranteed.</p>

15

<p>what about Cornell CAS^</p>

16

<p>Columbia, Brown, and Dartmouth are pretty difficult to get into. You might have a chance at Penn and Cornell though. They have the 2 highest admit rates of all the ivies.</p>

17

<p>Penn is as selective as Columbia/Brown/Dartmouth, and more selective than Cornell. Its admit rate seems high, but its SAT averages and class rank are significantly higher than Cornell’s and put it in Columbia/Brown/Dartmouth territory. Around 3 years ago it stagnated while the others grew their admit pools, but it remains firmly in that middle category.</p>

<p>US News rankings accurately depict this in terms of selectivity (Penn is top-5 or -10 depending on the year, Cornell is decidedly not).</p>

18

<p>Yes, but GPA and SAT doesn’t say anything about ECs. It’s the ECs that really get you in.</p>

19

<p>Note - as of ED, Penn’s apps are already up 6% compared to last year. The new admissions dean has begun a campaign to increase the applicant pool with tech-savvy marketing, and the next years should bring a marked increase in Penn’s already significant selectivity.</p>

20

<p>With Cornell I think you have a much better chance, your SATs are especially competitive. In some respects Cornell CAS is on equal footing with Columbia/Brown/Penn/Dartmouth, but its average SATs are lower and I think your scores make you almost a match with them.</p>