Official Penn Class of 2013 ED Results

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
121

<p>My gosh, these results are staggering... Cornell, Dartmouth, UPenn, and Stanford all had really scary ED results this year. But congrats to those who made it! You are now members of the Ivy League!</p>

<p>This is just based on simple observation, but slightly low GPA + high SAT = rejection? CAS really seemed to hate high scores this time around... This will be a huge problem for me for RD...</p>

<p>I really don't see why colleges seem to be hating standardized tests lately... I mean, I know their worth undercut by there being a huge amount of expensive prep classes and books out there, so some can actually "buy" their scores to some degree, but what about the thousands of us who barely studied, and took it like an actual aptitude test? It may not be the ideal scale, but I think the notion that the GPA is less subjective is a dumb argument. I mean no offense to those who have 4.0's, I just would like to know why SAT's are suddenly so much less important than in years past.</p>

122

<p>I agree, FireAdept; the seeming unimportance of SAT scores, especially ones so high, is bizarre. I don't really understand it.</p>

123

<p>For future reference, I summarized all the testing data for Penn ED acceptances who replied on this thread.</p>

<p>SAT Scores (25th - 75th Percentile)
Verbal: 690-750
Math: 720-780
Writing: 710-780</p>

<p>SAT Means:
Verbal: ~720
Math: ~750
Writing: ~740</p>

<p>ACT Composite (25th - 75th Percentile): 32-34</p>

<p>ACT Mean: ~33</p>

124

<p>Decision: Deferred</p>

<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>] School applied to: CAS
[</em>] SAT Verbal: 750
[<em>] SAT Math: 780
[</em>] SAT Writing: 760
[<em>] SAT Total: 2290
[</em>] SAT II: 800 Math 1, 760 Math 2, 700 Lit, 800 French, 650 World History
[<em>] ACT: n/a
[</em>] AP/IB taken/scores: expected grade in IB: 37/ 42 (plus/minus) 3. I never know the expected grade for each of the subject, but i guess it's 6 Math HL, 7 Economics HL, 6 English A1 SL, 6 Chemistry HL, 7 Mandarin B HL, 5 History SL<br>
[<em>] GPA weighted: my counselor calculated them but I never saw them
[</em>] GPA unweighted: same as above
[li] Rank or % estimate: did not offered a ranking</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[<em>] Essays: CommApp essay was a good one in my opinion, Supplement 1 was fine, I love my Supplement 2
[</em>] Optional Essay?(Y/N):
[<em>] Teacher Recs: one is solid, the other was generic
[</em>] Counselor Rec: good i assume
[<em>] Supplemental Rec(s)?: one for my Art Supplement from my Violin teachter back in Britain
[</em>] Hook (if any): N
[li] Interview?: N</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Location/Person:[ul]
[<em>] State or Country: Thailand
[</em>] School Type: Private, Int'l
[<em>] Ethnicity: Half British, Half Thai
[</em>] Gender: Male
[<em>] Financial Aid?(Y/N): N
[</em>] Legacy Yes/No: N
[<em>] Recruited Yes/No: N
[</em>] Important ECs: Violin for 13 years (played in a symphony back home for 3 years), Piano for 7 years, Electric guitar for 2 years (self-taught), involved in some school projects on orphan villages.
[/ul]</p>

<p>Other Factors (weaknesses, strengths, etc.): Strength: fluent in 3 languages (English, Thai, French) with another one at immediate level (Mandarin). Weakness is probably my expected grade (damn history). <em>sigh</em></p>

<p>General Comments/Congratulations/etc:</p>

<p>I am still waiting for my EA letters from 4 other schools. And somewhere during the 20th of Dec, I will send out 3 RD applications. </p>

<p>I am still hoping for Penn through since it has been my favorite school since the time I went to my cousin's graduation day (from SEAS). </p>

<p>Congrat to those who get accepted, best wishes for those who are deferred (like me) and good luck to those who are denied, it's their lost, not yours.</p>

<p>I still don't understand how those with perfect or near perfect SAT result, high GPA and a huge list of activities (to prove that they are not all book-ish) are rejected....</p>

<hr>

<p>To FireAdept: I don't get what they have against high SAT or GPA. I mean I never study for my SAT and took it only once (I took 2 SAT II to take 5 subjects). I agree that they may feel uneasy about those with high SAT, thinking that we all study like mad for those tests but... there are always those who do not. :-<</p>

<p>Life is so unfair...</p>

125

<p>Decision: Deferred</p>

<p>Stats:</p>

<pre><code>* School applied to: Wharton
* SAT Verbal: 710
* SAT Math: 750
* SAT Writing: 730
* SAT Total: 2190
* SAT II: 800 Math 2, 800 phys, 790 chinese with listening
* ACT: composite:34 (31 writing [11 essay] / 34 reading / 35 sci / 36 math)
* AP/IB taken/scores: predicted IB - 39/42 (math eco engA1 HL chem phys chinese B SL)
* GPA weighted: school doesn't calculate
* GPA unweighted: "
* Rank or % estimate: school doesn't report rank
</code></pre>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<pre><code>* Essays: common app one was maybe a lil generic (hospitalized and how it changed my life). supplement one sounded pretty compelling but again generic.
* Optional Essay?(Y/N): Y (talked about ambitions to own a panda.. maybe generic too lol)
* Teacher Recs: got 3 sent in accidentally, eng and eco teacher ones shud be tight. principal one probably just good BS
* Counselor Rec: i was told it was excellent
* Supplemental Rec(s)?: nope
* Hook (if any): N
* Interview?: N
</code></pre>

<p>Location/Person:</p>

<pre><code>* State or Country: New Zealand
* School Type: Private international
* Ethnicity: CHINESE
* Gender: Male
* Financial Aid?(Y/N): N
* Legacy Yes/No: N
* Recruited Yes/No: N
* Important ECs: strong commitment to piano (though lack of tangible evidence). not much else though =S
</code></pre>

<p>Other Factors (weaknesses, strengths, etc.): Strength: hopefully my personality/sincerity in comparison to the rest of my school though i doubt it came across in the app. Weakness: a lot of perceived strengths and strong lack of ECs</p>

<p>General Comments/Congratulations/etc:</p>

<p>Kinda glad now seeing the other applicants that i was deferred. Too ambitious i guess =p but someone from my skul applied wharton huntsman ED and got in. My skuls pretty small as well (~450) so maybe there's some direct competition problems there.</p>

<p>Congratulations to him though and all the others - well deserved!!</p>

126

<p>Oh, and I wanted to congratulate everyone that got in!</p>

<p>I'll admit, I'm kind of ****ed that I got deferred (though I can guess why, with the grades), but I'm also actually really relieved...the past week or two, I've been wondering if I really want to spend half my undergrad taking stats and finance and accounting classes...and considering Wharton was the only reason I was considering actual business school (whereas any other college, just liberal arts), well, I kind of wish I hade made my backup to Huntsman CAS. Of course, I met yet end up going, if I get in (all you obsessed people on CC have made me fall more in love with Penn than I was in the first place).</p>

<p>So yeah, kind of upset, but honestly, quite relieved. And at least my other applications are mostly done, thank god. And once more congrats--even if I got deferred, it's kind of gratifying to see all of you who were really worrying actually get accepted (I'm looking at you, soysauce and nj<em>azn</em>premed)</p>

127

<p>I'm sorry but the whole idea that the SAT shouldn't be weighed that heavily and that people can buy it is ridiculous. I took it my first time with no prep and got a 2150. I picked up 2 books to do some practice on and got a 2350 in one sitting. How is this any different than studying for a test in school to get a good GPA? Are people buying their grades if they get a tutor for a subject their struggling in?</p>

<p>Add to this that grades in school are far more subjective than standardized tests. A teacher in one class could give a 90 for the same amount of effort a teacher in another could give a 98. This is why standardized tests were created in the first place.</p>

128

<p>i'm dubious of the idea that a high score hurts you. a high score boosts your academic index and therefore helps you get in. if you look at the wharton/huntsman/M&T acceptances there were some very high scores. basically high scores help but don't guarantee admission. applying with a 2350 and a crap/cliche essay is JUST as bad as applying with a 2050 and a clever/creative essay, but most people can't wrap their heads around this idea.</p>

129

<p>Yes because someone who worked for high grades and high standardized tests would not have peer and teacher review for his essays to make sure they are interesting and well written.</p>

130

<p>^ it's not just about technically correct writing. it's about conveying some of the qualities that the adcom is looking for</p>

131

<p>I hate college admissions.</p>

132

<p>Decision:Accepted</p>

<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>] School applied to:Wharton
[</em>] SAT II: 720 USH
[<em>] ACT: 32
[</em>] AP/IB taken/scores: 5 USH, 5 Environmental sci.
[<em>] GPA weighted: 4.056
[</em>] GPA unweighted: 4.0
[li] Rank or % estimate:2/500</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[<em>] Essays: Great
[</em>] Optional Essay?(Y/N): N
[<em>] Teacher Recs: 1 was amazing from AP USH teacher, other was above average
[</em>] Counselor Rec: Average
[<em>] Supplemental Rec(s)?: None
[</em>] Hook (if any): Never have received any grade besides "A" (very hard at my school)
[li] Interview?: Nope </p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Location/Person:[ul]
[<em>] State or Country: Michigan
[</em>] School Type: Large Public
[<em>] Ethnicity: White
[</em>] Gender: Male
[<em>] Financial Aid?(Y/N): Y
[</em>] Legacy Yes/No: I wish
[<em>] Recruited Yes/No: Yes
[</em>] Important ECs: Varsity football, Varsity Track (captain for both)</p>

<p>[/ul]Other Factors (weaknesses, strengths, etc.):No paid work experience </p>

<p>General Comments/Congratulations/etc:WHARTON CLASS OF 2013</p>

133

<p>The whole SAT thing is not true; high scores definitely help and it won't hurt you at all. However, there are so much more than SAT's.</p>

<p>Two of my friends got into CAS with a 2350 SAT score, 3.97 GPA and a lot of good EC's.
Two others got deferred from CAS with around 2320 SAT's, 3.69 GPA and some EC's. They even admitted that their essays were kind of generic. </p>

<p>Of course this doesn't mean much except that it's crazy to think schools defer you for high SAT scores. Many people with high SAT's get in; it's just that a lot of other subjective factors come into play as well.</p>

134

<p>Decision: Accepted (WHARTON! YAH!)</p>

<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>] School applied to: Wharton
[</em>] SAT Verbal: 730
[<em>] SAT Math: 800
[</em>] SAT Writing: 720
[<em>] SAT Total: 2250
[</em>] SAT II: Math IIC - 800, Physics - 800, World History - 780
[<em>] ACT: -
[</em>] AP/IB taken/scores: World History-5, CompSci A-5, CompSci AB-5, English Lit-5, Art History-4, Stats-5
[<em>] GPA weighted: (weird 6 point system) 5.1
[</em>] GPA unweighted: 4.9
[li] Rank or % estimate: 5/648</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[<em>] Essays: Mediocre; not exceptional in any way. Just kinda told it the way I was.
[</em>] Optional Essay?(Y/N): Yes
[<em>] Teacher Recs: Probably the best part of my app. Both my teachers said they submitted the best recommendations they have ever done.
[</em>] Counselor Rec: I don't know; didn't really know her
[<em>] Hook (if any): Swimming (recruit)
[</em>] Interview?: Yes</p>

<p>[/ul]Location/Person:[list]
[<em>] State or Country: Texas
[</em>] School Type: Large Public 5A school
[<em>] Ethnicity: White
[</em>] Gender: Male
[<em>] Financial Aid?(Y/N): Hopefully
[</em>] Legacy Yes/No: Yes
[<em>] Recruited Yes/No: Yes (swimming)
[</em>] Important ECs: ^ that one</p>

<p>General Comments/Congratulations/etc:</p>

<p>Congrats to everyone who got in. I'm so excited for next year!</p>

135

<p>^ legacy+recruited? you're sick, dude.</p>

136

<p>" just don't get it. </p>

<p>High SAT scores are the worst reason I can think of to reject someone that doesn't cross over into racial discriminatory territory. </p>

<p>It seems like people with lower scores get in, but still, this is absurd.</p>

<p>Maybe they're just letting HYP take us?"</p>

<p>Penn doesn't really care about having only students with really high SAT's.. sorry dude.</p>

137

<p>this is a little out of the box, but perhaps they want to lower the accepted test scores one year so that the school would look more "reachable" and therefore get more applications and appear more selective.</p>

138

<p>Decision: Deferred</p>

<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>] School applied to: CAS
[</em>] SAT Verbal: 690
[<em>] SAT Math: 780
[</em>] SAT Writing: 730
[<em>] SAT Total: 2200
[</em>] SAT II: US History-800
[<em>] ACT: 31 (35 E, 35 M, 30 R, 27 S; second time reading and science scores flipped)
[</em>] AP/IB taken/scores: AP Euro-3, APUSH-5, IB Math, IB Bio HL, IB English HL, AP Calc AB/BC
[<em>] GPA weighted: ?
[</em>] GPA unweighted: ~3.96
[li] Rank or % estimate: 6/288</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[<em>] Essays: amazing
[</em>] Optional Essay?(Y/N): yes
[<em>] Teacher Recs: both really fantastic
[</em>] Counselor Rec: ok, kind of generic though
[<em>] Supplemental Rec(s)?: one from volunteer leader of mine, really good
[</em>] Hook (if any): from the south
[li] Interview?: no</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Location/Person:[ list]
[<em>] State or Country: nc
[</em>] School Type: public
[<em>] Ethnicity: white
[</em>] Gender: female
[<em>] Financial Aid?(Y/N): Y
[</em>] Legacy Yes/No: N
[<em>] Recruited Yes/No: N
[</em>] Important ECs: not going to say for anonymity, but all very good and unique</p>

<p>[/list]Other Factors (weaknesses, strengths, etc.): bio/biochem major but didn't have ap chem/ap physics bc my school is whack, 92 in IB math because my teacher went schizo the second semester :(</p>

<p>General Comments/Congratulations/etc: at least it was worth a shot. my gc said i was basically a shoo in, but oh well. 10%ish chance i'll get in haha. congrats to everyone who got in!</p>

139

<p>"this is a little out of the box, but perhaps they want to lower the accepted test scores one year so that the school would look more "reachable" and therefore get more applications and appear more selective."</p>

<p>That doesn't make sense. They already get a lot of applications and the ones who apply and think it isn't selective well... you've seen what happens to them.</p>

140

<p>i guess lol; it was just a thought.</p>