****OFFICIAL***** Penn Class of 2018 RD Results ONLY Thread

[thecooltrain]

<p>Decision: Rejected - Wharton</p>

<p>Objective:</p>

<p>SAT I superscore (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): 2330 (800/800/730/8)
ACT (breakdown): n/a
SAT II (subject, score): Bio-M (800), Math I (760), Math II (800), Chinese (800), US History (740)
Unweighted/Weighted GPA: 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/200ish
AP/IB (place score in parentheses): Calculus AB (5), World History (5), Bio (4), APUSH (5)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Chem, AP Lit, AP Macro, AP Gov, German IV, Honors Physics (no AP offered)
Number of other ED applicants in your school: um no idea
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): lol
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.): AP Scholar with Honor, Honor roll, National Merit semi at the time</p>

<p>Subjective:
Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description): a bunch of various orchestras, choruses, German Club, Spirit Club (treasurer), NHS
Job/Work Experience: none
Volunteer/Community Service: Cameraperson at local TV station
Summer Experience: NSLI-Y abroad in Korea, taught English to Chinese students in Shanghai, volunteered at Shanghai Charity Foundation doing various things
Teacher Recommendation #1: meh
Teacher Recommendation #2: meh
Interview: It was okay</p>

<p>Writing (Subject, 1-10 rating, details):
Why Penn:
Any dual-degree program essays:
CommonApp Essay: </p>

<p>^I can’t really rate my own essays but I thought they were decent. </p>

<p>Other:
Date Submitted App: I applied ED, got deferred Huntsman
U.S. State/Territory or Country: PA
School Type: small public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: F
Income Bracket Range:
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athelete, development): none</p>

<p>Reflection
Strengths: test scores, gpa, rank…the boring stuff that everyone who applies has
Weaknesses: recs, ECs, no hooks
Were else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted- NYU
Waitlisted-Johns Hopkins, UChicago
Rejected-Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Stanford, Columbia <—lol D-Day was pretty awful for me</p>

<p>What would you have done differently?: Gone to different teachers for my recs</p>

<p>Final Comments: As Penn was my first choice, I was disappointed when I got my rejection, but the college experience itself is something I look forward to. I also should’ve applied to more “second-tier” schools, but I didn’t really fall in love with any back when I was choosing which schools to apply to. I did, however, really like NYU, so I am really happy that I got accepted there! :D</p>

[Nihilus]

<p>[color=red]Decision: Rejected - Wharton (Jerome Fisher M&T)[/color=red]</p>

<p>Objective:

[ul]
[<em>]SAT I (breakdown): 2400
[</em>]ACT (breakdown): 36 (36E 36M 35R 36S)
[<em>]SAT II (place score in parentheses): 800 Math II, 800 Chem, 790 Physics
[</em>]Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.90
[<em>]Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): n/a
[</em>]AP (place score in parentheses): 5s: Calc BC, Chem, Psychology, APUS, Micro,
4: Macro
[<em>]IB (place score in parentheses):
[</em>]Senior Year Course Load: Multivariable Calc, AP Physics, AP Bio, AP English Lit, AP Spanish Lang, Politics Elective
[li]Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): NMF, Presidential Scholar Candidate[/li][/ul]</p>

<p>Subjective:

[ul]
[<em>]Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Huffington Post Teen blogger, Online political website (Editor-in-Chief, Quiz Bowl (Founder, President), Model Congress (Head Delegate), Science Olympiad, MUN
[</em>]Job/Work Experience: Academic Tutor
[<em>]Volunteer/Community Service: Library shelving
[</em>]Summer Activities: UPenn’s SAAST engineering camp, politics camp, cultural camp
[<em>]Essays: Good 8-9/10
[</em>]Teacher Recommendations: didn’t see
[<em>]Counselor Rec: didn’t see
[</em>]Additional Rec:
[li]Interview: good[/li][/ul]</p>

<p>Other

[ul]
[<em>]State (if domestic applicant): NJ
[</em>]Country (if international applicant):
[<em>]School Type: Public
[</em>]Ethnicity: South Asian
[<em>]Gender: Male
[</em>]Income Bracket: 150-200k
[li]Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None. (Wrote and published a book in 7th grade)[/li][/ul]</p>

<p>Reflection

[ul]
[<em>]Strengths: Scores, varied ECs, HuffPost/published author, scores
[</em>]Weaknesses: Competitive applicant pool
[<em>]Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: ^^^
[</em>]Where else you are applying or have already applied:
Accepted: UChicago (with likely), NYU Stern, Cornell, Carnegie Mellon SCS, UMich, UCLA, Rutgers, Georgia Tech
Rejected: MIT, Princeton, Harvard, Penn
Waitlisted: Yale, Columbia, Caltech, Dartmouth
[li]General Comments/Advice/Hindsight:[/li][/ul]</p>

[appplicant]

<p>Decision: Rejected (CAS)</p>

<p>Objective:[ul]</p>

<p>[li]SAT I (highest single sitting): 2180 (760M | 690R | 730W) [/li][li]SAT I (superscore): 2190 (770M | 690R | 730W)[/li][li]ACT (highest single sitting): 33 (34M | 34E | 33R | 32S)[/li][li]ACT (superscore): <taken once="">[/li][li]SAT II (subject, score):[/li]- Math II … 770 <submitted as="" a="" supplementary="" item="">

• US History … 750
• Bio E … 650 (taken freshman year)
  [li]GPA (out of 100):[/li]-Unweighted: 96.33
  -Weighted: 98.77
  [li]Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 5%[/li][li]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB):[/li]- AP US History … (5)
• AP English Language and Composition … (5)
• AP World History … (5)
  [li]Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): Adelphi Prize for Leadership Recipient[/li][li]Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.):[/li]-AP Scholar
  -NHS
  -German NHS
  -Business NHS
  -3rd place in Economics and Business Communications at FBLA District Competition <submitted as="" supplementary="" information="" to="" all="" rd="" schools="">
  [li]Senior Year Course Load:[/li]-AP Calculus BC
  -AP English Literature
  -AP Macroeconomics
  -AP Biology
  -AP Statistics
  -College German</submitted></submitted></taken></p>

<p>[/ul]Subjective:[ul]</p>

<p>[li]Extracurriculars:[/li]-FBLA …… President (for the last 2 years)
-Cancer Research Club … Co-President
-Club Baseball
[li]Job/Work Experience:[/li]-Intern at the Make-A-Wish Foundation
-Personal Tutor (For SAT and Math help)
-Personal Soccer Trainer
-“Beta Tester” coach for a soccer program that tracks progress online Paid
[li]Volunteer/Community Service:[/li]-Volunteer for community soccer program as an assistant coach
-Self-started a community-wide children’s book/dvd drive for a local hospital(collected 4,000 books and 400 DVDs). We had extras which were donated to an underprivileged library.
[li]Summer Experience:[/li]-Volunteered at a local fish hatchery
-Used my Adelphi Scholarship in order to take a National Economy Class and a Natural Science and Environmental Problems Class (I got a 4.0 in both)</p>

<p>[/ul]Writing (1-10 rating):[ul]</p>

<p>[li]Common App Essay: 9/10 I worked for weeks on it[/li][li]Writing Supplements: My top schools probably got my best essays to be totally honest. I tried to write about my fit but some of the essay prompts and word limits were too constricting to be able to do otherwise.[/li][li]Teacher Recs: 10/10 from my sophomore year English teacher and 8/10 from my junior year Physics teacher[/li][li]Counselor Rec: 9/10 I was in the counseling office probably at least once a week. He’s one of the nicest people in my school and I know it was probably great.[/li][li]Other Rec: 8/10 Letter from my Adelphi University env sci Professor. She approached me before the final exam and offered to write it so I assume it had to be good. </p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Other:[ul]</p>

<p>[li]U.S. State/Territory or Country: New York[/li][li]School Type: Competitive Public[/li][li]Ethnicity: White[/li][li]Gender: Male[/li][li]Income Bracket Range: Upper Middle Class (I applied for aid)[/li][li]Hooks: None</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Reflection:[list]</p>

<p>[li]Strengths: Relatively well-rounded, no true “crutch” (Other than maybe Bio and Critical Reading)[/li][li]Weaknesses: Nothing outstanding, totally unhooked[/li][li]Why you think you were accepted/deferred/denied: I wish I knew- maybe the fact that I had no national awards or school sports to speak of</p>[/li]
<p>General Comments:
I guess it just wasn’t for me. I visited the campus and could really see myself going there, but I guess not. I’ll be going to Boston College.</p>

[ckr529]

<p>Decision: Accepted - CAS
(Vagelos MLS Scholar)</p>

<p>Objective:
SAT I: 2200 (800 M/ 670 CR/ 730 W/ 10) One sitting. Did not submit
ACT (breakdown): 34 Comp (30 E/ 33 R/ 35 M/ 36 S)
SAT II (subject, score): 800 Math II, 800 Chem
Unweighted/Weighted GPA: 4.0 Unweighted
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 3/90
AP/IB (place score in parentheses): Stats (5) , Calc AB (5), Calc BC (5), Physics B (5), Chemistry (5), US History (5), English Lit. (4), Spanish Lang. (4), Human Geo. (4), World History (4), Biology (4), Computer Science (3)
Senior Year Course Load: AP English Language, AP Spanish Literature, ATTAM (Applications of Topics and Theories in Advanced Mathematics), AP Government, AP Macroeconomics, Health/Speech, AP Physics C, AP Environmental Science, Superlab Tech.
Number of other ED applicants in your school: 0
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): None
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.): National AP Scholar, NAFPMS Award of Excellence, Einstein Award, various others</p>

<p>Subjective:
Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description): A lottttt. Varsity Swimming - Team Captain, Varsity Water Polo, Marathon Running, Cultural Integration Program Leader - Co-founder, Personal Band - Founder, YoungLife Youth Leader, NHS Treasurer, Science Team - Captain, couldn’t fit them all on CommonApp
Job/Work Experience: Worked at family restaurant for over 5 years, Head Lifeguard for 2 years, currently employed by both
Volunteer/Community Service: 200+ hours
Summer Experience: Internship working with homeless in Denver, CO; includes living with homeless
Teacher Recommendation #1: Solid. 8/10
Teacher Recommendation #2: Best possible rec. One of my strongest factors 10/10
Counselor Rec: Average. Slightly more than required. 6/10
Additional Info/Rec: Emphasis on Rec 2
Interview: Another one of my strongest factors. I was interviewed by an alumnus who graduated last year. His major was my chosen major. I persevered through food poisoning, despite vomiting several times through my interview. As he was a med student, he checked my vitals instead of freaking out. Overall, it went extremely well and he later called to congratulate me on my acceptance.</p>

<p>Writing (Subject, 1-10 rating, details):
Why Penn: 10, I’ve never written a better essay. Wrote about my passion for molecular life sciences while intertwining the equality inherent in molecular biology (e.g. you can’t tell a Muslim from a Christian under a microscope)
Any dual-degree program essays: None
CommonApp Essay: 9. Very heartfelt. Detailed a family lineage of cancer/ heart disease, and I elaborated into how that motivated me to study cellular/molecular biology
Number of reminder emails received: 9 total, 6 relevant, 2 pertaining to checking the online decision</p>

<p>Other:
Date Submitted App: 12/30
U.S. State/Territory or Country: Texas
School Type: Urban magnet school with focus on science and engineering
Ethnicity: White
Gender: M
Income Bracket Range: 90,000-100,000
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athelete, development): None</p>

<p>Reflection
Strengths: Rec Letters, ESSAYS, Strength of Curriculum, 20 Total AP courses, Interview
Weaknesses: Middle class white male? Just kidding. Ummm not a whole lot. Test scores weren’t amazing, but they were good enough. (2200/34)
Were else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
Accepted: UC Berkeley, UNC, UPenn.
Waitlisted: Dartmouth, Vanderbilt
Rejected: Uhhhh MIT, Stanford, Duke, Harvard. </p>

<p>What would you have done differently?: Visited the campus, started on my app earlier. If I would have had a better freshman year, I could’ve been valedictorian. 3/90 isn’t extremely impressive for an Ivy.</p>

<p>Other Factors: Nothing that I can think of</p>

[akashaka]

<p>Rejected</p>

<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>]SAT: didn’t send
[</em>]SAT II: 800 Math II, 800 Chemistry
[<em>]ACT: 34 (M: 36, S: 34, E: 33, R: 32, Essay: 8)
[</em>]GPA: 3.98 UW
[<em>]Rank: 12/325 UW, 29/325 W (transferred from another school which messed these up)
[</em>]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): APs: Calculus BC (5) (AB Subscore: 5), Chemistry (5), Psychology (5), English Language (5), Physics C Mechanics (5), Physics C E&M (5), Statistics (4), US History (4)
[/ul]Subjective[ul]
[<em>]Essays:

• Common App – About my brother and what he means to me
• Why Penn – Talked about why nanoscience department is perfect for me
  [</em>]Teacher Recs:
• Physics Teacher - AMAZING, she showed it to me and I couldn’t have asked for a better one - talked about my passion for helping other students
• Social Studies (Civics, Psychology and US Government) Teacher - Probably pretty good, she knew me and liked me
• Research Mentor – Probably very good, we’ve worked together for 2 years and it’s been great
• PGSS Director – Saw it, was pretty good
  [<em>]Counselor Rec: IDK, probably all right.
  [</em>]Interview: Awesome 10/10 would do again
  [<em>]Supplementary Material:
  Research Paper
  Summary of what kind of research I do
  A novella related to my experiences in India
  [</em>]Hook (recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize):
  [/ul]Personal[ul]
  [<em>]Location: PA
  [</em>]High School Type: Large public
  [<em>]Ethnicity: 1/2 White, 1/2 Indian (Asian)
  [</em>]Gender: XY
  [/ul]Other[ul]
  [<em>]Extracurriculars: FIRST Robotics Team Captain, Science Bowl Co-captain, Improv Club, Varsity Frisbee, Science Olympiad, Volunteering as teaching assistant at museum summer camps, debate, piano
  [</em>]Awards: National AP Scholar, National Merit Semifinalist, Accepted to Pennsylvania Governor’s School for Sciences, Science Olympiad Regional Champion, RIT Computing Medal
  [li]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?: LOLOL rejected Penn accepted Princeton. Cool.[/li][/ul]</p>

[frenchwords1]

<p>Decision: Accepted-Wharton</p>

<p>SAT I (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): (800/790/700)
ACT (breakdown): 35 on everything except writing (31) and math (36)
SAT II (subject, score): Chinese (800), Math II (800)
Unweighted/Weighted GPA: 3.97 unweighted
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/172
AP/IB (place score in parentheses): Took 9, got all 5s.
Senior Year Course Load: Calc II, Intro to Statistics, and Chinese at a university, AP Physics, AP Euro, and Journalism at the high school.
Number of other ED applicants in your school: 0
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): National Merit Semi-finalist
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.): National AP Scholar, state “Student of Integrity” award. Little school awards here and there, nothing big. </p>

<p>Subjective:
Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description): Student council president (12th), Senior class president, Junior class president, Editor-in-Chief of school paper (11-12), Varsity captain of tennis team (11-12), French Club president (11-12), Volunteer at local camp (12).
Job/Work Experience: Did a summer research internship with the local university shadowing med students (aka I killed mice). Currently intern at university’s fashion magazine.
Volunteer/Community Service: Taught at a local Chinese school.
Summer Experience: Went to China my sophomore year! Went to a state camp for girls’ leadership-- won a state election there.
Teacher Recommendation #1: Great teacher, but generic.
Teacher Recommendation #2: Didn’t get to read it。
Counselor Rec: Very genuine.
Additional Info/Rec:
Interview: Didn’t get one. </p>

<p>Writing (Subject, 1-10 rating, details):
Why Penn: 8? It was an open-ended question, so I talked about growing up in a poorer part of the country-- how kids here hear a lot of "no"s growing up, and how Wharton could change those to "yes"s for kids like me. Mentioned international interests, and how Wharton truly is the best of both worlds: learning and doing good. </p>

<p>Any dual-degree program essays: Applied for Huntsman RD, didn’t get it.
CommonApp Essay: It was pretty bad. Written two weeks before the deadline, in a fit of desperation. Maybe some would find it creative, or at least amusing. It was about my first music festival experience: feeling way out of my comfort zone, (you know what music festivals tend to entail, plus my tent got soaked), but learning to embrace the pouring rain as I (probably) really awkwardly rocked out to music with my friends in knee-deep mud. Yeah. Hippie. I know.
Number of reminder emails received: None. </p>

<p>Other:
Date Submitted App: 12/07
U.S. State/Territory or Country: OH
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket Range: somewhere in the middle
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athlete, development): being from a relatively disadvantaged school/area</p>

<p>Reflection
Strengths: Languages? I’m not entirely sure. I think I just made the best out of what I was given. Sought out weird opportunities (like killing mice in the lab over the summer-- fun! Or interning at the fashion mag.)
Weaknesses: I don’t know if my Common App essay was too … honest/progressive. As much as colleges want to hear about unconventional topics, I’m not sure a music festival (and its suggestive nature) was the way to go.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
Accepted: Duke, University of Michigan
Wait listed: Harvard, Princeton
Rejected: Stanford, Yale
What would you have done differently?: I’m pretty happy with how everything turned out. Not surprised at all: my best essays were for Duke, Harvard, and Princeton, my worst for Yale and Stanford. Wharton is an incredible school, and it was/is my top choice. </p>

<p>To people applying next year: when they say “be yourself”, they really do mean it. Although my Common App topic was a little risqué, I would use it again. I probably sounded VERY foolish (I still cringe at parts)-- at one point I mentioned my fear of parking in tight spaces, how Diane Rehm’s voice has therapeutic properties to me, and a guy I liked in my science class–all in an essay about a music festival. (Now that it’s been typed out, I realize how ludicrous that must’ve been). But the point is, as much as I think it could’ve been written better, I don’t regret writing it. I think the CA essay is the hardest part for people, so hopefully this heartfelt diary entry ^ will help people loosen up </p>

<p>Bon chance et du courage, mes petits choux! </p>

[spuding102]

<p>Decision: Waitlisted</p>

<p>Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): M 710 CR 770 W 730, superscore: 2210
ACT (breakdown): 30 (didn’t submit)
SAT II (place score in parentheses): Math I (750) Chemistry (770)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 94
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 8/104
AP (place score in parentheses): AP US (5) AP Bio (4) AP World (4) AP Spanish (4)
IB (place score in parentheses):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc AB, AP Physics B, AP English, AP US Gov, AP Stats
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Hispanic Scholar, American Chemical Society Award for Outstanding Achievement in Chemistry, New York State Department of Education Scholarship (highest regent examination scores)
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Co-Captain of Varsity Hockey (4 years), Chess Team, Math Team, Soccer Team goalie, Robotics Team,
Job/Work Experience: Paid Tutor
Volunteer/Community Service: Volunteered Hospital
Summer Activities: 2 summers at Harvard taking General Chemistry (b+) and Organic Chemistry (B+)
Essays: Amazng – Spoke about my love for science and how I view the world in a quirky way.
Teacher Recommendations: Both amazing
Counselor Rec: I think it was good
Additional Rec: Recommendation from my Professor in Gen Chem who also is the head of the chem department at Harvard
Interview: Went pretty good
Other
State (if domestic applicant): NY
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 70,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):Urm, Organic Chemistry at Harvard, and Letter of rec from head of chem department at harvard
Reflection
Strengths: Strong focus in chemistry, very good essays and subject test scores
Weaknesses: Gpa and rank could have been higher (9th grade)
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: My essays, my letters of rec, and my summer classes (organic chem as a high schooler)
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted: Duke, Northwestern, Cornell, NYU (full tuition), Macaulay Honors College, Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education. Wait listed: Yale, Princeton, Amherst College, University of Pennsylvania, Johns Hopkins, University of Chicago, Washu, Rice, Vanderbilt. Rejected: Harvard (deferred EA), Dartmouth
General Comments: Apply to as many schools as possible. Each year, acceptance rates keep going down. As you can tell, had I only applied to 11 schools, there could have been a chance of getting in nowhere. Make sure you work on those essays since everyone starts to look the same with the same stats. Also regardless of where you get in, know that what you do in college counts much more than where you go to college.</p>

[AOK800]

<p>Decision: Accepted - SEAS</p>

<p>Objective:
SAT I: 2380 (790M/800CR/790W/9Essay)
ACT composite: 36
SAT II: 800 Math II; 750 Physics
Unweighted/Weighted GPA: 3.97/4.22
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): n/a
AP/IB (place score in parentheses): Calculus 5; Computer Science 5
Senior Year Course Load: AP Stats, AP Physics, AP Macro/Micro Econ, Engineering,
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.):
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.): National Merit finalist, Scholar-Athlete award, honor roll</p>

<p>Extracurriculars: Football, Mu Alpha Theta, Science National Honor Society
Job/Work Experience: Product development team for a local start-up company (computer related)
Volunteer/Community Service: math tutor</p>

<p>Other:
Date Submitted App: late December
U.S. State/Territory or Country: NJ
School Type: large public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket Range: too high for financial aid
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athelete, development): none</p>

<p>Were else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Rejected: Harvard, Princeton, Cornell, MIT, Stanford, Duke
Waitlisted: Carnegie Mellon SCS
Accepted: Penn State (Schreyer’s Honors); Purdue (Honors College)</p>

[princet0n]

<p>Decision: Accepted - CAS </p>

<p>I’ve been lurking these forums for years now and I promised myself I would post one. So grateful that I have been given the opportunity!! I hope this helps future applicants as much as it helped me.</p>

<p>Objective:
SAT I (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): 2180 (700/750/720/12)
SAT I superscore (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): 2180 (Single Sitting)
ACT (breakdown E/R/M/S/Essay): 33 (35/32/32/34/12)
ACT superscore (breakdown): 34 (35/34/32/34/12)
SAT II (subject, score): 700, 640/660, but I didn’t send any them in
Unweighted GPA: Don’t do GPAs
Weighted GPA: Don’t do GPAs
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1st out of 320
AP: 5,4
IB: Predicted (42/45)
Senior Year Course Load: Full IB Diploma
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.): Regional, national, and international writing awards, Duke of Edinburgh Gold, French essay contests, published author, school stuff like honor roll etc</p>

<p>Subjective:
Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description): Community Service Club (9-12, President), School Newspaper (11 Editor, 12 Editor in chief), Youth Councillor for the City (12), Band (9-12 Concertmaster), City Orchestra (10-12 Concertmaster), Environmental Researcher, worked with professional foresters (12 summer), non-profit organization (12 founder)
Job/Work Experience: Kumon (10-12)
Volunteer/Community Service: Community service was a major part of my application so I iterated my passions through them. I have about 500 hours in total but I have not updated from the summer or this year… So once I do, I’ll have around 700+
Teacher Recommendation #1: Excellent. We sat down and she jotted down everything that would put me in a better light. It was glowing.
Teacher Recommendation #2: Not sure.
Counselor Rec: Excellent. We have a great relationship.
Interview: It was a skype interview with a professor at a nearby school. Lasted 40 minutes but wasn’t awkward at all! It was one of my best interviews. </p>

<p>Writing (Subject, 1-10 rating, details):
Why Penn: (9) My penn essay was one my favorite essays to write. Some advice for future applicants! DO NOT make your essays generic, find something you’re passionate about, research the school and its programs, and make definite connections in your essay!
CommonApp Essay: (9) Also very well written. I used a common topic but took a personal spin on it. I found so many mistakes after I submitted though, so if you don’t want any anxiety attacks don’t re-read your applications after submissions.
Number of reminder emails received: 2</p>

<p>Other:
Date Submitted App: 1/1
U.S. State/Territory or Country: Canada
School Type: Public, never sends students abroad. My counselor asked me what SATs were lol
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket Range: $40,000
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athelete, development): Absolutely none. Tons of anti-hooks actually… International asking for a ton of aid, asian, clueless school…</p>

<p>Reflection
Strengths: Writing and community service. Because my test scores were sub par, I really focused on conveying my passions in the best way that I could. I emphasized my love for writing and I believe my writing scores all helped to confirm that. I also applied for a liberal arts major so I think I may have stood out from other Asians? My rank.
Weaknesses: Test scores test scores and test scores.
Were else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted: Penn, Duke, Amherst, Brown
Rejected: Columbia
Wait listed: Harvard
Waiting for: None</p>

<p>What would you have done differently?: Worked harder for standardized tests and worked more on my essays. I’m a huge procrastinator so wrote all my essays on New Year’s Eve so I didn’t even get to celebrate. I also did not send in any updates which was probably why I didn’t get into my ED school (Columbia). I also did not try at all when I was a freshman and sophomore so my grades were mediocre. </p>

<p>Other Factors: UPenn was never my first choice so I didn’t know too much about it until I researched the school to write college essays. When I did, I fell in love. I didn’t feel too disappointed when I got rejected from my first choice (Columbia) but I knew I would be heartbroken if I got rejected from Penn. I still don’t know how I was one of the 57 Canadians chosen this year but I’m so glad that I was! I will most likely be attending.</p>

[Mocean]

<p>**Decision: Waitlisted **</p>

<p>I realize this is a bit late, so I’ll just post my quick stats:</p>

<p>**Objective: **
-SAT: 2370 (math 770)
-SAT subject tests: 800 math 2, 800 bio, 770 US History
-Unweighted GPA: 4.0
-Class rank: salutatorian (out of about 280 students)
-AP: US History 5, Bio 4 (The AP’s probably did me in).
-Senior course load: second most rigorous possible for me + independent study project.</p>

<p>**Subjective: **
-Captain of varsity sport, played sport all four years
-played on competitive club team for this sport
-play obscure instrument at a high level (2 city-level honors bands, 2 state-level honors bands, 1 national-level honors band)
-350+ hours of community service</p>

<p>Other
-Caucasian male from overrepresented geographic location.
-My major weaknesses were the number of AP’s I took + my geographic location/ethnicity (Although I didn’t have control over these things. Would have taken more AP’s if it weren’t for my school).
-I’ll probably be going to my flagship state school for cheap.</p>

[bobokrr]

<p>Decision: Accepted - Wharton & Engineering (Jerome Fisher Management and Technology Dual-Degree)</p>

<p>Objective:
SAT I (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): 2290 (800/720/770/9)
SAT I superscore (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): Only took once
ACT (breakdown): N/A
ACT superscore (breakdown): N/A
SAT II (subject, score): 800 Math 2, 790 Chemistry, 780 Biology, 740 Literature
Unweighted/Weighted GPA: 4.00/5.03
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 5%
AP/IB (place score in parentheses): Chem (5) Physics Mechanics (5) Bio (5) Euro History (5) Calc BC (5) Spanish Language (5) Lang & Comp (4) Computer Science (5)
Senior Year Course Load: Light (2 APs)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): None
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.): National AP Scholar, RIT Computing Medal, Distinguished Honor Roll, National Merit Finalist</p>

<p>Subjective:
Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description): NHS (11-12, President), Choir (9-12, President), Conkerr Cancer (9-12, President), Peer Mediation (9-12, 3-year Exec Board Member), 2 a capella groups, Academic Competition Team (10-12, JV Captain), Travel “A” Soccer (7-11, Co-Captain), JV Track (9-12, Captain) School Play (11-12, Leads) School Musical (9-12, Supporting to Lead)
Job/Work Experience: Internship at Penn (See Summer)
Volunteer/Community Service: 400+ Recorded hours with Peer Mediation, Finding NHS service opportunities once a week, Conkerr Cancer canning and fundraising
Summer Experience: 2-year Research Intern at Penn Genome Frontiers Institute. Did independent research second summer and published/presented at Genome Informatics Conference
Teacher Recommendation #1: Comp Sci teacher, aced his class but I never did homework (6/10)
Teacher Recommendation #2: Physics teacher, total bro and spoke to my personality (8/10)
Counselor Rec: Loved me (9/10) *Get close to them!
Additional Info/Rec: Research Supervisor (9/10) Liked me and my work but saw me get more lazy
Interview: Really cool on top of Comcast Center, thought I had good ideas on how to utilize M&T education and curriculum. Come prepared knowing your stuff! (9/10)</p>

<p>Writing (Subject, 1-10 rating, details):
Why Penn: Fact that I interned there made it easy to speak about campus, 9/10, Spoke about curriculum tying into my interests and goals, and the social/cultural things I love about Penn and Philadelphia
Any dual-degree program essays: Revised a lot but I thought it was a little cheesy (change the world stuff), 7/10, I definitely meant what I said and had my passion come through
CommonApp Essay: Singing but very out-there, Hit or Miss so I guess it worked 10/10, Switching viewpoints and structure made it very creative but if they didn’t get it it wouldn’t have worked
Number of reminder emails received:</p>

<p>Other:
Date Submitted App: Last Day 12/31
U.S. State/Territory or Country: Pennsylvania
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Indian (parents born in India)
Gender: Male
Income Bracket Range: 200k+
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athelete, development): Local?</p>

<p>Reflection
Strengths: Interview, Essay, Extra Rec Letter, Internship, Leadership
Weaknesses: SATs, Rec Letters, Lack of Major Awards
Were else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted (Penn M&T, Cornell, UChicago, Berkeley, U Illinois) Waitlisted (Princeton, Northwestern) Rejected (Harvard, Yale, Stanford)
What would you have done differently?: Put more time into knowing everything and wowing the interview, studying for the SATs because they really do matter, doing stuff more proactively, and more major awards.
Other Factors:
Very excited for my top program choice. I hope this helps and good luck to all!</p>

[manrushi]

<p>[color=orange]Decision: Waitlisted[/color=orange]</p>

<p>Objective:

[ul]
[<em>]SAT I (breakdown): Two sittings: Second - 2090 (790 M, 690 W, 610 CR); First - 2000 (750 M, 640 W, 610 CR).
[</em>]ACT (breakdown): Two sittings: Second - 34 (35 E, 34 M, 32 R, 33 S, 9 Essay); First - 30 (31 E, 34 M, 30 R, 26 S, 8 Essay).
[<em>]SAT II: 800 Math Level 2, 780 World History, 760 Math Level 1, 720 Chemistry, 710 US History.
[</em>]Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 105.926 (6th semester GPA, should go up throughout senior year). Unweighted: 99.6/100.0. For weighted GPA, an added 10% to all AP classes and 7% to all honors classes that are not AP. Unweighted GPA uses raw grades.
[<em>]Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1 out of 387.
[</em>]AP: Have taken 6, will take 7 more this year. 5 Statistics, 5 US History, 5 Human Geography, 4 Chemistry, 4 English Language, 4 World History. Will take Calculus AB, Physics B, Biology, Environmental Science, English Literature, US Government, and Microeconomics.
[<em>]IB (place score in parentheses): none
[</em>]Senior Year Course Load: AP Calculus AB, AP Physics 1, AP Biology, AP Environmental Science, AP English Literature, AP US Government (semester), AP Microeconomics (semester), Band.
[li]Major Awards: AP Scholar with Distinction, 4x NM State Science Olympiad Champion, NM Congressional Award for Academic Achievement, Regional Scholar selected by Independent Committee (looks at academics, essays, interview, recommendations), 2x All-State Clarinetist.[/li][/ul]</p>

<p>Subjective:

[ul]
[<em>]Extracurriculars: Science Olympiad: team captain for 4 years, I’ve won 5 titles at State, and have 20 other 1st-3rd placings at Regionals/State combined. I’ve performed exceptionally well in Anatomy & Physiology. Band: 2x All-State Clarinetist, 3x All-District Clarinetist, Drum Major, Clarinet Section Leader, Principal clarinetist in school’s Symphonic Band. National Honor Society: Elected President each of 3 years. Student Council: 10-12. Was Secretary 11th grade. Student Advisory Committee: was nominated by teachers and administrators to be the senior class representative. We plan things/fix issues that can make students’ lives better. Tennis: Junior Varsity freshman year.
[</em>]Job/Work Experience: I was a Youth Soccer Referee my freshman year. I officiated about 5 games a week for a fall and spring season for kids aged 5-12.
[<em>]Volunteer/Community Service: American Red Cross: I founded and currently am President of a Youth Club in our area. We go on disaster calls and do disaster prevention presentations at various community events. The club was founded in January and has grown to 10 students to-date. Nursing Home shadower: I’ve shadowed nurses in a nursing home intermittently since sophomore year. I’ve assisted, bathed, fed, and entertained patients. Physician shadower: I’ve shadowed a local cardiologist junior year. I helped in simple diagnostic activities, interacted with patients in examination rooms, and have shadowed testing at hospitals. National Honor Society: various associated projects. Student Council: various associated projects.
[</em>]Essays: I humbly think they were be great. Usually write good essays; my junior AP English teacher says I’m one of the best writers she’s ever had. I get them proofed by a college prep counselor.
[<em>]Teacher Recommendations: All should have be great. I have always had stellar relationships with my teachers. Most have taught for 20+ years, and they usually comment that I’m one of the best student’s they’ve ever taught. Have had a significant or special story in class with all of them.
[</em>]Counselor Rec: Should have beeen good. He really likes me and has made the comment that I am the most serious kid he’s seen about striving academically. Not sure how he conveyed that in writing, however.
[li]Interview: Didn’t get one.[/li][/ul]</p>

<p>Other

[ul]
[<em>]State (if domestic applicant): New Mexico
[</em>]School Type: Public, only school in rural town of 40,000 people. ~2400 students. Graduation rate of 50-65%, but top students in the past have been accepted at Harvard, Stanford, Yale, Brown, Columbia, Dartmouth, Duke, Emory, Rice, Northwestern, UC-Berkeley, and Notre Dame.
[<em>]Ethnicity: Asian Indian
[</em>]Gender: Male
[<em>]Income Bracket: >$150,000
[</em>]Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Established and currently lead a community service organization (American Red Cross Youth Club). Good academic record for a student from a rural area in NM, if that counts.
[/ul]</p>

<p>Reflection

[ul]
[<em>]Strengths: ECs, ACT, GPA, courseload
[</em>]Weaknesses: SAT, essays
[<em>]Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Not really sure. I’m probably one of those standard great applicants that just happened to be overshadowed by other stellar applicants.
[</em>]Where else you are applying or have already applied: ill be attending UNM Combined BA/MD Program. Applied to Ivies, Northwestern, Rice, Duke.[li]General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: Glad I applied, but I was accepted to the offer that was best for me. Congrats to everyone accepted![/li][/ul]</p>

[Nereidon]

<p>Decision: Accepted - CAS
Likely Letter, Ben Franklin Scholar</p>

<p>Objective:
SAT I: 2230 (700 M/740 CR/790 W/8 Essay)
SAT I Superscore (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): 2320 (730 M/800 CR/790 W/8 Essay)
SAT II: 780 Math II/730 Spanish
Weighted GPA: 5.93/5.00
Rank: top 2%
AP/IB (place score in parentheses): European History (5), Microeconomics (4), Macroeconomics, Spanish Language (5), English Language and Composition (5), U.S. History (4)
Senior Year Course Load: Honors Orchestra, AP Psychology, AP Spanish Literature and Culture, AP Calculus BC, AP Physics C, Honors Wind Ensemble, AP Music Theory, Honors Writing Seminar
Number of ED applicants in your school: at least 3
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.): AP Scholar with Distinction, Dean’s List, National Merit Commended Scholar, National Spanish Exam Gold Medals, National Honor Society, Spanish National Honor Society, Principal Chair in District Orchestra, District Band, All-State Honors Orchestra</p>

<p>Subjective:
Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description): Math Team (junior yr), Literary Magazine (sophomore-senior yrs), Marching Band (freshman-senior yrs, Drill Captain, Staff, Section Leader), Future Flute Educators and Performers Project (junior-senior yrs, Founder and Project Leader, group of students teach flute, pro-bono, to area socioeconomically disadvantaged youth)
Job/Work Experience: Kumon
Volunteer/Community Service: Chinese School Teaching Assistant, Food Pantry Volunteer
Summer Experience: Intern at a Trade Center (sophomore), Travel Abroad to Mexico on a world languages scholarship from a local foundation (sophomore), flute camp (sophomore, junior)
Teacher Recommendation #1: Spanish, decent (did not read)
Teacher Recommendation #2: English, quite good (did not read)
Counselor Rec: excellent (did not read)
Additional Info: Music Supplement; won national essay contest; won state essay contest; published in national literary magazine; NHS, principal flute in school band, orchestra, marching band; placed in Chicago Area National Spanish Contest (top 10 out of nearly two-thousand competitors); took masterclasses with renowned flute teachers
Interview: good</p>

<p>Writing: feminism, flute; 10
Why Penn: music program
Any dual-degree program essays: none
CommonApp Essay: feminism, flute
Number of reminder emails received: several</p>

<p>Date Submitted App: ~December 28th
School Type: top public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket Range: ~60,000-80,000
Hooks: none</p>

<p>Strengths: writing, roundedness
Weaknesses: testing?
Other Results: Accepted at Dartmouth (Likely Letter), Amherst (Early Notification; prestigious scholarship that is awarded to 5 students), Northwestern, Oxford, Emory, UIUC Engineering (James Scholar); Rejected at Yale, Princeton, Harvard, Brown, Duke; Deferred at UChicago, Waitlisted at Vanderbilt, Case Western Reserve, Williams, Cornell (opted not to stay on any waitlists); Shortlisted and then Rejected at Yale-NUS,
What would you have done differently?: would have done more research on Yale-NUS, would have applied to Stanford </p>