****OFFICIAL UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA CLASS OF 2019 ED RESULTS THREAD****

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
21

<p>Decision: Accepted - SEAS (DMD)</p>

<p>Objective:</p>

<p>SAT I (breakdown): T 2400 M 800 CR 800 W 800 (Superscore)
ACT (breakdown): Didn’t send
SAT II: Math II 800 Phy 780
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): n/a
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 3/175
AP (place score in parenthesis): didn’t take
IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: CBSE India: Physics Chemistry Mathematics with Economics
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): n/a</p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Editor in chief (School Magazine), Founder of school’s photography club, lead awareness campaigns
Job/Work Experience: –
Volunteer/Community service: Anti-Tobacco, Anti-Pollution Campaigns
Summer Activities: –
Essays: Wrote about how well the program fits me and matches me ambitions
Teacher Recommendation: Very strong
Counselor Rec: Very strong
Additional Rec: –
Interview: Went very well. I was told ‘I will try my best to give to you positive recommendation; I think you will be an asset to Penn’
Other: Submitted a portfolio</p>

<p>Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Digital Media Design ( DMD )
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant): India
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: Indian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: –
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none</p>

<p>Reflection</p>

<p>Strengths: Academics, Portfolio, Strong match with program
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: How my goals and ambitions match with those of the University (service)
Weaknesses: –
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected: Strong match with program
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected: Haven’t applied elsewhere
The most unique thing in your application: Portfolio</p>

22

<p>Hey CC’ers! I’ve been lurking on these forums for quite a while, and I decided it’d behoove me to finally give back to the community. Thanks for all you’ve done for me! <3</p>

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

<p>Objective:</p>

<p>SAT I: CR/800, M/770, W/800 (80MC, 10E) ==> 2370 (single sitting, Oct 2014)
ACT: N/A
SAT II: Biology, Molecular (760), Chemistry (790)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): UW undisclosed; 4.9/5.0 weighted (one B from elective Comp Sci course in freshman year)
Rank (percentile): top 10%, but most likely unreported to Penn
AP: Biology (5), Statistics (5), US Gov. (3), Phys. Mech C (5)
IB: SL Music Gr. Perf. (5)
Senior Year Course Load: IB English Literature: A HL, IB Chemistry HL, IB Mathematics HL, IB History of the Americas HL, IB Spanish B SL, IB Theory of Knowledge, AP Economics, Honors Symphony Orchestra (basically a joke though)
Major Awards: PA State and National Science Olympiad silver medalist</p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars: Science Olympiad (minor leader in a few events; huuuge timesink), Biology Olympiad (founder and leader), Science Synergy (founding member; sponsored non-profit), Science Club, Physics Olympics, Academic Decathlon, NHS, Chamber Orchestra, did a Coursera class from Penn Med
Job/Work Experience: N/A (am I a lil bit sheltered? maybe)
Volunteer/Community service: Violin tutoring for disadvantaged children, Science education initiatives in urban Philadelphia through Science Synergy
Summer Activities: 2 summers of Summer School (for advanced credit in Biology and Western Civ.), University of Pittsburgh Health Career Scholars Academy (previously known as PA Gov. School for Health Care), internship at a Penn biomedical research lab
Essays: CommonApp - 8/10, creative narrative about my experiences with gardening; Penn supplement - 7/10, had a lot of material relating to the specific prompt but didn’t incorporate enough intuitive/emotional connection to Penn
Teacher Recommendation: 1. Spanish teacher who had told me I was her favorite student; 2. Chemistry teacher who has been my Science Olympiad coach since freshman year. Both were probably pretty solid, since they requested plenty of info from me in order to write the letters.
Counselor Rec: filled out an entire profile for him about myself which was basically a series of personal statements. Previously, he had felt skeptical about letting me take on the sophomore and junior year courseloads I requested, asking me if I was sure both times. Seeing me do well despite the rigor could have impressed him.
Additional Rec: from lab supervisor who mentored me and put me to work at the aforementioned biomed research lab. According to him, he wrote it like a med school reference letter – don’t really know what that means…
Interview: 7/10, alumni interviewer whose sons went to my high school. Had a pretty lengthy conversation (>60 mins); was kinda awkward at very beginning and end, but otherwise really casual and engaging. Interviewer said he really believed I would get in.
Other: submitted a resume that added activities I never mentioned in the Common App and elaborated on the ones that I did mention</p>

<p>Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Biology (but my heart’s in Health+Soc)
State (if domestic applicant): PA
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Chinese
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: $40-60k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): dad is Penn employee, medaled at States/Nationals in Science Olympiad, did research at Penn lab</p>

<p>Reflection</p>

<p>Strengths:
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: I really tried to focus on the intersection of my interests in science and my appreciation and respect for humanity, with special attention to how this intersection led to my interest in health care. Problem is, I’m not exactly sure how well this was justified. Friends who looked over my app told me it made sense to them, but none of them explicitly commented that it was super compelling.</p>

<p>Weaknesses:
Why you think you were accepted: Probably because of my hooks, honestly
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected: accepted @ Penn State
The most unique thing in your application: probably my Common App essay about gardening…lol…but also my research experience at Penn, I guess</p>

23

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

<p>Objective:</p>

<p>SAT I (breakdown): 2230 (it’s low but I took it in junior year on a whim just to see how I’d do without any studying whatsoever… this was before I knew UPenn required all scores)
ACT (breakdown): 35 (both times)
SAT II: 760 biology, 630 math first time, 750 math second time (first score didn’t help…)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.95
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school does not rank
AP (place score in parenthesis): N/A
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: full IB diploma- IB HL Economics, IB HL Math, IB HL Biology, IB SL English, IB SL Spanish, IB SL History
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): 1-3rd Place in InvestWrite National Essay Competition (don’t want to give specific rank as it’ll reveal who I am, but it’s almost the same as the contest had thousands of participants)</p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Science Olympiad, Economics Club (board), School Newspaper (editor), School Literary Magazine (editor), Indian American Student Association, Model UN (chairperson), Theater (this was only two years though), JV tennis (only freshman and sophomore year)
Job/Work Experience: marketing intern at a small tech startup
Volunteer/Community service: volunteer at an Older Person’s center
Summer Activities: went to an Economics Camp for a week, but didn’t mention it anywhere in my app
Essays: Common App was around a 7/10, Penn essay was a 8/10
Teacher Recommendation: one was 10/10 for sure, the other I’m not sure but I’d say a 7/10
Counselor Rec: I honestly have no idea for this…
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: It was painfully average
Other:</p>

<p>Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major: marketing
State (if domestic applicant): MI
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: public, top 10 public in the nation, super competitive, we had 4 Penn ED kids
Ethnicity: Asian (Indian)
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: around 100,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): I have negative hooks at this point</p>

<p>Reflection</p>

<p>Strengths: My InvesWrite award is a pretty big plus, as are the various SCIOLY awards I have. The internship is also a pretty big deal.
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: I really focused on the volunteering and giving back to the community aspect of Penn and what drew me to that.
Weaknesses: I got a B+ and B in two semesters of math… that definitely shot my chances by quite a bit (I’d say it may have resulted in my rejection, Wharton does love math and despite being in a high level course I did badly. It’s what brought down my GPA and is a big regret of mine.) I could’ve also had more leadership positions.
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected: Bad math scores, not enough leadership, too much competition from others in the school
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected: Accepted: MSU
Applying: UofM, Darthmouth, UChicago, Harvard, Princeton
The most unique thing in your application: </p>

24

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

<p>SAT I (breakdown): 2200 (superscore) - 800 R, 690 M, 710 W
ACT (breakdown): 34 (composite, single-sitting)
SAT II: 760 Literature, 740 US History
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.36 (school doesn’t do UW but i calculated myself and its around 3.9)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): NA (less than 50 kids in my class so my school doesn’t rank)
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Bio, AP Geography, AP European History, AP Physics B, AP Calculus AB, AP US History, AP Language and Composition (did not report any of my scores)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load:AP Government, AP Chemistry, AP Spanish, AP Literature and Composition, AP Statistics (hardest course load possible)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Just the usual NHS and its subdivisions plus Quill and Scroll </p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Mock Trial (captain), Newspaper (editor in chief), Concert Band (president), Jazz Band (vice president), SpeakUp! (planning team), Kairos (leader), Armenian Christian Youth Group (band leader), 2nd degree black belt in Tang Soo Do, MMA training
Job/Work Experience: A couple retail jobs early in high school, Internship at a county courthouse with an ADA this most recent summer
Volunteer/Community service: Hurricane Sandy relief, Annual Christmas caroling for the infirm, volunteered at a soup kitchen on occasion, traveled to Armenia for a month to teach English to orphans, when i got back from Armenia i started a donation campaign to raise money for clothing for these same orphans and successfully raised $2600, volunteer every saturday to teach karate
Summer Activities: Aforementioned Armenia trip and internship
Essays: Common App: 9/10 I wrote about an ironically minor earthquake that occurred during my time in Armenia and spun that into a lesson in responsibility and humility.<br>
Why Penn? 9/10 Humorously focused on how George Whitefield is often overlooked in favor of Ben Franklin while also working in my specific interests at penn (specific courses, service projects, and clubs)
Teacher Recommendation: 10/10 Running joke that my history teacher/mock trial coach was basically my second father and I am assuming he wrote the recommendation accordingly.
9/10 English teacher and faculty moderator of the newspaper: loved me and is an English teacher so i am guessing he wrote his pretty well.
Counselor Rec: 7/10 Nothing special: didnt know her that well
Additional Rec:10/10 Former student body president of the University of Miami, young guy and alumnus of my school who also helps with mock trial: really great friend/mentor and phenomenal writer.
Interview: Great! She scheduled a kid for an interview right after me but made him wait for like 20 minutes because she was literally dying to hear about my work in Armenia
Other</p>

<p>Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Politics, Philosophy, and Economics
State (if domestic applicant): PA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Small, Catholic, Private
Ethnicity: White (Armenian)
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: > 180,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Legacy (grandparents)</p>

<p>Reflection: Just so glad that I got in and that this process is over!</p>

<p>Strengths: Tons of leadership positions, i think i showed a unique involvement with my culture (I can read, write, and speak Armenian plus I actually had the opportunity to travel there), my activities were consistent with my intended major
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: Culture, played up the legacy a bit, focused on leadership
Weaknesses:Test scores, GPA could have been higher
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected:See strengths
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected: Just Penn E.D.
The most unique thing in your application: Being Armenian and heavily involved in the culture</p>

25

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

<p>SAT I (breakdown): 2100 (720 M 680 R 700 W)
ACT (breakdown): n/a
SAT II: USH(730) M2(720) chem(650) physics(650)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9
Rank : n/a
AP : USH(5) Lang(4)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Chem, AP Gov, BC Calc, Robotics (it was that or psych), AP lit
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):CSLP video challenge winner</p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars :
Weekly Publication (executive editor), Academic team (captain), Science Olympiad (assistant captain), literary journal, math league, film club</p>

<p>Volunteer/Community service:
regular volunteer at local synagogue
soup kitchen</p>

<p>Summer Activities:
engineering course at Columbia
Israel Summer Program</p>

<p>Essays:very good
Recommendations: I waived my rights to see, but I expected that they were very good
Interview:went very well</p>

<p>Other</p>

<p>Applied for Financial Aid?: yes (but did not expect to receive)
Intended Major: Computer Engineering
State: NJ
School Type: small private
3 people (excluding me) also applied early (1 reject, don’t know about the other 2)
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 200k
Hooks : none</p>

<p>Reflection</p>

<p>Strengths:
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: Emphasized my stop motion animations and the fact that I commute
Weaknesses: standardized tests
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected: accepted Rutgers, pending UMD and Columbia</p>

26

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

<p>SAT I (breakdown): 2340 (770M 770W 800R 10E)
ACT (breakdown): 36 (36M 36R 35E 35S 9Essay)
SAT II: Chem 790, Physics 800, Math II 800
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0</p>

<p>Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 4/356</p>

<p>AP (place score in parenthesis):
World History (5)
US History (5)
Eng Lang (5)
Physics C (5)
Chemistry (5)
Computer Science (5)
Calculus AB (5)
Calculus BC (5)
Stat (5)</p>

<p>IB (place score in parenthesis):</p>

<p>Senior Year Course Load:
AP Latin
AP Biology
AP Comp Gov
Orchestra
AP Eng Lit
Multivariable Calculus</p>

<p>Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National AP Scholar, National Merit Semifinalist</p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Captain of Varsity Swim Team
First chair clarinet in highest level orchestra
President and Founder of Investment Club at school
3 years of Crew, rowed lightweight varsity</p>

<p>Job/Work Experience:
Worked extensively as a lifeguard since 16. First high school student to coach summer swim league last summer, worked 40 hours/wk.
Volunteer/Community service:
Volunteered 4 hours a week for 2 and a half years at local hospital.
Summer Activities:
Mostly Working
Essays: Capp: 8/10 I thought it was pretty good, and I had a Harvard Eng grad look over it and she thought it was great too. Why Penn 8/10 I had the same grad read it.
Teacher Recommendation: 7/10 and 7/10, they were probably fine but not spectacular
Counselor Rec: Our counselors wouldn’t write them this year.
Additional Rec:
Interview: Kinda awkward, not great but also not bad. Seemed like we just kinda went down the list of things on my resume.
Other: I am fluent in Mandarin as well.</p>

<p>Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Finance
State (if domestic applicant): WA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 140,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): technically first generation immigrant? </p>

<p>Reflection</p>

<p>Strengths: Test Scores, Class selection in high school
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself:
Weaknesses: No amazing extracurricular, not much focused on finance.
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected: Asian male… nothing really outstanding. Honestly pretty disappointed. I feel like I wasted a lot of time just trying to get into this college rather than enjoying my years in high school.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected:
The most unique thing in your application:</p>

27

<p>Decision: Accepted - CAS/Wharton (Vagelos LSM Program)</p>

<p>SAT I (breakdown): 2110 (670 CR/770 Math/670 Writing)
ACT (breakdown): 34C 34M 35R 35S 33E 9W
SAT II: 720 Chemistry 710 Math II
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.93
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):
AP (place score in parenthesis): U.S. History (5) English Language and Composition (4) Chemistry (3)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: Government, Film, AP Physics, AP Calc BC, AP Biology, Ceramics
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): </p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Independent research published with a Stanford journal, Key Club (Founder and President), NHS (President), DECA (VP)
Job/Work Experience: Assisted with research in a Michigan State lab the summer before my junior year.
Volunteer/Community service: Key Club, the Kidney Foundation, Interact Club, NHS, tutoring
Summer Activities: NSLC program in business and entrepreneurship, UofM program in forensic physics, volunteering project in Zambia
Essays: Common app on how I’ve matured and grown as a scientist, for the Why Penn one I talked about what I want to do when I get there, and the LSM dual major essay about how I want to start a biochemistry company
.
Teacher Recommendation: AP Chem teacher and economics teacher, they both liked me and wrote really good recommendations, 8/10
Counselor Rec: She said it was good. 7/10
Additional Rec: Key Club school advisor 8/10
Interview: Good, lasted about 45 minutes, talked a lot about the school, the woman was very kind.
Other: I talked to some of the people at Penn in charge of the LSM program and I think that I left a good impression on them.</p>

<p>Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Chemistry/Management dual major
State (if domestic applicant): MI
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 200,000-210,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Researcher, entrepreneurial</p>

<p>Strengths:
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: Research, starting a volunteering organization, ACT score
Weaknesses: Not perfect GPA, SAT II scores weren’t exceptional, not as many APs as other people have
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected: I fit the profile for the program
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected: Deferred from Case Western (lol) and deferred from MIT
The most unique thing in your application: Published research</p>

<p>Good luck to all who are reading this!</p>

28

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

<p>SAT I (breakdown):2090 (didnt send)
ACT (breakdown): 34 (first try, one sitting)
SAT II: 720 math 2, 720 chem
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): school doesnt do unweighted. probably 3.5 or something?
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 18/917
AP (place score in parenthesis): 3s on Bio, Chem, and US
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: Most rigorous, ap physics, calc bc, political science and litrature
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): NCWIT runner up in tri state, NY state scholar
Common Awards: NHS, honor roll, ap scholar, a bunch of NYSSMA awards and volunteer awards</p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
President, previous vp and secretary of Asian American Association. made my own fundraiser;
Vice president of Key club and writer for newsletter;
programmer on first robotics team for 3 years;
author on newspaper team at school for 3 years;
founding member for the vegetarian and animal rights club and made fundraiser;
symphonic band lead chair for clarinet
choreographing for international night</p>

<p>Job/Work Experience: research on march 5 protein with pending publication</p>

<p>Volunteer/Community service:
150+ hours in a hospital for nusing and pharmacy;
shadowing doctor every tuesday;
tons and tons of walks and charity stuff;
volunteer for a grass roots organization for orphans in burma</p>

<p>Summer Activities: college now (As in psychology and stats)
Essays: why penn was very specific, i wrote about specific news pertaining to student achievements and my first experience at penn and how students helped me when i was lost
Teacher Recommendation: both were okay i believe. not great
Counselor Rec: didnt read
Additional Rec: didnt read but probably great!
Interview: it was my first interview… not great but nice! i didnt get to talk a lot about myself. it took more than an hour though so i guess thats good?
Other:</p>

<p>Applied for Financial Aid?: yas
Intended Major: undecided
State (if domestic applicant): ny
Country (if international applicant): us
School Type: huge. 5000 kids but a public magnet
Ethnicity: burmese
Gender: female
Income Bracket: 100,000+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): urm, my sister previously was accepted even though she didnt attend</p>

<p>Reflection</p>

<p>Strengths:
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: my whole application circled around the fact that i love reaching out to the community
Weaknesses: AP SCORES/SUBJECT TEST/NOT A NATIONAL MERIT :frowning: (missed it by 10 points)
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected: I have no idea to be honest i started crying when i saw the acceptance letter
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected:
The most unique thing in your application: lots of different interests!</p>

<p>im honestly in shock. so happy to be a quaker <3</p>

29

<p>Decision: Rejected - CAS (Dept of Math)</p>

<p>Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2310 (Math 800, Reading 720, Writing 790, Essay 11) Considering only in Canada since Gr 9
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: Math II 800, Physics 800
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): N/A
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 5%
IB (place score in parenthesis): 40-43 (not predicted, based on Report Card Percentage)
Senior Year Course Load: Full IB, Most Challenging: Math HL, Chem HL, Geo HL, Physics SL, Eng SL, Fr SL.
Major Awards : French Speech Contest School District 1st Place (Provincial Finalist), Numerous Waterloo Math Contest Top 25% (one for school champion), 2 IB Top Students, A Honour Roll, for consecutive 3 years, Most Outstanding Jazz Musician…)</p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Founder of 2 clubs, Co-founder of 1 Org, Senior Home for 4 years, music (RCM Level 8), 3 sports, countless exec positions,
Job/Work Experience: Since Gr 11, part time 10hr/week
Volunteer/Community service: over 500 hrs
Summer Activities: UPENN SUMMER CAMP
Essays: Excellent
Teacher Recommendation: I suppose they are Excellent
Counselor Rec: “Without any reservation”
Additional Rec: “Outstanding”
Interview: over an hour, pretty good, resonated with interviewer
Other</p>

<p>Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major:
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant): Canada
School Type: Public School (Top 5 public school in the province, but not so good in ranking since there are numerous private schools)
Ethnicity: Chinese
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 65,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):</p>

<p>Reflection
I am really disapppointed how I didn’t get in, but i guess this year is competitive overall</p>

<p>Strengths:
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: Personal experience and struggle, and path to success
Weaknesses: Too well rounded without much focus in any
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected: Without major awards
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected: N/A
The most unique thing in your application:
Very strong overall despite only in North America in three years.</p>

<p>Good luck to all who are reading this!</p>

30

<p>Kinda wish I at least got deferred :frowning:
Decision: Rejected - Wharton</p>

<p>Objective:</p>

<p>SAT I (breakdown): 2290 Single Sitting (690CR/800Math/800WR)
ACT (breakdown):33 (32/36/32/31)
SAT II: Math II: 800, Chem: 770, Chinese: 790, Phys: 720
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): N/A, estimate around 3.8
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 19/640
AP (place score in parenthesis): 8 different AP tests, including 6 5s.
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: Calc 3 (Community College), OChem, AP English, AP Economics, AP Physics, AP Bio,
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): RCM Level 9 Practical, National Merit Semifinalist, Destination Imagination 2nd Place, Regional, Sci Tech 3rd Place Regional Life Sciences</p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Special Life Student Club (VP), Interact (Director of Tutoring, Webmaster), Piano (11 years) Saxophone (6 years), Church Sunday School Intern
Job/Work Experience:
UserFriendly Media Intern
BridgeWise Financial Services
True Companion Animal Hospital
Volunteer/Community service: 700-800 Hours, Raised $3000 for special needs awareness.
Summer Activities:
Essays: Why Penn 8/10, CApp: 9.5/10
Teacher Recommendation: unsure, but I think they were pretty solid.
Counselor Rec: unsure
Additional Rec: unsure
Interview: 8/10
Other</p>

<p>Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Finance
State (if domestic applicant): TX
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Magnet
Ethnicity: Chinese
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: ~200k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Wealthy Chinese Male. Best Hook Ever</p>

<p>Reflection</p>

<p>Strengths:
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: Business Ideas, Work Experience, Research (Two research projects)
Weaknesses: English
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected: Not really sure, but I think it might have been because of my English scores.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected: nowhere yet, applying to a few more Ivies + Stanford
The most unique thing in your application: Research, ideas, resilience from overcoming mental disorder (wrote in additional information)</p>

31

<p>Decision: Accepted – CAS</p>

<p>Objective:</p>

<p>SAT I (breakdown): 2160 (630 CR, 800 M, 730 W/10 E)
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: 710 Math II, 730 Chemistry
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0/5.66 Weighted
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 2 out of 400 and something
AP (place score in parenthesis): Calc AB (5), Stats (4), Chemistry (3 lol)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc BC, AP Physics C, AP Human Geography, two band classes, AICE Global Perspectives, AICE Biology, AICE Spanish Language
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar, AICE Diploma… Superior’s and Excellent’s at District and State Instrumental Solo and Ensemble… nothing else really</p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): MUN (Treasurer), Marching Band (Alto Saxophone Section Leader), Ethical Foods Association, there might be more I just can’t think of anything really
Job/Work Experience: N/A
Volunteer/Community service: Played in my school’s pit orchestra for the musical we put on every year (about 70 hours each year), also I volunteer for church events
Summer Activities: Visited some of the Ivy’s, fell in love with Penn, Marching Band camp
Essays: Common App: 9/10 wrote about how preparing a solo made me more mature, Why Penn: 8/10 seemed a bit generic to me
Teacher Recommendation 1: 9.5/10 My history teacher, I’ve had him every year and he really likes me, I read it and it was really good
Teacher Recommendation 2: 8/10 My math teacher, I’ve had him every year as well but I’m not sure how he writes, he really likes me though
Counselor Rec: 9/10 My counselor loves me and was extremely excited I was applying to Penn
Additional Rec: History teacher’s wife wrote it 9/10, she really likes me, I basically talk to her every day
Interview: 7.5/10, It lasted an hour or so and was really cool, although I felt really awkward, but that might just be because I’m pretty socially awkward…</p>

<p>Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Applied for 7-Year Bio Dental but I don’t think I got in lol so Probably Biology
State (if domestic applicant): FL
School Type: Public/Magnet
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: $70,000-$100,000 it really depends on the year :stuck_out_tongue:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, First Generation</p>

<p>Reflection</p>

<p>Strengths: essays, hooks, recs
Weaknesses: test scores, Why Penn essay, EC’s
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected: I think that my essays were well written and showed that I really loved Penn
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected: Nowhere</p>

<p>General Comments:
Congrats to everyone else who got accepted! For future applicants, just know you don’t have to be involved in everything or have perfect test scores, focus on your strengths and you should be fine. I can’t wait!!!</p>

32

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

<p>Objective:</p>

<p>SAT I (breakdown): 2100
ACT (breakdown): 31
SAT II: 710- Spanish, 720- Math I, 730- Biology(M)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.8(ish)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 28/350
AP (place score in parenthesis): Span Lang (5), Span Literature (5), Stats (5), Biology (4), Human Geography (4), World History (4), English Lang (4), US History (3)
IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: AP Chem, AP Physics, AP Calc BC, AP Eng Literature
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): 1st grand prize at science fair two years in a row, Intel ISEF competitor two years in a row, research published in both Analytical Chemistry and Biophysical Journal, AP Scholar with Distinction, various smaller awards from science fair</p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Job/Work Experience: Three year paid internship in a university laboratory, work in a local bakery/ cafe
Volunteer/Community service: Long term volunteer with organization furthering the rights of women in society, tutor to non-native English speakers
Summer Activities: Paid internship
Essays: Generally not gifted with writing, so a lot of effort went into these essays which I would say turned out quite good
Teacher Recommendation: Quite good, both teachers have known me since freshman year extensively and have both been my teachers twice
Counselor Rec: Assuming very good, have a very good/close relationship with my counselor
Additional Rec: Written by my mentor and the head of the lab I did research in- absolutely glowing
Interview: Outstanding- first year med student that had almost everything in common with me
Other</p>

<p>Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Chemical Engineering
State (if domestic applicant): Texas
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: abt 40k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, female going into engineering, extensive previous research in science</p>

<p>Reflection</p>

<p>Strengths:
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: Really tried to highlight my research/ past experience
Weaknesses: Test scores, gpa (definitely all of the quantitative aspects)
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected:
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected:
The most unique thing in your application:
I just wanted to show that not having the best test scores/gpa/rank does not define you, and having experience in the field you want to go into and really showing that passion in your application seems to have a much bigger impact</p>

33

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

<p>Objective:</p>

<p>SAT I (breakdown): none
ACT (breakdown): (33) E-34 M-34 R-34 S-30
SAT II: Bio-710, Math II-710
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 4/208
AP (place score in parenthesis): Bio-4, Comp-4, US-4, Music Theory-3, World History-3
IB (place score in parenthesis):none
Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics, AP Lit, AP Calc, AP Micro, AP Psych, Gov, Health, Symphonic Band
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
KRB NY International Music Competition - 3rd Place Medalist
NAfME All-National Honor Ensembles, Concert Band - Flute 1
NYSSMA All-State Electronic Music Composition Showcase - Composer
NYSSMA All-State Alternate for Flute and Piano
Collegeboard AP Scholar with Honor </p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Class of 2015 (Treasurer), Tri-M (President), Glamour Gals (Co-Founder of Chapter), American Red Cross Certified Lifeguard, Marching Band (Senior Band Captain), Pit Orchestra (Section Flute Leader)
Job/Work Experience: Tutoring
Volunteer/Community service: Music Therapy for physically/mentally handicapped, HOBY, World Vision, Habitat for Humanity, Nursing Homes
Summer Activities:Research at LIJ Lennox Hill Hospital for Liver Metastasis
Essays:Very Well Prepared. Revised numerous times. Thoroughly searched through the Penn Websites and gathered information from alumni and a summer visit to the campus.
Teacher Recommendation: Above Average, nothing extraordinary.
Counselor Rec:Got to know the counselor extremely well, and had a nice bond. (Maybe it’s b/c we have a rather small school.)
Additional Rec:
Interview: Went extremely well! She recently graduated last year so very relatable.
Other</p>

<p>Applied for Financial Aid?:
Intended Major: Nursing
State (if domestic applicant): Domestic
Country (if international applicant):no
School Type: Below average class of 208
Ethnicity:Asian American
Gender:Female
Income Bracket: >$120,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none</p>

<p>Reflection
I am so excited to join the Class of 2019! All my hard work coming into fruition feels so good. If any future applicants or RD applicants have any questions, feel free to shoot me a message!! Good luck everyone!</p>

<p>Strengths: leadership, music awards, essay preparation
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: music, leadership, GPA
Weaknesses: SAT II scores/ AP Scores (but I don’t think it made a huge difference, honestly.)
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected: Accepted b/c I showed interest to the school!
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected: Accepted- Hofstra Honors and Binghamton Honors
The most unique thing in your application: My music therapy experience since the eighth grade. Start your extracurriculars early and try to stick it out the majority of your HS career!</p>

34

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

<p>Objective:</p>

<p>SAT I (breakdown): 2330 - 730 CR, 800 M, 800 W
ACT (breakdown): –
SAT II: 800 Physics, 800 Math II, 790 Chemistry, 720 Lit
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.89
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): –
AP (place score in parenthesis): Chem (5), Chinese (5), APUSH (4), AP Lang (5), Physics B (5), CS (5), Stats (5), Calc BC (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): –
Senior Year Course Load: tutoring, AP Biology, AP Literature, AP Spanish, AP Government (1st semester), Economics (2nd semester); Multivariable Calc outside of school (CTYOnline)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): --</p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): varsity water polo (team captain), varsity swimming, piano, variety of school clubs
Job/Work Experience: 2 summer internships in original scientific research
Volunteer/Community service: active member of Key Club
Summer Activities: see [work experience]
Essays: decent (at least I thought they were)
Teacher Recommendation: shouldn’t have been terrible
Counselor Rec: shouldn’t have been terrible
Additional Rec: from my most recent lab mentor, so should’ve emphasized research experience
Interview: not exceptional but not horrible, I guess?
Other</p>

<p>Applied for Financial Aid?: no
Intended Major: biochemistry
State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant): –
School Type: public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: >$150k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): …no I guess none except for research experience</p>

<p>Reflection</p>

<p>Strengths: research
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: curiosity, research
Weaknesses: nothing especially significant; my professor didn’t want to provide me with information for a research project (good for her; at least I can say my project was all my work, unlike some people’s), so didn’t qualify for scientific research competitions
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected: too many people applied from my school
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected: MIT deferral, UMinn - Twin Cities accepted; still waiting on other schools
The most unique thing in your application: …research? (obviously not much, if I’ve said research this many times)</p>

35

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

<p>Objective:</p>

<p>SAT I (breakdown): 2110 (600CR, 750M, 760W) (2nd try, 1860 first try)
ACT (breakdown): 34C (34E, 33M, 33R, 36S)
SAT II: 730 Chem (700 first try, retook), 770 Math 2
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 2/409
AP (place score in parenthesis): Calc AB 5, Chem 4, English Lang 4, Prob&Stats 4, APUSH 3
Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics C, AP World History, AP Calc BC, AP English 4
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar with Distinction, Commended PSAT Student, Honorable mention in YC Teen Magazine Writing Contest</p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Varsity Field Hockey (4 years, Captain) Varsity Track (3 years, Captain) Varsity Basketball (2 years) National Honor Society (Sergeant at Arms) Hebrew High School Graduate
Job/Work Experience: Camp Counselor (3 years) Beach Tag Checker (1 year) Ran the clock for local boys basketball games (3 years)
Volunteer/Community service: PA Vent Camp volunteer (2 summers, 1 week each summer)
Summer Activities: same as job/work experience
Essays: wrote about my experiences from my high school, tied chemistry into it. also answered the “additional information” section in the common app with a whole 650 word essay about how i love to work with kids, as shown by my summer experience.
Teacher Recommendation: should have been good, didn’t read them
Counselor Rec:^^
Additional Rec: i got a recommendation from employer
Interview: went well, don’t think it made a difference in the long run
Other</p>

<p>Applied for Financial Aid?: no
Intended Major: chemical engineering
State (if domestic applicant): NJ
School Type: large urban public high school
Ethnicity: white
Gender: female
Income Bracket: upper
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): legacy</p>

<p>Reflection</p>

<p>Strengths: female engineer who clearly succeeded more in math/science, i think that my upenn essay was specific and showed them that i knew the school, came from a large diverse high school
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: didn’t try to make any “hook” for myself. just tried to show them my personality and how i view things and what i am all about!
Weaknesses: low CR score on SAT, CLEARLY SCORES ARE NOT EVERYTHING
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected: Very strong math/science oriented application, and I think that I am well rounded but i know that legacy couldn’t have hurt my chances
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected: accepted to Pitt Engineering and Case Western Engineering
The most unique thing in your application: I took a different approach to the “content” essay, talked more about a broad environment than a specific place. Took risks in my essays </p>

<p>Overall message is that there is no formula, trust yourself, be honest, and it’ll work out!</p>

36

<p>Hope this helps someone out there! :)</p>

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

<p>Objective:</p>

<p>SAT I (breakdown): 2280, 730/790/760 (CR/Math/W)
ACT (breakdown): 34 ©, 35 (E), 36 (M), 36 ®, 36 (S), 8 (W)
SAT II: 800 Math II
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 4 out of 360
AP (place score in parenthesis): USH, Psych, Lit, Human Geo (5); Stats, Econ (4)</p>

<p>Senior Year Course Load: AP Spanish, AP Lang, AP Gov, AP Comp Sci, AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP Calc BC, TA, Health, Auto Mechanics (lol)</p>

<p>Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National AP Scholar, National PSAT Semifinalist
State Scholar of Distinction in Science
Scattered regional/state awards in piano and science</p>

<p>~~~
Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Mayo Clinic Research Internship (1 yr)
Piano (forever)
Speech (captain, 4 yrs)
STEM Society (president, 2 yrs)
NHS (treasurer, 2 yrs)</p>

<p>Job/Work Experience:
Piano instructor (self-employed, 10 hrs/week)
Fashion model</p>

<p>Volunteer/Community service:
Main volunteer pianist at children’s hospital (2 yrs)
Local music organization secretary, Board of Directors (4 yrs)
Piano accompanist, youth group leader (4 yrs)</p>

<p>Summer Activities:
Ballet, organ, piano, Girls State, research internship at Mayo Clinic, self-study AP Chemistry, volunteer, teach piano, modeling</p>

<p>Essays:
Common app essay was pretty unique: I wrote about a pageant I competed in, and its aftereffects. It was detailed, compelling, and overall I think it really showed my personality well. Reviewed by 9? adults (including 4 English teachers, 3 friends, and 2 parents)
Why UPenn: I wrote about my near death accident with amoxicillin and how that led me to my research at Mayo Clinic! Pretty well written in my opinion, it definitely had a hook and it was funny to boot. Reviewed by same 9 people ^</p>

<p>Teacher Recommendation: I submitted three teacher recs. All were quite strong; I had a great connection with the teachers, they knew me personally, and they had written recs for me last year for scholarships.
Counselor Rec: my counselor was an English teacher and calls me ‘Sunny Annie’ - I’m sure it was pretty good!
Additional Rec: my piano teacher and I are very close, and he is the director of the music organization I am a secretary for. No doubt this was a great rec.</p>

<p>Interview: interview was on a timed schedule, exactly 30 minutes. It was short and brief, but I asked lots of questions and showed a lot of interest in Penn; I name dropped a few clubs which the interviewer was coincidentally part of! I actually just emailed the interviewer a thank you, and apparently I did very well.
Props to pageant interview training: I was able to stay calm, collected, poised, and answering questions straightaway was no trouble for me.</p>

<p>Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Biology
State (if domestic applicant): MN
School Type: public
Ethnicity: Chinese, Asian
Gender: female
Income Bracket: upper
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): just your typical, pre-med female Chinese student.


&lt;p&gt;Reflection&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Strengths: my essays - thank goodness to my parents for forcing me to work on them, and unbelievable thanks to all of my reviewers. If there's one part of my application I'm proudest of, it would have to be these essays.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: I think my hooks were my essays; pageants and near death instances are different.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Weaknesses: no big awards, nothing spectacular except just a consistently great academic record&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected: I think I fit the bill of a Penn student, and my position as a fashion model brings something very new to the campus.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected: MIT (deferred), U of Minnesota (accepted)&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The most unique thing in your application: pageant. modeling. almost dying (but not quite)&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Good luck to all who are reading this, next year! Feel free to contact me with any questions! :)&lt;/p&gt;
37

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

<p>Objective:</p>

<p>[ul] [<em>]SAT I (breakdown): N/A
[</em>]ACT (breakdown): 33 (32E, 33M, 36R, 31S, 12 Essay) / 34 Superscore (33E, 33M, 36R, 34S, 12 Essay)
[<em>]SAT II: 740 Math II
[</em>]Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.59 and 3.74 w/o freshmen year. This year all high As except for a high B in AP Lit. Why were my freshmen grades so bad? I was sick for a HUGE part of the year, I had to adjust to a different school enviorment, I moved from NYC to Colorado, and I was still getting over the death of my brother.
[<em>]Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
[</em>]AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Lang, AP Comp Sci, AP Calc BC, AP Lit, AP Macro, AP Micro
[<em>]IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[</em>]Senior Year Course Load: AP Macro, AP Micro, AP Calc BC, AP Lit, Chem, Film Lit, Creative Writing, Advanced C++
[li]Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): First Place iPhone App Developer Competition, First Place in State Entrepreneurship Competition [/ul]</p>[/li]
<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):

[ul] [<em>]President and Founder of the school’s chapter of Source of Strength
[</em>]Future Business Leaders of America (made it to state)
[<em>]Model UN (w/ 2 Best Delegates Awards)
[</em>]Computer Club
[<em>]Track and Field
[</em>]Football
[<em>]Black belt in Tae Kwon Do (6 years training) + former student instructor (2 years)
[</em>]Piano (14 years)
[<em>]Guitar (9 years)
[</em>]Trumpet (9 years) [/ul]</p>

<p>Job/Work Experience: YouTube channel w/ over 10,000 subscribers, 1,000,000 views (400,000 in a one month time frame), and worked with companies for promotional content.</p>

<p>Volunteer/Community service:

[ul] [<em>]Promoted the AFSP (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention) CU Boulder Walk and raised ~$10,000 in both 2013 and 2014.
[</em>]Race Across America - Support crew member of a race team that raised across the US in ~7 days. Raised ~$10,000 and awareness for the AFSP Colorado chapter. [/ul]</p>

<p>Summer Activities: Studied Political Science and History of WW2 @ Oxford/Tuscany 2013 and Studied Marketing and
Essays: Amazing. My commonapp essay might be one of the best essays I’ve ever written. My “Why Penn” also was amazing.
Teacher Recommendation: The best. My teachers loved me and said they wrote glowing letters,
Counselor Rec: Amazing too. I really got to know my counselor and she really was able to speak to all the difficulties I went through my freshmen year.
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: Amazing. She said she wrote a very very positive write up and said I would perfectly fit the Penn community.</p>

<p>Other:

[ul][<em>]Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
[</em>]Intended Major: Undecided
[<em>]State (if domestic applicant): Colorado
[</em>]Country (if international applicant):
[<em>]School Type: Public
[</em>]Ethnicity: Hispanic
[<em>]Gender: Male
[</em>]Income Bracket: ~$130,000
[li]Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Hispanic, + Double Legacy [/ul]</p>[/li]
<p>Reflection</p>

<p>Strengths: What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: I think my biggest hook was how I took the loss of my brother from impulsive suicide (he was 17 and I was 12) and went to focus on suicide prevention in my free time. I’d also say my other strengths were my URM status, double legacy, my interview, and my essays. I’d say my ACT scores were good, but not the best ever. I also think my huge upward trend in my grades has been a positive too.
Weaknesses: GPA, GPA, GPA, GPA, GPA…did I mention GPA?
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected: Because my overall application was really strong despite my GPA.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected: N/A.
The most unique thing in your application: My involement in suicide prevention after the loss of my brother and how I overcame the obstacles my freshmen year in high school.</p>

38

<p>Decision: Deferred – Wharton, Huntsman</p>

<p>SAT I (breakdown):2350 (760 C, 800 M, 790 W (10 essay))
ACT (breakdown): 35C 33 E (lel), 36 M, 36 R, 36 S (was a state sponsored test with no writing – I put it on my common app but didn’t send officially)
SAT II: 800 Math II, 750 Bio E, 780 USH
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0 (school only does unweighted)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/520 (about 15 people are rank 1 due to unweighted GPA)
AP (place score in parenthesis): Human Geo (5), Bio (4), Physics B (4), US Gov (5), Calc AB (5), English Lang (5), USH (5), Calc BC (5), Macroecon (5, self-studied)
IB (place score in parenthesis): Spanish SL (6)
Senior Year Course Load: Full IB – IB Math HL 2 (school doesn’t offer further), Bio HL, Chem HL, English HL, World History HL, AP Stats.
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): No major awards but usual – National Merit, National AP Scholar. Etc. Participated in a lot of small competitions. Placed in top 6 every year since 7th in State math contest (crappy state so probably doesn’t mean anything), Qualified for AIME 3 times, Won state in FBLA, won state in SciOly and History Fair. Biggest award was probably a stroke of luck – I made USABO semifinalist last year by one point. </p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Played Varsity Soccer and Golf (wish I was recruited…),
School Clubs: Key Club (Vice President), Math Club, Science Club, Economics Club (Founder and President), FBLA
Community: Local Math Club (Vice President), Volunteer Tutored on the side (not a lot)
Played the violin for 9 years – no big awards (submitted an art supplement of my playing, don’t know if it helped at all),
Job/Work Experience: Recently started a tutoring job but I started after I submitted my app. Other than that, none.
Volunteer/Community service: Tutored at a local math club for competition math (Vice President), NHS, Key Club, probably about 500 hours over past 3 years.
Summer Activities: Went to a couple small camps – obv didn’t help. Started golf two years ago during the summer – spent only 2 months to get on varsity team.
Essays: Decent and put a lot of time into them. Probably 8/10 on Why Penn and 7/10 on Common app. Huntsman – Not really sure, but I didn’t expect to get in anyway.
Teacher Recommendation: pretty standard. 7/10 both. I spent time with them outside of class, but sure they didn’t say anything spectacular. Didn’t read.
Counselor Rec: New Counselor this year… I got to know her pretty well in a span of 2 months, but would’ve appreciated more time. Didn’t read.
Additional Rec: none
Interview: went a little over an hour. Took place in a crowded, loud coffee shop, but thought it went great.
Other</p>

<p>Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Finance
State (if domestic applicant): For privacy – a pretty bad state in a weak region.
Country (if international applicant): US
School Type: really ghetto public school with IB, ~2500 students
Ethnicity: Asian…
Gender: M
Income Bracket: ~$150,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): the problem…</p>

<p>Reflection</p>

<p>Strengths: Academics, Test Scores (Maybe not for an Asian, idk)
Weaknesses: Leadership in Extracurriculars (Too many tryhards at my school and it’s impossible to get elected these positions). Lack of Business focus – I only recently started on this track as before then, I was mostly a math kid. Didn’t use my summers very well – probably should’ve found a lab and done research.
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected: I think I was deferred because I still had the strong academics, but not enough extracurriculars to justify an early acceptance. The weaknesses obviously outweigh the strengths. Huntsman was a long shot as I didn’t even take Spanish my senior year and was only “fluent” in English, Spanish, and Chinese. Also, never lived outside the US unless you count the few years I spent when I was an infant.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected: Applied to a few other places, but waiting on regular. EA to UChig</p>

<p>It’s so boring, it’s sad. </p>

<p>I also only made this account to reply to this. I hope this information is helpful to those who apply next year, but this account may be inactive, so I apologize if I never respond.</p>

39

<p>After checking this for the past three years I guess this is me accepting the outcome</p>

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

<p>Objective:
ACT (breakdown): Composite 34, English 34, Writing 34, Math 32, Science 34
SAT II (subject, score): NONE
Unweighted/Weighted GPA: UW:3.8 W:4.27
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Not reported
AP/IB (place score in parentheses): Full IB 2015
Senior Year Course Load: HL Math, HL History, HL Physics, SL Economics, SL Spanish, SL English
Number of other ED applicants in your school: Probably less than 10
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): University of sciences advertising competition 3rd, NHS, Marine Corps Civilian Service Award, Everfi Certified, FBLA Regionals 1st for 2 years</p>

<p>Subjective:
Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description):
Baseball for Rec and School (9,10,11,12)
Sponsored snowboarder (Marhar snowboards and Grenade Gloves: 10,11,12)
Student Council (9,10,11,12): Fundraising Chairman
STEM Ski Club (9,10,11,12): Bus Leader
FBLA (9,10,11,12): Vice President, Go Green Chairman
Engineering Club (10,11,12): President and Founder
Key Club (11,12)
Boy Scouts of America (9,10,11,12): Eagle Scout, ASPL, Crew Chief and Organizer of bahamas sailing trip
Order of the Arrow (9,10,11,12): Vice President, President, State Secretary, State Vice Chief, State Web Master
Snowboarding for Christ (10,11,12)
NHS (10,11,12): Physics Tutor
DECA (11,12): President and Founder</p>

<p>Job/Work Experience:
West Bradford Umpire (9,10,11,12)
CEO Palmae (11,12) - snowboard company I started with friends that makes shirts and gloves</p>

<p>Volunteer/Community Service:
Physics Tutor (11,12)
Spanish Tutor at Elementary School (11)
Volunteer at Animal Shelter (11,12)
Inter murals Volunteer (9,11,12)
Bunch of stuff with Scouts (9,10,11,12)</p>

<p>Summer Experience:
Haverford Trust Intern (11)
UPenn Summer Class (11) - Got an A</p>

<p>Essays:
Why Penn: 9/10 - wrote about the day in my life as a Junior at Penn
Common App: 9/10 - creative environment essay
Interview: 10/10 - I was the most exuberant person she had in 10 years of doing interviews and it lasted an hour and a half </p>

<p>Teacher Recommendation #1:English Teacher - will be great. I almsot got a C the first marking period and worked hard to get an A on everything else the rest of the year. She was an admissions officer at one point (10/10)</p>

<p>Teacher Recommendation #2: Physics Teacher - Should be decent, he only does 30 of them and he accept my offer. I never get anything less than an A (7/10)</p>

<p>Counselor Rec: I have no idea how this will go. She told me it will be good (7/10)</p>

<p>Additional Info/Rec: Penn Professor (9/10)</p>

<p>U.S. State/Territory or Country:PA
School Type: Public Magnet
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket Range: Income <100,000
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athelete, development): Legacy</p>

<p>Reflection</p>

<p>Strengths: standardized test scores (Acts), extracurriculars, legacy
Weaknesses: GPA, Not enough focus in Business ECs
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected: I have no idea. I at least expected to be deferred. I had solid essays, amazing interviews, and an A in a Penn class and got credits, so I baffled at this point. I guess they thought I wouldn’t fit into this years class.</p>

40

<p>Decision: Accepted - Huntsman Program (CAS + Wharton)</p>

<p>Objective:</p>

<p>SAT I (breakdown): 2270 (710 Math, 760 Reading, 800 Writing)
ACT (breakdown): 35 (36 reading, 36 science, 35 writing, 34 math, 11 essay)
SAT II: 790- Spanish, 770- US History, 760- Math II
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.95
Weighted GPA (out of 5.0): 4.30
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school does not rank
AP (place score in parenthesis): Spanish Language (5), Spanish Literature (5), US History (5), Biology (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc AB, AP English Literature, AP Art History, Post-AP Spanish Seminar, AP US Gov, Psychology
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar with Distinction, National Commendation </p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Listener as Suicide Prevention Hotline, Foreign Language Literary Magazine (Editor-in-Chief), Gender Equality Club (President), Model UN (President), Peer Support (Leader), Students Against Poverty Club (Vice President)
Job/Work Experience: n/a
Summer Activities: unpaid internship at a museum (worked as a translator)
Common App Essay: strong suit; wrote about not fitting within the gender stereotype, and how this has made me want to fight for gender equality worldwide. Also wrote about growing up in conservative Russian community, and how it has shaped my view of societal norms.
Huntsman Essay: extremely strong; wrote about gender wage gap in Latin America, and how it roots from the blatant misogyny found within centuries of Spanish literature.
Teacher Recommendation: Didn’t read them, but I assume that they were pretty good.
Counselor Rec: Assuming very good, have a very good/close relationship with my counselor
Additional Rec: Written by the supervisor of my summer internship (translator at a museum)-- glowing
Interview: Great!
Other</p>

<p>Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Huntsman Program (International Studies/Economics)
State (if domestic applicant): California
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: >150,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): first generation American, </p>

<p>Reflection</p>

<p>Strengths:
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: Really tried to highlight my desire to promote gender equality
Weaknesses: did not take Calc BC or Econ; extremely competitive program
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected:
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected:
The most unique thing in your application:
Being a male who is interested in promoting gender equality, and who is not scared to advocate publicly</p>