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

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
41

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

<p>Objective:</p>

<p>SAT I (breakdown): It was Low
ACT (breakdown): First: 29 Second: 30 (30C 33E 30M 30R 28S)
SAT II: 740 Math II 650 Chemistry
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):2/450+
AP (place score in parenthesis): 4 AP Euro
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load:AP Chemistry, AP Psychology, Intro to Forensic Science, Intro to Java, AP Literature, AP Calculus BC, GYM/Health
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Nope, couple local awards and school awards</p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Speech and Debate (State qualifier and a couple local awards), Student Council (Class Rep, liaison to School board,) Track and Field, Football
Job/Work Experience:
Volunteer/Community service:Volunteered at Church and at a non profit organization
Summer Activities: LEAD Program at Wharton :slight_smile:
Common APP Essay: (9/10) Wrote about my struggle to overcome my stuttering. I spent so much time on this essay. One of the best things I have ever written.
Why Penn Essay: (9/10) Very specific to Penn. I know a lot about Penn due to LEAD and my sister. It could have been more organized but I still liked it.
Teacher Recommendation: (8/10) Chemistry Teacher. Solid recommendation. I did not read for my European teacher, but I was his best student.
Counselor Rec: I did not see
Additional Rec: (10/10) I was simply blown away. He wrote nearly two pages. He highlighted sevaral Leadership accomplishments I failed to mention! I think this really helped my application.
Interview: It was average I would say. My interviewer was very kind, but gave me a curveball question.
Other</p>

<p>Applied for Financial Aid?: Yessir
Intended Major:Wharton - Management and Operations and Information Management
State (if domestic applicant): Pennsylvannia
Country (if international applicant):
School Type:Public
Ethnicity:African American (Nigerian)
Gender:Male
Income Bracket:Low Income
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):URM, LEAD Program, Legacy (Sister attended)</p>

<p>Reflection</p>

<p>Strengths: Well written Essays and Strong Recommendations. Solid grades on Transcript
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: I tried to emphasize my connection to Penn. How I’ve “been apart of it” for 6 years now, when my sister first started as a freshman. I emphasized Leadership skills in my essays and determination.
Weaknesses: Test scores! and not too many awards
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected: Only by the grace of God. I can never really know but I will guess my application indicated I was a strong leader. My recommenders stressed that which HELPED a great deal!! I sincerely had a connection to Penn and that helped me write a strong essay.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected: MIT - Deferral
The most unique thing in your application: My Essays</p>

<p>Good luck to everyone who was accepted. I cannot wait to meet all of you. Those who were not, keep your head up! You will go somewhere great. You guys are still one of the best students this country has to offer! To future applicants, make sure you start getting a feel of who you are going to ask to write your recommendation letters. Test scores are important but they are not the most important part of the application. Your transcripts and I believe Essays indicate more of WHO you are and what you can achieve than a simple standardized test. Good luck!</p>

42

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

<p>Objective:
<french applicant</p>

<p>SAT I (breakdown): 2080 770 cr 580 m 730 w
ACT (breakdown):
SAT II: 640 spanish 770 litt
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): high, but school does not use
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):
AP (place score in parenthesis):
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: OIB: 9 honors classes
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):</p>

<p>Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major: PPE
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant): france
School Type:public
Ethnicity: white
Gender:female
Income Bracket: high
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):</p>

<p>Reflection</p>

<p>Strengths:
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: great essay, interesting sotry, from france
Weaknesses: requesting financial aid and math sat (only took once)
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected:
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected:
The most unique thing in your application:</p>

43

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

<p>Objective:</p>

<p>SAT I (breakdown): N/A
ACT (breakdown): 32 Composite
SAT II: 700 Math 650 Lit
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.93
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): n/a
AP (place score in parenthesis):n/a
IB (place score in parenthesis): HL Math (7) HL Econ (7) HL Bio (7) HL History (7) SL French B (7) SL Lang&Lit (7)
Senior Year Course Load: Same as IB + ToK
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Entrepreneur of the Year at a business competition, multiple highest school-level awards, Varsity track and field coaches award for leadership and sportsmanship</p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Started own CSR club at school focusing on using business models to solve environmental problems (president and founder)
Varsity track all years of high school (captain 10, 11, 12)
Leadership team of a school conference on Social Entrepreneurship (Leaders)
Trinity piano examinations up to grade 6 (theory and practical)
MUN 3 years and special positions (ambassador and APQ)
School theatre production all four years of high school (lead role)
Multiple business competitions (CEO and winner of all of them and used social entrepreneurial models to do so) </p>

<p>Job/Work Experience: Summer internship at a boutique private equity firm </p>

<p>Volunteer/Community service: Aforementioned CSR club</p>

<p>Summer Activities: Leadership in the Business World, BizSmart, Summerfuel Social Entrepreneurship, Internships, Music production course</p>

<p>Essays: Huntsman was a 10/10 Penn was 7/10 and CommonApp was 8/10 about my mixed nationality and how that’s had an impact on me. All were focused around my passion of social entrepreneurship.
Teacher Recommendation: Bio and English. Both very good undoubtedly.
Counselor Rec: Stellar; we’re very close and she got the Superintendent to write a paragraph in it too.
Additional Rec: n/a
Interview: Not the best. We didn’t really have much in common so we didn’t gel very well.
Other</p>

<p>Applied for Financial Aid?: Nope
Intended Major: International studies and econ (business at Wharton)
State (if domestic applicant): n/a
Country (if international applicant): the Netherlands/India
School Type: Small private non competitive
Ethnicity: Biracial
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: The high one
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Is being biracial a hook? Is being Dutch a hook? </p>

<p>Reflection</p>

<p>Strengths:
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: My passion for social entrepreneurship really reflected something that Wharton is very passionate about. Knowledge for action and all the social entrepreneurial stuff they do lined up perfectly with my story and extracurriculars.
Weaknesses: Test scores Jesus almighty they were an atrocity. I don’t test well. but this proves once and for all that you can get into elite universities with a 32 on your ACT and awful SAT IIs! Don’t let this get you down.
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected: I think I was the perfect fit for the Huntsman program and felt as if I had a better chance at getting into Huntsman than getting into just Wharton because of my background and because of my essay.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected: Still have to find out about uChicago.
The most unique thing in your application: The Huntsman essay made me stand out the most. </p>

<p>GENERAL COMMENTS: People stop stressing about test scores! Make sure you’re in the 25-75 range and you’re fine. I had lousy test scores but only took the ACT once because I had better things to do with my time and it’s those things that got me into college and enriched me as a student rather than countless mind-numbing hours with an ACT prep book. </p>

<p>I’m so happy I got in because Penn has been all I’ve wanted since 9th grade and this is my dream come true. Have confidence in yourself, work hard, understand how to market yourself on your apps through hours of research, and the acceptance will come to you! Good luck to everyone!</p>

44

<p>What were your target languages for those who applied to huntsman</p>

45

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

<p>Objective:
SAT I: 2380 - 800m, 800cr, 780w
ACT: Didn’t Take
SAT II: 800 US History, 800 Math2
Unweighted GPA: 3.78 :frowning:
Rank: doesn’t rank, approximately 10-15%
AP: 10th Grade - World History (4), Biology (5)
11th Grade - US (5), Statistics (5), English Lang (5), Comp. Sci A (5)
Senior Year Course Load: AP English Lit, BC Calc, AP Chem, Spanish V Honors, AP Gov., AP Micro, AP Macro
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): State title for crew, State title for a science olympiad event, Small MUN awards, Regional science bowl awards</p>

<p>Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Varsity Crew (Captain, Coxswain)
Student Leadership Board (Founder, Chairman) - This was special. I organized a group of students to meet monthly with the district superintendent and building principal to discuss student issues.
Science Olympiad (Captain)
Science Bowl (Captain)
Model UN (VP Conferences)
Newspaper (Opinion Editor)</p>

<p>Job/Work Experience: Worked in my High School’s IT Dept.
Volunteer/Community service: None…
Summer Activities: Volunteered at a biotech lab, Volunteered at a genetic counseling office</p>

<p>Essays: My commonapp was quirky, my supplement was very specific.
Teacher Recommendation: Both must’ve been quite good
Counselor Rec: Better than the teacher recommendations, she loved me.
Additional Rec: Crew Coach, My principal sent an additional unsolicited recommendation to their office
Interview: So-So, It was over the phone so genuine interaction was scarce.</p>

<p>Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Health and Societies
State: NY (Not New York City)
School Type: Mid-size public. Not well respected, magnet, or any other benefit.
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: <150,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None</p>

<p>Reflection
Strengths:
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: A potential asset to Penn Crew, Interested in a somewhat obscure field (Bioethics), Visited Penn three times, Wanted to participate in a relatively unknown freshman experience.
Weaknesses: GPA <–This was huge
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected: Really high SAT, pretty great extracurriculars (esp. the student group I started.), I liked my essays.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected: Nowhere!
The most unique thing in your application: Didn’t think I was all that unique</p>

<p>Honestly surprised I got in. </p>

46

<p>Objective: rejected (CAS)</p>

<p>SAT I (breakdown): 800 Math 800 Reading 720 Writing (2320)
ACT (breakdown): none
SAT II: 720 Math 2 730 Chem
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.75 and weighted 4.79
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): none
AP (place score in parenthesis): A lot of 4s so i didn’t send them…
IB (place score in parenthesis): none
Senior Year Course Load: AP psych, AP econ, AP calculus, AP physics, AP spanish, Honors Writer’s Craft
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): A lot of taekwondo awards (a few 1st, 2nd, 3rd) at Pennsylvania state tournaments, one of the AP scholar award</p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Taekwondo, a fundraiser club (Vice prez and then prez), korean culture club, Heroes X, NHS, rock climbing, squash, piano since 2nd grade, after school orchestras with cello
Job/Work Experience: none
Volunteer/Community service: a museum in Philadelphia
Summer Activities: i guess volunteering at the museum once in a while?
Essays: I thought my common app essay was actually pretty decent. I spent a lot of time, put a lot of effort, really wrote out my feelings and thoughts. For the Why UPenn essay, I wrote about the research opportunities I wanted to undertake in connection to a past event.<br>
Teacher Recommendation: One teacher and I got along really well and another teacher said she wrote a good one for me.
Counselor Rec: I don’t think she would write a bad one for me…
Additional Rec: none
Interview: just okay? not that great I think since I butchered up some of the information she asked about.
Other</p>

<p>Applied for Financial Aid?: yup
Intended Major: undecided
State (if domestic applicant): Pennsylvania
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: public
Ethnicity: Asian American
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: >$100
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none I think</p>

<p>Reflection
I probably should have written more convincingly about how much I wanted to attend Penn. I really tried to prepare myself for rejection since I knew a lot of aspects of my profile were weak, but it still stung to read that rejection letter.After I applied I was pretty sure I was going to get rejected, but I got my hopes up at the last minute. If I could, I wouldn’t have applied here. Ugh, I’m so envious of all the people around me who already got accepted ED to top schools. So yea, good luck to future applicants!! :smiley: </p>

<hr>

<p>not sure how many people who were also rejected experienced the same thing, but after I submitted my application, I immediately received a confirmation email that said Penn would email back to say it reviewed my financial aid. But I never got that email while someone else on the other CC thread did AND I got rejected. So that was probably the biggest hint of me not getting in. </p>

<p>Strengths:
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: My past event connection to UPenn, what I hoped to do if I were to become a student there
Weaknesses: EC, GPA SAT II
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected: Asian. Jk, but maybe… And the essay may have been dramatic? Overall, there wasn’t really much special about me.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected:
The most unique thing in your application:
Dramatically increasing GPAs over the years with more APs and increases in SAT scores (lol got a 1990 on my first one and later got a 2320) . </p>

47

<p>Decision: Accepted - Engineering (NETS interdisciplinary major)</p>

<p>Hope this helps!!
I removed the parts that didn’t really apply to me:</p>

<p>Objective:</p>

<p>SAT I (breakdown): Composite: 2400, Single-Sitting: 2380
SAT II: Math 2: 800, Physics: 740
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.7</p>

<p>AP (place score in parenthesis): took as many as were available at my school: Junior Year: AP BC Calc(5), APUSH(5), AP Lit(4)</p>

<p>Senior Year Course Load: Took most difficult courses available at my school: AP Psych, AP Lang, AP Stat, AP CompSci, AP French, and since my school didn’t offer it - AP Physics online</p>

<p>Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Rensselaer Medal for Math and Science, Numerous awards from Regionals and National dance championships (solos, duos, group performances), National AP Scholar,
National Merit Semifinalist (PSAT 235), Outstanding Service Award from a city government.</p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): again, protecting privacy:
Dancer (20 hrs.week)
Executive Director of NGO
Head of 3 clubs in school (founded one)
A lot of volunteer work (see below)
Choir(4x)</p>

<p>Job/Work Experience:
Interned at an IT company for 1.5 years, published a whitepaper, Worked as a counselor over the summer
Volunteer/Community service: total hours = about 1500: Service Project, NGO thing, Volunteer choreographer & counselor
Summer Activities: nationals, volunteering, dance, work.
Essays:
Common App: wrote the story of an interaction with an underprivileged child and what it taught me (10/10)
Why Penn: super creative and well written (10/10)
NETS Essay: wrote about internship and how I want to use technology to make a change in the world (8/10)
Teacher Recommendation: #1 APUSH Teacher - didn’t read it but I know she writes outstanding recs so 9-10/10</p>

<h1>2 Honors Physics Teacher - liked me but wasn’t that motivated/talented of a teacher so 7-8/10</h1>

<p>Counselor Rec: probably good/avg
Interview: Was supposed to last 45 mins, went 1.5 hrs, interviewer said he would be surprised if I didn’t get in</p>

<p>Applied for Financial Aid?: yes (why not?)
Intended Major: NETS
State (if domestic applicant): NJ
School Type: Catholic
Ethnicity: Indian
Gender: F
Income Bracket: 400k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): immigrant - moved here with fam as a child</p>

<p>Reflection
Strengths: scores, essays, ECs (volunteering and leadership)
What you tried to focus on in your application - how perfect Penn was for me and how I was perfect for it
Weaknesses: GPA - could’ve tried harder freshman and sophomore year as my GPA for 11th and 12th was 4.0
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected: well-rounded, generally a good fit for Penn
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected: Rutgers - doesn’t really matter
The most unique thing in your application: idk</p>

48

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

<p>Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 800/800/800 (2nd time, one sitting)
SAT II: 800 Math II, 760 Chem
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.3 = 95.5/100
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 3%, not reported though
AP (place score in parenthesis): Chem (5), French (5), Physics B (4), Lit (4 self-study)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc BC, Econ, AP Physics C E&M, English, French, Comp. Prog. (self-study)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): No national ones lol not even NMSF</p>

<p>Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
-Entrepreneurship (11, Co-Founder) Participated in a regional entrepreneurship competition and won.The company/product has since raised a lot of capital through crowdfunding and has been featured in dozens of major publications.
-Volleyball (9-12, captain of club teams) 3 year varsity, 2 year starter. Played club volleyball year round.
-UNICEF (9-12, President)
-Student Gov (9-12, Secretary)
-Math Team (9-12, Co-Captain)
-Lit Mag (9-12, Co-Editor-in-Chief)
Job/Work Experience:
-Paid summer intern at school IT dept. (10)</p>

<p>Volunteer/Community service: Tutor a ton and coach occasionally
Summer Activities: Leadership in the Business World at Wharton (11), won first place</p>

<p>Essays: CA—creative and out-of-the-box, could have flowed better. It was a risky essay.
Why Penn—reached some grammatically gray areas, though I think the content was there. Mentioned specifics (classes, teachers, food, clubs)</p>

<p>Teacher Recommendation: 1) good academic material, likely good writing
2) mediocre material, good writing
3) good personal material, likely mediocre writing
Counselor Rec: She claims that it is glowing, but I know she uses a template so it’s hard to say
Interview: Solid, talked for 1+ hours </p>

<p>Applied for Financial Aid?: No
State (if domestic applicant): MA
School Type: Public, 200+ students in my class. Usually sends ~5 to Ivy caliber schools, but majority have hooks (legacy, URM, first gen)
Ethnicity: Chinese
Gender: F
Income Bracket: 100k +
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): I am more anti-hooked than anything, but LBW could have helped at Penn. Jury’s out on that.</p>

<p>Strengths: Scores, lots of leadership positions, actual business experience??
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: I tried to tie everything that I did in high school into a unified narrative. Showed initiative, and that I grew from and helped grow every activity that I participated in.
Weaknesses: Recs and/or essays possibly, lack of awards</p>

<p>Hopefully this helps someone out there (:</p>

49

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

<p>Objective:</p>

<p>SAT I (breakdown): Didn’t Take
ACT (breakdown): 36 Writing: 10
SAT II: Math II 780, Chem 700
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.92
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Don’t Rank, top 10%
AP (place score in parenthesis): Calc AB (5), Psych (4), US Hist (3)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Statistics, AP Spanish Language, AP Computer Science, AP Environmental Science, AP Economics, English
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):</p>

<p>QuestBridge College Prep Scholar and Finalist
Fein Fellow Award
National Spanish Honor Society
Illinois State Scholar
AP Scholar</p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Created Non-Profit, DECA (Leadership Board), Class Council (Executive Board), Focus Arts Festival (Leadership Board), Investment Club, Scholastic Bowl
Job/Work Experience: 2 years manager and marketing director of local restaurant, 1 year of marketing director at private events business
Volunteer/Community service: 20 Hours Tech help
Summer Activities: LEAD at U of I - Champaign Summer Business, Summer School 2 years
Essays: CApp: 10/10 Why Wharton: 11/10!!!
Teacher Recommendation: 1: 8/10 2: 9/10
Counselor Rec: 10/10 Knew me very well and was able to construct a beautiful piece
Additional Rec:
Interview: 9/10 Went very very well, she went to Penn Medical, lasted 35 minutes
Other</p>

<p>Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Finance
State (if domestic applicant): Illinois
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public, 2000
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: <50,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, No father figure</p>

<p>Reflection</p>

<p>Strengths:
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: Overcoming adversity (Financial) No father figure (Lives in South America)
Weaknesses: Only took 3rd Highest Level of Calc in my school, 3 on APUSH exam
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected: Essay, interview, and rec all connected and described my exact fit with wharton’s opportunitities
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected: The world will never know</p>

50

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

<p>Objective:</p>

<p>SAT I (breakdown): 770 M/ 720 CR/ 790 W (2280)
ACT (breakdown): NA
SAT II: 790 Spanish 770 Math II 730 US History
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.7
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): NA
AP (place score in parenthesis): Euro 5 US 5 Stats 4
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Bio, AP Chem, AP AB Calc, AP Spanish, English, Science Elective
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): NA</p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): XC member, Math tutoring, ASPCA Volunteer, Tour Guide, Tutor at Church for 5+ years
Job/Work Experience: Science Internship, History Internship
Volunteer/Community service: ASPCA Volunteer, tutoring
Summer Activities: Internships
Essays: Wrote about my struggle in math during freshman and sophomore year 9/10
Teacher Recommendation: Science and math teacher. My science teacher is also Hispanic so we connected over that 9/10 and my math teacher liked me a lot 7/10
Counselor Rec: Eh 7/10
Additional Rec: Got one from my mentor at the science internship 9.5/10
Interview: Average, I asked a lot of questions, demonstrated my interest
Other</p>

<p>Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major:Cognitive Science/Math
State (if domestic applicant): NY
Country (if international applicant):US
School Type: Nationally Ranked (Top 10 in the country)
Ethnicity: Hispanic/Latino
Gender:Female
Income Bracket:200K+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM not applying for financial aid, female doing STEM</p>

<p>Reflection</p>

<p>Strengths:Recs + SAT scores
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: Emphasized my heritage, research
Weaknesses: GPA, lack of leadership positions
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected: Pretty sure they want to see my mid year report… Only non legacy kid in my grade to get deferred (everyone else got rejected) which is nice…
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected: N/A
The most unique thing in your application: </p>

<p>Congratulations to everyone who made it!!!</p>

51

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

<p>Objective:</p>

<p>SAT I (breakdown): 2380: Math-800 Writing-800 CR-780 Essay-10
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: World History-770 Biology M-780 US History-790 Math II-800
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1 of 393
AP (place score in parenthesis): World History-5; Biology-5; Calculus BC-5; English Lang-5; Statistics-5; US Hist-5; Music Theory-5; Human Geography-5
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP English Lit, AP Comp Sci A, AP Euro, AP Physics C, Writing Tutoring period, AP US Gov, AP Macroecon, AP Chemistry, single variable calc self-study using Penn’s Coursera class. Self-studying for AP Spanish lang.
Minor Awards: Natl AP Scholar; National Merit; Local Top Student Recognition; Phi Beta Kappa Honor society Academic Excellence Award.
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Top 20 natls Skills USA Computer competition; </p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Helped start school tutoring program; Founded school Business and Entrepreneurship team (Team Captain, 2nd place in Texas); Self-Study Calculus Club founder and mentor (intended to allow my school to have its first official BC class next year); Conversational Spanish Club (Co-founder); Computer Club (Vice President 11th and President 12th); Speech and Debate Team, Policy Debate (President 11th and 12th, 3x state qualifier in CX debate & Congress Debate); Class President all 4 years; National Honor Society President Senior year.
Job/Work Experience: Founded tech repair business at my school which I manged for two years.
Volunteer/Community service: Volunteer at church with technology; Sing national anthem for local ball games. (Others in Extra Curriculars Above)
Summer Activities: Spent a month in Costa Rica living with a host family and learning Spanish. Went to Finance camp in NYC (which was absolutely worthless).
Essays: Spent a long time on all of them. Common App one about how a kid I tutored wouldn’t have graduated without my help in math. Felt especially good about “Why Penn” essay; brought in two quotes from Joseph Wharton. All edited multiple times by adults (and boy am I glad; the final versions were 10 times better than my initials that I thought were good enough to submit). Also, my Native American Supplement Essay on the Penn Portal Heritage Form was really good and heartfelt; I think that was a pretty sound boost to my app.
Teacher Recommendation: Both fantastic. Calc teacher who helped me self-study for the BC test last year while enrolled in Pre-Cal and English teacher who loved me and is a great writer.
Counselor Rec: She really likes me and knows me, but doesn’t understand applications to top colleges. Only marked percentile rank for my rank and said I was in top 25% for that info by mistake instead of exact rank (To which I was like “naooooooooooo”); Still calls Penn “Penn State”
Additional Rec: From my mentor who is a retired CEO of a company in Silicon valley and went to Harvard Business School. Top notch.
Interview: poor, I fumbled with a few of my words because I was nervous and didn’t feel like I adequately answered the super-important question of “what will you bring to Penn?” This one worried me.
Other: I got to check off almost every box about “ways you have connected with Penn” like social networking, two visits, Coursera Classes, knowing somebody there, etc…</p>

<p>Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Finance
State (if domestic applicant): Texas
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Chickasaw Indian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 250k+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Native American Citizen</p>

<p>Reflection</p>

<p>Strengths: definitely objective stuff, and founded more clubs than was probably necessary, diverse extra-currics; really good “Why Penn” and Recs; Spanish stuff probably appealed to Penn’s love of foreign languages.
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: I really put a lot of time into getting to know the school and I fell in love with it and I think that showed through in my app.
Weaknesses: Definitely my counselor rec and interview. Espeically interview. I felt really awkward and she didn’t seem to enjoy it that much. Lots of my stuff in EC’s started junior year which looks pretty bad. No one thing that I followed all the way through except for class president.
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected: I was a well-qualified minority applicant, I truly love the school, and for me personally I believe because God wanted me there.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected: Accepted: MIT Early Action, University of Texas Business Honors Program. I was accepted everywhere I applied!
The most unique thing in your application: I’m betting conversational Spanish. Computer competition was also kinda random and fun. </p>

<p>Wharton/Penn is my dream school. I’m so thankful and relieved to have heard back from them and I can’t wait to be a Quaker in the class of 2019! See you all next fall!!!</p>

52

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

<p>Objective:</p>

<p>SAT I (breakdown): Not Taken
ACT (breakdown): C: 33 M:33 R:32 E:30 S: 35
SAT II: Not taken
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 6/662
AP (place score in parenthesis): 5: AP Bio, AP US Gov, AP Lang. 4: AP Environ. science, AP US History, AP Euro History
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: Anatomy I & II, Humanities, AP Chem, AP Calc BC, AP Lit, ASL I
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Achievement Semifinalist
AP Scholar with Distinction</p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Class Government(President)-4 years, Mock Trial(VP and president)-4 years, Football(Team Captain)-4 years, National Honors Society, Spanish National Honors Society
Job/Work Experience: Soccer Referee
Volunteer/Community service: Volunteer at hospital (200+ hours), Youth Athletics volunteer(45 hours)
Summer Activities: Football, Volunteering, Shadowing Surgeons
Essays: Wrote about refereeing soccer and the belligerent parents- pretty funny
Teacher Recommendation: really good. Spoke very highly of me.
Counselor Rec: She loves me; Only great words could come from her
Additional Rec:
Interview: went well. My interviewer studied the major in which I am interested and really liked me.
Other</p>

<p>Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Biological Basis of Behavior
State (if domestic applicant): Ohio
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Large Public
Ethnicity: African-American
Gender: M
Income Bracket: less than 100k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM</p>

<p>Reflection</p>

<p>Strengths:
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: try to show my true humor while also showing sincerity in my ECs as well.
Weaknesses: Supplemental Essay
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected: they liked my well-roundedness, and Imhad decent scores and GPA.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected: None.
The most unique thing in your application: my essay</p>

53

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

<p>Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2150 CR: 720 Math: 680 Writing: 750 Essay: 11
ACT (breakdown): 33 E:35 R:35 M:27 S:31 Essay: 10
SAT II: Biology (720) Literature (700)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 30/600
AP (place score in parenthesis): Lang (5) Biology (5) Statistics (3) US History (4) Lit (IP) Psychology (IP) Physics (IP)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics, AP Psychology, AP Lit, Forensics, Sports Medicine, Clinical Research and Observation, HN Pre-Calculus
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar with Honor</p>

<p>Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Crew (Varsity) FBLA, Interact, National Honor Society, Brain Bee, various shadowing experiences
Job/Work Experience: Sales Associate at Pacsun, Lifeguard at local waterpark
Volunteer/Community service: Taught kids how to row over summer, many various service activities through clubs
Summer Activities: Brown University Pre-College (Neuroscience class), shadowing doctors
Essays: Common App (9.5/10 wrote about Philly) Penn (7.5/10 seemed as though I could not show a very personal story through the prompt)
Teacher Recommendation: 10/10
Counselor Rec:10/10
Additional Rec: 10/10
Interview: I thought it went very well, I really connected with my interviewer and we had a good conversation</p>

<p>Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Biological Basis of Behavior
State (if domestic applicant): NJ
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public (one of the best in the area)
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: $30,000-$39,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First gen. college</p>

<p>Reflection</p>

<p>Strengths:
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: My strong background in science, particularly neuroscience. I’ve shadowed several doctors and I’m part of a Medical Science Academy at my school. I also compete in a statewide neuroscience competition each year.
Weaknesses: Too well-rounded, not a lot of leadership because crew is pretty much a full-time job :neutral_face:
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected: Weak leadership
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected: Drexel’s Pennoni Honors Program
The most unique thing in your application: Medical Science Academy</p>

54

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

<p>Objective:</p>

<p>SAT I (breakdown): CR 690 Math 800 Writing 780- 2270
ACT (breakdown): n/a
SAT II: Chinese 780 Math II 690
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.89 (weighted: 4.1)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 10%
AP (place score in parenthesis): Psych (5) APUSH (4) Euro History (4) Human Geo (4) AB Calc (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: AP Latin, AP Environmental Science, AP Gov, AP Macro, English, AP BC Calc
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit semi finalist, HOBY Youth Leadership school representative, Presidential Volunteer Service Award, US National Chinese Dance Competition-1st, IDC Dance Competition Regionals-1st, Korean Culture National Video Dance Competition- 4th place</p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Student Council (president- all 4 years), Chinese Dance Team (Captain) Variety Show (director), Chinese School (Valedictorian), JCL (secretary), Art (Teachers Assistant), Alto Saxophone for Pit Orchestra (Section leader), Relay for Life (Team Captain)
Job/Work Experience: Elementary School Tutor (10-12 grade)
Volunteer/Community service: Senior Citizen Home, Dance troupe organizations- Cancer charity concerts, senior home performances etc.
Summer Activities: Trip to summer school in China
Essays: Common App- (8/10) wrote about Chinese calligraphy and how it allowed me to appreciate the beauty of chinese and my culture
Why Penn (10/10)- very specific towards major and my background and because I have been involved with Penn Dance clubs before
Teacher Recommendation: 1st teacher- loved me a lot, very good letter; 2nd teacher- pretty good
Counselor Rec: Didnt know me that well but could tell I was very determined to get into Penn
Additional Rec: Art teacher- very famous painter across the world, but english isnt that great so I dont expect the best letter
Interview: went pretty well, we talked a lot about Penn, and he looked like he was on my side</p>

<p>Other</p>

<p>Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Psychology
State (if domestic applicant): Pennsylvania
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Chinese American
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: Very high
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Legacy- Sister, wealthy</p>

<p>Reflection</p>

<p>Strengths: pretty strong leadership, legacy
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: very art centered and how it applied to my major
Weaknesses: low GPA, should have participated in more competitions or started my own club
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected: low GPA, typical Chinese Female who focused on my culture in my essay, school does not have the best reputation for sending kids to Ivies especially with Conestoga, Radnor, Lower Merion, and Harriton (some of the best schools in the state) right around your area. School also usually admits one kid per class to Penn. This year a big big study hard girl got admitted to wharton ED from my school.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected: none
The most unique thing in your application: Very unique Why Penn Essay…and legacy…and very good painting portfolio</p>

<p>Final Notes: I’m angry and hopeless after finding out. Especially from an asian family, the pressure is huge and I feel so bad knowing my parents had put in so much effort only to look so glum these days.( :frowning: It was my dad’s birthday the day ED results came out). I’ve been compared to my sister since the day I was born (she’s also from UPenn and now working on Wall Street as a young asian female). Its the most horrible feeling since I was always expected to be a carbon copy of her. Its even worse having the phone ringing 24/7 of family friends calling in asking for the good news when there isnt any. And these are the people who a week ago were shouting “gosh, we know youre gonna get into Penn. how could you not?” People around me see me as a flawless person with social and leadship skills, emulating those of my sister. Finally after my 17 years of existence, they realize I’m not what they thought I was. I’d be lying if I said I haven’t contemplated suicide. And its sad that I’m telling a discussion forum of strangers this. My friends at school either think I’m coping fine with the rejection since I try to act strong in class or they just say “its ok. I know you’ll do fine wherever you go”. But its not that I wont be fine, its just in the moment looking at my devestated parents who have long gone given up on me is the most depressing feeling in the world. And no I’m not some sore loser, I wouldnt have these life ending thoughts because of some stupid letter. I’ve just felt the pressure to live up to my sister and make my parents happy. If they already have a perfect daughter then why would they need another loser who leeches on their wealth and success? This reflection turned into a rant but it was something I needed to let out. For those of you who have managed to stay til the end of my depressing letter, I wish you the best of luck whether youve been accepted, deferred, or rejected and applying to other schools. And for those of you who are juniors or other underclassmen: be you. don’t rely on some discussion forum to determine your success. You’ll find a school you love whether or not Penn is your first choice.</p>

55

<p>@lingsanity‌ - this is bad. I hope you seek help. There is no reason to think and be as down as you are. It’s the people around you that are totally out of whack and out of proportion with reality. You’ll do fine if you just keep pushing. Go see the movie “Unbroken” by Angelina Jolie - that’s my non-professional advice and my other is to get professional advice.</p>

56

<p>**Decision: Accepted **</p>

<p>Objective:
SAT I (breakdown):
ACT (breakdown): 33 (English: 35, Maths 35, Reading 29 (had 31 from the test before), Science: 31, (writing 10 from the test before)
SAT II (place score in parentheses):
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):
AP (place score in parentheses):
IB (place score in parentheses): 41/45
Senior Year Course Load:
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):</p>

<p>Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): 4 Leaderships, three of which I founded.
Job/Work Experience: 3 Internships, one that went throughout the year
Volunteer/Community Service: A few
Summer Activities: Internships
Essays: My background transitioned into refugees
Teacher Recommendations: Great -economics teacher really likes me and says I stand out because of my enthusiasm, pleasure to teach blah blah and he was part of one of the teams I founded so we had special connection -unique because everyone says he doesn’t connect with students but does so with me, philosophy teacher loves my unique approach to essays and my insight
Counselor Rec: good but generic probs
Additional Rec: from one of the internships
Interview: Amazing. Went on for 1.5 hours, most applicants in my area had 30 to 45 minutes. We talked in cafe I chose and it felt like old friends catching up. She really liked my and kept sending long emails and also said how I was so refreshing and had loads of fun etc.</p>

<p>Other
Applied for Financial Aid? nope
Projected Concentration:
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: good?
Ethnicity: asian (indian mix)
Gender: male
Income Bracket: rich
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): nope</p>

<p>Reflection
Strengths: Definitely essays. My why upenn was rly specific and they’ve probably never heard of one of the reasons I want to go, which definitely should be huge. My interview went great.
Weaknesses: My academics scores just make the cut? Weak reading score if not superscored? International asian?
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected:
Where else you are applying or have already applied: uchicago accepted
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: Work on essays a lot, start clubs, develop (a) theme(s) in your app. Make suree the activities make sense and are tied together and cohesive. Not random. I had two main themes. The majors I mentioned made sense and were like goals to my themes</p>

57

<p>@lingsanity, I hope your post was written in a moment where you were very down. If this is how you feel ongoing, please try to talk to someone. Usually schools have a psychologist who is happy to discuss these type of things with you. Also, it will be confidential. I know someone who was dealing with depression and never took the opportunity to talk to anyone. They felt they had to be “strong” and kept everything bottled up. His friends and family didn’t understand (and many times our friends and family don’t understand depression. They think it is a temporary reaction to an event and can be fixed by listening to music or relaxing). The fact that you are posting this in a random forum seems to indicate that you may not have anyone in real life to discuss this with. In this case, I would strongly suggest talking to a school psychologist or guidance counselor. It can only help. </p>

58

<p>Accepted - SEAS</p>

<p>SAT I (breakdown): N/A
ACT (breakdown): 35 (35 English, 36 Math, 33 Reading, 34 Science, 8 writing)
SAT II: Chemistry (800) Bio (790) Math II (740)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): BC (5) AP Chem (5) AP English Language (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP English Lit, Honors Physics, Multivariable Calculus, US History, AP Spanish, Art classes
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Letter of Commendation, AP Scholar, National Honors Society, Gold Award NLE, Silver Award NLE, Top in category at hackathon</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Founded and President of Tech club, Co-President of Academic Challenge team, Co-President of Varsity Tennis Team, Ballroom Dancing, Appointed to district Technology Committee, Girls Scouts
Job/Work Experience: Tutoring
Volunteer/Community service: Ambulance
Summer Activities: Girls Who Code, Barnard Summer Program, Traveling, CIT at a camp
Essays: Great, spent so much time on them 9
Teacher Recommendation: I think very good (didn’t read)
Counselor Rec: I think very good (didn’t read)
Additional Rec: I think very good (didn’t read)
Interview: It was awesome!! We had an hour and a half long conversation. </p>

<p>Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Computer Sciece
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Applied for a patent. </p>

<p>I poured my heart into this application.</p>

<p>Strengths: My math and CS passion, obvious through application and interview. scores, recommendations
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: Umm… I love CS? My heritage?
Weaknesses: My gpa, didn’t know about math competitions, only started to go to hackathons late.
Why you think you were accepted: My essays showed a different side of me. Additionally, I am really good friends with my teachers and guidance counselors, so I have a feeling that the recommendations were good
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected: Accepted to Bing
The most unique thing in your application: Adding my resume I feel like also helped. </p>

<p>GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!! I hope to see you all on the campus sometime in the future!</p>

59

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

<p>Objective:</p>

<p>SAT I (breakdown): 2290 (780 M, 760 CR, 750 W- Essay 10)
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: 780 Physics, 770 Math II, 800 Chemistry
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): Don’t have GPAs in my school but I had all As throughout high school except for one B in Urdu (national language), had 12 A*s and 1 B (in Urdu) in O levels.
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School doesn’t report ranks but top 5% (Class size is 143)
AP (place score in parenthesis): N/A
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: General Paper, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Economics (all A’ Level. From what I’ve heard the course load and difficulty of one A Level subject is equivalent to that of 2-3 APs)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): 3rd Best O’ Level Result in my batch, Top in Lahore in O level Sociology, Second Best Candidate Across 9 Cambridge O Levels</p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Parliamentary Debates (President), MUNs (Executive Member), French cultural performances and acting (executive member), Entrepreneurial Society (member), foreign exchange. Skipped the details to make this short.
Job/Work Experience: Interned at a public limited company. Worked in their accounts and sales dept for a month.
Volunteer/Community service: I work with a local NGO that works for education for the underprivileged, women empowerment, disaster relief, taught public speaking and general knowledge at low income schools. Recently got appointed as the president. Now that I’ve been admitted, I want to focus all my time and energy towards the NGO.
Summer Activities: The internship that I mentioned, most of the community service that I mentioned, traveled to an IDP camp to distribute relief packages to IDPs resulting from a military operation, traveled to India as an Assistant Director at Harvard MUN
Essays: Common App- I wrote on the topic about failure. Really proud of that essay. Everyone who read it loved it and said it was very very unique. Some people cried when they read it 9.5/10
Why Penn?- I wrote about all the things I’ve been doing in school and how I want to continue those in Penn with all the opportunities available, if admitted and I wrote about the things I wanted to do in high school but couldn’t and how Penn would allow me to pursue those as well. Talked about specific programs I was interested in. 8/10 (Could’ve been a little better than it was)
Teacher Recommendation: Got one from my French Teacher- She has known me for over 5 years and she wrote a very personal recommendation. Easily a 10/10.
Got another one from my Econ teacher- Didn’t see the final version but my counselor said it was brilliant so I’m guessing it’s at least a 9 in comparison to the French one.
Counselor Rec: Very personal and detailed. Quite amazing. She wrote about her initial impressions of me. How some things she assumed about me changed over time and how some things never changed about me. Gave a little insight into my background and how I’ve responded to challenges. 9.5 to 10.
Additional Rec: the founder of the NGO that I work with wrote it. Never saw it but he put a lot of time and effort into it and I’m pretty sure he wrote a great one.
Interview: Wasn’t exactly an interview, but more of a conversation. Went great. The interviewer and I had a lot of similar experiences in school and also had similar interests. His ending remarks were quite amazing. Went for about 45 minutes. He personally reached out to me after my decision because during my interview I told him that I’d love to know more about Penn from him.</p>

<p>Other</p>

<p>Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes (Lots!)
Intended Major: Economics. (I’d love to double major in Economics and Sociology. Didn’t put socio on my app though)
State (if domestic applicant): N/A
Country (if international applicant): Pakistan
School Type: Large semi-private. Has classes from grade 1 to A levels. A total of around 3000 students. 143 in my batch.
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None as such. But I think the Cambridge outstanding achievement awards (otherwise known as distinctions) would’ve helped in separating me from my competition.</p>

<p>Reflection</p>

<p>Strengths: Essay and Recommendations. Leadership (I think). Not sure if standardized test scores were a strength considering the rest of the Asian pool and how everyone has high standardized test scores.
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: I tried to make sure that the admissions officers could see me as a person looking at my application overall so I tried not to leave any loose ends and that all my activities and honors could be linked to my personality and interests highlighted in the essay and supplements.
Weaknesses: I would say that special focus on particular ECs happened a little late. For the first two years of high school, I tried to do everything I could. But only much later did I go more into depth into the ones that mattered most to me so leadership and achievements all came a little late. In comparison to the rest of the Asian pool, I’m sure there must be some other weaknesses too.
Why you think you were accepted: I think I was successful in making my entire application a good whole rather than bits and pieces or fragments. I’m sure the CA essay helped massively too. I initially wrote a very generic and bland essay, but wrote a new one from scratch just 5 days before the deadline. That was really my voice and I think that gave a lot of insight into me as a person. I would say that was the second best decision of my life after deciding to apply to Penn, of course. I’m sure the recommendations went a long way too.
Where else were you accepted: Didn’t apply anywhere else
The most unique thing in your application: Again, I think it’s the essay. But with regards to activities and ECs, I can’t really say how mine fit into the larger context of the Asian pool since the education systems and the opportunities available vary massively across the board</p>

<p>Final note: I never thought I would get in since I was competing with some very accomplished individuals and over and above that, I applied for financial aid when applying to a need aware college. I was completely ecstatic when I got the letter. Congratulations to all those who got admitted. For those who didn’t, I’m sure you will get into great colleges and universities come March. As one of my friend says (I couldn’t agree more with this), getting into a great university is only the means to an end. It’s not an end itself. So it doesn’t matter where you go as long as you make the most out of the opportunities provided to you. To those who still have to apply, try to be as original and creative as you possibly can and try to make sure that when the admissions officers look at your application, they should say, “Woah, I want to meet this person. Bring him on campus”. Make sure that your voice can be heard and you can be seen as an individual rather than a bunch of stats and numbers on paper. Don’t be afraid to take risks.
Also, while this result thread is meant to be a valuable resource for future applicants, it doesn’t mean that you have to be like those who got admitted. Pursue things you’re passionate about. Don’t just jump on the bandwagon. When applying to highly selective colleges, you have as good a chance of getting in as anyone else. It’s not as much about the application itself as it is how you market yourself to the admissions committee. Good luck! Feel free to message me if you need to ask anything. :)</p>

60

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

<p>Objective:</p>

<p>SAT I (breakdown): 2270 Single Sitting (750 CR/720 M/ 800 W), 2330 Superscore (760 CR/ 770 M/ 800 W)
ACT (breakdown): Not taken
SAT II: 800 Math II, 800 Biology
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.89 (4.90 weighted)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): None
AP (place score in parenthesis): Bio (5), World History (5), US History (5), Calc AB (5), Calc BC (5), Physics C (4), Lang & Comp (5), Chemistry (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: 4 APs (Statistics, Spanish, Physics 2, Psychology), rest Honors
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National AP Scholar, National Merit Semifinalist</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): JV track, Chess Team, Multi-Culture Club, Key Club, Asian American Culture Club, Concert Choir, NHS
Job/Work Experience: None (babysitting? lol)
Volunteer/Community service: Key Club
Summer Activities: volunteering in philadelphia as an TA for a church summer camp
Essays: felt pretty good about them
Counselor Rec: ^
Additional Rec: n/a
Interview: Went pretty smoothly and she was friendly and seemed to like me but i said no near the end when she asked me if I had any more questions… it was only immediately afterward that I realized that might have been a big mistake and I should have asked her about her experiences with penn and stuff… I had even prepared questions earlier but I just sorta blanked lol. Interviews make me uncomfortable.
Other</p>

<p>Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Undecided
State (if domestic applicant): Pennsylvania
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public, Top 10 In State
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none</p>

<p>Reflection</p>

<p>Strengths: GPA & Test Scores
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: highlighted my diverse academic interests and how it would fit into the opportunities offered at penn
Weaknesses: underwhelming extracurriculars
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected: good grades & test scores, but other than that I don’t have much compared to the competition at my school where penn is always a popular choice
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/deferred/rejected:
The most unique thing in your application: nothing</p>

<p>Well, getting rejected sucked, but I guess I should have expected the worst. It kinda hurt my confidence in RD too- if I had been deferred I would be less worried about my chances in other schools if I knew Penn considered me a serious candidate. I’m afraid my weak ECs are gonna sink my ship for every selective school I apply to, and I almost feel like I’m wasting my time with all these essays and crap. Oh well, I’ll find out in the spring</p>