******OFFICIAL UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA CLASS OF 2019 RD RESULTS ONLY THREAD********

[LayraSparks]

Decision: Accepted - CAS

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 2150 (CR: 690, M:690, W:770)
ACT: didn’t submit (ooops…)
SAT II: Math L1 (760), French (800), German (790), Literature (790)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.95
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/94
AP (place score in parenthesis): N/A
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: A-Level in Literature, History, Sociology, Art, French & German + public school courses
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Finalist in national German competition

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Ballet, acting & film course, Russian Club, French courses, Student Government, Choir, Event Organizer etc.
Job/Work Experience: Paid tutoring in English, French and German
Volunteer/Community service: I volunteered at MigHelp, an organization helping refugees integrate, and was a volunteer tutor at school.
Summer Activities: see ECs.
Essays: 10/10
Teacher Recommendation: 9/10
Counselor Rec: 10/10
Additional Rec: 9/10
Interview: It went really, really well!!!

Other

State (if domestic applicant): N/A
Country (if international applicant): Hungary
School Type: Public, but part-time student at independent school as well.
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: Very low-income
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None…

Reflection

Strengths: ESSAY! GPA, and maybe recommendations
Weaknesses: SAT score, international asking for financial aid
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: The essay & the interview!
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted: University of Southern California (full-tuition scholarship), Kenyon College; Waitlisted: Occidental College, Vassar College; Rejected: Dartmouth, Cornell, Duke, Johns Hopkins, Amherst, Swarthmore, Oberlin, Vanderbilt

General Comments: I did not see this coming at all…My SAT is low for Penn, I asked for a lot of financial aid, and I was rejected from most of the other schools I applied to, although some are way less prestigious. I am so conflicted now, though. My EFC is $500, which is ridiculously low, and I absolutely love Penn, but I was already set on attending USC, which had been my #1 choice for the past 5 years, and would cost about $15k/year. And since I’m a Cinema major, decision is even more difficult…

[malpal97]

Decision: Accepted - CAS

Objective:

ACT: first sitting 25, second 28 and third 27 lol
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.98
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): n/a
AP (place score in parenthesis): APUSH (4) AP Comp (3) I didn’;t send them anyway
Senior Year Course Load: AP Lit, AP Gov, AP French, Precalc, Physics, and self-studying AP Art history
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):Other than getting featured in some local galleries not much rly

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Tour guide at a museum, founded a diversity club at my school, a peer connector in which I help teach freshman sem classes, photo club pres, NHS, Oratorical coach at my old middle school during contest season, i paint, do archaeological illustration and do murals (submitted a portfolio)
Job/Work Experience: Froyo Shop
Volunteer/Community service: Mission trip to Camden after junior year, helped out at various elderly homes and my middle school’s day-camp
Summer Activities: Art stuff, went to Brown University’s pre-college for Egyptology last summer
Essays: 9/10
Teacher Recommendation:9/10 great relationship with them
Counselor Rec:8/10 she’s super awesome but she has to write so many
Additional Rec: 10/10 from an egyptologist
Interview: Pretty well

Other

State (if domestic applicant): CT
School Type: Private (Catholic)
Ethnicity: biracial (kenyan/italian-american)
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: less than 100k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM

Reflection

Strengths: Essays, ECs, interests
Weaknesses: Scores (I just didn’t care), no demonstrated interest rly

Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I guess my interests (major: Near Eastern Studies)
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted: Umass, BU, Wesleyan, Vassar, Bryn Mawr. Rejected: Yale and Brown

General Comments: I’m in shock… I focused most of my energy elsewhere but I’m definitely overjoyed. Leaving my stats here to show that scores aren’t everything, admissions are a crapshoot, and there is always hope

[TheDeferredOne]

Decision: Accepted - SEAS

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 2240 (CR: 750, M:770, W:720)
ACT: 35 (35 E, 36 M, 33 R, 36 S, 11 W)
SAT II: Math II (790), Chemistry (770), US History (770)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): My school doesn’t rank
AP (place score in parenthesis): Physics C Mechanics (5), Calculus BC (5), Psychology (5), US History (4), English Lang (5), Macroeconomics (4), Microeconomics (5), US Government (4), Chemistry (4)
Senior Year Course Load: Humanities Lit & History, AP Computer Science, AP Biology, Orchestra
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National AP Scholar, National Merit Finalist, some local science/math awards but nothing else really

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Student Council (Steering Committee), Orientation Guides (Steering Committee), NHS, a couple of others
Job/Work Experience: Cell phone programmer at a local small business
Volunteer/Community service: 200+ hours at a nature center, other service clubs
Summer Activities: Research at two different colleges, promised co-author position at one of the colleges. Attended a science camp sponsored by a major chemical company. Music summer camp!
Essays: Common App 9/10. It was on my experiences moving around a lot as a child and what I learned from it. Sort of a cliche topic, but I thought I put a pretty unique spin on it. My friends all liked it a lot. Supplement 8/10. My supplement was pretty straightforward and sincere, not really anything fancy. I just told them how my experiences relate to what I want from Penn and what I dream of accomplishing in the future with an engineering degree.
Teacher Recommendation: 9/10. My teachers really liked me
Counselor Rec: 8/10 My counselor is really nice, but I’ve had four different counselors since freshman year. I really didn’t get to know any of them.
Additional Rec: 10/10 From my professor at one of my research positions who really liked me.
Interview: 9/10 She was super nice, and we had a great discussion.

Other

State (if domestic applicant): MI
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 100~150k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None

Reflection

Strengths: Essays, recommendations, and summer activities
Weaknesses: SAT score, lack of major awards
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Probably because of the essays and summer activities. I edited both the common app and the penn supplement a lot!
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted: University of Michigan. Waitlisted: UChicago Rejected: Harvard, Princeton, MIT, Columbia, Stanford

General Comments: So ecstatic I got in! For you future applicants, remember that stats aren’t everything. Distinguish yourself by doing what you love to do! For me, that was research, so I put in all my efforts to do that. Good luck and have fun!

[RoseOak3918]

Decision: Accepted - CAS

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 2370 (770 M)
ACT: did not take
SAT II: 780 Latin, 720 USH, 740 Math 2, 730 Literature
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.15 W, ~3.7 UW
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Not ranked, but somewhere around the top 15%
AP (place score in parenthesis): four 5s, one 3
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: 5 APs, Mandarin Chinese, required religion classes, Math 114 at Penn in fall semester
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
Subjective: nothing major, but NMF, AP Scholar with Distinction, VFW Voice of Democracy essay district winner

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Main ones are school newspaper (editor in chief), Culinary Club (VP), Mock Trial
Job/Work Experience: work at an ice cream place about 10 hrs/week most of the year
Volunteer/Community service: not much, but I went on a service trip to California one summer and I’ve done a few smaller service activities throughout the years
Summer Activities: Took an online geometry class after freshman year, went on a service trip to California after sophomore year, took Math 104 at Penn during the summer session after junior year!
Essays: my Why Penn essay was decent, but not spectacular. It was well written, but probably pretty standard. Common app was about how the neighborhood I live in has shaped my values
Teacher Recommendation: The one I read was absolutely amazing, and the other I didn’t read, so I’m not sure, but it was probably pretty good!
Counselor Rec: Standard, she doesn’t know me very well
Additional Rec: none
Interview: interview went okay, again nothing special! I couldn’t tell whether my interviewer liked me or not.

Other

State (if domestic applicant): PA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: all-girls private Catholic
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: ~$125,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Philadelphia resident

Reflection

Strengths: SAT score, the fact that I’ve taken two math classes at Penn already, a lot of demonstrated interest in the school, recommendations
Weaknesses: GPA, lackluster essay, interview
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Living in Philadelphia definitely played a huge role, but besides that I think taking classes at Penn really helped me get in. I was able to express why I want Penn specifically, and it showed that I am interested.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Waitlisted: Georgetown
Rejected: Harvard, Yale
Accepted: Fordham (w/ full scholarship and honors program invite), Boston College (+honors program), UNC Chapel Hill, Case Western, and Penn State

General comments: I’m officially a Quaker!!! Can’t wait for the next four years!

[tccbay]

Decision: Rejected - CAS

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 2280 (CR 740 M 790 W 750) Superscore
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: Math II 750 Chemistry 800 Bio M 760
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.82
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 27/780
AP (place score in parenthesis): Calc BC (5), Chem (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Bio, AP Physics 1, AP Physics 2, AP Stat, English H, Social Studies H
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Finalist

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): NHS, Usher at my church, JV track (9,10,11)
Job/Work Experience: Run a online business with over $200,000 in sales in the past year
Volunteer/Community service: Appalachia Service Project (11,12)
Summer Activities: Research at Penn and got a publication
Essays: probably a 7, did the failure CA essay, Penn essay was decent, 8
Teacher Recommendation: AP Calc teacher and AP Bio teacher, both 8
Counselor Rec: They have to write a ton, so generic, 5
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: Went ok but completely choked on one question.

Other:

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Chemistry
State (if domestic applicant): PA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Large public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: >$150,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None

Reflection:

Strengths: showed a lot of interest for my major in the essays and research at Penn
Weaknesses: Not many ECs, gpa is a bit low
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Not really sure. I guess just a ton of qualified candidates to pick from.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted to Cornell, Penn State, Drexel, Lehigh, Rejected from Columbia (ED), Northwestern

General Comments: I’m surprised I wasn’t at least waitlisted considering I did research there and showed a lot of interest. But I got into Cornell so this just made my choice easy. Congrats to everyone who got in!

[saltydog97]

Decision: Rejected - Wharton

Objective:

ACT: 33. E: 33, M: 35, R: 31(from different test), S: 35
SAT II: Bio M: 710, Math II: 700
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.86
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP scores: Did not report
IB scores: N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Spanish, AP Calc BC, AP English, Psych/hon, Econ/hon, Physics/hon, other electives
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Eagle Scout Badge, Coaches Award from football team, a bunch of school given awards in different subjects

Subjective:

Extracurriculars: Boy Scouts (eagle scout), varsity football, varsity baseball, BBYO (jewish youth group), Schools for Africa club, Have taken electric guitar lessons for years (have recorded many songs), Fantasy football commissioner, rec basketball for town league
Job/Work Experience: Work at Amherst College dining hall as a food runner
Volunteer/Community service: Lots through Boy Scouts including a big service project I did with a local adult literacy organization, Internship with a Umass Judaic studies professor over the summer (wrote an additional rec)
Essays: I thought they were great. Wrote common app about being a boy scout amidst the homophobic laws banning gay scouts in my uber-liberal and progressive area and how it affected me and my eventual decision to continue and become an eagle scout (had a professional writer who is a friend of my mom’s read it and edit). Focused on interest in Actuarial Science and talked about how Wharton and their professors would help me study Actuarial Science with a focus on Sports.
Teacher Recommendations: AP Euro teacher: 9/10(very smart, great writer), Calc teacher: 9/10 (read it, excellent rec)
Counselor Rec: 7/10, doesn’t know me too well, and english is her 2nd language. I sort of told her what to focus on.
Additional Rec: Umass Judaic studies and holocaust professor
Interview: Interview went extremely well, I didn’t think it would really help me, and clearly…it did not. I really liked my dude and we shared some similar interests
Intended Major: Actuarial Science

Other

State (if domestic applicant): MA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public with 1000 students
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: cerca 140,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None

Reflection

Strengths: Extracurriculars, essays, unique interest within Wharton
Weaknesses: SAT II math score, Did not list APs (a four and two threes), GPA isnt outstanding for Cornell, Counselor rec, Mid-year grades were only so-so
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Extremely competitive (especially in Wharton), did not have enough going for me compared to the other applicants, who knows why

Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted: Washington and Lee, Maryland (Honors), Wisconsin-Madison, Umass (Honors)
Waitlisted: Michigan, Cornell
Rejected: Penn, Harvard, Northwestern, Duke (ED), Wash U, UVA
General Comments: I really liked Penn, and I would have gone here over anywhere else besides Duke. Not surprised, it’s such a crapshoot, you may as well go for it, but don’t be surprised if (and in most cases when) you get rejected, and don’t take it personally at all. I once read a famous quote on this site saying “When you’re in the dough, fax the colleges that denied you a copy of your rejection letter every day — letting them know just how badly they screwed up.” I though that is pretty applicable to a lot of people. You never realize how hard it is to get into these schools until you don’t get in yourself. Excited about the options that I have! Hoping to get off a waitlist.

[bemore19]

**Decision: Accepted - CAS

Objective:
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2070 (690 CR, 700M, 680 W)
[] ACT (breakdown): Didn’t take
[] SAT II: 760 Math II, 700 Spanish
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/480
[] AP (place score in parentheses): Spanish Lang (5), Euro (3), English lang (5), Chem (3), Calc AB (3)
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Lit, AP Gov, AP Art Hist, AP Psych, AP Enviro Sci, AP Human Geo, 2 semesters of journalism
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Our school newspaper won “Best in Show” at a pretty prestigious high school newspaper convention.

[/list]Subjective:
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses):
-Spanish section of the school newspaper (editor, translator) [11,12]
-Junior State of America club (President) [11,12]
-Beyond Diversity club at the community college [11,12]
-California Scholarship Federation club [9,10,11,12]
-JV Volleyball [9,10]
-Club volleyball [10]
[li] Job/Work Experience:[/li]-I work 25+ hours a week at a Brazilian steakhouse. I’m the lead hostess and the job requires me to speak in Portuguese, Spanish, and English. I am also an administrative assistant for the restaurant. I do filing projects, translate documents, and take care of some technological aspects. Absolutely in love with my job. Began over summer and will continue working there until I go off to college.
-Soccer referee [10,11,12]
[li] Volunteer/Community service:[/li]-Homeless outreach team (translator, team leader) [9,10,11,12]
-Big Brothers Big Sisters (mentor) [11,12]
-Unpaid Spanish and English tutor [9,10,11,12]
-Mexico missions trips (translator, team leader) [9,11,12]
[li] Summer Activities: I worked a lot over summer.[/li][] Essays: Common app was about my spinal surgery and how I transitioned from playing volleyball competitively to being a dedicated fan to my school’s sports teams. Really heartfelt and I had the smartest people I know look over it. Out of all the essays I wrote for college apps, my Penn supp was my strongest. It definitely showed good fit for the school.
[] Teacher Recommendation: Spanish teacher, Gov teacher, and English teacher. I’ve read the Spanish and Gov ones and they were very touching. My relationships with those three teachers go beyond the classroom for sure and I think their recs did a good job explaining who I am as a person outside of an academic setting too.
[] Counselor Rec: I haven’t read it but we’re close so I would assume it was great!
[] Additional Rec: One of my good friends wrote me a peer rec. I actually haven’t read it yet!
[] Interview: Went pretty well. She lives many states over so we FaceTimed and it was fun. She participated in one of the programs that I was really wanting to do if admitted to Penn.
[li] Supplementary Material: n/a[/li]
[/list]Other
[]Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
[] State (if domestic applicant): CA
[] School Type: Large public (about 2000 students)
[] Race: white
[] Gender: female
[] Income Bracket(mention if FA candidate): like around 25k
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): nope[/li]
[/list]Reflection
[] Strengths: Focused ECs for the most part, interview, language stuff, working a lot, rank and GPA.
[] Weaknesses: Test scores…ughh.
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I feel like schools downplay the significance of the interview, but I’ve got to believe they hold some weight. The only schools where I was given an interview were Penn and Harvard and I got into both of them.
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
-Accepted: Harvard, UCLA, LSU, UC Berkeley, UNC-Chapel Hill, USC.
-Waitlisted: Dartmouth, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.
-Rejected: Vanderbilt (ED), Washington University in St. Louis, Duke, Northwestern.

[/list]**General Comments: ** I am 100% shocked. My admissions results were so across the board that I didn’t know what to expect when it came time for Ivy decisions. I sent in my app on January 5. Thank god they extended the deadline because I wasn’t done on Jan 1. I’m visiting Penn on Saturday but I’m pretty set on Harvard! Advice to future applicants: show focus/depth in your ECs, DO THE INTERVIEW, don’t let your lower test scores deter you from applying (mine almost did but my Dad encouraged me to still apply), and show your personality in your essays.

[muncom]

**Decision: ACCEPTED!!! (SEAS) **

Objective:
ACT: Composite-35(E-36, M-36, R-35, S-32, Essay-11, Writing-35)
SAT II: Physics(800); Math(790); Biology(760);

Grades: ICSE: 95.00% cumulative, 96.40% best 5 aggregate;
IB diploma predicted 41/42, 777 at Physics, Chem, Math HL;
APs: World History(5), European History(5) (self-studied)
Major awards: National Merit Semifinalist, international quizzing and Model UN awards. 2nd place in India for spelling.

Subjective:
I’m not following the format, sorry. I’m just copy pasting. I do not feel I can judge my own recs or essays. Instead, I’m posting a rundown of my ECs.

1. MUN- President, head delegate and Best and Outstanding delegate awards at multiple regional/international level conferences, train children for MUN. Secretary General of intra-school conference, executive board member of international level conference.
2. Founder of a registered NGO that trains children in English and public speaking/debate. Developed own curriculum for debate training at orphanages. Currently have 300 children in our program.
3. Quiz team captain, founder- local awards at multiple quizzes. Won 1st place(school category) at an international quiz with participants across the continent.
4. Spelling: 2nd place (all-India) at the India Spell Bee 2011. House team captain during 9th and 10th grade.
5. Editor-in-Chief- of school yearbook and newsletter, coordinate all literary activities in school. In charge of school yearbook, major annual publication
6. Writing- multiple awards at regional level.
7. Debate team captain and founder- local awards, organized regional qualifier for national level debate tournament.
8. Independent science projects- Made irrigation system for local farmers, made an android app for school’s attendance, won astrophysics engineering design competition
9. Internship at local web design company-coded in SQL, CSS
10. Internship web data/dev. firm- designed a Java/PHP web crawler-Summer after junior year and sophomore year. Wrote an android app-summer after sophomore year.

Other
Applied for Financial Aid? Yes
Projected Concentration: Computer Science
State/Country: US Citizen applying from India
School Type: IB
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none.

Reflection
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted: Dartmouth, JHU, Vandy, CWRU, GATech, UVa, UT Austin, Texas A&M
Rejected: CMU, Cornel, Harvard, Yale, MIT
Waitlisted: Swarthmore, WUSTL, Duke, Harvey Mudd, Columbia, Brown, UChicago.

[VW1965]

Decision: Rejected - CAS

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): didn’t take
ACT: 34C (36E, 35R, 33S, 31M)
SAT II: didn’t send bc terrible
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.98
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 10%
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP US History - didn’t send score, but I got a 4
IB (place score in parenthesis): nope
Senior Year Course Load: AP Lit, AP Stats, AP Gov, AP Psych, College Physics, various
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): NCWIT Aspirations in Computing National Runner-Up and Affiliate Winner, DECA Awards, Student of the Year from Elks Lodge, blah blah blah

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): DECA (President - improved the club in a lot of ways), Elections Committee (President and Student Government Chair), English and Writing Tutoring Center (Coordinator, Founding Tutor), Humanitarian Advocate Leadership Council (Founder), Utah STEM and CTE Education Advocate, NHS (Officer 2 years), Utah Business Week (CEO, lots of awards)
Job/Work Experience: Run website and social media for a not-for-profit, made website for a local news organization, started an online business selling re-constructed vintage clothing
Volunteer/Community service: Taught Robotics and Art lessons at my local Science Museum, random stuff ~300 hrs
Summer Activities: Only one I mentioned was Utah Business Week
Essays: Common App was about how whitewater rafting shaped who I am. It was kind of risky since it had nothing to do with academics or extracurriculars but I thought it was well written and expressive of who I am (7/10), UPenn essay was good. I talked about how I was born an artist but made into a scientist and what I want to do with that combination. Probably not Penn-specific enough.
Teacher Rec #1: (7/10) - English teacher. She knows me fairly well and I think she wrote good things, but probably generic.
Teacher Rec #2: (6/10) - English teacher. Can’t imagine it would be much different from the other one, but probably good.
Counselor Rec: (7/10) - She loves me a lot but I can imagine that it would be generic.
Additional Rec: (9/10) - Computer Science teacher. Cry every time I read it - she loves me. Only 9/10 because it was really long.
Interview: Asked but did not receive

Other

State (if domestic applicant): Utah
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public (~3K students)
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: 50K - 100K
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Girl in STEM? Not really anything else. Oh, I’m from Utah haha.

Reflection

Strengths: Scores and GPA were good but my school doesn’t offer many tough classes. My recommendations were solid.
Weaknesses: Not very passionate about Penn. Wasn’t even sure I wanted to apply at first and my application was submitted late.
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Like I said above, didn’t really demonstrate interest.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Rejected - Northwestern, University of Chicago; Waitlisted - Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Barnard College; Accepted - Columbia University, Tufts University, NYU, USC’s Iovine and Young Academy, University of Utah

General Comments: It’s cool, I’m happy with the way things worked out in the end! Congratulations to everyone who got in, UPenn is a great school!

[gramophone]

[ size=4][ color=red][ b]Decision: Rejected - Wharton**[/color][/size]

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 2320, 800 CR, 740 W, 780 M
ACT: -
SAT II: Physics, Chem, Math 2 800
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): -
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): -
AP (place score in parenthesis): -
IB (place score in parenthesis): 42/45
Senior Year Course Load: IB 3 HL sciences and math, 3 SL languages and econs
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Banking case competitions, start-up pitches, usual academic awards and nonsense
Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Newsletter (board), investment club (board), volunteer club (board)
Job/Work Experience: Personal financial consultant, restaurant manager, volunteer police officer (may have been excessive in my common app)
Volunteer/Community service: Volunteer leader at 3 organizations, regular initiatives for overseas community service trips, led heavy fundraising projects.
Summer Activities:
Essays: Strong
Teacher Recommendation: Blind rec, but most definitely weak
Counselor Rec: Blind rec, but probably weak
Additional Rec: -
Interview: Grilling session by an extremely old alumna who couldn’t answer a single question about Penn or even answer how she felt Penn helped her as a person. She machine-gunned me with her list of questions.

Other

State (if domestic applicant): -
Country (if international applicant): Asian country
School Type: IB, weak US support
Ethnicity: Chinese
Gender: M
Income Bracket: -
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): -

Reflection

Strengths: Scores were good, ECs were alright, work experience was strong
Weaknesses: Asian country so scores from my school were all on the high-side, tough to stand out.
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Bad luck
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Rejected: Ivies and stanford

General Comments:

[amritk]

**Decision: Accepted SEAS **

SAT I (breakdown): 2200 (M:800, CR:680, W:720)
ACT (breakdown):
SAT II: Math II: 800, Physics: 800
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School doesn’t rank
AP (place score in parenthesis):
IB (place score in parenthesis): Math HL (7), Physics HL (7), Computer Science HL (7), Language and Literature SL (7), Spanish AB Initio (6), Economics SL (7), TOK/EE (2), Predicted 43/45
Senior Year Course Load: Full IB Diploma
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Individual initiated and lead charity effort in my city
President/Head of Debate Club (Placed at several noteworthy tournaments)
MUN (Received Honors at several conferences)
Varsity Basketball Captain
Paid Voice Actor
Secretary of Student Council
First Place at annual science symposium
Job/Work Experience: Summer Internship at Cyber-security Firm
Volunteer/Community service: See ECs
Summer Activities: See Work Experience, Public Forum Debate camp at Harvard University

Applied for Financial Aid?:
Intended Major: Computer Science
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant): India
School Type: International
Ethnicity: South Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: No FA so…
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): International

Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected:

Where else were you Accepted: Georgia Tech, UCLA, UCSD, Carnegie Mellon, UPenn, Cornell and Offers from UK Colleges (Imperial, UCL, Durham, Warwick, Edinborough), .

Rejected: Harvard, UC Berkeley, UT Austin

[CollegeBound6513]

Decision: Accepted - CAS Vagelos Scholars Program in the Molecular Life Sciences

Objective:
SAT I: single sitting: 2340 --> 800 M, 800 W, 740 CR --> I’m going to agree with cttwenty15 and say that it’s of no use enrolling in SAT lecture/tutorial programmes. Just buy the newest edition of the SAT guide and you will do fine. I did much better than those of my friends who took SAT tutorials
ACT: did not take
SAT II: 800 Math 2, 800 Chemistry, 780 Chinese, 760 Biology (M)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): School does not do GPA
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School does not rank
AP (place score in parentheses): No AP Classes
IB (place score in parenthesis): Math HL (7), Biology HL (7), Chemistry HL (7), History HL (7), English Language and Literature SL (7), Indonesian Language and Literature SL (7), TOK/EE (3), Predicted 45/45
Senior Year Course Load: Full IB Diploma
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

Subjective:
ECs:

1. Secretary of the Student Council
2. Leadership Team of the MUN/Debate/Moot Court club
3. Founder and President of the Math Club
4. 4-year President and Head Student Trainer of the Senior Choir
5. 3 years of Rugby (Junior Varsity Captain in my Sophomore Year), 2 years of Volleyball (Captain of Middle School Team)
6. Musical Theater experience in and out of school

Volunteer/Community service: A LOT…mostly without knowing it
Summer Activities: Travelling and Internships at Hospitals
Essays: I loved my Common App Essay. My advice to future appliers: Use the essays as a chance to reflect on your life journey. What makes you unique
Teacher Recommendation: Did not see
Counselor Rec: Did not see
Interview: I expect it went very well. Interviewer was amazingly nice and calm
Supplementary Material: None

Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Vagelos MLS Program OR Double Major in Biochemistry and International Relations
Region: Indonesia
School Type: Private International
Ethnicity: Mixed (White and Asian)
Gender: Male
Hooks: None I can think of

Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted: In addition to getting in RD to Penn (Vagelos Scholars Program in the Molecular Life Sciences), Brown, Emory, NYU, Haverford, Lehigh, Trinity, American, Villanova
Rejected: RD to Harvard, Georgetown
Waitlisted: Yale, still thinking of whether to go to Yale or not even if accepted

General Comments:
Kinda bummed I got rejected by Harvard, but excited after seeing my potential classmates in Penn and/or Yale. Good luck to everyone trying next year and remember, colleges do not define who you are, you define what your college experience will be.

[npswimmer44]

Decision: Waitlisted - Wharton

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 1840
ACT (breakdown): 34 (34S, 33R, 34E, 33M)
SAT II: 700 Chem, 640 Math II
Unweighted GPA: 3.91
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 14/230
AP (place score in parenthesis):5 (APHG), 4 (AP Comp, APUSH), 3 (AP Bio, AP Chem)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP US Government, AP English Literature, AP Stats, AP Calc BC, AP Physics I, Economics, Ceramics I
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): QB CPS, QB NCM Finalist, AP Scholar with Distinction, scored in top .1% of Math Contest - attending nationals this month

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Swimming (11 x Reserve Conference Champion, 3 x Captain, 2 x School Record Holder, Mental Attitude Award Winner, Most Valuable Swimmer Award), Equestrian (Reserve World Champion, 3rd All-Around at World Show, National Direction of Association, Multiple State High Point Awards), National Honors Society, internship at Notre Dame in the Chemical Engineering department
Job/Work Experience: lifeguarding every summer
Volunteer/Community service: 400+ hours as an assistant swim coach for our middle school, and about 100+ hours for volunteer lifeguarding at community events
Summer Activities: working, competing in swimming and equestrian events
Essays: Pretty good I think! My Common App was awesome IMO
Teacher Recommendation: Both of my teachers gave really good recommendations - I’ve had both for 3 years and one said she “made me sound like a rockstar”
Counselor Rec: Really good. I go to a small school, so she knows me pretty well! She’s very excited about my college applications!
Additional Rec: N/A
Short Answer Questions: I think good! I don’t really remember them
Interview: Seriously awesome. My interviewer loved me - she talked to a my friend’s mom (who she knows) about me - she said I was her best interviewee ever

Other:

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Economics in Wharton and Mathematics
State (if domestic applicant): Indiana
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Rural Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: <30,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

Reflection:

Strengths: Scores, I think my EC’s
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: I really focused on my hardships from my QB application
Weaknesses: GPA, probably some of my awards aren’t as astounding as some people
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected:
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: IU (Honors + Direct Admit to Kelly), Purdue (Honors + Direct Admit), Northwestern (ISP), Notre Dame (Mendoza Pre-Approval), Waitlisted at UChicago and Columbia, Denied at MIT
Notes: Awesome job everyone! Keep your head up! You will find your dream college!

[arvorie]

Really procrastinated doing this, haha

Decision: Accepted Likely - CAS, SEAS (VIPER Dual-Degree)

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 2340 (CR 800, M 800, W 740)
SAT II: Bio M 800, USH 740, Math II 800, Physics 780
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.6 or 3.7? I’m not sure
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): No idea
AP (place score in parenthesis): Biology (5), USH (5), Chem (5), Lang (5), Psych (Self-study, 5), about to take 5 more this year gasp

Senior Year Course Load:
AP Lit, AP Calc BC, AP US Gov, AP Physics C, AP Stats, Honors Chinese

Major Awards: Not really any haha

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Global Issues Network (10, VP 11, P 12)
Debate (10, 11, 12)
Model UN (10, 11, ASG for YMUN-Taipei 12)
Interact Club (8-12)
A Cappella (8-12)

Job/Work Experience:
Biomimetics/orgo internship at NCTU
Taught debate camp one summer as prep for WSDC 2014

Volunteer/Community service:
Volunteering at home for the mentally challenged with Interact

Summer Activities:
Aforementioned internship and debate camps, WSDC 2014

Essays: CA was about being gay and how conservative Chinese culture, though harmonious, has its own toxic atmosphere that is different from being in somewhere directly hostile the way media depicts LGBT vs homophobia (7/10, didn’t feel like it was amazing). Why Penn was a generic essay with gratuitous references stolen from Penn’s PR propaganda (5/10), VIPER essay was about, well, my interest in energy research and what I envisioned my future work to be (8/10, but only because the likely letter said it was good. I honestly don’t know how to rate these things)

Teacher Recommendation: APUSH teacher (9/10, she loves me… I think?) and Physics teacher (5-7/10, I really don’t know - FERPA rights waived, haha. He knew me since 8th grade though, which should be a plus)
Counselor Rec: Principal wrote this, counselor said it was a (10/10) but I really don’t know
Additional Rec: None
Interview: Was pretty cool, I really clicked with her and had a long conversation about Penn, current events, issues in the scientific community, whaling in Japan, GMOs and GM foods, and how she went into SEAS and came out of CAS with an Architecture degree. Hated on Princeton, then talked about how all Ivies are great and wonderful, then hated on Harvard, etc.

Other

State (if domestic applicant): None, but I’m domestic
Country (if international applicant): Taiwan, but I’m domestic
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Chinese/Taiwanese/TCK
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: Don’t know lmao
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None

Reflection

Strengths and weaknesses: I honestly am really bad at this self-assessment thing
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: The likely letter praised my writing, so maybe my VIPER-specific essay was good? I’m a pretty generic well-rounded but not outstanding applicant, so I was pretty surprised at my acceptance (Likely, too!)

Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted: Rice, Carnegie Mellon, Yale-NUS, Rensselaer
Waitlisted: Harvey Mudd
Rejected: MIT (EA, dream deferred, dream exploded), Princeton, Cornell, Yale

General Comments: I mean, I hate to be that kid who downplays their acceptances, but I saw so many other more deserving applicants to Penn from my school and from other kids in Taiwan that I know. I have a pretty good profile, but there’s nothing really that special about me like extensive scientific research or distinguished volunteering experiences, etc. I’m just really grateful that admissions saw something in me that maybe I haven’t seen myself yet, and I hope that (if I enroll) I can make the most out of what Penn has to offer. Congratulations to everyone else, and congratulations to those who were rejected by Penn who got into other amazing places! I can’t wait to be inspired by and learn from all of you in college.

[starbreath]

Decision: Accepted - CAS

Posting a bit late. I have mixed feelings about College Confidential. These types of forums, however, always helped while I was looking into and applying for colleges, so I decided a while back that I’d post my own decision here once I received it.

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2370 (800 W, 800 CR, 770 M)
ACT: N/A
SAT II: 790 Lit, 780 US History, 730 Spanish, 750 Bio
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School doesn’t rank
AP (place score in parenthesis): US History (5), Bio (5), Env Sci (5), Lang/Comp (5) Euro (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc AB, AP Physics, AP English IV, Student Council, AP Gov/Econ, Spanish IB HL2
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Semifinalist, various private/regional writing awards

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):

Freelance writer

• Have been writing my whole life. Sixteen pieces published in various literary magazines, anthologies, and newspapers.
• Seven writing awards in various private and regional competitions
• Interviewed as youngest “Author of the Month” in The Missing Slate’s history

Student Council

• Commissioner of Clubs & Organizations: Carried out various initiatives to revamp dying club culture at school, created new, improved clubs website, digitized Club Constitution/Club Minutes process, started Club of the Week, began Club Points system to invigorate club spirit
• Sophomore Class Secretary: Raised $5,000 for Class of 2015/ sold out Talent Show and Film Fest, organized steering committees, t-shirt sales, class color change, etc.

Other

• Raised $6000 in walk-a-thon to study abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina for a month to hone Spanish at local academy and live with my adorable host grandmother!
• Founder/prez of charitable organization which sends personalized art to terminally-ill children
• Founder/prez of Asian Culture club (You don’t have to be Asian to join!)

Job/Work Experience: High school blogger for test prep company (I work minimum wage. WOOOO, STARVIN WRITERS, YEAH!

Volunteer/Community service:

• Transcriber for prison reform radio program: I transcribe and proofread handwritten letters from federal and state prisoners to the organization.
• Peace Corps Campus Ambassador: Recruited as only high schooler in nationwide Peace Corps Ambassador program. Helped organize recruitment, outreach strategies, worked to promote Peace Corps at school with regional recruiter. I strongly encourage other applicants to apply as a high schooler--NOT for college, but because Peace Corps is just a gorgeous organization, and there should be more awareness at the high school level. The job is meant for universities, so my case was a little unusual, but hey--apply anyways! That's what I did.
• Designed over 1000 bandanas for cuties looking for a home at local animal shelters to help improve chances of adoption.
• Second Reader Editor for Polyphony HS- International Magazine-- reaches dozens of countries

Summer Activities: Fundraising, studying abroad in Argentina, working on Women Weave the Web campaign, freelance writing/submitting to publications, Camp NaNoWriMo, writing articles for minimum wage (woo), Student Council work, editing for magazine, traveling, organizing campaigns for my organization

Essays (rating 1-10, details):
I don’t think I can give an accurate “rating” for my essays. I tried my best–I wrote at my best.

Personal statement: About working as a transcriber for a radio program even though volunteers had to be “18 years and older.” Showed how I hate staying within my comfort zone and how I challenged my traditional beliefs about prisoners. Talked about importance of empathy and my passion for prison reform.

Why Penn: My best “Why” essay out of all the colleges I applied to. Talked about being an idealist, pursuing research under a Fels professor, continuing my student-run organization at Penn, interdisciplinary programs, etc.

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 7 - From Activities Director at school/in charge of Student Council and Mock Trial. I’ve known him since freshman year. He thinks I’m “shy” though, so idk how accurate the rec was…

Teacher Rec #2: 9 - From Chem teacher who was also my class advisor while I was a class officer-- known since freshman year. I love her! It should’ve been good.

Counselor Rec: 9 - We got along really well, and she was a sweet lady. We weren’t really close, though.

Additional Rec: 10 - From online employer; very, very good.

Interview: Online interview over video chat. She was super nice, especially considering I was late to my own interview. We scheduled for 5:00, but I didn’t realize she meant 5 in her time zone…I was still at school in my time zone, so she was waiting for like twenty minutes before I realized what was happening. Oopssss.

Other

State (if domestic applicant): Katy Perry
Country (if international applicant): The Best One, obv.
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Filial piety yo ((o)/)
Gender: Lady
Income Bracket: <60,000 (We’re not doing so well right now–just moved.)
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): To be honest, I’m an Asian from a well-off suburb in California. Not much going for me hook-wise

Reflection

Strengths: Good writer, unique ec’s that I’m passionate about.
Weaknesses: I refuse to say that being Asian is my weakness because secretly it is my strength. Kimchi is love. Kimchi is life.
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Honestly surprised bc the RD acceptance rate was around 7%. I was completely shocked when I got my decision–but this was definitely my strongest application.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted - USC, UCLA, UC Berkeley, George Washington University; Waitlisted - Yale, Georgetown; Rejected: Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, Stanford

General Comments: Congrats to everyone who got in; to those who didn’t, all of you are extremely impressive. Please don’t think this is a reflection of how valuable you are as a person.

To future applicants: Focus not on doing as many things as possible, but concentrating on the things that really matter to you. I made the mistake of trying to do too many things, and in the end, I didn’t even have room to fit it all in the Common App. Just breathe and do what you are passionate about.