WELCOME TO THE CC UPENN ED STRESSED OUT APPLICANTS THREAD.
@TheWaffleMan149 is correct in that some categories are weighted more than others, but here is how I would organize it.
GPA (transcript is a rather more proper term) probably counts for like 50% > Test Scores (but only to see that you can achieve a certain score; for Penn, probably 2200+) > CommonApp Essay (here’s where I still disagree) > Penn Essay > EC’s > Recs > Interview
@TheWaffleMan149 - totally agree. I have been analyzing this since last 4 months. Out of the 6 contributing factors (GPA, Scores, Recommendations, Common app essay, ECs, and essay) - a typical public school give very high brownie points to the GPA/scores.
But truly great colleges like the IVYs, Stanford, UCchicago, etc give a huge weight to the essays because most of the applicants are highly qualified (except some from the quota pool).
After speaking to many of the admission counselors, they seem to converge on the idea that the only way to find someone that stands out is thru the essays. But, they also realize that these days, essays could be bought and people may pay someone to write the essay (good lord!). So, they look upto the recommendation letters to see if the story stitches together - hoping that the teachers cannot be bought to lie.
Hence, the GPA, scores, essays, recommendations and ECs - if they all speak the same story or in alignment to each other, the story of the applicant sounds more authentic.
Hence, essays are a key to identify those non-linear (out-of-the-box) thinking applicants, who may talk complete non-sense to a sensible person but may not make sense to the (socially accepted) normal ones :-*
Every great school is looking out for these top applicant(s) who are away from the norm, possibly the next Newton, Einstein, Feynman or Warren Buffet or Steve Jobs or Bill Gates - to name a few.
I just have a hard time seeing the Common App essay being more important than the Penn essay. The Penn essay is required by them for a reason. If they felt that the Common App essay would be sufficient for an applicant, there would be no supplement.
In addition, the Penn essay should be conveying the reasons that you are even bothering to go through the process in the first place. They won’t learn what you can do for them, and what they can do for you through the Common App essay.
I disagree with @jarrett211 's theory that CA essay holds more weight than Why Penn. If anything, the Why Penn essay will give adcoms a much better understanding of how the applicant would look in the context of the school (e.g. I talked about specific things I’d like to explore and then connected those to broader goals of mine). Also, adcoms can decipher how interested an applicant is in Penn based not only on the degree of specificity and accuracy but also the feeling of the essay and the context of the applicant’s goals/desires. I agree that the CA essay is important, but I think if anything it gives you character in the eyes of adcoms and really is just there to prove you’re a genuine intelligent person. That being said, although these essays may only be the DECIDING factor in 1 out of 7 decisions, it is definitely a large factor in I’d say 6 of 7 decisions (the other 1 out of 7 being exceptionally strong in other places/recruit, so much so it can overcome a crappy essay). Obviously this is subjective, but the essay is probably one of the few unique parts of an applicant (other than recs). Transcripts/courseload/tests don’t really set applicants apart too much, and since ECs can be embellished I’d say they’re not a deciding factor.
@MrPres I just have to make the point that you used Mock Trial jargon in your post there. Are you a Mock Trialer? If you are, my response, is a) (to your speculation objection), this is rationally based on my own perception of Penn articles from admissions counselors as well as trends of people that have been accepted/deferred/waitlisted/denied in the past, and b) (to your hearsay objection), this is not offered for the truth of the matter and the relevance is that goes to provide solace to all nervous Nancy’s in this thread lol.
Agreed @ComputerAge
The Penn essay exposes how much time the student has invested in their institution
And as I have stated previously, I believe that the Penn essay would benefit from being worded more clearly. There are some questions buried in the explicitly stated prompt that they want you to answer, and many people do not realize.
In all honesty, I loved the essays from U Chicago, Harvard and Stanford - simply because the question itself is so mind blowing
I had the most fun with my UChi essays bc the prompt was just awesome, people who complain about those essays are no fun 
@TheWaffleMan149 what do you think the Penn essay was asking that was buried? 
I do not understand what U Chicago hopes to learn about your reason for wanting to attend their institution from their questions. At least the Penn one can be used to observe both personality, and reasons for wanting to go to Penn, regardless of how poorly worded it is
Ought to break away from these patterned and predictive style of thinking. It makes me bored. These mind-cracker essay topics really give me a “kick”
@VaishS The question wants to know what YOU can do for Penn AND what you will get from Penn. The question is simply asking what you will do to pursue your interests with respect to the undergraduate school of choice. The question comes off as asking about why Penn from a purely academic standpoint. It does not leave a lot of room for creativity either. It is a flat out boring essay to write as well
@TheWaffleMan149 I think you learn a lot more about a person and his/her thinking fro UChi styled essays which can help you know how the person is and what they would do on campus. I feel like with the Penn styled one people could fake it too easily just by searching up random classes and clubs and saying they are interested.
I agree, i made sure to mention what I can do for Penn as well and i mentioned non academic things as well, lol i got worried when you said the question had buried meaning
U Chicago weighs very heavily to theoretical thinkers. I spoke to some seniors who attend there and a professor as well. Its a different kind of school. Similar is Stanford.
The expectation is to look for students who don’t in the normal (predictive) pattern. This brings in innovation and creativity (if I understood correctly).
I know this is a Penn thread, but I also applied to UChicago EA. Which prompt did everyone choose for the extended essay? I chose “Destroy a question with your answer.” I posed the question, “Why Does the World Exist?”, created a theory, and made that theory explain why the question cannot be answered. Very philosophical.
@shivaya @VaishS I don’t know. I enjoyed most writing about the Penn essay because it allowed me to really and truly see why I belonged to a certain place and essentially what I hope my college experience to be. I actually learned a bit about myself with the Penn supplement.
@VaishS And I think that a lot of the people that neglect those other less obvious questions lose a lot of points with their essays.
I did the “Why are you here prompt” and talked about more of a spiritual place and a here as a culmination of experiences rather than a physical location, also very philosophical
Questioning status quo is the mother of all sciences. No questioning - no science. Typically, no one questions status quo. 99.99999% of the folks are gullible and compromising. As long as I can get what I want, I don’t care - is the attitude.
The questioning one is a very different one. Remember the story of Newton. When the apple fell on his head, he wondered why did the apple come down?
Everyone in his town/city must have told him that he was crazy. But Newton kept wondering - “why did the apple come down”?
It seems after 23 years of research, he found that everything is attracted to the center of the earth, etc. etc. …
This is an example of non-linear thinking.