*Penn Class of 2020 Early Decision Discussion*

Does it improve your chance if you are the only one from your HS in ED?

@shivaya yeah since you have no one to compete against at your school.

how did all of your interviews go? will a bad interview ruin my chances if they’re on the edge about me?

I had my interview today. The content was pretty good, but I’m a little worried because it only lasted about 35 minutes and she only asked me about 3 or 4 questions.
@PancakeGirl100 - Unless you spewed obscenities at the interviewer or something, I doubt it would really hurt you. If it wasn’t good and you’re on the edge, it may mean that your application has no extra boost to push you over into the “accept” pile, but if you have something else interesting then you’re probably fine.

@shivaya It depends. Where are you from?

Because Penn has such a high rate for interviews. I’m a little worried that I haven’t been contacted by one. I live in a city in the South and submitted 10/29. When do they stop giving interviews?

How does a SAT 2140 but 4.0 UW GPA put me in the pool? Im also asian…(smacks head becuz he is so stupid)

@jarrett211 - I am from IL

@rosewood98

What questions were you asked?

And I’d personally prefer a 35 minute interview over a 2 hour one haha. My interviewer contacted me and said he expects the interview to be 40 minutes only.

@cityonanocean Haha yes 35 minutes is better than 2 hours. My college advisor told me to try and make it at least 45, so that’s why I was concerned.

She asked me where else I’m applying (I tried to be vague and just say the type of school I like but she pressed me for specific institutions), what I want to study and why, and how Penn would be a good fit for that area of study. Then she let me ask questions for a while and at the end asked me if there is anything more I wanted to add (which I did). Overall it was good, and she said she would “highly recommend me” (but don’t they always say that?) But I would have gone into more detail for each question if I had known she wasn’t going to ask that many.

if you go out to a coffee shop with your Alumni interviewer do you pay for your drink/food?

@nfhd11214367p0i you should try to. I’d get there early and order my own stuff first.

Regarding the discussion which happened on this thread yesterday, I have read in many places, as well as some official college websites (I will post links if I find them) that surprisingly, letters of reccommendation matter more than essays! Many applicants underestimate the importance of LORs, but they are as important, if not more important than essays

@girl1425 what state are you from? I live in a fairly large city in Alabama and haven’t been contacted either

@putsky I’m from Atlanta, GA

For anyone wondering, it looks like we will not be finding out ED stats until decision day, or the day after

@ShaunakK98 I do agree in the LORs are underratedly important. It’s not that you need a good LOR–everybody has a good LOR, because most self-respecting teachers won’t write you a rec unless they have something nice to say. What stands out are the GREAT LORs, the ones that come from teachers who’ve know you for years or ones that you’ve made a massive impression on. Those are the ones that matter.

Guys don’t worry about the interviews yet. I’m from the Boston area and still haven’t been contacted for one. The South usually happens later because fewer people apply from that area.

Remember the word “HOLISTIC”. LOR definitely plays a strong role. They should also support your essay. If you say you are dying to be a finance major because you want to fix the economies of the world, but your LOR talks about how loving you are towards animals, the application is suspicious.

Everything should correlate with each other and complement as whole - showing your personality - who you really are!

If someone is undecided thats fine but as long as the story binds together and tells a great story - thats what makes sense - of course there are tons of fine checkings in between.

Just for GPA, one admission counselor said: if the pattern shows rise (or steady) in each of the years in HS, thats good. If up/down or steady degradation, thats bad. So, as you can see, within each of the items, there are tons of sub-items to be checked. Some others are like “how good is the curriculum”, “how well does the district/school rank in the US or within the state”, “how many tough courses one has taken”, etc.

I believe that’s holistic - could be wrong!

Thats the reason why all this become so difficult to get in - because the underlying minor details can make or break the decision.

I have decided that I despise that word.