Penn Class of 2022 ED Results ONLY

[CrisprCas9]

[color=green]Decision: Accepted, School of Nursing

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): N/A
SAT I superscore (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): N/A
ACT (breakdown): 35C (36R, 35E, 34S, 33M) one sitting
ACT superscore (breakdown): 35
SAT II (subject, score): 800 Biology E
Unweighted/Weighted GPA: UW: 3.99 W: 4.4
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Does not rank
AP/IB (place score in parentheses): Bio (5) APES (5) APUSH (4) APCS (4)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Chemistry, AP Government, Economics, AP Language and Composition, Physics, AP Calculus AB, Band
Number of other ED applicants in your school: 2 that I know of
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): N/A
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.): AP scholar, National Merit Commended

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description):
-Marching Band (4 years) Section Leader
-Alto Saxophone: All-County and California All-State musician for 4 years
-Pit Orchestra (4 years)

Job/Work Experience:
-Head manager of a cafe (3.5 years)

Volunteer/Community Service:
-Volunteer at Veterans Hospital (3 years)

Summer Experience:
-Internship at Stanford Department of Psychology and Behavioral Science: trained in software called Freesurfer, which I used to edit brain MRI scans of Turner syndrome patients
-Independent research Internship at Santa Clara University, research on e.coli bacteria and its resistance to natural plant toxins

Teacher Recommendation #1: 9/10 - APUSH teacher, she and I are very close, we go see musicals together at the San Fransisco Broadway theater sometimes
Teacher Recommendation #2: 6/10 - APES teacher, didn’t know her all that well, but we chat outside of class sometimes
Counselor Rec: 8/10 - I visit her a lot, she knows a lot about my family’s tough financial situation/ all the various things that have happened to me over the years
Additional Info/Rec: N/A
Interview: 10/10! Very, very well - the guy who interviewed me was the husband of the chairperson for admissions. We really hit it off, he told me he would write a “glowing recommendation”, so it looks like it worked

CommonApp Essay (Subject, 1-10 rating, details): 9/10 - Wrote about the drought in California and how it was a catalyst to grow - very unique I think, and very personal - poured my heart out.

Why Penn: 7/10 - Alright but not great. Talked about how Penn was an opportunity for me to reach beyond the limited opportunities I had as a low income student
Any dual-degree program essays:

Other:
Date Submitted App: 10/29
U.S. State/Territory or Country: California baby
School Type: Small, EXTREMELY competitive public school (ranked U.S. top 25 high school)
Ethnicity: Taiwanese haha
Gender: Female
Income Bracket Range: Less than $25,000
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athelete, development): Low income

Reflection
Strengths: GPA,
Weaknesses: ECs didn’t show that much interest in nursing - I only realized I wanted to be nurse last year
Were else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: N/A first school
What would you have done differently?: Not procrastinated, researched the school better

Thoughts - to all those who are low income like I am - please don’t give up. Penn has an amazing financial aid program. And to all future nursing applicants; please PM me any questions! Quakers 2022!

[skieurope]

MODERATOR’S NOTE:

Question for moderator: Why doesn’t the template have the “Applied for Financial Aid?:” question. This is an important data point.

The moderator did not set up the thread. However, I have modified the template with the FA question.

[ohhyuh]

[ color=orange]Decision: Deferred - Wharton[ /color]

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay):
SAT I superscore (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): 1520 (Math 800, Reading 720, Essay 19)
ACT (breakdown):
ACT superscore (breakdown):
SAT II (subject, score): World History 760, Math II 720
Unweighted/Weighted GPA:4.00, 4.86
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 5/301
AP/IB (place score in parentheses): 5 on US Gov, Calc, Comparative Gov, Pysch, English 4 on WHAP
Senior Year Course Load: 6 APs
Number of other ED applicants in your school: 5 that I know of
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.):
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.): AP Scholar with distinction, a lot of music awards for oboe and piano, NHD 2nd place, Scholar Athlete many times, some french award

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description): Varsity Field Hockey, Varsity Indoor and Outdoor Track, Mock Trial (Team Captain), a lot of service clubs, literally every single honor society, all-state band and orchestra, math team, science olympiad, student government executive board
Job/Work Experience: Interned at Georgetown
Volunteer/Community Service: various community initiatives
Summer Experience: worked
Teacher Recommendation #1: idk
Teacher Recommendation #2: idk
Counselor Rec: generic idk
Additional Info/Rec:
Interview: I thought it went super well

Writing (Subject, 1-10 rating, details):
Why Penn: evidently not good enough
Any dual-degree program essays:
CommonApp Essay: evidently not good enough, wrote about cooking with my mom

Other:
Date Submitted App: 10/16
U.S. State/Territory or Country: east coast
School Type: smallish public
Ethnicity: asian lmao
Gender: female
Income Bracket Range: less than 100k
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athelete, development): nope

Reflection
Strengths: well rounded
Weaknesses: too well rounded
Were else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: dont know yet
What would you have done differently?: been born a superhuman

Other Factors:

[Toeknee_Lipchinear]

[ color=red]Decision: Rejected - CAS[ /color]

Objective:
SAT 1: Never took
ACT: 36 (36 E + M + R, 35 S)
SAT II: Math II: 800, Physics: 750, Chemistry: 650
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.84
Rank: ~10%
AP: Stats (5)
IB: n/a
Senior Year Course Load: AP Psych, AP BC, AP Physics C, H English, Spanish, Financial Planning and Banking, World Games
Major Awards: n/a

Subjective:
Extracurricular (place leadership in parenthesis): (Founder/President) Interact Club, (VP) Ski Club, (VP) Investment Club, (New England Regional Board Member) Temple Youth Group, (Captain) Varsity Ski, FBLA (won 1st in state), JV Tennis, Piano
Job/Work Experience: n/a
Volunteer/Community Service: Peer Tutor
Summer Activities: CIT at Day and Overnight camps, Intern at Fairshot (organization that lobbies for policies to reduce income inequality), Microeconomics Course at Harvard (Got an A-)
Essays (rating 1-10, details):

Common App: 9/10. Went through many drafts and got feedback from many adults, including admissions officers
Why X College: 9 /10: ditto

Teacher Rec #1: Bio Teacher. 10/10. Absolutely loved me.
Teacher Rec #2: English Teacher. 9/10. Fav in class
Counselor Rec: 6/10. Did not know me super well, but I filled out a survey for her of what to say.
Additional Rec: 7/10: employer at fair shot. Don’t know how much it helped, but it surely did not hurt
Interview:

Other

Financial Aid:
Intended Major: Mathematical Economics
State: MA
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: up there

Reflection

Strengths: Test scores, essays, recs
Weaknesses: Grades (HS is very competitive), Lack of stellar, stand-out EC’s
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected:
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: n/a

Comments: I am honestly pretty upset. I thought I would at least get deferred, but there are just so many qualified applicants that you never know these days. Congrats to everyone that got in!!!

[penaric]

[ color=green]Decision: Accepted - Wharton[ /color]

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): Didn’t send
SAT I superscore (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay):
ACT (breakdown): 33 (31 M; 35 R; 34 S; 32 E) took it cold and didn’t really study for it
ACT superscore (breakdown): 34 (33 M; 35 R; 34 S; 32 E)
SAT II (subject, score): 790 Math II; 760 Chem

Unweighted/Weighted GPA: 4.0 UW/ 5.44 (Idk how my school measures this)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 2/335
AP/IB (place score in parentheses): AP Human (5); AP Lang (5); AP Physics I (5); AP World (4); AP Chem (4);
APUSH (4)
Senior Year Course Load: AP(Stat, Calc, Macro Econ/Gov, Lit, Bio) and STEM Practicum
Number of other ED applicants in your school: None that I know of
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): QuestBridge College PrepScholar and National College Match finalist
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.): AP Scholar w/ distinction, A honor roll all four years, National Hispanic Scholar, Many school awards, Qualified for regionals in Science UIL as a sophomore

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description): Founder of my school’s MUN; Treasurer of Student Council(12); Member of Sharing the Love (10,11,12 It’s a volunteer organization); NHS Member (11,12); Captain of the baseball team(10,11 and I was all-district a couple of years)
Some others but I just wanted to post this quick

Job/Work Experience: Worked over the summer in construction
Volunteer/Community Service: Volunteer at Sharing the Love; w/ NHS; and w/ StuCo
Summer Experience: Headed Science week at a STEM camp

Teacher Recommendation #1: 10/10 Chemistry teacher (Sponsor of UIL and chem teacher for two years. I know him super well)
Teacher Recommendation #2: 9/10 English Lang teacher (I was one of her favorite students but I didn’t know her much outside of school)
Counselor Rec: 8/10 Didn’t really know him very well but he must’ve liked me
Additional Info/Rec:
Interview: Went great I talked about my EC’s and why I wanted to attend Penn

Writing (Subject, 1-10 rating, details): 8/10 My sister critiqued it and didn’t like it much but I guess it got the job done. It talked about coming from a Mexican household
Why Penn: 10/10 Talked about some clubs I would love to join and my love for economics and how it impacted me
Any dual-degree program essays:
CommonApp Essay: 9/10 Talked about facing discrimination and how I dealt with it. There was some pretty bad stuff growing up in the rural south

Other:
Date Submitted App:
U.S. State/Territory or Country: Texas
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Gender: Male
Income Bracket Range:
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athelete, development): First generation, Hispanic

Reflection
Strengths: I really don’t know. I see so many great people getting rejected and it stuns me. I guess I was able to get my personality across in my essays and my teacher’s recommendations
Weaknesses: Not many national awards/ Kinda low scores for UPenn
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Don’t know yet
What would you have done differently?: Spent more time on some essays I guess but I was accepted so not much really. Perhaps studying for the ACT and SAT a little more could’ve helped.

Other Factors:

[WhiteDragon]

[ color=orange]Decision: Deferred - CAS[ /color]

SAT: 1550 (770R/780M)
SAT II: 780 Math Level 2 (retaking in August). Planning on also taking U.S. History and Spanish Reading [will only submit if I decide to apply CAS instead of AEM]
UW GPA: 3.98
Weighed GPA: 4.3, will be a 4.4 by end of senior year first semester
Class Rank: Doesn’t rank but would be top 5%
ACT: 33 (Will not send)
AP (place score in parentheses): APUSH(5), Chem(4), Macro(4)[took class online], Micro(3)[took class online], Chinese(5), Calc BC(5, AB subscore 5 also), Stats(5), Physics C: Mechanics(5), Lang(5)
IB (place score in parentheses):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Lit, AP Environmental Science, Calc 3/Differential Equations, AP Gov (Might change to AP Spanish, not sure),
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.): National Merit Commended, AP National Scholar, Honor Roll, Math Competition top 1000 in state.

Extracurriculars:
Piano - 11 years, semi-finalist in state competition for three years, lessons every week.
Tennis - JV Tennis (9,10,11), 10th Grade, our team won our district championship
Theater - (9,10,11), worked backstage as part of the crew, did hair and makeup for musicals, as well as spotlights. Don’t have a leadership role but I’m planning on asking for Head of Makeup for the Fall Play.
Debate - Joined 11th grade, will do it 12th grade as well, but nothing major.
Science Olympiad - Probably won’t mention, was not very good at it, just did it for the experience
DECA - (10,11), States, didn’t make it to Nationals unfortunately
Founder and Co-president of Animal Club: Started it 11th grade. Raised money to donate to wildlife charities.

Job/Volunteering:
Nursing Home - Every week, I volunteer at a nursing home for an hour to play piano.
Chinese Society - (9, 10, 11) Every year, I help raise around $10,000+ for a Chinese Society organization, I help sell food to raise money, as well as participate in a number of volunteer events throughout the year.
Chinese School - (10), volunteered at a pre-school in China, taught them English and art

Summer Activities:
Traveled to China, volunteered at school for kindergartners.
This summer I’m taking AP classes online to try to get ahead.
Piano volunteering at nursing home.

Essay(s):
Common App: 9/10, wrote about being naturally curious
Supplement: 7.5/10, wrote about math at penn, hard to write because not a lot of info out there and hard to synthesize point

Teacher Recs: 10/10 - English teacher, writes great rec letters, I’m pretty sure I was one of her best students in the class
8/10 - Math teacher who taught me 9th and 10th grade, super close but haven’t had her in a year.
Counselor Recommendation: 8/10 - She knows my name but we are not very close. Will be very generic.

Intended Major: Mathematics
Gender: Female
State: MI
Race: Asian
Income: ~75k
School Type: Public
Hooks:

Reflection
Strengths: GPA, SAT, Common App Essay
Weaknesses: No awards, very “Asian” ECs, not great Why Penn Essay, ASIAN, international student applying from Michigan, competitive school

Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: None
What would you have done differently?:
Probably would have applied ED to Dartmouth or Duke

[Penn22gonbelittt]

[B][size=4][color=#008000]Decision: Accepted - CAS[/color][/size][/b]

Objective:
SAT I: 1390 First Take, 1490 Second Take
SAT I superscore : 750 M/750 CR/W
SAT II (subject, score): 800 French, 740 Math 1 (Only submitted French, probably should have submitted both or retaken Math)
Weighted GPA: Weird Canadian School…According to my counselor I had a 4.0/4.0 weighted GPA
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School does not rank
AP/IB (place score in parentheses): 4 on AP Language and Composition
Senior Year Course Load: Heaviest Academic course load available at my school, 5 AP (Bio, Physics 2, Calc AB, Lit and Comp, French Immersion which is more difficult than AP French), Chem 12, and Physics 12
Number of other ED applicants in your school: None that I know of
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.):Perfect score on University of Waterloo 2014 Gauss Mathematics contest, Coast Capital Savings Leadership award at 2016 British Columbia Summer games, SHAD fellow
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.): School Honor Roll (90%+ average)

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description):

1. SHAD summer of 2017 (In a team of 8, we invented a novel product, developed a prototype, wrote a 20 page business plan, and marketed our product to a panel of judges)
2. 6 High School Varsity sports with varying levels of leadership
3. University and Provincial Mathematics contests
4. Farmhand on family flower farm
5. Founder and Head Delegate of School Model United Nations club
6. Regional Soccer Referee, reffed U21 competitive Pacific Coast Soccer league, as well and Youth Provincials, and 2016 BC Summer Games

Job/Work Experience:

1. Interned with Canadian Member of Parliament for a month in the summer

Volunteer/Community Service:

1. Volunteered as a Health Care Cadet at the local regional hospital

1. Grade 9 Leadership class mentor and peer tutor (Outside of timetable, before school)
2. School leadership committee, organized events etc.

Summer Experience: SHAD (see above)
Teacher Recommendation #1: Definitely 10, English Teacher
Teacher Recommendation #2: Probably a 9? French Social Studies Teacher
Counselor Rec: 10
Additional Info/Rec: From the MP I interned with, 9
Interview: 8? The dude was at the airport picking up a friend for Thanksgiving during the skype call lmao, It went alright, could have definitely been better, just under 20 minutes in length

Writing (Subject, 1-10 rating, details):
Why Penn: 10
Huntsman program essay: 9, such a broad prompt, difficult to write a complete essay in under 500 words
Common App Essay: 10, talked about a sports injury and what I learned from watching my team and suffering on the bench haha

Other: idk N/A? haha
Date Submitted App: ED, October 31
Country: Canada
School Type: Public (1200 kids grades 9-12
Ethnicity: Chinese (oof)
Gender: Male
Income Bracket Range: Right around 100k
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athelete, development): N/A

Reflection
Strengths: Not your typical Asian applicant ECs (also not really the grades/SAT score haha), Only Asian who is musically/instrumentally challenged lmao, Perfect score on international Math contest was pre good if I do say so myself, Excellent Recommendation Letters, I think my top strength was having a wide variety of extremely good ECs (that kinda came together as a single strength), Farmhand, Bomb essays
Weaknesses: Chinese, International (Canadian), No second Subject Test, no Math II especially
Were else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: I hadn’t applied anywhere else yet except for the University of British Columbia (similar to a state school) cuz their deadline for admissions to be considered to Major Entrance Awards was December 1
What would you have done differently?: Taken Math II SAT subject test so I would have a better chance at Huntsman, Wish I found out about Huntsman earlier so I could have prepared better

Other Factors:

[YELLOWSUPERCAR87]

[color=green] Accepted - M&T Dual Degree Wharton/SEAS [/color ]

Objective:
SAT (breakdown M/CR/Essay): 800/710/24 (NOT SENT)
ACT (breakdown): 34 Math, 34 Science, 32 Reading, 36 English
SAT II (subject, score): 800 Math II, 750 Physics
Unweighted/Weighted GPA: ~4.0/4.6
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/700
AP/IB (place score in parentheses): 9 Before Junior Year, 4 Senior Year
Senior Year Course Load: Calc 3/DiffEQ, AP Lit, AP Gov/Comp Gov, AP Physics C, Dual Enrollment CS
Number of other ED applicants in your school: 1 other I think (Also accepted. Applied to Huntsman)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): None.
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.): National AP Scholar, Regional Poetry Contest Winner, Academic Letter every year, Schoolwide department awards.

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description): Ran a software company, and ran an extremely large beta test, but was forced to shut down because of potential litigation. Ran a large scale cryptocurrency mine over my Junior-Senior summer and made ~$50,000. Private Pilot’s license achieved at minimum age. President of cyber-security club at school. Civil air patrol cadet member. Programming enthusiast.

Job/Work Experience: Worked in a sushi restaurant as a sushi chef Junior-Senior summer.

Volunteer/Community Service: Civil Air Patrol Cadet Member
Summer Experience: Concordia Language Villages Immersion Camp, Summer Job, and mix of my other EC’s.
Teacher Recommendation #1: Written by a post-APCS, senior level computer science teacher. I was the only one to ever take his class as a sophomore and showed an extreme amount of maturity and success.
Teacher Recommendation #2: Physics teacher. Really don’t know how good it was or what she talked about, but I got a near perfect score on every one of her tests.
Counselor Rec: Extremely good. He really understood me and even was willing to read me my letter after I submitted.
Additional Info/Rec: Letter of recommendation by my flight instructor.
Interview: Was not offered interview.

Writing (Subject, 1-10 rating, details):
Why Penn: ~7/10. Wrote this one about my entrepreneurial ventures (software company/crypto) wanting me to pursue an individualized business path at Penn.
Any dual-degree program essays: 10/10 Wrote a very well written, technical essay about the technological/business implications of cryptocurrency and weaved in my passion for the subject.
CommonApp Essay: ~6/10 Wrote it about a mish-mash of all my extracirriculars and high school experiences.

Other:
Date Submitted App: A weekish before the deadline.
U.S. State/Territory or Country: Colorado.
School Type: Public.
Ethnicity: Hispanic.
Gender: Male.
Income Bracket Range: Tricky question. Dad works off of commision, and has a few tough, 0-income years, but will make $200k+ this year. Did not apply for aid.
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athelete, development): URM (Hispanic).

Reflection
Strengths: I took a lot of extremely advanced college computer science classes at a local college (6 semesters). I also wrote a very good dual-degree essay on subject that has been recently very noteworthy.
Weaknesses: 1 B in first semester of Freshman year math class. Only 34 ACT (OK, but low for M&T IMO). Took hard classes, but fewer than my peers and had more off periods.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: First decision.
What would you have done differently?: Nothing.

[Upenn753]

Decision: Accepted - CAS

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): 1510 (800 M, 710 CR) 21 on Essay (1 sitting)
ACT (breakdown): N/A
ACT superscore (breakdown): N/A
SAT II (subject, score): 800 Math II, 750 Physics, 670 US history
Unweighted/Weighted GPA: 3.87 UW, 4.36 W
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP/IB (place score in parentheses): Calc BC (5), Calc AB subscore (5), AP Physics 1 (4), AP Physics 2 (4), AP Lang (4), APUSH (4)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Micro Econ, AP Spanish lang, AP Physics C, Honors English, Honors Hebrew, Honors religious studies, Honors multivariable Calculus
Number of other ED applicants in your school: 6
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): N/A
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.): Honor Roll (9-11), National Honor Society (11-12), AP Scholar with Distinction

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description): Varsity Cross Country (10-12, captain); Varsity Track and Field (9, 11,12, captain); National Honor Society (11,12, president); competitive Physics team (9-12); Gay Straight Alliance (9-12, chair); Student Ambassador (9-12, chair), Math Club (10-12, chair), Tech Theater (9-10)
Job/Work Experience: N/A
Volunteer/Community Service: Student Ambassador, Camp Counselor
Summer Experience: Camp Counselor going into 12th grade, CIT going into 11th grade
Teacher Recommendation #1: APUSH teacher: knew her very well and had her for multiple years; 9/10 guess
Teacher Recommendation #2: Math teacher: Honestly I don’t know. He told me he wrote it on the last day before it was due, but I know him well also. 8/10 guess
Counselor Rec: Probably my best recommendation. Knew her very well and made an effort to create a connection. 10/10 guess
Interview: Also I can’t really get a read on how mine went. We had a nice conversation and I learned a lot about the school, but I messed up on several questions (like what I think we should do about North Korea: what?) 7.5/10

Writing (Subject, 1-10 rating, details):
Why Penn: I feel like mine was really strong. I explained why I wanted to study there (explaining why I picked the major I was applying for, Mathematical Economics) and explained how I loved the community when I visited. 10/10
Any dual-degree program essays: N/A
CommonApp Essay: I showed my development as a runner and as a person; overall it was alright. 9/10

Other:
Date Submitted App: 10/20/2017
U.S. State/Territory or Country: California
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: white
Gender: male
Income Bracket Range: 200k+
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athelete, development): Gay

Reflection
Strengths: My Why Penn Essay was very strong, and looking at my application holistically made a lot of sense. I truly showed why I want to study what I want to study, what I want to do with what I learn, and why Penn was perfect for me. I also feel like my leadership was really demonstrated in my EC’s.
Weaknesses: Scores for SAT and AP’s could have been higher.
Were else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: N/A
What would you have done differently?: Would have worried much less. I am beyond excited to study at Penn next fall, but I feel like I overstressed myself a lot. Congratulations to those who were accepted for the class of 2022, but those who weren’t, know that everything will turn out okay and you WILL have an amazing four years of college.

[bvsw2018]

Pick one:
Deferred Wharton
[ color=green]Decision: Accepted - CAS[ /color]
[ color=green]]Decision: Accepted - SEAS[ /color]
[ color=green]Decision: Accepted - Wharton[ /color]
[ color=green]Decision: Accepted - Nursing[ /color]
[ color=orange]Decision: Deferred - CAS[ /color]
[ color=orange]Decision: Deferred - SEAS[ /color]
[ color=orange]Decision: Deferred - Wharton[ /color]
[ color=orange]Decision: Deferred - Nursing[ /color]
[ color=red]Decision: Rejected - CAS[ /color]
[ color=red]Decision: Rejected - SEAS[ /color]
[ color=red]Decision: Rejected - Wharton[ /color]
[ color=red]Decision: Rejected - Nursing[ /color]

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): 1510 780/730
SAT I superscore (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay):
ACT (breakdown): 35
ACT superscore (breakdown):
SAT II (subject, score): 730 math 2 720 chem
Unweighted/Weighted GPA: 3.98 4.72W
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/257
AP/IB (place score in parentheses): 4s in a bunch and a couple 5s
Senior Year Course Load: ap stats, ap lit, ap bio, ap gov, hon debate, emerging tech, ap physics 2
Number of other ED applicants in your school: 0 i think
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): none
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.): National merit semifinalist, ap scholar with distinction, honors roll, etc.

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description): Debate was my biggest EC won state qualified to nationals competed on the national ToC circuit.
KCIYA cultural communication group
NHS
SNHS board member
STUCO class treasurer
Eagle Scout
Categories club
varsity tennis for 4 years #1 on the team last year

Job/Work Experience: none
Volunteer/Community Service: over 100 hours each year
Summer Experience: debate camp
Teacher Recommendation #1: pretty good i think 7/10
Teacher Recommendation #2: read this one it was alright 6/10
Counselor Rec: probably generic 7/10
Additional Info/Rec:
Interview: ehh idk if we clicked well 7/10

Writing (Subject, 1-10 rating, details):
Why Penn: very generic 6/10
Any dual-degree program essays:
CommonApp Essay: I though this was pretty good and different 8/10

Other:
Date Submitted App: oct 31
U.S. State/Territory or Country: kansas
School Type: public
Ethnicity: indian
Gender: male
Income Bracket Range: 200k
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athelete, development): absolutely none anti hook if anything

Reflection
Strengths: test scores, gpa, debate
Weaknesses:did not have business ECs or any spike
Were else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
What would you have done differently?: would have made a business or looked for finance internships during high school that probably would help.

Other Factors:

[onw2018]

[ color=orange]Decision: Deferred - Wharton[ /color]

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): NA
SAT I superscore (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): NA
ACT (breakdown): 35C - 36 Math, 34 English, 35 Reading, 36 Science
ACT superscore (breakdown): 36 Composite
SAT II (subject, score): Math II-780
Unweighted/Weighted GPA: 4 UW/ 4.55 W
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 27/522
AP/IB (place score in parentheses): Calc BC - 5, AB subscore 5, Lang - 5, Physics - 4
Senior Year Course Load: Debate, Econ, AP Stats, Calc 3, AP Lit, AP Physics 2, Senior robotics capstone, AP Gov
Number of other ED applicants in your school: 1
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): None
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.): National Merit Semi-Finalist, AP Scholar, Kansas Honor Scholar, Engineering Academy Excellence Award

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description):
-Combat Robotics Capstone, Project Manager, 11 & 12 gr, national competition.
-Debate, 12 gr, Novice debater but placed first in Open tournament
-Varsity Tennis, 11 & 12 gr, 3rd at regional competition
-Philosophy Club, founder/discussion facilitator, 12 gr
-Link Crew, freshman advisor, 12 gr
Job/Work Experience: Internship at more local bank, assisted with mortgage/lending.
Volunteer/Community Service: National Honor Society, School’s Kay Club, hosted an engineering camp for middle and elementary school kids to promote interest in STEM. Assisted a fitness expo at a title 1 elementary school to promote healthy habits in kids.
Summer Experience: See internship
Teacher Recommendation #1: 9/10 - Chemistry teacher/Capstone teacher. Spoke of my leadership as project manager and potential. Not entirely sure what all he included though.
Teacher Recommendation #2: 9/10 - English teacher. Thoroughly enjoyed his class and he emphasized my ability to articulate and energy in group discourse. I’m sure very well written but again I can’t be certain of the content.
Counselor Rec:7/10 - Probably very vague as she has over 200 kids to try to know.
Additional Info/Rec:
Interview: 7/10 - Really only got asked 2 questions and I wasn’t able to answer with a ton of specificity as to names of professors/current clubs I would be excited about upon admission. I received vague answers from my questions about his experiences. Overall the conversation was nice but lacking in actual substance so I certainly didn’t stand out.

Writing (Subject, 1-10 rating, details):
Why Penn: 8/10 - Wrote about my experiences in the engineering program at my school and kind of used it as a reference of how I decided where to apply.
Any dual-degree program essays: NA
CommonApp Essay: 8/10 - About failing to be a good brother to my sister who struggled with OCD and depression growing up. I incorporated the realization that I hadn’t done all I could have to help because of my inability to understand her perspective with my changed perspective towards all interactions and the impact that is left on people by action or inaction.

Other:
Date Submitted App: 10/31/17
U.S. State/Territory or Country: Kansas
School Type: Large Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket Range: 100k +
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athelete, development): Single legacy (probably too little donation to matter)

Reflection
Strengths: Test scores, GPA
Weaknesses: Interview, Business-related EC’s, essays
Were else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: No where else yet
What would you have done differently?: Spent more time with other applications because I have much to do before regular decision deadlines.

Other Factors: Didn’t start my own company

[bradygoat]

Decision: Accepted - SEAS

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): 1540 (780 English, 760 Math) one sitting
SAT I superscore (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): NA
ACT (breakdown): NA
ACT superscore (breakdown): NA
SAT II (subject, score): 780 Math II, 760 Physics, 710 USH,
Unweighted/Weighted GPA: 94.44 / 96 unweighted
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School does not rank, prob top 5 out of 70, would be higher if weighted
AP/IB (place score in parentheses): 5 BC Calc, 5 APUSH, 4 AP Lit, these are the only APs the school offers and no IB
Senior Year Course Load: English 12, US Supreme Court, Advanced Physics, Multivariable Calc and Linear Algebra, Advanced Computer Science 2, Spanish 6 Advanced, Advanced Hebrew, Jewish Studies
Number of other ED applicants in your school: 1 (he was legacy and also accepted)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): None
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.): AP Scholar

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description): Nothing too special, FTC Robotics captain, Programming camp assistant, Jewish Teen Leadership, Coding club, school satirical newspaper, business club, soccer and tennis (not recruited), self-teaching a language (not to fluency)
Job/Work Experience: None
Volunteer/Community Service: A few hours here and there to fulfill requirements, nothing major
Summer Experience: Programming camp, Jewish Teen Leadership program, Self-teaching language
Teacher Recommendation #1: APUSH teacher (10/10) - Went on a school trip with him freshman and sophomore years, and had him as a teacher junior and senior years, absolutely love him and participated a lot in class, I know he has written other amazing recs before
Teacher Recommendation #2: Bio teacher (9/10) - She came up to me in the hallway this week and said she was really pulling for me and she worked really hard on my rec, I enjoyed her class
Counselor Rec: (9/10) - She could speak to me as a person and my interests and passions pretty well, explained that I took a very rigorous course load
Additional Info/Rec: Robotics Mentor (10/10) - Spent 3 years with her as a robotics mentor so she saw me grow as an engineer, I know that she writes killer recs
Interview: (7/10), It was okay, nothing special

Writing (Subject, 1-10 rating, details):
Why Penn: (7/10) I conveyed why Penn, but I don’t think it was that great - wrote about Penn’s diversity, interdisciplinary study, engineering, and Jewish community
Any dual-degree program essays: NA
CommonApp Essay: (9/10) thought this was pretty good, wrote about admiring my dad and self-teaching his native language

Other:
Date Submitted App: Nov 1
U.S. State/Territory or Country: MA
School Type: Private Jewish
Ethnicity: White, Middle Eastern
Gender: Male
Income Bracket Range: Not eligible for financial aid
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athlete, development): None

Reflection
Strengths: I took by far the hardest course curriculum of anyone in my grade. Strong STEM applicant. Self-studied the entire Physics SAT 2 course in 7 weeks. Definitely recs were strong. Probably one of a few applicants ever from my school to be an AP Scholar given most students take fewer than 2 APs
Weaknesses: No real hooks, why Penn Essay, few APs,
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: NA
What would you have done differently?: Retaken Math II to try for an 800, taken longer to study for Physics SAT2, maybe try to have one or two more leadership positions within the clubs I belonged to,

Other Factors: These helped me when I applied, so I figured I would post. Good luck to future applicants

[Saranyaa]

Decision:Accepted-CAS
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): 1560 (780/780)
SAT I superscore (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): N/A
ACT (breakdown): N/A
ACT superscore (breakdown): N/A
SAT II (subject, score): Math II- 780 Literature- 760 Spanish- 650 (rip)
Unweighted/Weighted GPA: Predicted 40/42 IB
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School doesn’t officially rank but I currently have the highest grades in my class
AP/IB (place score in parentheses): AP Calculus AB (4), WHAP (4), Lang and Comp (4), Micro (4)
Senior Year Course Load: Full IB Diploma, HL English Lit, History, Econ
SL Math, Bio, Spanish
Number of other ED applicants in your school: 1, she didn’t get in
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): None
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.): AP Scholar with Honour, National Topper Economic Applications in 10th grade, Subject excellence/topper awards from school

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description): Student council, Head of Environment Club, Standard MUN/Debate jazz, Piano (grade 4 ABRSM)
Job/Work Experience: Internships at Indian Embassy Madrid, a stockbroking company, a major newspaper and a data science firm
Volunteer/Community Service: Founded a social entrepreneurship venture that provides free biodegradable sanitary pads to underprivileged girls and a civic consciousness campaign that cleaned up a major metro station in my city. Also worked with an environmental action group
Summer Experience: Internships + independent research project on the links between India’s foreign and economic policy with a university professor
Teacher Recommendation #1: History teacher, loves me
Teacher Recommendation #2: Spanish teacher, her other LOR got someone into Columbia last year
Counselor Rec: She said mine was her longest and best LOR
Additional Info/Rec: Someone who had written a case study on my social entrepreneurship venture, it was really good
Interview: Interviewer and I got along really well! She was from Huntsman, seemed to think I’d get the programme but eh what was meant to be has happened. It was very chill

Writing (Subject, 1-10 rating, details): Can’t objectively judge my own writing but
Why Penn: I loved it, very detailed, really showed that I knew Penn
Any dual-degree program essays: Huntsman, wasn’t a fan of it
CommonApp Essay: Very personal, was about my journey living in India, China and the US

Other:
Date Submitted App: 25th October
U.S. State/Territory or Country: India
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: Indian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket Range: The high one
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athelete, development): None lol

Reflection
Strengths: ECs, CA essay, school grades
Weaknesses: Spanish SAT 2 score, APs, Huntsman essay
Were else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: UK unis
What would you have done differently?: Maybe kept my single degree as Wharton hahahah but I’m thrilled

Other Factors:

[tryingtodecide22]

Decision: Denied - CAS

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): Didn’t send
SAT I superscore (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay):
ACT (breakdown): 33 (30 M; 33 R; 31 S; 36 E)
ACT superscore (breakdown): only submitted above
SAT II (subject, score): 720 Biology-E; 720 Literature

Unweighted/Weighted GPA: 4.82 W (school doesn’t release unweighted)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Doesn’t rank
AP/IB (place score in parentheses): APUSH (5); AP Bio (4); AP Spanish Lang (4); AP US Gov (4)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Art History, AP Environmental, AP Statistics, Advanced Honors Heritage of Western Civilizations and Cultures, Advanced Honors Spanish Literature, and Advanced Honors Exploration of Hispanic Socio-Political Issues through Film
Number of other ED applicants in your school: None that I know of
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): None?
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.): National Merit Commended Scholar (highest score at my school), Wellesley College Book Award, AP Scholar with Honor, National Honor Society, Tri-M Music Honor Society, Sociedad Honoraria Hispanica, and Honor Roll/ High Honor Roll every semester

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description): Feminism Redefined, 11-12, president/founder; Government Club, 10-12, VP, president; Varsity Track and Cross Country, 9-12, Captain of both teams; Youth council for local nonprofit for women’s health, 11-12; Peer Council, 10-12, President, freshman orientation, mentoring, events throughout the school year, and as president I make up the president’s council which does StuCo stuff at my school; lots of other stuff, but these are the things that are most important to me that I highlighted on my app

Job/Work Experience: Worked over the summer bussing/ waiting tables
Volunteer/Community Service: 75+ community service hours with different organizations
Summer Experience: Summer camp 2007-2017, working position and two prestigious leadership positions; IU Young Women’s Institute at the Kelley School of Business; USNA Summer Seminar; Georgetown Forensic Science Institute; Interned with a neurosurgeon

Teacher Recommendation #1: 9/10 Sophomore advisor/ APUSH& AP Gov Teacher/ Gov Club sponsor. Know him very well and he really admires me as a thinker and a student
Teacher Recommendation #2: 10/10 AP Bio/AP Environmental/ AH Bio teacher. Had her as a teacher for 3 years and went on school-sponsored international service trips with her twice. Approached me in the hall to tell me what a great rec she’d written me and how it was about my tenacity and grit.
Counselor Rec: 10/10 Loves me and knows me well
Additional Info/Rec:
Interview: 8/10 Went well. I talked about my EC’s and why I wanted to attend Penn. Scared I rambled too much, but I just had a lot to say. She texted me afterwards and seemed to have really liked me.

Writing (Subject, 1-10 rating, details): 8.5/10 Could have been more creative
Why Penn: 8/10 Talked about my time there touring and going to classes and what I liked about the teaching philosophy, specific professors I liked, how my intended major combined my loves of history and science, talked about uncoordinated dual degree I would like to do with One University Program, and my intellectual curiosity. I spoke from the heart, but it was probably deemed too generic.
Any dual-degree program essays: No
CommonApp Essay: 8/10 Talked about civil discourse and how I introduced that to my school through my work in gov club.

Other:
Date Submitted App: 11/1
U.S. State/Territory or Country: Tennessee
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket Range: High?
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athelete, development): Legacy (Grandfather at Wharton Ugrad and grad)

Reflection: Didn’t realize I really wanted to go here until it was too late for me. Realized mid-October, so there were many things that I couldn’t do to make myself desirable. Should have emphasized my arts skills in unique mediums (glass, metal) and my custom jewelry business with investors and such. My transcript was my biggest drawback because I had a lot of B+s on my transcript for various reasons (felt my 7 89s would be viewed the same as As (lesson: don’t be cocky and work hard), teacher’s vengeance, etc.)
Strengths: ECs, legacy
Weaknesses: TRANSCRIPT, Not many national awards/ Kinda low scores for UPenn, and started putting together application pretty late in the game.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted IU, Deferred UGA
What would you have done differently?: Getting As instead of 89s … usually would have just taken 15 more mins of work or talking with a teacher
Other Factors: none that I can think of

[WotsUhTheDeal]

Decision: Rejected - CAS

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): n/a
SAT I superscore (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): n/a
ACT: 36R, 35E, 35M, 34S
ACT superscore: 35
SAT II: Math 2, 800; French Reading, 750; Chemistry, 740
Unweighted/Weighted GPA: 4.0 UW / 4.7 W
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 4/570
AP/IB: USH (5), CompSci (5), Chemistry (4), Euro (4), French (5), Calc BC (5, AB subscore 5), Eng Lang (5)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Macro, AP Micro, French 5, AP Physics C: MEM, AP Lit, AP Stats
Number of other ED applicants in your school: 0
Major Awards: Gold Medal in National French Contest
Common Awards: AP Scholar with Distinction, Illinois State Scholar, NM Commended, IHSA Scholar

Subjective:
Extracurriculars: Speech (9-12, captain), Orchestra (10-12, section assistant principal), Radio Station (9,10,12), NHS (11,12), Scholastic Bowl (11, 12), Tri-M Music Honors Society (11, 12)
Job/Work Experience: Four years working at the local park district
Volunteer/Community Service: Week-long mission trip every year, volunteer service for NHS and Tri-M
Summer Experience: None, extenuating circumstances
NOTE: Waived FERPA, so didn’t see any of my recs
Teacher Recommendation #1: AP Lang, likely 9/10
Teacher Recommendation #2: AP Calc BC, likely 9/10
Counselor Rec: Likely 10/10. He knows me really well and can speak to family circumstances
Additional Info/Rec: Arts teacher was a guaranteed 10. All-state violist within three years of learning the instrument.
Interview: None.

Writing (Subject, 1-10 rating, details):
Why Penn: 9/10, extremely specific
Any dual-degree program essays: None
CommonApp Essay: 8/10. Topic was overcoming and living with mental illness, so that may have had somethingto do with it?

Other:
Date Submitted App: 10/29
U.S. State/Territory or Country: IL
School Type: Public CoEd
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket Range: $65k/year
Hooks: First gen

Reflection
Strengths: GPA, scores, Penn Essay
Weaknesses: CA essay was about learning to cope with mental illness, so maybe not the best? Not sure.
Were else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: So far nowhere.
What would you have done differently?: Not sure what I could have

Other Factors: Voodoo, wizardry, and bull****.

[lovetennis00]

Decision: Deferred-CAS
Chem major

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): did not send
SAT I superscore (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay):
ACT (breakdown): 36 Science/36 Reading/35 Math/35 English
ACT superscore (breakdown): N/A
SAT II (subject, score): Chemistry (800), Math II (800), US History (760), did not send US history but will do so as an update
Unweighted/Weighted GPA: 3.98/4.67
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 7 out of 522
AP/IB (place score in parentheses): Chemistry (5), APUSH(5), Calc BC (5), Human Geography (5), Physics I (4), Macroecon (5), European History (5), Lang (5), Psych (5)
Senior Year Course Load: Multivariable Calculus, AP Physics II, AP Physics E&M, AP Physics Mechanics, AP Computer Science, AP Literature and Composition, AP Spanish, AP US Government
Number of other ED applicants in your school: 2
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): Qualified for USNCO, FBLA Nationals 10th in Business Calculations
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.): NM, AP Scholar, Science Olympiad State+Regionals

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description):
Math Team (9-12) - treasurer (11) co-pres (12)
Science Bowl (11-12) - captain (12)
WUCT/ChemClub (11/12) - participated in WashU Chemistry Tournament in 11th, found ChemClub in 12th and incorporated WUCT preparation as part of the club (see explanation for lateness in the other factors section)
FBLA (10-12) - treasurer (12)
Science Olympiad (9-10) - had to quit due to conflict with Science Bowl
Job/Work Experience:
Kumon (9,10)
Volunteer/Community Service:
Math Invitational for Girls (10-12) - organize a math competition for middle school girls to further their interests in math, co-pres (12)
Chemistry research at local university (12) - I know 12th grade is late to begin, but see explanation in other factors
Chinese Teen Volunteer Club (9-12) - volunteering at local Chinese cultural events, treasurer (10), VP (11-12)

Summer Experience: All Girls All Math, Girls State, CTY
Teacher Recommendation #1: 9? History teacher, I took him in 10th and 11th, was one of the top students in his class
Teacher Recommendation #2: I honestly have no idea because my chemistry teacher submitted his rec on the last day. I took him in 11th for AP Chem and was one of the top students in his class. He’s the sponsor of my club.
Counselor Rec: She’s a really nice lady but it’s a huge school so rec is probably basic and kinda generic
Additional Info/Rec:
Interview: Went decently well? The alumni who I got was also interested in chem. He told me he would write a good evaluation because he didn’t want to make this application process more stressful than necessary

Writing (Subject, 1-10 rating, details):
Why Penn: 8? I spent 5 days deep researching Penn like looking into all of the class and club descriptions so I feel like my essay was pretty specific. I tried to tie the aspects I like about Penn to my own high school experiences. I’m not creative so I felt like this essay may have been kind of boring to read.
Any dual-degree program essays:
CommonApp Essay: 6/7? Wrote about how I learned to embrace my Chinese name. My writing skills aren’t that great so I don’t know.

Other:
Date Submitted App: 10/31
U.S. State/Territory or Country: Tennessee
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian (Chinese)
Gender: Female
Income Bracket Range: 200k
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athelete, development): none

Reflection
Strengths: test scores
Weaknesses: essays, extracurrics, and recs. also no huge awards
Were else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: N/A
What would you have done differently?:
I know this has been said a million times, but good test scores aren’t enough (especially after seeing the other replies on this thread). I would have spent more time on furthering extracurriculars, especially since I only got most of my leadership roles senior year. DON’T NEGLECT THE SUBJECTIVE STUFF because really strong extracurrics matter more than a difference of a few points in scores!! I feel like essays are pretty important so make sure you spend a lot of time on that. I would have taken a writing course to improve my skills. ALSO MAKE SURE YOU GET TO KNOW YOUR TEACHERS MORE DEEPLY. I wish I would have started talking to my teachers earlier not just for better recs but also because the conversations are actually pretty interesting, and they can provide you with advice as well (especially if their subject aligns with your own). These are my regrets lol so hopefully you’ll learn from my mistakes

Other Factors: I only started really liking chemistry after taking AP Chem in 11th grade, so a lot of my extracurric experiences with that have only been started this year. I feel like Penn may have deferred me because they want more information on how I’m actually furthering my interest in chemistry? I honestly have no idea.
Dang the acceptance rate dropped from 22% to 18.5% so I guess I’m lucky to be deferred and not straight out rejected. Congrats to everyone who was accepted!! Hopefully I’ll be able to join you all, especially because the ED discussion thread was one of the most supportive ones I have ever seen, but if not I wish you all the best!

[swaggydave]

Deferred- SEAS
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): 1520, did not submit
SAT I superscore (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay):
ACT (breakdown): 35C. 35R, 36M, 35W, 34S
ACT superscore (breakdown): one sitting
SAT II (subject, score): Math Level 2 (800), Chinese (800), Chemistry (800), Physics (770)
Unweighted/Weighted GPA: 4.4
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 7/280
AP/IB (place score in parentheses): Euro, Chinese, Chem, Calc AB, physics 1, Literature, APUSH all 5. 4 on Spanish Lang
Senior Year Course Load: Advanced Chemical Research, AP Calc BC, AP Bio, AP Lang, AP Econ/Gov, AP Spanish Lit
Number of other ED applicants in your school: 0
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): AIME qualifier, Chemistry Olympiad school winner, CA Boys State Attendee
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.): National AP Scholars, 2x UCSD Annual Math competition school winner, President’s volunteer service award

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description): President of Math club. Basketball 2 years. Research for 2 years.
Job/Work Experience: Intern in a lab in China
Volunteer/Community Service: Nepal Orphanage program, Juntos at school.
Summer Experience: Nepal Orphanage Program in 2016. CA Boys State and UCSD research scholars 2017.
Teacher Recommendation #1: 10/10 Chem teacher
Teacher Recommendation #2: 10/10 Spanish Teacher/Coach
Counselor Rec: 9/10 Knows me pretty well
Additional Info/Rec: None
Interview: 10/10. He loved me.

Writing (Subject, 1-10 rating, details): 9… Talked about magic trick + math club + leadership + math skill
Why Penn: 8/10
Any dual-degree program essays:no
CommonApp Essay:

Other:
Date Submitted App: 10/30
U.S. State/Territory or Country: CA
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket Range: high
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athelete, development): none

Reflection
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Were else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
What would you have done differently?:

[kcrag]

[color:orange]Deferred-Wharton

Wharton

ACT (breakdown): 34:
ACT superscore (breakdown): 35. S(36),M(35) E(34) R(35)
SAT II (subject, score): US History: 780. World History: 740 Math 2: 710 and 650 Lit:690

Unweighted/Weighted GPA: 3.8 UW, 4.125 W
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 19/400
AP/IB (place score in parentheses): US History, World History, Human Geo, Calc AB/BC, Macro Econ, Lang, + some I can’t remember
Senior Year Course Load: AP Gov, AP Pysch, Business Advertisements, AP Lit, AP Physics, Calc 2 @ State Uni., AP Stats, AP Micro Econ
Number of other ED applicants in your school: None. And no alum have gone to Penn

Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): National Merit Semifinalist, National Geographic Geography Contest State Final 4
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.): National Merit Semifinalist, Academic Letter, National Geographic Geography Contest State Final 4, AP Scholar with Distinction,

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description): Freshmen Mentor Program(Prez), Culture Club(Prez), Key Club( Chair Person), NHS, NEHS, Eagle Scout, Scholar Bowl( Coach, Former Varisty, 2017 Nationals, etc), etc
Job/Work Experience: unpaid pyrotechnics sales volunteer for local nonprofit
Volunteer/Community Service: Eagle Scout( Very unique project), hundreds of hours from other sources

Summer Experience:1. VP of a Railroad. >50K Passengers/Year 2. campaigned to get an international airport built
Teacher Recommendation #1: 8/10 Math Teacher: Have had her for 4 years, could have been amazing or horrible. I’m not sure
Teacher Recommendation #2: 11/10 mentor program teacher: she loves me and said she wrote a really good rec
Counselor Rec: 11/10 Likes me
Additional Info/Rec: 7/10 wording wasn’t exciting but they got the point across.
Interview: 1/10 It was over the phone with someone thousands of miles from my city. One of my worst interviews ever.

Writing (Subject, 1-10 rating, details):
Why Penn: 8/10; it was about how I figured out what I want to do and how Penn is the perfect fit for my interests
CommonApp Essay: 40/10; very unusual and unique topic. my best paper ever.

Other:
Date Submitted App: 11/1
U.S. State/Territory or Country: Midwest( Not Chicago)
School Type: medium public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: male
Income Bracket Range: not alot but not a little
Hooks: non.

Reflection
Strengths: recs, ECs, essays
Weaknesses: interview, Scores, and Grades
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted OU and UA for NMSF

What would you have done differently?:
Big Change:The Phone Interview.
Little Change: Higher Math 2 Scores. More AP.

Recommendations:
Get to know your teachers. They have some amazing stories to tell and the insights they can provide are invaluable.
Would you rather marry someone who is rich or someone you know super well even though they have their faults? IMHO. Youll have more success if you convey who you are to Penn (good essays, recs, and ec) than if you just convey high grades, scores, etc

[grunkypeep]

[ color=green]Decision: Accepted - Wharton[ /color]

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): 1490 (770 M, 720 CR/W, 23 essay)
SAT I superscore (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): took it once ^
ACT (breakdown): 35 (34 Math, 35 Science, 35 Reading, 36 Writing)
ACT superscore (breakdown): took it once ^
SAT II (subject, score): 670 Math II, 740 US History
Unweighted/Weighted GPA: 106 Weighted (idk what it is unweighted, my school only does weighted out of 100)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school doesn’t do
AP/IB (place score in parentheses): Didn’t submit but: 4 AP World, 5 AP US History, 4 AP English Lang, 4 AP Psych
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc BC, AP Physics B2, AP Macroeconomics, AP Comp Sci Principles, Public Speaking
Number of other ED applicants in your school: 3/4?
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.):
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.): AP scholar, NHS Treasurer, State finalist in Russian speaking competition and Russian essay contest (I am not native - Russian is actually the only language my school offers)

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description): Member of fencing team grades 9-12 and captain grade 12 - city champions my junior year, member of committee called Tech Connects that mentors freshmen like a big sibling program grades 10-12, member of debate team grades 11-12 and co-president grade 12, Teacher’s Assistant grade 11
Job/Work Experience: Counselor at summer camp grades 10-12 including working with kids with special needs
Volunteer/Community Service: Volunteered at summer camp grade 9, other various “small” community service activityes especially those associated with being an NHS officer
Summer Experience: Worked at aforementioned summer camp, attended Cornell Summer College summer before grade 12
Teacher Recommendation #1: 10th grade AP World History teacher, also was teacher’s assistant for her in 11th grade, probably a 10/10, had a very good relationship with her and she also wrote my rec for Cornell Summer College
Teacher Recommendation #2: 11th grade AP Psych teacher, probably an 8/10, not as strong of a relationship outside of class but knew me as a student
Counselor Rec: 9/10, fairly close with her, she also runs the Tech Connects committee I am a member of
Additional Info/Rec: letter of rec from a donor to Wharton
Interview: 8/10, I thought it went fairly well, lasted about 25 minutes, he was really nice and seemed to really like me. He was unresponsive beforehand trying to set up the interview and required 3 weeks of vague emails back and forth and me contacting the admissions office to get it to occur, but once it happened it was great and we really connected, went on to just have causal conversation about going abroad experiences, fraternities, Thanksgiving, etc.

Writing (Subject, 1-10 rating, details):
Why Penn: 10/10, really personal connection to Penn, set it around wearing a Wharton shirt when I was 7 years old that I got from my cousin, spoke about following in his footsteps and staying in touch with Penn, plus all experiences I would take advantage of at Wharton
Any dual-degree program essays: n/a
CommonApp Essay: 8/10, spoke about how much of an individual I am and not unwilling to go against what anyone thinks, organized it into “chapters” which were titled with Dr. Seuss quotes

Other:
Date Submitted App: 10/13/17
U.S. State/Territory or Country: New York
School Type: Public specialized high school, #3 in country
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket Range: around $100k
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athelete, development): might be first generation ? (both parents attended college but neither graduated with a degree)

Reflection
Strengths: ACT score, Penn essay with personal connection, experience with business (treasurer of NHS, class at Cornell, class for college credit at my high school)
Weaknesses: SAT II scores but just goes to show others not to stress too hard about them
Were else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Applied to Cornell, Binghamton, and Northeastern but didn’t hear back from any yet
What would you have done differently?: possibly more extracurriculars/internship, and I personally wasn’t extremely happy with my Common App essay even though others told me it was good

Other Factors:

[FireLordAzula]

Decision: Accepted - SEAS

SAT I (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): 710/740/22
SAT I superscore 1450
ACT (breakdown): did not take
SAT II (subject, score): did not take
Unweighted/Weighted GPA: 3.98 UW 4.41W
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/74
AP/IB (place score in parentheses): Dual Credit 60 college credits.
Senior Year Course Load: College Trig, College Calculus I, Honors Physics, College British Lit, College Spanish 3, Dual certification (International & American Red Cross): Bloodborne Pathogens, AED, CPR, infant and adult First Aid, water rescue marina and pool.
Number of other ED applicants in your school: 0
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): US Senate Youth Program Semifinalist. Presidents List.
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.): Scholar Athlete, Principal’s Award, Dean’s List, High Honor Roll, NHS (Executive)

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description): student council (VP) Class VP, Mentoring (9-12) Notetaker for Disabled Students (11-12) Cross Country (Captain) Softball (Captain) Blue Ribbon Painting in State Fair? Types with a Keyboard Speed of 85 wpm? Mezzo-Soprano with 2.6 Octave singing voice. Plays Guitar & Ukulele.
Job/Work Experience: Dual-Certified Lifeguard. International & American Red Cross (Marina & Poolside) Saved two children in a water rescue & received commendation.
Teacher Recommendation #1: 10/10 - English Professor in my dual credit class. Did not read, but she said it was her highest recommendation.
Teacher Recommendation #2: 10/10 - College Professor in my Dual Credit Calculus class. Did not read, but he said I am the best student he has had in years.
Counselor Rec: 8/10 - loves me, knows me well, but isn’t the most prosaic, prolific writer.
Additional Info/Rec: 10/10 School Principal knows me well, is a gifted communicator with a Doctorate, and wrote about how I shaped the culture of our high school.
Interview: 9/10 M&T grad. Lasted 30 minutes via Skype. Seemed intrigued by my EC’s, particularly my ukulele playing!

Writing (Subject, 1-10 rating, details): 10/10
Why Penn: Wrote about specific courses I hoped to take, Penn Clubs I intend to join, and displayed a thorough knowledge of what’s going on right now at Penn and how I would fit in.
Any dual-degree program essays: YES, M&T 10/10, Leadership Essay on funding Senior Prom starting from $0 in the class treasury. “How Engineering & Business intersect” 8/10 - Referenced current events, and examples of businesses that effectively combine emerging tech with consumer needs.
CommonApp Essay: 10/10 - How I helped save a relative with severe mental health disorders & protected my younger siblings.

Other:
Date Submitted App: 10/30
U.S. State/Territory or Country: Delaware
School Type: Charter
Ethnicity: African-American & Native American
Gender: F
Income Bracket Range: <100k/yr
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athelete, development): URM, Female STEM, Small State? I speak 4-languages

Reflection
Strengths: GPA, Class Rank & Essays, Lifesaving track record.
Weaknesses: SAT score, no subject tests, completely unknown school (since its new.)
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: accepted at Regent University. Haven’t heard back from any others yet.
What would you have done differently?: I would’ve increased my SAT math score by working faster. And I would have taken subject tests.

Other Factors: I made it a point to personally meet two different Penn admissions officers. (One after an info session at Penn this summer & the other this fall after an “Exploring College Options” seminar.) I listed them both by name on my application among the top influencers as to why I chose to apply. Along with the name of the SEAS student who was my Penn campus tour guide. I suspect that may have helped tip the scales a bit for me to get in, but wasn’t enough for an M&T admission.