<p>I guess I'm just programmed differently? Good luck to you too! :)</p>
<p>Not to demean Penn Engineering, but it is not MIT. Also, what matters more is your school's relationship with Penn. It sounds like you go to EBHS or something in the area; if so, your school does pretty well with Penn and you sound like a very solid candidate.</p>
<p>Haha you're really close, not EB, but SBHS. Thankfully not EBHS...that place is even worse in terms of asianness...You used to live in NJ? I'm aware of Penn Engineering's reputation. Since I'm going for bioengineering (Penn is top 10 for that major), I don't think it should be a problem. Also, Penn Engineering is still well-respected despite the fact that it has "low" rankings. Besides, my focus right now is on premed; I haven't exactly wholeheartedly commited to engineering. Thanks for the response.</p>
<p>what do you know man I'm applying as a bioengineering major too with a premed track haha. I'm applying RD though and you seem to be a stronger candidate than me. i remember i used to be all about chances threads too. but then i developed my own idea of what my chances were based on other resources. i think you're in though. good luck.</p>
<p>Oh I made a mistake on my post...my GPA for Soph/Junior year didn't go down...it went up! Not 3.84, but 3.87. Probably doesn't change much anyway, but I thought I should correct it.</p>
<p>Haha that was my next guess. And yeah, I'm from the area, and my school is just as bad in terms of "asianness". A good number of people from your school go here each year, so it looks like you guys do pretty well. And even though our BE program is top-notch, I'm still not convinced that it's more selective than MIT.</p>
<p>Oh yeah I know. I don't deny that MIT is better in terms of engineering and also more selective. In fact, that's the problem. There are about four people from my school who, according to an almost unanimous consensus, stand a great shot at MIT. Unfortunately, I'm not one of those four...I don't mind though. I would be just plain ecstatic to get into Penn.</p>
<p>Students are terrible at predicting their peers' chances. My year was particularly striking. The smartest kids didn't get into any of the best schools. People were literally shocked. And as for the year after, I think people are more surprised by people getting into better schools than they thought. Judging by the proximity (and similar demographics) of our high schools, I'm guessing there's a lot of hype and drama over college admissions at your school as well. Try to stay clear of it because it can ruin your senior year.</p>
<p>ive calculatd it out and the SEAS has a 30-33% admit rate. yayz</p>
<p>^how did you calculate that??</p>
<p>You're in. I would apply to either Columbia or Cornell SEAS instead, which are considered better programs, and I think you would have a great shot. Consider Brown as well.</p>
<p>Penn is technically ranked higher as a university, but not on the strength of its engineering, which is in fact its weakest point. My 2 cents.</p>
<p>^While its true that SEAS isn't Penn's strongest school overall, Penn bioengineering is definitely stronger than Cornell's biological engineering program or Columbia's biomedical engineering program. (To avoid confusion, I was talking about selectivity in post #22). What may be relevant is whether students are admitted on the basis of their major. I know that you take a major-specific course in your freshman year, but many if not most people I know who came in as bioengineers have switched their major, so I'm not so sure that's really relevant.</p>
<p>Credited. Still, that's about its only strong suit.</p>
<p>But if that's what you major in, that's all that matters. =)</p>
<p>Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the DMD program is pretty unique and really impressive.</p>
<p>i know someone who did research on fruit flies and got into penn :)</p>
<p>Haha arox, hopefully I'll be the next one to get in :). Umm yeah, about Penn engineering, I'm pretty much going for bioengineering which, as theoneo noted, is highly regarded at Penn. Also, I'm considering a premed focus anyway, so it's not entirely imperative that I find the best overall engineering school. Plus, there's always the option to transfer into CAS (I think it's a minimum 3.4 GPA frosh year?). Thanks for all the comments.</p>
<p>True, azn_premed; Penn's biomed engineering is ranked 5th or so by NRC. If that's what you want, go for it. Penn also have incredible strengths (top 10 NRC ranking) in nearly all other government-funded scientific research areas, in disciplines as varied as pharmacology and sociology, neuroscience or English or linguistics (they produced Chomsky!). So, don't be afraid to chase any interest. You will be well served.</p>
<p>I'm going to let this thread die but I wanted to just mention this: I found out today that the valedictorian's GPA has been included in the counselor's recommendation as a tool for comparison (since my school doesn't offer any kind of rank). The valed's GPA is a 4.25. Seeing as how my GPA is a 4.19, how will it be viewed? Is the difference negligible or significant?</p>
<p>Just bumping because I would like some comments on post 38.</p>
<p>It would be dismissed if the counselor didn't include your class's standard deviation and mean, because it wouldn't mean anything.</p>