please chance me, i need a reality check ><

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
1

<p>i think im a little too hopeful... lol. i know i posted a chances thread before, but it turned out to be a discussion for singaporeans>< haha</p>

<p>i applied wharton/LSM</p>

<p>I moved to california from singapore in december 2006, and im a senior in high school this year, so its kinda wierd to judge my GPA...</p>

<p>GPA(unweighted, because weightage is not a concept in Spore) : 3.67</p>

<p>**Freshman **year: very bad results, because my grandma died while visiting us for the first time the week before my mid year exams, so i was basically screwed for the year.
Bio A+
Chem A
Physics A
Social Studies (like econ and poli sci combined) A
Geog C+ (yes, the day my grandma died was the geog finallll)
Eng A
Math B (but I won the silver medal in the Singapore Math Olympiad that year! So hopefully that will make up?)</p>

<p>Sophmore
Bio A+
Chem B
Physics A
Social Studies (like econ and poli sci combined) A
Geog A+
Eng A
Math A</p>

<p>**Junior <a href="only%202nd%20sem,%20had%20to%20skip%201st%20sem%20and%20catch%20up%20with%20all%20the%20stuff">/B</a>
AP Bio A
AP Calc B (omg dont ask, bad times)
US Hist A
French 2B B+ (i suck at french,but i still love the language)
Honors Brit Lit A</p>

<p>**Senior year<a href="1st%20semester">/B</a>
Photog A
AP Eng (not sure, A before final, but the final is KILLER)
AP Econ (B+ as of now,<em>may</em> change if I can get through to the teacher about fairness and the lack of chicken in a real exam >< read other thread for details)
AP Stat A/A+
AP Chem B/B+ ( hopefully my SATII will make up somewhat for this)
so obviously grades arent working for me. >< </p>

<p>SAT scores: 2200 total, 730 WR, 720 CR, 750 M
SAT2s: 800math2, 750bio, 800 chem</p>

<p>extracurriculars: </p>

<p>9th and 10th grade
school newsletter(editor)
indian orchestra(violin)
teaching kids with lang barriers to read (4h/week)
teacher at local tuition centre (something like kumon i guess)
tutor(yes, all of us are tutors!)
student congress head of outreach
helped to set up international convention of youth leaders (a LOT bigger than you think, it was a whole load of work and GREAT for networking)
research during summer at Institute of molecular and cellular biology, working on virology(:
* at this point in time, I was trying to start my own charity to provide sanitation to slum dwellers in india, but well that kind of fell through because the Indian government wouldn’t give us the permits required… so well, plans got postponed
11th grade
(keep in mind i started school in feb, so its like 5 months of school total)
Smile Club (raising funds for 3rd world kids who need cleft lip surgeries)
Youth Action team (community service. shall explain later)
tutor
12th grade
Founder and prez Gyan Club (going to be expanded to whole district next year, hopefully)
(its a non-profit tutoring business that i started. we basically tutor local kids at 11bucks an hour and we use all our profits to sponsor street children in india. its like a direct relationship between each tutor and kid, and we currently sponsor around 21.tons of groundwork and promotions, but twas all SO worth it(: one of my essays is about this, only its kind of more about helping poor children and education but this is one of the main aspects of what i did to help.)</p>

<p>Youth Action Team Prez
(so the youth action team is a board of highschool students interviewed and selected to organize events that help the community remain drug free etc. its technically a job and everyone else gets paid 10.40 per hour for doing stuff like putting up POSTERS, but sadly enough i dont have a work visa so im doing it for the experience and the community service. i'll basically have like 400h at the end of the year, because we have so many all day events and stuff. really great people and fun experience. my <em>boss</em> wrote a stellar letter of rec for me, so YAY.)</p>

<p>Smile club vice prez</p>

<p>Model UN vice prez (its a club at our school, we dont have a class)</p>

<p>CSF(no idea if this has an impact)</p>

<p>research at University of Calif Irvine UCI
(biophysics, around 8h/week, one of my essays is about this(common app). its basically drug research about the phospholipid membrane in the lungs, and its characterizing the molecule to figure out how to make premature babies develop the membrane faster)</p>

<p>other classes:
french 3 at local community college B:’(
French 4/5 at local community college (going on right now)
physics 3A over summer at UCI (my prof invited me to be his research assistant)A
Multivariable calc B+ (long story, got a 93 and the prof applied the curve when there were like 15 students in the class. and then he moved to china before we could argue.)</p>

<p>Essays:</p>

<p>Fun essay: wrote about swinging >< haha I know its pretty simple but I LOVE TO SWING!!! Im such a kid…lol</p>

<p>Why Upenn: I just wrote what I felt, had details about management 100 because the admissions officer who visited my school told me about it</p>

<p>Extra essay: about my grandma’s death and the first few days after; its kind of abstract, I don’t know how they will perceive it. But it was kind of important that they knew about it, because of my freshman grades etc</p>

<p>LSM essay: I detailed how I love sciences, and how I got involved with management through the sanitation charity thing when I was younger etc. I ended it by saying that LSM was what I wanted to do all along, because “I believe that the combination of these two fields has the potential to innovate and administrate a better world for all. “ I kind of liked this essay a lot, actually, so maybe it will carry across my passion? Haha</p>

<p>So, that’s me. What do you guys think? Am I being way to optimistic in thinking I have an actual chance?
Thanks so much for reading(:</p>

2

<p>I think you have an actual chance....but then again most people who apply have an actual chance as they are gonna look at your application...but I wouldnt keep my hopes up if I were you....but you never know I'm not an admissions counselor and you never know what can happen.</p>

3

<p>You have a shot, but not a very big one. Your GPA is on the low side and your essay topics are a tad bit questionable. You have a lot of activities and your international education does add something that Wharton probably wants... plus, your SAT scores are solid and you have a very challenging program. It can go either way with you depending on how the admissions officers feel about your application. I agree with the previous poster though that you shouldn't get your hopes up because Wharton is the most competitive business program in the nation.</p>

4

<p>thanks so much(: </p>

<p>about the essay topics, could you specify what is questionable? was it the fun essay, or the grandma one?</p>

<p>the common app essay was about gyan club, and it detailed an experience when i was 10 when i first went back to india from singapore, and i was appalled at the poverty; then it took a 10 year leap and showed a convo between me and the CEO of the charity we donate to, and it talked about future prospects etc.</p>

5

<p>
[quote]
wrote about swinging >< haha I know its pretty simple but I LOVE TO SWING!!! Im such a kid…lol

[/quote]
OMG ME TOO!!!!! lol i am a loser</p>

6

<p>wow rgal, i moved to the USA in december 2006 too, from indonesia, and im indian too, and we have the EXACT same SAT score, and i applied to the M&T program, and my school also messed up my GPA here lol.....btw are u applying as an international applicant and have u asked for aid?</p>

7

<p>hahaa thats funny, quag_mire! omg><</p>

<p>i didnt ask for aid btw</p>

<p>and please keep in mind, my freshman and sophmore years were in what was argueably the BEST school in singapore (RGS) and it was pretty competitive!</p>

8

<p>guys, please chance me!!!><</p>

9

<p>actually im sure u'll get into LSM, or atleast your single degree choice. As far as I know, most internationals applying to Penn ask for aid, so i guess for those dont ask for aid and have good stats and scores, getting in should be relatively easy....</p>

10

<p>i dont really think its easy for anyone, but well its def. harder for internationals who ask for aid. i guess i wouldnt be eligible for a lot of aid personally (im an only child) but well i didnt apply because of that fact. Its perhaps easier to get outside scholarships once you get in...</p>

11

<p>well you have great stats, and i've heard that most indian applicants, especially those applying directly from india, ask for a considerable amount of aid...so i guess that gives you a significant advantage over them, and it's safe to say that you have a really high chance of getting in compared to them....besides, i doubt there are a lot of applications to LSM from india</p>

12

<p>i think im going to be classified with applicants from california, because we have the same admissions officer...not with those from india(hopefully, coz indian kids are AMAZING.have you heard of the community service projects people from DPS RKpuram etc?)</p>

<p>thanks loads though(:</p>

13

<p>umm, i dont think you're gonna be classified with kids from california because i emailed my admissions officer, and she said that there will be another international officer who will read your file to help the california officer better understand the foreign components of your application, such as the "O" levels etc....btw did you do "O" levels/IGCSE and did you turn in those results?</p>

14

<p>oh!</p>

<p>and i didnt do my Olevels, i was exempted because my school eliminated it, so i escaped! lol. not that it was easier, they made it SUPER hard on us, and sophmore year was like HELL!</p>

15

<p>bumppp(: please chance me!</p>

<p>i just got my semester results:</p>

<p>Photo A
APEng A
AP Econ A-(YAY)
AP Stat B+( OMG OMG OMG I AM SO SCREWED!!! i cant believe this. i got an 89.92!!!!!! and he REFUSES TO ROUND UP!!!!)
AP Chem B-</p>

<p>so, what do you guys think??</p>

16

<p>just to inform you, my friend got into the Jerome Fisher M&T program with a 57 in IB English in 11th grade...he was international, not asking aid....but its not like he wasnt smart, he had high scores and grades etc, its just that people mess up sometimes...</p>

17

<p>thank you!!! </p>

<p>that really made me feel better...(:</p>