Rejected Stanford, Chances at Penn?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
1

<p>Like the title says, I was straight up rejected from Stanford SCEA, so now Im applying to Penn and a selection of other schools. I have a friend whose profile matches mine almost ENTIRELY, and he was admitted to Wharton, so I thought to myself "why not?" Let the Chancing begin.</p>

<p>Male, Caucasian</p>

<p>SAT:2280 (CR 760 Math 720 Wr 800)
SAT 2:Chinese (800), MATH 2 (750), Lit (770)
AP: Chinese-5, Calc AB-4 (Taking APUSH, CHEM in Spring)</p>

<p>Academics:
My School does not rank the students, however, my College counselor basically told me that I was in top 5 in my grade (out of only 130...). This may seem uninteresting, yet my school sends AT LEAST 20-30 kids every year to the level of schools that I am applying to - there are roughly ONLY 3 letter A grade equivalents in ANY given class, so having an A (even an A-), is like being the best in the class. Also, my school does not place the name AP, on any given course description (like many Northeastern Prep schools.</p>

<p>-Latin 1-4
-Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, Precalculus, AB Calculus AP, Multivariable Calculus
-Chinese 1-6
-World History, US History to 1900, Contemporary Chinese History, Contemporary US History
-English 9-12
-Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Chemistry II</p>

<p>I have had A's or higher every year in each class, except for math....which was a B in both fresh/soph years...</p>

<p>Also, I just got back from School Year Abroad China, where I spent my Junior year studying Chinese in Beijing while living with a Chinese host family. The experience was amazing, and the academics were grueling. I was able to skip 5 level of my American school's Chinese after being back.</p>

<p>Extracurricular:</p>

<p>-Model UN (10-12)
-Quizbowl (10-12)
-Chinese language School (3 hours/Sunday) (9-12)
I began in the Bilingual level 1 class and I am now enrolled in the level 10 Native Speaker class, the highest in the entire school. I am the only non-chinese person to do such in the school's history.
- Chinese Culture Club (9-12), President (1 year)
-Red Cross Club Founder (1 year)
- Red Cross volunteer (3 years)
-Volunteer at a NPO dedicated to blind and visually impaired children's education (10-12: over 170 hours total), every Saturday morning at 8 AM til 10.
-Taekwondo (8-12), Blackbelt (1 year)
-Interned at a local hospital for over 80 hours during the summer: shadowed Cardiologists, observed open-heart and catheter surgeries, performed (not kidding, not sure how this is even legal...) a renal stent placement.</p>

<p>In China</p>

<p>-Calligraphy class weekly(75+ hrs)
-Traditional chinese instrument lessons weekly (75+ hrs)
-Taught English to 60 4th graders at Migrant School in Beijing Slum weekly (60+ hrs)
-I took care of orphans who have undergone surgery for conditions such as cleft pallet weekly (55 hrs).
-Wrote a 10 page research paper on the Migrant Phenomenom in Beijing, includes original research from interviews with workers, college professors, and the highest ranking police officer of Haidian District in Beijing. To be published along with other students research.
-Went on Study Trips to remote areas such as Yunnan (borders Thailand and Burma), Guizhou (borders Vietnam), Fujian (across the strait from Taiwan).</p>

2

<p>You've got a good chance, assuming you have a great record of awards and leadership in your clubs. Penn places a great deal of emphasis on demonstrated interest as well as its essays.</p>

<p>I was rejected by Stanford but admitted to Penn M&T, Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. Don't worry too much. There are too many variables in college admissions to take one decision as a predictor of the others.</p>

3

<p>I second the above. Your SATs clearly indicate academic competence and your GPA suggests a commensurate work ethic. I would be most surprised if you were not admitted to at least one Ivy.</p>

4

<p>you got rejected from stanford? holy crap.</p>

<p>your Chinese cred is impressive by the way.</p>

<p>but here's the far more important question: What do Confucius say?</p>

5

<p>Confucius say: Penn is better than Stanford anyway. So sayeth their marginally higher alumni giving rate.</p>

<p>You should have a great chance at Penn, and if you are applying to CAS (your posting makes it ambiguous whether you intend to go there or Wharton), you will have a more enjoyable undergraduate experience than at Stepford U.</p>

<p>That being said, if you go Wharton, I'd say you might be competitive for the uber-elite Huntsman Program in International Studies & Business (with an acceptance rate that makes Stanford look positively Drexellent)</p>

6

<p>Bump......</p>

7

<p>Anyone else?</p>

8

<p>Penn is better than Stanford?</p>

9

<p>^thats a given</p>

10

<p>I would only say this: take the Stanford EA rejection as a warning. Use this chance to carefully review your applications and essays, and see if there is something that may be incorrect on them, or something that may be sabotaging you. Use that feedback to improve your application quality.</p>

11

<p>I think Penn and Stanford are pretty much equal in terms of undergraduate education.</p>

12

<p>Stanford has an edge in snob appeal, to be sure, but the actual undergraduate education is going to be of similar quality (that is, as good as it gets from a major research university)</p>