Hi! I’m a rising senior and I’m trying to decide whether or not it would be worth it to apply to Penn. My brother just finished his junior year there, and he took me on a campus tour. I fell in love with the school, especially the Kelly Writer’s House. However, my academics are a little shaky. My brother’s were too, he had about a 2.3 GPA in high school and went to another school for two years before transferring to Penn, where he is incredibly popular with his professors. Do you think it would be worth it to apply to Penn?
Some more info:
Major: English
GPA: 3.56 weighted( i had a 2.3 GPA freshman year, but my grades have drastically improved, my junior year GPA was a 4.4)
School type: small competitive magnet(DE)
class rank: 68/118
SAT scores: 1950(710 reading, 540 math, 700 writing)
I will take SAT II in bio m and lit.
I have a lot of music EC’s, and I can play five different instruments.
I am a student writer for a regional newspaper and an online college admissions newsletter.
I have a published short story and a published poem.
I will have taken one AP junior year and have four scheduled for senior year, as well as a dual enrollment class junior year.
I won an award for poetry from Scholastics and one for journalism from Teen Ink.
Do you think it would be useful to apply to Penn? As of right now it is the one college I would sell my soul to get into, but I’m not sure I want to apply unless I have a chance of getting in.
Hey! I’m studying at Penn currently, so thing is your ECs are great. Stellar considering you’re an English major. Your SAT score needs work tho, that 540 in Math is… Problematic. If you’re able to considerably improve that tho (till the 700s), you should have a fair chance. Since English is your major, the essays should be a breeze for you. Just work on that SAT and make sure your SAT 2s are great. And good luck!
@rumorsareflying top colleges look for high GPAs but what they like even more is people who have shown tremendous improvement and progress during their high school career and you have definitely shown that…a huge improvement shows that you are a person with mental tenacity, who is not disheartened by a bad moment and doesnt give up and pushes harder. trust me this is a quality that will come in very handy if you get into Penn(make sure u leverage that accordingly in your application)… retake your SAT (but dont take it more than 3 times) and try to improve your math, also since you wanna be an english major improving reading and writing a bit would not hurt either…Generally penn is known for being more holistic in its admission decisions and not getting stuck on scores as much as some other ivies…if Penn is your dream i say go for it you have nothing to lose (other than the application fee) and whatever the outcome you will not have any regrets that you didnt go after what you wanted…also Penn really favors ED applicants so you might wanna apply ED since Penn is ur absolute first choice…Good Luck!!!
Also my common app essay is about my dad(a lawyer with a drug addiction) and he was also a writer. Do you think my essay will be unique enough?
Why are you writing about your dad? They want to know you, not your father. And writing about drug addiction seems a little inappropriate and too personal. The most unique essay is not necessarily the best essay.
I’m writing about how his life inspired me NOT to follow in his footsteps and how I’m a stronger person for surviving parental abandonment.
I think your essay will do just fine. I admire your courage to write about your inner strength.
And I think I should have mentioned this earlier but we are family friends with someone pretty high up in power at Penn. I don’t want to be more specific than that because I do not want to give away their identity. I don’t think they will be able to have any input into my admissions though. They helped guide my brother through the process of assimilating to the school environment.
Was there a reason for your Freshman GPA? Putting it in perspective could help improve your chances. Your SATs can use some work, but it’s not impossible! Make sure you do well on your SAT II’s to prove to Pen you can do well on standardized tests. If possible try getting a few more leadership positions. While your EC’s are fantastic, they don’t show a lot of leadership positions. I would disagree with @CaliCash and say that you should write your essay on that topic. While it should’t be all on your father (after all colleges want to accept YOU and not your father), I think its a risky enough topic that will help you stand out. Best of Luck and I hope you get into Penn!!! 
I’m section editor for the school newspaper and also I have over 100 volunteer hours teaching theatre at a summer camp. I didn’t want to put those in the original post because I wanted to focus on writing. I’ve done a lot of musical theatre and whatnot throughout the years. I’m really into the arts, in case you can’t tell haha
My EC’s are actually kind of crazy. I’ve done a lot of things over the years.
I was the first member of my school’s MUN.
I have a part time job in food service(15 hours a week during the school year, 30 during the summer)
Varsity track and field
Literary magazine
Science research(on water quality)
peer tutoring
community theatre
concert choir
jazz choir
handbell choir
women’s choir
And I’m joining mock trial this year
@rumorsareflying so it definitely looks like you have some leadership positions! It’s good that you are trying to create a focus on your EC’s as well. Do you have a particular reason for your GPA freshman year (if you don’t thats fine, but it could help!) Consider taking the ACT if the SAT is not your thing, and remember to really nail those SAT II’s, otherwise I think you are definitely on the right path!!!
Your GPA is lower than the average accepted applicant, your SAT is slightly below average, and you’re not in the top 10%. You also haven’t taken many AP’s. It’s possible you could get in, but I don’t think it would be very likely. If you still want to go for it then apply ED
I don’t think the admissions at Penn are solely based on numbers, because then there’s no way my brother could have gotten in.
@rumorsareflying Spoken like a true sister. lol
Penn is definitely holistic. Try to get your SAT’s up and have a strong senior yera first semester, but if you absolutely can’t, make sure your essay is the best thing admission has ever seen. Forget the golden egg, yours should be an [expletive] poetic masterpiece with 5 golden instruments stamped in the [expletive] middle.
Obviously stats aren’t everything, but usually applicants have something to make up for a weak area. For example, I had a 31 ACT (slightly lower than avg) but I also had a 4.0. So unless you have strong EC’s or a great essay to make up for the gpa, sat, and rank, I don’t know if I would recommend spending $75 on the app. If you’re willing to spend the money, apply and see what happens. However, I do think you’d have a shot at transfer admission. I suggest you go to another college for a year or two, get a good gpa (at this point high school gpa is barely considered), maybe retake the SAT, and apply as a transfer. (This is what I did). Sorry if my posts came off as rude, I wish you the best of luck!