Should I Expect A Rejection Letter in April?

Colleges & Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
1

<p>My friends are telling me to be optimistic but at this point, I can't even figure out why I applied to UPenn, other than the fact that I would die of happiness if I got accepted. It's an amazing school, but they get so many better applicants each year. Here are my stats, do I have a slight chance? </p>

<p>Grade: Senior
Gender: Female
Race: African American
First Generation College Student: Yes</p>

<p>Unweighted GPA: **~3.9
**Class Rank: 4/70
Course Load: Mostly honors classes except for Religion and electives.I've taken the toughest my school offers which isn't too rigorous. Four or more years of Math, English, French, Science, and History.
AP U.S. last year (4). AP English this year.
Local Colleges Classes: Criminal Justice (A), Calculus this semester and another class next semester. I would've taken more but they're too expensive.</p>

<p>SAT: 2160/2400
SAT Subject Tests: Literature 720 U.S. History 670 Math 1 660. (I studied a ton for the retake but something big came up and I only slept for about 3 hours so my scores were pretty much the same).</p>

<p>ECs
Volunteering (400+ hours, mostly tutoring, but also soup kitchens, habitat, beaches, abuse shelters, nursing homes, etc. I also volunteered in Latin America for a few weeks.)</p>

<p>Volunteering Club (4 years) Vice President Junior Year and President Senior Year
Teen Community Board (2) Chairman/ President
Junior Class President (1)
Religious Club (4) Vice President
Soccer (2) 3 if you count the spring season
NHS (2)
Leadership team (2)
Teen Volunteering board (2)
Summer Internship at an art center
CTY (3 years)
etc (i think i only put the ones above in the Common APP)</p>

<p>Awards: National Achievement Semi-Finalist
Student of the Year
Student of the Month (3 times)
Two Book Awards
Honor Roll
Volunteering Awards (from the service club I'm in)</p>

<p>Other Schools: UConn, Fordham, Tufts, BC, U or Rochester, Wesleyan, U of Maryland, JHU, Cornell, Swarthmore, and Yale</p>

2

<p>represent for african american girls!!!</p>

<p>good job your stats are freakin amazing
honestly i think you have a good shot at all of these schools… there aren’t many Black people with these scores, at least i don’t think so (none at my school or neighboring schools)… mines are kinda similar but i didn’t do any ivy league (i’m african american too… girl)</p>

<p>very proud of you… i hope you get in :)</p>

3

<p>you’ll def get into BC… i did EA WITH WORSE STATS (AND IT’S MORE competitive then)</p>

4

<p>you mean “should i expect an acceptance letter in april?”
idk. i’d say everything’s good, but you’re lacking self-confidence…be an optimist and hope for the best!</p>

5

<p>too bad ur SAT I/II’s are low – otherwise pretty ordinary - nothing really jumping at me… except teh URM</p>

<p>gotta love affirmative action</p>

6

<p>judging from your school’s lack of rigor, I’d say you shouldn’t be accepted to Penn b/c you’re likely to sink…but affirmative action might just pull you through.</p>

7

<p>i was accepted with similar SAT scores, and i’m ASIAN.
i’d say she has a pretty darn good chance.</p>

8

<p>i was accepted with similar SAT scores, and i’m ASIAN.
i’d say she has a pretty darn good chance.</p>

9

<p>Female is a URM so doesn’t count. </p>

<p>I think you have a really good chance to get in. Your SAT scores are pretty good actually and they turn amazing when you factor in that you are a urm. That’s not to detract anything though from your already nice academic achievements .</p>

10

<p>represent for african american girls!!!</p>

<p>good job your stats are freakin amazing
honestly i think you have a good shot at all of these schools… there aren’t many Black people with these scores, at least i don’t think so (none at my school or neighboring schools)… mines are kinda similar but i didn’t do any ivy league (i’m african american too… girl)</p>

<p>very proud of you… i hope you get in"</p>

<p>I don’t blame you for not applying to any ivys, I think I should have focused more on match schools. But thanks a lot!</p>

11

<p>I’ll try to be more optimistic. The apps are in so I might as well hope for the best while I wait.</p>

<p>One thing that I wonder about is this: People always talk about AA but is it really practiced that much, especially at schools like UPenn where they must get countless minority applications? Surely there numerous other urms with stats like mine or even better?</p>

12

<p>I would be surprised if you were not accepted.</p>

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<p>sure there are. not many though.
I know several urms from my school and neighboring schools that are applying. All of them have lower stats than you except for me. I think you have a very good chance. I wish you good luck.</p>

14

<p>I think you have a pretty good shot. Your SATII’s weren’t spectacular, but your SAT I was good enough and your gpa/class rank is right on the money. Assuming your essays and recommendations were good, I’d say you’d be more likely to see an acceptance than a rejection. Good luck to you!</p>

15

<p>Your chances are pretty solid given your scores and GPA. Your URM status helps you greatly and will likely mitigate any low SAT IIs. Good luck!</p>

16

<p>“sure there are. not many though. I know several urms from my school and neighboring schools that are applying. All of them have lower stats than you except for me. I think you have a very good chance. I wish you good luck”</p>

<p>It’s awesome that you have great grades. Good luck!</p>

<p>“I think you have a pretty good shot. Your SATII’s weren’t spectacular, but your SAT I was good enough and your gpa/class rank is right on the money. Assuming your essays and recommendations were good, I’d say you’d be more likely to see an acceptance than a rejection. Good luck to you!”</p>

<p>Yes, they were extremely low, but I’m hoping your right. Thanks for your optimism!</p>

17

<p>As close as possible to guaranteed in.</p>

18

<p>Does affirmative action play THAT big of a role???
It’s just not this thread, but in every chance thread I see around CC, people suddenly just disregard low test scores as soon as they see the applicant is a URM. </p>

<p>There’s no denying that your GPA/extra curricular are great, but I personally think that your test scores are on the lower end (then again, I have no idea how big a role affirmative action plays in Penn’s decisions). Your skin color really shouldn’t be a viable excuse for why your test scores are 100-200 points below other competitive applicants. But of course, it is.</p>

<p>Nothing against you personally, just ranting against affirmative action again. Though I can’t say much about your standardized test scores, your leadership activities and volunteering are impressive, as well as your GPA and course load.</p>

19

<p>I wish you the best! Your stats are very good, except the SAT II and you did try to take the toughest curriculum and 1st generation college. The only thing that might hurt is where you are from, some states just have more competitive applicants. I am just guessing but it looks like you go to a parochial school that will definately help for some of your other choices. Best of luck to you and hope you realize your dreams.</p>

20

<p>Choi:</p>

<p>In short, yes. AA will not make up for GPA/transcript/EC issues, but it can mitigate low test scores to a certain degree (i.e. not in extreme cases). The OP’s SAT scores are fine, but the SAT II ones are below the median. Inasmuch as the SAT IIs are weighted much less heavily than the SATs, I think her chances are solid.</p>