So I attended a college fair recently...

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
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<p>And I'm interested in going to UPenn. A teacher at my school formerly attended UPenn and taught there and, if nothing else, made it sound like an amazing college in terms of academics and the general college atmosphere.</p>

<p>I've asked around and it's been said that I have a good shot at being accepted into UPenn, but after looking around and seeing more than a few incredible resumes, I'm not exactly confident. I thought this might be a good place to get opinions, even though you guys probably hate these sort of "rate me" threads... </p>

<p>I'm a sophomore in high school looking to become some sort of Engineer, with some focus on Business (a double-major if possible) as well. Just as a note - I'm copy/pasting some of this information, so please forgive me if some of it sounds disjointed.</p>

<p>The only official standardized test I’ve taken so far was the PSAT (as a freshman) and I scored a 193/240. 67 CR, 68 M, 62 W. Obviously, I plan to improve (significantly) all of those scores each time I take the PSAT. </p>

<p>My GPA (unweighted) was a 4.0 as a freshman. Probably going to be above a 3.8 by the time I graduate.</p>

<p>I'm a White Male from Mississippi, if that affects my chances of being accepted at a school like UPenn. </p>

<p>My biggest activity is debate. I won state championships in Public Forum Debate, and competed that the Catholic Forensics League National Championships (as a freshman). I’m continually debating and hope to attend the National Forensics League championship this year, along the the CFL championships again. And I’m hoping to repeat as the state champion. </p>

<p>Another focus of mine is mathematics. I am one of the top math students in my state, and I have done quite a few competitions. Most recently, I placed 2nd in the state in a Geometry written competition (freshman year), and hopefully similar results will continue in competitions this year and throughout high school.</p>

<p>I received the Book Awards for World History I and Web Design last year, but I honestly have no idea how much weight colleges would put on in-school achievements like those. </p>

<p>I also compete in Quiz Bowl, and I will have over 100 hours of community service hours by the time I graduate. Hopefully I will have more service hours than simply meeting the 100-hour requirement. I serve up to 3 hours weekly at my church, running some of the technical equipment (recording, lighting, etc), but that, according to my school's policies, does not contribute to my 100 service hours for school.</p>

<p>My schedule this year is Honors Algebra II, Latin III (no honors option available yet), Honors English 10, Honors Chemistry, Honors World History II, and Speech and Debate Competition. The only AP classes available to me as a sophomore were AP European History and AP Bio. Taking AP Bio would have been very restrictive on my choices for science classes in the future, based on my school's policy, and even if I had chosen to take AP Euro, there weren't enough students who signed up, so the class isn't being taught this year.</p>

<p>Next year, I plan to take the following courses:
1. Honors Precalculus
2. AP English 11
3. AP Physics (not sure if this will be Physics B or C)
4. Speech and Debate Competition
5. AP Latin IV
6. AP Economics (I believe this covers both Micro- and Macro-economics)
7. AP US Government/Comparative Government (I need to check my school’s requirement here)</p>

<p>I’d also like to take Robotics, but based on my schools policy of allowing one opening for study hall, this means that I might have to do one of the AP classes as an independent study, if that’s a feasible option. If any of you have experience with taking independent classes, I would be very thankful if you could give me some basic information on how it works. </p>

<p>I know it's somewhat early, but am I on the right track to have an Ivy-league resume by the time I apply for college as a senior? </p>

<p>The biggest question I have is about math... Trust me, the other areas of my school are sufficient, even though I'm not taking any AP classes this year, the academic schedule I have is tough. But in math, I'm in 10th grade and taking Algebra II, which is standard for students at my school. However, I have noticed students that took Algebra II as early as 8th grade. Will something like this put me at a disadvantage in the college application process? I will have completed Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, Precalculus, and AP Calculus as my 5 math credits. If I am indeed behind in math, would it be worth it to try to advance at least a year during the summer after my sophomore year?</p>

<p>Anyway, hopefully some of you will take the time to read all of this and give a thoughtful response. If you don't think I have a chance at UPenn, please give me some suggestions to improve my resume. Thanks.</p>

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<p>Way too early to tell, but you appear to be on the right track.</p>

<p>Once you’ve taken your first round of standardized tests, come back.</p>

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<p>I’ll be sure to do that. </p>

<p>Would it be a good idea to go ahead and take the ACT/SAT some time during my sophomore year?</p>

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<p>Go for it! It would be a great way to gauge if UPenn is right for you.</p>

<p>I think your extracurriculars are great though!</p>

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<p>you’re on the right track. your biggest roadblock might be standardized testing. even as someone from MS, you’ll still want 700 in each section(2100) or a 32 ACT.</p>

<p>

Not really. Penn doesn’t accept score choice so you could end up with scores that stick out in a bad way. Study this summer, take them in fall of Junior year.</p>

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<p>Definitely agreed with ChoklitRain here. Study over the summer, get your 2250, and get out. As a MS applicant, you’ll stand out.</p>

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<p>Blake, chill out.</p>

<p>FYI -

  1. The debate achievements mean very little until you reach the national level.
  2. You’ll be taking AP Physics B, not C.
  3. AP Economics will probably NOT be offered next year; no one is teaching it this year, and if Dr. Harth chooses to take it up, it will only be Macro.
  4. Don’t take the government classes as a junior. It’s almost exclusively seniors, and you will have a terrible experience in there. Not to mention – you might not be up to par, no offense. 72% of the class this year is National Merit…just something to be of which to be cognizant. </p>

<p>You come from a great prep school, so you’ll do well in Ivy admissions, if you get the test scores. Don’t worry; just do your best on the SAT, and use the school’s college admissions resources, not College Confidential. </p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

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<p>Mississippi helps you a lot.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the info. I wasn’t expecting to see you here, haha.</p>

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<p>And yes, IRJunkie, I should chill out.</p>

<p>Thanks for all of the other advice.</p>

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<p>As someone who wants to pursue engineering and some business you should look into the M&T program if you haven’t already.</p>