Sophomore trying to get a head start :)

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
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<p>I'm just wondering what kind of school Pennsylvania is, from the student perspective and not the historical/other perspective you find online at their website and in the news etc. What kind of students does the university look for, and what should one do if he or she wants to get into Pennsylvania? Thank you guys!</p>

<p>Do I have a chance?
I'm currently a sophomore with a 3.67 unweighted GPA. This will be 3.83 by senior year. I scored 2000 on the PSAT (600 reading 600 writing 800 math) and expect to receive 2250-2300 on the SAT. I took the SAT Math IIC and got an 800 on my first try. I plan on majoring in either engineering (possibly mechanical) or mathematics (to become an actuary? truthfully not sure yet). I'm playing no sports this year, but will next year. I ran cross country, track, played tennis, and wrestled last year. I will most likely attend Harvard's SSP Summer Program this summer and Oxford's Summer Program next summer. I'm attending the HOBY leadership conference this summer and plan on attending West Point's Leadership Seminar and Boys State next summer. </p>

<p>This year's classes: Chem Honors, World History Honors, Precalc Honors, English 2, Leadership, Korean 4, Leadership
Next year's classes: Physics AP, Calc AB AP, English 3 Honors, US History AP, Korean 5, XC/Track, Leadership</p>

<p>Who I Am: Vice-President of Sophomore Class, Vice-President of church Student Council, Secretary of District's Youth & Government [state-wide club that is recognized by the government (the governor of CA comes to our last convention)], Short-term missionary (I went to Kenya for a month for missions), Music Volunteer for Kaiser Permanente (200+ hours), Snowboarder (started when I was 7 years old)</p>

<p>I don't have a ton of leadership positions yet, but in the next two years I plan on being...
Junior Year: Junior Class President, CSF Secretary, Youth & Government Secretary/President
Senior Year: Student Council President, Youth & Government President, Officer in Civil Air Patrol, CSF President/Vice-President</p>

<p>Please tell me what I need to work on. I'm trying to be as well rounded as possible.</p>

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<p>I think Penn just looks for students who are self-motivated enough to take advantage of all the resources that Penn has to offer on its campus. I honestly don't think they look for anything different than the other Ivy League schools. As an alum, I don't think I could have gone anywhere else and received a better education, because of the breadth of academics offered at the College, engineering, and Wharton. That was my favorite part about Penn. There's no limit to what you can get out of in terms of your undergrad education at Penn if you're motivated enough. Pretty much all of my friends in college went on to do amazing things i.e. one started his own businesses as a sophomore at Penn and is now worth millions, a bunch went to Wall Street, a couple went to Harvard Medical School, one went to Yale Law, one is now at Stanford business school, and a couple are working for venture capital firms in California. With that said, you should go to Penn!! I suggest you look at some of the other ivies as well. I also really liked Yale when I was deciding between colleges. It was a tough choice between Penn and Yale and I ultimately chose Penn and was very happy, but one of my very good friends ended up at Yale and loved it.</p>

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<p>bo435: Thanks so much for the info on Penn. It sounds like you really enjoyed going there :) Do you think I could make it into Penn? You were talking about being self-motivated. They would know that through my essay right?</p>

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<p>I completely understand your concern. Obviously, no one in this forum sits on the undergraduate admissions committee, and therefore, no one can truly say who gets in. However, I think if you find a way to make the best out of what's available to you in high school and work hard to distinguish yourself, you will be where you want to be in the next couple of years. Be serious about your studies and truly understand yourself. Be able to reflect on yourself in a mature and insightful way in your essay, and you will get in to all the Ivy Leagues. It'll be hard to choose where you want to go after that. Trust me.</p>

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<p>how do you know you will have a 3.83 by senior year?</p>

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<p>"how do you know you will have a 3.83 by senior year?"</p>

<p>Clearly nothing will stand in his way to get into Penn. He KNOWS that nothing is stopping him from getting 4.0s in his two hardest years :P</p>