<p>Last year around this time, my D was also trying to decide between her top choices where to apply ED/EA. She was accepted ED to Penn CAS. I thought I would list below some of the things that were considered and that helped her choose Penn for ED. </p>
<p>1) Yale and Stanford were the 2 in HYPS she agonized about not trying since she had the stats & ECs for these schools, but the overall features at Penn won her over eventually.
Here are the other peer schools she considered and why she ruled them out despite "stellar academics" at these institutions;</p>
<ul>
<li>Dartmouth: rural, remote location; but some kids may want to sacrifice location for the undergraduate focus; takes more than half a day to get home
<ul>
<li>Columbia: rigid core and very limited social life on campus (great for grad school)</li>
<li>Chicago: where fun goes to die reputation, and too intellectual for her</li>
<li>Duke: not as diverse (heard a couple of comments in review books about racial tensions among students, lacrosse scandal didn't help much either) </li>
</ul></li>
</ul>
<p>Among these peer schools Penn stood out for its:</p>
<p>a) urban location
b) One University policy - allows exploration unparalleled in undergraduate experience
c) a social atmosphere with a "work hard, play hard" attitude
d) Leader in community service and civic engagement (Fiske Guide)
e) a school embarking upon a path "from excellence to eminence" - i.e. not resting on their laurels but trying to enhance the university's position even further; i think this creates a great energy and atmosphere
f) 1st words people used describing Penn "vibrant" and "energetic" community of students
g) significant amount of international students (perhaps largest in the ivy league?) adding to the diversity of campus - and reflecting the real world in which students will have to thrive in order to succeed
h) Interdisciplinary majors, minors and classes prepare students to study issues from a multi-dimensional approach.
i) haven't met an alumni yet that didn't absolutely love the school; most common reaction from alumni to D "you will have so much fun" while learning a lot
j) the intellectual atmosphere here may not be as intensive as other peer schools, but you get an education that prepares you for the real world. Even the intellectual atmosphere may be improving, as the only other kids that got into Penn from D's school were cross admits to HYP in the RD round.
k)And the quality of the faculty that Penn has been drawing recently cannot be ignored:</p>
<p>School</a> of Arts & Sciences - University of Pennsylvania
l) outstanding alumni connections (which also exist at many peer schools, but we saw that penn alumni were still VERY passionate about penn and about helping/mentoring new students)
m) # 3 Medical School within campus for great research opportunities
n) Wharton resources and classes (very few are not accessible to rest of Penn)
o) Despite it's safety reputation, it is still considered one of the safest schools in the country - probably because of the presence of its own police force and the fantastic job they have been doing</p>
<p>Look up the penn public safety site, you will be impressed. </p>
<p>2) Penn has been on an upward momentum in the past 13 years, attracting both top quality administrators and faculty. For eg: Penn's current President Amy Gutmann was the Provost at Princeton before she took the presidency here. At Princeton, she was credited with recruiting some star faculty, here is the link to her bio when she was appointed to Penn:</p>
<p>1/22/04</a>, Penn President: Princeton Provost Amy Gutmann - Almanac Between Issues</p>
<p>Also, previous to Amy's apppointment, Judith Rodin who was Penn's President, was the Provost at Yale. Penn's last two Presidents have come from the 2nd highest positions at Yale and Princeton and have both largely been credited with the significant positive changes at Penn.</p>
<p>side note - Harvard's current President Drew Gilpin Faust, was at Penn for 25 years before moving on to Harvard in 2001, and becoming it's first women President ever in 2007:</p>
<p>Biography</a> - Office of the President - Harvard University</p>
<p>Very impressive leadership, and Penn in its pioneering spirit, had the first woman president in the ivy league, followed by another woman! </p>
<p>Feel free to add to this list as you see fit or correct me if I am mistaken, I know many parents/kids will have their own specific reasons. CC helped us gather most of this information, the Fiske guide was another great source.</p>
<p>Good luck to class of 2010 as you try to make such an important decision. PM me if you need any other specific information. If you do decide to apply ED, make sure your "Why Penn" essay is passionate about Penn, i think that really matters. With ED being used to fill almost 50% of the incoming class, they want to ensure that you are not only trying to boost your acceptance chances but that you are TRULY passionate about Penn. When 1/2 the incoming class chooses this as their first choice, that creates great school spirit.</p>
<p>Thanks for reading!</p>