<p>I just got the blue postcard today which said to please include my full name, date of birth and last four digits of my SSN on any supplemental material. However, I already had my supplemental material sent in and they only had my full name, date of birth and address. Do you guys think this will be a problem? Is there anyone else who did that or asked UPenn about it? Thanks!</p>
<p>in online application.. they say this. and they also say "dont worry if you didnt put this number on supplemental materials you have sent" or some thing like this...</p>
<p>so dont worry they are not gonna throw iy away =)</p>
<p>well, not to be a jerk, but actually supplemental materials tend to be brushed aside. it depends on what kind of supplement you sent, but I sent a DVD of my filmmaking work to each school, and i remember a yale representative leveled with me and said that though its better to send it than not send it, usually they toss DVDs, CDs, etc, into a big bin, and arent really seen.</p>
<p>Damn! I sent them pictures of my project (what I wrote my essay about..). Are you certain about this, DogDayAfternoon?!</p>
<p>i mean im certain of what i heard. it may depend on the media though. if yours are pictures concerning the topic of your essay, then maybe they'll be able to take a look at it, since they just need to read your essay to understand the pictures. </p>
<p>however, what the yale rep once told me was that the adcom people dont have the qualifications to listen to musical performances, watch dance videos, watch student films, etc., so there's really no point in them watching it.</p>
<p>I was under the impression that they send the supp. materials to the appropriate department (who is qualified to interpret them). It doesn't make sense for them to discard it, although I assume it's possible.</p>
<p>well if you think about it, the process of sending a DVD to the cinema department, having them evaluate it, send it back, and THEN figure out whether a student gets in or not, is kind of long and tedious.</p>
<p>Just like how adcom people dont analyze essays to a microscopic level (they just read it once or twice and evaluate based on their emotions), a lot of the admissions process is really sped up, cuz they get thousands of apps, and theyve only got so much time.</p>
<p>what the rep i met said is that they LITERALLY have crates and crates full of DVDs and videos and CDs and stuff, because they dont have the time or capabilities to watch and evaluate it.</p>
<p>I'm guessing they only 'ask' for supplemental materials to appease the applicants and make it seem like they care about it lol..</p>
<p>How many times do you suspect they review an applicant who they feel should be accepted? I mean, not the obvious 1600 SAT, 4.0 GPA, etc. but someone slightly less qualified. Don't they review possible acceptees more than once/twice? Or, do they already know that the person will be accepted once they read over the application once?</p>
<p>KRabble -I read one of those behind closed doors books on admissions (the Duke one ). At that school they had " first readers" assign scores to everything like testing, GPA, rigor of curriculum, essays, recs, extracurricular etc. Then the regional ad person reads and ranks the same stuff. Maybe if the scores don't agree they show a third person, or the regional rep might overrule. If your score is above a certain number based on six categories, you are automatically in, below - you are automatically denied. I think I read an old article that said Penn goes on a 1-9 scale, with most getting under a 7. It's obvious to me that certain geographical regions have different standards than others.</p>
<p>For the ones who are left in the middle, the whole committee meets to discuss and vote, toward the end of November. Each app is seen by more than one person, more than one time. There are ways they account for school reputation. Athletes, big donations people etc. are removed from the pile and looked at separately. That's about it - off topic, I know.</p>
<p>maybe thats true, but i get the feeling that it's a lot more subjective than this. once again, this same yale rep i met gave me the impression that things like the essay are incredibly subjective. you just want them to LIKE your essay, enough that they can go to their adcom peers and say "i want this guy." thats what the whole package is supposed to do: make the adcom LIKE you. I think its as simple as that. </p>
<p>It would make sense if they use the Academic Index as well, but I think most of the processes are just really subjective.</p>
<p>Yeah, they can LOVE your essay, but if your other stuff doesn't meet the minimum then it's pretty much tough luck. It makes sense with the mountains of apps that they have to weed out somehow. But you're right, many people are in the group that go to committee and then things like essay, personal circumstances, "supplemental materials" etc. take on much more importance, because if you make it to that point they figure that you are qualified to be there, at least.</p>
<p>And at Duke, anyway, the essay was one of the things rated to begin with.</p>