<p>I'm just curious.. if Penn has a certain trend each year in admitting certain types of students.. from the ED thread, I've noticed a lot of people being admitted w/ rather low SAT scores for an ivy league school. I wonder if this has anything to do with them writing great/unique essays, interviews, etc?</p>
<p>They say that there are way more factors that go into admission besides GPA/scores. This year they are definitely proving that more than ever. Many got in with “low scores”, but then again a 2050+ is considered low. Many that got in with the 1900-2100 were either athletes, legacy, had great essays, or excellent ECs. Really you still have to have the grades to be admitted, but if your stats are on the lower side (3.6-3.7 GPA 1900-2100 SAT) everything else will play a larger factor. Also it matters to what school you apply too. You won’t see many low scores in Wharton.</p>
<p>The ED thread from CC represents only a small minority of all the students admitted to Penn. Most ED admittees are the hooked people who have legacies, URM status, or athletes. My close friend with 2390 SAT got accepted wharton ED but she had no leadership/ good ECs. There’s never a trend: the admissions process is a crapshoot to all top schools.</p>
<p>I have a 3.56 UW but a 2280 superscored SAT score… I’d say a pretty unique/great essay and my extracurriculars - they may not be crazy like some people’s here on CC, but it shows dedication to one/two activities I’ve continued for four years.</p>
<p>I applied to CAS. I couldn’t dare to apply to Wharton lol, besides, I’m undeclared and my interests fit the wide range of subjects offered in CAS.</p>
<p>The numbers on that thread are anecdotal and do not necessarily reflect any sort of trend of Penn admissions. To give you some perspective, here are the overall averages of Penn and its peers in the Ivy League (Brown, Columbia and Dartmouth):</p>
<p>Penn:
ACT: 32.5
SAT: 1440</p>
<h1>in top decile: 99%</h1>
<p>Brown:
ACT: 30.5
SAT: 1430</p>
<h1>in top decile: 94%</h1>
<p>Columbia:
ACT: 32.5
SAT: 1475</p>
<h1>in top decile: 93%</h1>
<p>Dartmouth:
ACT: 32
SAT:1450</p>
<h1>in top decile: 91.2%</h1>
<p>Conclusion:
Brown = Dartmouth = Penn = Columbia</p>
<p>Brief Caveat: Should acceptance rates be used as a judgment of selectivity? The simple answer is no. To exaggerate for rhetoric’s sake: schools like Caltech, UChicago and Swarthmore classically have acceptance rates north of 17%, yet they are all as “selective” (if not more so) than any Ivy League school. In these cases, where the SATs, ACTs and class rank are all aligned, acceptance rates are merely a function of school size and applicant pool size - NOT actual selectivity.</p>
<p>thank you muerteapablo
your post was very informative</p>