<p>First off, big congrats - I'm very jealous.</p>
<p>Secondly - what do you think was 'the' thing that got you in? For example, did you have relatively average grades but a great SAT score? Or both fairly average grades and scores, however wrote a brilliant essay? Or did you do something completely left of field - some sort of EC or work-experience thing that was completely unique?</p>
<p>I'd just like to know what the admissions officers were thinking of this year.
I've got my heart set on Wharton :)</p>
<p>For me it was not my scores that got me in. They were nothing truly special. On the other hand, I had a perfect GPA, some decent leadership positions, and a lot of interesting life stories to tell through my essays. I am very happy that at least one Ivy League school isn’t all about the test scores. Nice work Upenn:-).</p>
<p>i really made sure there was no ‘fatal flaw’ in my application (ie, low SATs, low SAT IIs, not enough leadership) and spent a lot of time on my essays. i also think that getting 5’s and going to college credit summer programs helped</p>
<p>when I applied I had a perfect transcript (now I have I think 1 or two Bs, but when I applied my lowest grade was an A in any class I took), I had pretty high test scores, pretty strong ECs, weird but good essay, good recs, and double legacy. then again I got deferred from ED, at which point I sent in a letter of continued interest and got the headmaster of my school (a wharton alum) to write a rec letter for me.</p>
<p>I had the grades and scores to be competitive and enough ECs to not look like a one-dimensional person. I’m pretty sure two main things contributed to me getting in: applying from Vermont, where regional competition is much lighter, and my essays. My page 217 essay was probably my favorite essay I wrote throughout the whole process for any school. So, I think what you need is a good foundation that can get you in consideration, and then some other unique things to really put you over the top.</p>
<p>my essays were ballin’! the autobiography essay was fun for me to write and probably even more fun to read. my personal essay was about my family’s struggle as immigrants and what i got out of it. for the “why penn” essay i wrote about a trip i took to penn as a junior and how it reinforced my decision to go there.
sat’s were mehh.
i have lots of leadership roles at school and a nice resume.
go penn! 2013!!!</p>
<p>Haha crystalpineapple, I think our PGSA was a good factor. I got in probably due to my music and my teacher is very famous in Philly. Also I’m a legacy</p>
<p>Penn is a tough school to get into for just about everyone and while I did work hard in high school I feel that there comes a point in which all you can do is hope that you have good luck.</p>
<p>I think that my dedication to one particular club and volunteering had a lot to do with it. I did my main ECs because I loved them, not because I wanted to right it on my transcript. I think that’s the fatal flaw for most because its easy to tell when your lying. Now that I think about it, my involvement in this club was mentioned (sometimes indirectly) in my main essays and all of my supplements.</p>
<p>Hum, I dont really know. My sat scores were very average (2070) but I got good SAT2s, my essays were ok except my why Penn essay that wasnt too original. I have some good ECs and although my overall GPA wasnt very good (92.6/100) I had very strong marks in sciences and since I applied to engineering, that probably helped me a lot</p>