<p>how do they want us to name a proffesor we would like to work with if we don’t know anyone???</p>
<p>professor*</p>
<p>look one up online</p>
<p>Why don't you have a nice summer and not worry about college applications right now?</p>
<p>i'm trying, but I can't..b/c I'd rather get them done now than do them during senior year (I need a near perfect mid-year transcript)
And besides, there's not much to do when one doesn't have a life =] hehe just kidding.</p>
<p>yeah, look one up that seems interesting and aligns with your field of study. It doesn't have to be long, just mention what you would like to study/research with the professor. In my opinion though, the Why Penn? essay is a much bigger factor in many applications.</p>
<p>that means that I have to visit even though it would be around a nine hour drive =[</p>
<p>man for the why penn it felt like all i had to do was regurgitate one of their brochures</p>
<p>yeah, that's what they don't want...</p>
<p>Plus, regurgitation for anything is just nasty</p>
<p>well yeah. you shouldn't be regurgitating what you have already heard. you are applying to this school and they have to want you for them to admit you so I would tell them what you are going to do there when/if you get there and how you will utilize Penn's vast stronghold of academic/non-academic resources to accomplish your goals and contribute to their student life. Use specific examples of what you would actually do. It's not all about what you can do. or what they have that you crave. It's what you can do for them and what they can do for you. When they see what they can do something for you and that you can do something for them, then you will be in business.</p>
<p>the thing is you want to show that you really care about getting in so you need to show in the essay that you know a lot about the school. The "vast stronghold of academic/non-academic resources" stuff is an example of what I'm talking about, but it's not necessarily a bad thing because it forces you do to your research so you can see if you really want to go to penn.</p>
<p>yeah. My advice is to be very specific in why you want to go.</p>
<p>when i visited penn about 2 weeks ago, the admissions officer said the exact same thing...they KNOW what they write on the website and the brochures and they dont want to see that over and over again.
But what else is there to write about? One must really have to go indepth to write the "why penn" essay. Im considering EDing to Penn and I have a vague idea of what i would say, but...</p>
<p>what are your specific academic interests? maybe I can help you.</p>
<p>well academically - (along the pre-vet/pre-med track) biology...but im also really interested in minoring in something like south asian studies or history...i have a wide interest, i guess you can say.
and non-academically i really enjoy tennis, and am DEFINATELY going to be involved in some type of indian dance team along with student government. Also, the research opps for undergrads at penn are awesome.</p>
<p>sounds good. talk about what penn specifically has in these areas, like if they have a special pre-vet/pre-med program with certain classes/professors/resource centers that you could contribute to and stuff, and how it would compliment your studies in high school, and you could also talk about how indian dancing/tennis/sga would contribute to your college experience and how you would contribute to those organizations. It's all about mutual relationships. They want to feel that you will be connected with the school.</p>
<p>Geesh, people, you don't have to travel all that way to Penn just to tell them WHY. Trust me, I did, and it's a pure waste of time. I ended up just surfing around their website a lot--like researching, looking around on sites related to what I'm interested in. Plus, they have little blurbs describing the research of each prof, and just choose one you're interested in. Find some ORIGINAL and CREATIVE way to let them know why you chose Penn. If you just go "Oh, well, yes, first, you guys are a great school, you know. And, two, that one club sounds cool too..." you suck and will just blend in with all the thousands of other applicants. It's not so much regurgitating the info, but digesting it, and pooping it back out in your own unique form. (Mind the bad analogy.)</p>
<p>And, yes, totally try to work on your college apps during the summer. You'll save yourself lots of ass pain in the end.</p>
<p>I agree with everything deedee said. A lot of the essay is finding out obscure facts about penn that you like and pulling them all together in a good manner. That's why I said it kinda resembles a college brochure; the end product does kinda sound like one.</p>
<p>I second the summer thing, Winter break really sucked having to do all the apps</p>
<p>I also agree with deedee in that you don't have to travel all the way to Penn to tell them why you want to go. I never visited Penn until after I applied (which is sad, because I only live 20 mins away), and still I got in. Thus, the Why Penn essay does not require actually having set foot on campus. It requires you to know exactly why you want to go, for reasons other than "I'm really just a prestige-whore" and to then articulate that want into words. Or, you could master the art of BSing your way through life, a skill I have learned to be infinitely valuable.</p>
<p>Whatever you do don't put "I want to minor in south asian studies and join an indian dance troupe" that might set off some negative affirmative action flags ;)</p>