University of Pennsylvania Early or Regular Decision Choice

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
1

<p>Hi everyone, I will be a senior next year.</p>

<p>I am going to be applying to a couple of top schools including ivy leagues, and some safeties. I like Penn largely because it is in Philadelphia, and seems to have a relaxed environment, but my main motive is because of its resources. I want to do research and feel that if I go to a school with the best resources, I will be able to thrive there. However, cost of attending is also a big factor for me.</p>

<p>So my questions are: </p>

<p>(1) If by some chance I do apply and get in Penn ED, and I do get some sort of aid, but hypothetically I would have gotten more aid at a different school? Should I apply ED? </p>

<p>(2)What are the benefits of applying ED? Some say you get a higher chance of being accepted while others say it doesn't, so what is the answer?</p>

<p>(3) And people say you should go to a college where you "fit", now how do you know if you fit if you haven't stayed, studied, ate, slept, etc. at the university? I mean, I can go on a hour long tour of Penn, but how do I know I fit there? How do you tell if you are applying to a school because of the school or just because of the name?</p>

<p>(4) Lastly, why did you choose penn? Are you glad with your choice? Would you say you had a better college experience at Penn than any other school? Or in other words, if you were accepted to HYP, columbia, stanford, would you have chosen to go there instead?</p>

<p>Sorry if for asking too many questions, I would really appreciate it if you would take the time to answer if one of the questions. Thank you for your time.</p>

2

<p>It sounds like you would really enjoy going to Penn. You say you like that it is in Philadelphia and because of resources and research. Those were definitely some of the reasons I had for picking Penn. The research opportunities are outstanding, the Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships (CURF) is an organization on campus dedicated solely to helping students find research opportunities in all disciplines. Many of my friends and I are staying here over the summer to do different sorts of research, some in physics labs, one is going to be in a biochem lab, another at a mechanical engineering lab, a computational neuroscience lab, one working for an OPIM professors, etc. There are even parts of CURF created especially for funding. At my high school, I knew many kids who went to other Ivy leagues but I haven’t heard of many staying over the summer to do research after freshman year.</p>

<p>I think it’s good that you like Philadelphia, when I was going to high school people seemed to think of this as a big downside of Penn which I do not understand at all. Philly is a great city with tons to do. Penn is also very involved with the surrounding community.
Hope this helps!</p>

3

<p>(1) You can apply for an appeal if your family is not satisfied with your financial aid package. I did ED, my parents spoke with the FA office for about an hour, and then I got a better FA package. Penn is generally pretty good for aid, and they’ll try to work with you to make sure you can afford Penn and won’t have to worry about it.</p>

<p>(2) There is definitely a higher acceptance rate for ED applicants. If you are certain you want to go to Penn above all other schools, do ED. The ED acceptance rate was about 26%, compared to about 9% for RD this year.</p>

<p>(3) I live in the Philly area, so I know a lot of students who go there and knew it was a good “fit” for me academically. Penn’s a large school, so you will likely find a group similar to you within the 10,000 undergrads for the social fit. And the housing/food’s not bad, by the way.</p>

<p>(4) I have no regrets about applying ED to Penn. I want to go to a school with many opportunities for biomedical research and a biochemistry major, and Penn has both, as well as a 4-year BA/MS program in biochemistry (Vagelos MLS).</p>

<p>Before you apply to Penn, don’t be afraid to email professors to learn more about programs and activities. I met with the orchestra director and watched an orchestra rehearsal last fall, and then some of the members talked to me afterwards. Everyone’s been really nice with students visiting, so use that to your advantage to find out if Penn is a good fit for you. Good luck!</p>

4

<p>Thank you Poeme, and Anonymouse5,</p>

<p>Frankly, speaking I like science as a whole, so I would have trouble focusing in on a specific topic. And I was wondering is it possible to research two subjects: like one in biochemistry, and the other in quantum physics at the same time?</p>

<p>Poeme, you said that the research is plentiful, but is it strong in the science department? When I look at rankings (I know not very reliable, but I have nothing else to base it off of), Penn is usually around 15 - 20, where as other schools like Harvard, and Columbia around 5-10.</p>

<p>I was planning to also apply to Columbia (in RD). So I was wondering that if I get aid from Penn ED and accept it, I won’t have a chance to see if Columbia (among other schools) would give me more aid or not. But do ivy leagues give similar amount of aid, or would it be better to not apply ED, and wait till RD for Penn and Columbia.</p>

<p>The reason I ask about financial aid again is because my family and I don’t know the range of aid we should receive, that’s why I am a bit uneasy about applying ED.</p>

5

<p>If you submit FAFSA, it should give you an EFC, or expected family contribution. For me, Penn pretty much gave my family exactly what the FAFSA had spit out, so that might be a good gauge, also look on Penn’s Student financial website for a brochure that shows the levels of income and average aid received. </p>

<p>Different ivy league’s do give you different amounts of aid. For instance, at harvard, they have made it public knowledge that if your family income is less than 60,000 dollars a year, you attend for free, or 10% of the cost.</p>

6

<p>

Not sure what rankings you’re talking about, but Penn has one of the largest scientific research budgets in the country (definitely at the same level as Columbia and Harvard). In fact, for several years now, Penn has received the second highest amount of research funding (Johns Hopkins receives the highest) from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the federal agency that is the main funder of medical and biological research in the US.</p>

<p>And to get an idea of the kinds of research positions available for Penn undergrads, check out the current listing of science-related research positions for undergrads (currently showing 196 positions) on the web site of Penn’s Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships (CURF):</p>

<p>[Center</a> for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships](<a href=“Penn CURF”>Penn CURF)</p>

<p>And if you want more evidence of Penn’s status as a top 5-10 research powerhouse, take a look at page 8 of the latest annual report of The Center for Measuring University Performance:</p>

<p><a href=“http://mup.asu.edu/research2009.pdf[/url]”>http://mup.asu.edu/research2009.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

7

<p>Hi, 45 Percenter, I was talking about Penn’s ranking in the US News for graduate schools, but going through the link you posted, it does seem that Penn is really strong in research. </p>

<p>And TheWikiMan,
Assuming I am a Mexican or Canadian citizen living in the US, will I be able to apply for FAFSA? And if not (which was what I assumed when I asked my question), would it be smart to do ED with Penn without having any idea of the financial aid I might or might not receive - or should i stick with RD?</p>

8

<p>I applied early and I don’t think i could have made a better decision. I chose Penn because of it amazing resources for research, Philadelphia, and the fact that it is one of the only colleges that has an Artificial Intelligence major.
On another note, people keep saying that its alot easier to get in ED. That’s not true. Though the percent accepted seems higher that is because there are alot of hooked applicants that apply that round. (Athletes, Legacies, etc) The only advantage is that it lets the college know that you are seriously committed. You can, however, convey that in a well thought out supplement essay that displays all of your knowledge about the University. Bottom line, if you get in ED you would have gotten in RD, otherwise they would have just deferred you the ED round. If finances are a big deal, wait for RD and compare packages.</p>

9

<p>Yeah that’s why I was thinking of applying RD for the financial aid. But I wasn’t sure whether I would have a significantly lower chance of being accepted in RD than ED.</p>

10

<p>

You don’t have much of a higher chance getting into ED than RD. As said by somebody from the admissions office when I visited, ED contains a lot of recruited athletes that inflate their percentage. In the end the competition is the same.</p>

11

<p>Here’s my take on the whole issue: </p>

<ol>
<li><p>I got in ED. I definitely think ED boosted my chances. The two people who got in RD both had far higher GPAs and much more extracurriculars. One of the two got into five other Ivies. </p></li>
<li><p>As an International Student, your aid would be bad.
Penn expects international students to be able to pay for their tuition. In fact, if you can’t, they might turn you away because of that, since they will not admit anyone who cannot pay. </p></li>
</ol>

<p>(See this link: [Penn</a> Admissions: Financial Aid for International Applicants](<a href=“http://www.admissionsug.upenn.edu/applying/aid.php]Penn”>http://www.admissionsug.upenn.edu/applying/aid.php))</p>

<p>I almost regret applying ED because a friend with lower stats got a full ride to Brandeis and only has to pay $500 a year for Johns Hopkins. While I have to pay $20,000 annually, when my family’s income is less than $50,000 total. Pretty sucky. </p>

<p>Penn’s a great school, but you need to take some matters into consideration.</p>

12

<p>I heard that too gunit5, but some people like blueee, and other people have said that ED does help, so I don’t know but I need substantial aid, so I will probably do RD.</p>

<p>And blueee, if you have so much debt, why did you choose Penn? Wouldn’t be easier to go to Penn grad. if you plan on going to grad., and go to a cheaper college for undergrad.
And I am pretty sure Penn doesn’t view Mexican and Canadian citizens as International (it’s on the link you posted) - they view these citizens as the same as United States citizens.
Are you international?</p>

13

<p>blueee, I was wondering, since Penn guarantees full financial aid to all admits, why did Penn give you so little (or is that supposed to be normal) - I think HYP says no tuition for people with incomes less than 60,000 dollars.</p>

<p>" The University does guarantee that the full financial need for all admitted students applying for aid will be met. " (quote on the Penn website)</p>

14

<p>bluee- you should have received alot more aid if your total income is $50,000. There are tons of brochures where they state that you are not expected to pay if your family makes under $60,000 (along with all of the ivies). You should def. talk to a financial aid officer. I highly doubt Penn would take ~40% of your fam’s total income.</p>

15

<p>As a mexican student that applied to Penn and got in, I can vouch for their financial aid. I had to submit the CSS Profile and that was it…they calculated my EFC based on that. It came out a bit high because we have higher assets and less income (something that from what I hear is quite common with the economy like it is). However, what I got in financial aid at Penn was much more than I got anywhere else due to merit, so in the end it was a no-brainer. </p>

<p>I also love the city feel and I was really interested in all their research too, haha, so I think you’ll definitely like Penn. Social fit is easy at a school so large. You’re BOUND to find someone like you. So don’t worry about that :)</p>

16

<p>Im a junior this year (2011-2012). This summer, (July2011) before my Junior year, i decided i wanted to go to Penn. I was born to go to Penn. Im wondering if, 1) I can apply to Penn as a Junior 2) If I should Apply ED or RD and 3) If i have a good chance. </p>

<p>Freshman year, my GPA was about a 3.5. I kinda blew it off. I took honoros courses with the exception of Math. Sophomore year, I belive my GPA will be about the same, I took ALL honors courses and 1 AP class. Junior Year, I will be taking 4 AP classes and the rest of them will bbe honors. I am the Co-Captain of the Speech and Debate team that has been nationally qualified, (while i was elected on the Exec Council). I am on the Key Club, will be on French CLub, member of the Nat.HonorSoceity, joining Model UN and will have at least 350 volunteer hours by grad. Extremely motivated and I have kept a good job since this summer, lol. Do you guys think I have a chance? lol </p>

<p>Thanks, </p>

<p>Pink.</p>

17

<p>I think free2rhyme should apply RD as he’ll get substantial aid.</p>

18

<p>Oh I just noticed the posts about FA. </p>

<p>Yeah mostly it was my fault, I shoulda appealed earlier. I did manage to start appealing in June but then they took ages (NOTE: do not expect them to email you if you’re missing a form. Check your sfs profile regularly for appeal status. Yes, I know pretty fail.)</p>

<p>So I’m stuck as it is. Do not do what I did.</p>

19

<p>@PinkApocalypse:

  1. I don’t think you can apply to Penn as a junior and even if you could I’d recommend you boost your stats first. Do well junior year; boost your GPA. And uh, take the SAT? since you didn’t mention it. Your ECs sound really good though c; (and what am I doing commenting on a “chance me” post XP)</p>

<ol>
<li>The basicest way of choosing between ED and RD: Consider:
A. Does Penn have ALL the subjects I’m interested in studying?
If YES –> Go ED
If NO –> Why are you applying anyway? </li>
</ol>

<p>B. Have I done significant research and find that I love Penn more than all the dozens and dozens of schools I’ve looked at?
If YES –> Go ED
If NO–> RD. </p>

<p>C. Am I NOT a citizen or permanent resident of US, Canada, or Mexico? Do I need significant financial aid?
If Both Are NO–>ED!
If first is YES and second is NO –> ED!
If first is NO and second is YES –> Hypothetically, does not lean towards ED or RD b/c Penn should take care of everything even if you apply ED, but there’s a bit more of a risk.
If both are YES –> RD! Penn’s awesome FA does not cover internationals!</p>

<p>D. Are my stats by the end of junior year good enough for Penn?
If YES–> ED!
If NO –> RD!</p>

<p>E. Do I have legacy at Penn?
If YES and you keep getting peppy ED! results: ED!
If NO–> Neutral. </p>

<p>Yup I think those are all the factors, if other cc-ers have more, feel free to add.
Basically see which option you get more. </p>

<ol>
<li>Oh whoops I covered that in 1 though no one here can 100% accurately chance anyone. Unless one of us significantly removed from reality, we’re as good as you.</li>
</ol>

20

<p>I disagree with D. If you have any chance at all of getting in after improving as a senior, you would be deferred if you applied ED and reviewed again during regular decision. If you were rejected ED you probably would have been rejected RD as well.</p>