***** University of Pennsylvania ED Class of 2020 Results Thread *****

[dreamr55]

Decision: Rejected- Wharton

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 2310 ( CR 740, M 770, W 800 )
ACT (breakdown): didn’t take
SAT II: Math 2 800, Physics 800
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.991
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 10% (school doesn’t rank though so Penn wouldn’t have seen my rank)
AP (place score in parenthesis): Bio (5), Calc BC (5) (AB subscore 5), World History (4), US History (4), US Government (5), Physics C: Mechanics (5), Physics C: Electricity & Magnetism (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: Differential Equations (class after Multivariable Calculus), AP Chemistry, AP Language Arts, AP Macroeconomics, AP Microeconomics (i hate this, but my school doesn’t let us take more than that many classes senior year)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): none

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Indian Dance, Vocals, and Violin; Classical Violin, Freshman Mentoring, Freshman Tutoring Club (founder), Robotics, National Honors Society (founder of tutoring department), Beta Club (founder of tutoring department), Relay for Life, Math Team, Debate Team

Job/Work Experience: Emory University Dept. of Chemistry Research Internship
Web Design Internship with the local middle school

Volunteer/Community service: tutoring, tutoring, tutoring; volunteered for my school’s AP Bio and Orchestra departments

Summer Activities: the research internship, traveling, and more volunteering for local non-profits

Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common App- (7/10 or 8/10) talked about how I founded the school’s major tutoring clubs and how I tutored two math teachers in calculus (I thought this would attract their attention, not everyone can say they tutored math teachers in math) it really gave an insight into the type of person I am and a lifelong experience and commitment to teaching, but I guess it wasn’t the type of hook they were looking for
Why Penn- (8/10) talked about how I want to settle in Europe after college and talked about how each aspect of my Wharton education will prepare me for Europe, was very specific and mentioned specific courses I want to take and specific clubs and specific professor names, I thought it was creative but it was probably not what they were looking for

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: (10/10) APUSH teacher- I’m his favorite student and he knows me really well. I sit in his class every day during my free period and we just talk and he told me he wrote a very personal rec

Teacher Rec #2: (9/10) AP Physics teacher- I used to go into class every day in the morning and talk with him and he likes me, I don’t know how this recommendation would be like but everyone says he writes great recs

Counselor Rec: (6/10) she barely knows me and she made us all submit biographies and resumes for her to write them so I doubt it was good at all

Additional Rec: (9/10) I had my dance and vocals teacher write this one. she knew me since I was only 4 years old so she really knows me as a person and how I grew up and changed as a person. she also knows the type of learner I am

Interview: (10/10) I was interviewed by the ex-Executive Director of Penn Chemistry and he was a professor and grad student there, so I thought his opinion would hold a lot of value. We basically discussed politics and the economy for an hour, and he said that he thinks I would be a perfect fit at Penn and he would write lots of good things about me.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Finance at Wharton
State (if domestic applicant): Georgia
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public charter school
Ethnicity: South Asian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: $150k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none

Reflection

Strengths: everything in objective, I know my scores and my grades and my course rigor was amazing. Recs were great too and I had two internships

Weaknesses: not enough leadership. I never ran for any school office, I preferred to lead in the background (like with founding the tutoring club and being in charge of backstage at concerts) but apparently that doesn’t work, essays were probably not as creative as others’

Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Wharton is the only Ivy League business school so anyone looking to study business at an Ivy League would apply there. I should have applied to Engineering at Penn because I have 17 combined math, science, and engineering credits on my transcript

Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted to University of Georgia (safety), also applied to Georgia tTech and Emory but this is Early Decision so I haven’t heard from them yet

General Comments: I was shocked they rejected me instead of deferral, like a flat out rejection? I wasn’t expecting that. But it’s not the end of the world. I still have regular decision and I know that wherever I end up, I’ll be successful. But the one thing you shouldn’t do is think that just because you have a 2250+ SAT and top grades means a guaranteed spot at an Ivy League. Nothing is set in stone and you shouldn’t expect anything beforehand.

[FlamDragz]

Accepted – CAS

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown):
ACT (breakdown): 34 (35 E, 36 M, 33 R, 33 S, 11 W)
SAT II: 800 Chemistry 750 World History
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School does not rank.
AP (place score in parenthesis): 5s in Chemistry, World History, Lang, US History, and Computer Science
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: Percussion Ensemble, Wind Ensemble, AP Psych, AP Calc, AP Stats, AP Physics, AP Lit
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar with Distinction, a few music awards

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Percussionist (Many ensembles—all lead player/section leader), composer, some paid percussion stuff, Political Activities and Current Events Club (founder + president), personal percussion studies (did submit an arts supplement), Competitive powerlifer, DECA, NHS
Job/Work Experience: Tutor at Kumon
Volunteer/Community service: Pit orchestra in musicals, odd-and-end stuff for NHS
Summer Activities: Teaching Marching Bands/Drumlines, taking class, hanging with friends
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common App 9.5/10 Why Penn? 8.75/10
Recommendations
Teacher Rec #1: English Teacher 8.5/10
Teacher Rec #2: Math/APCS Teacher 9/10
Counselor Rec: Probably pretty good
Additional Rec: Band Teacher 11/10 “Best student and musician in career,” etc.
Interview: 9.75/10—couldn’t hope for much more than what happened. Presented myself well and left a good impression.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Chemistry (More realistically, undecided)
State (if domestic applicant): Michigan
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): As white as bread

Reflection

Strengths: Quantitative data and essays
Weaknesses: Lack of scholarly ECs
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Pretty focused and driven application
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Hopefully University of Michigan

General Comments: Very excited to be attending Penn. Think about connecting a “straight line” through your profile—you want your interests and personality to be consistent throughout your endeavors and how you present them. Be you, and really try to show (not tell) who you are. Just my two cents. This doesn’t define you, so let yourself emotionally treat it that way. You’re you, not your college. Don’t let that change.

[natec360]

Decision: Accepted to Wharton

Really excited and kind of speechless, but let’s do this.

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): Superscore 2280 M: 800 CR: 750 W:730 (took SATs three times)
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: Math II 800, Chem 760
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.72
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 10%
AP (place score in parenthesis): 13 APs (Physics C, Econ, Gov, Lit, Lang, and so on)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Stat, AP Physics C: E&M, AP Econ, AP CompSci, English, Latin
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Coca-Cola Semifinalist, Mobiquity Innovation Award, several more small awards for entrepreneurship

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): NHS 11,12 (President) Interact 10,11,12 (President, Chairman), Honors Orchestra 9,10,11,12 (Principal Cellist), State Student Advisory Council 11,12 (Delegate)
Job/Work Experience: Tutor at Russian School of Mathematics for two years (9,10)
Started a few startups, one that raised 250k.
Volunteer/Community service: Helped start an Interact Club that focused on addressing mental health, specifically depression in high school.
Summer Activities: MIT Launch and LBW at Wharton <3 Flew down to Texas to teach kids entrepreneurship.
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Common App: 9/10 Wrote about my personal struggle with depression and how I helped others with it.
Why Penn: 9.5/10 Pretty solid. I knew the campus pretty well from LBW so I wrote about that.
Leadership: 9/10 Talked about volunteering at church and playing music for worship service.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Guidance Counselor:

Teacher Rec #1: 9/10 My English teacher loves me, but I didn’t read it.
Teacher Rec #2: 8/10 My Physics teachers likes me, but I’m pretty sure he saw me fall asleep several times last year. He probably wrote about how much of a nerd I am.
Counselor Rec: 10/10 She read it to me and she made me blush. It was kind of embarrassing how much praise she piled on me. She said that I “accomplished more than an adult could hope to achieve”, which is flattering, but not true.
Additional Rec: None
Interview: My interviewer was bomb. It was his first time, but he was very relaxed and we bonded over our shared love of entrepreneurship.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Nope, probably should have though
Intended Major: Business Administration and maybe a minor in Computer Science
State (if domestic applicant): MA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 200k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Not typical Wharton Applicant. Did a lot with mental health and community service.

Reflection

Strengths: ECs
Weaknesses: GPA and SAT
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I thought that I presented myself in a genuine fashion. I truly love entrepreneurship so Wharton is the perfect place for me.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: UT Austin

General Comments :

I’m so blessed to have this opportunity. Congratulations to the other who made it. See you guys next year. Also hmu if you’re in the Boston area. I would love to meet other Quakers before next year!

[natec360]

Forgot to add that I was rejected from M&T, but got into Wharton.

[CubeyQue]

[aB][asize=4][acolor=#008000]Decision: Accepted [/color][/size]**

Jerome Fisher M&T

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2240 One time (800 M, 740 R, 700 W)
ACT (breakdown): 34 (33 S, 34 M, 35 R, 33 E, 8/12 Essay)
SAT II: 800 Math, 750 Physics
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): N/A but ~97.5 out of 100
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): 5’s on AP Calculus, Statistics, English Language and Comp. 4’s on Chemistry and Human Geography, 3 on US History. All AP scores were self-reported.
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: Band, AP Spanish, AP Literature and Comp., Spanish V, Advanced Calculus, AP Physics, AP Computer Science
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
National Memory Competition Team Champions (Scored 14th Individually)
National Merit Semifinalist
Top Company and Best Stockholders Presentation at a State Business Summer Camp (PFEW)
Best Law Brief 2 Years in a row for State’s Youth and Government Convention
Science Olympiad Regional Medals
Regional FBLA Award
2nd Place in region’s Garden Challenge
Some school GPA awards

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Memory Team (4 years; Tutor), Youth and Government (4 Years; Club Officer), Science Olympiad (4 Years), Marching Band (3 Years, Section Leader of Saxophones), Jazz band (3 Years Saxophone), Pit Orchestra, School Rubik’s cube club founder, NHS (2 Years), Tri-M Music Honor Society (2 Years; Vice President), Quiz-Bowl Team (2 Years), Ping-Pong Club (3 Years)

Job/Work Experience: I help out at my family’s beverage kiosk at the mall during weekends
Volunteer/Community service: Not a whole ton. Some music playing at senior homes. Classroom assistant. Public Library volunteer. NHS and Tri-M service events.
Summer Activities: Attended Pennsylvania Free Enterprise Week during the summer leading up to Junior Year. Also attended Leadership in the Business World at Wharton. Attended JHU C.T.Y. for robotics during 6th Grade
Essays (rating 1-10, details): CA Essay (9/10): I wrote about my last name and tied it to my family and my experiences working with my father at our family kiosk. I wrote from my heart and I dug deep within myself. Everyone told me that it was an amazing essay. It had humor and everything.
Why Penn and Engineering (8.5/10): Wrote about my experiences at LBW and how I fell in love with the campus. Also wrote about my fascination with Transformers and robots. I did a lot of research on Penn via their website. I have literally spent hours reading alumni profiles, scrutinizing lab opportunities, etc.
Jerome Fisher Essay (9/10): Wrote a lot about the connections between business and engineering and the ways I see technology impacts businesses, including my family kiosk. Also wrote about my past interests in both robotics and entrepreneurship.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: Stat. Teacher: 8/10. I think he likes me and he also doesn’t get too many letter requests. We have a fair share of anecdotes together.
Teacher Rec #2: Chem. Teacher: 7.5/10 I asked a decent amount of questions in her class lol. She also doesn’t get too many requests so I think she spent a decent amount of time on my recommendation letter.
Counselor Rec: 8.5/10: We’ve known each other for a while since I needed her to help me with filling out the LBW application forms. She had a decent head start on my rec. letter as well.
Additional Rec: My gifted support counselor: 10/10. I’ve known her since freshman year and we are very close. She told me that she wrote a lot about my interests in engineering and business.
Interview: M&T alumni that works at my local medical center. I did decently and I believe that I answered all the questions articulately. He seemed to like me, and I had fun sharing my experiences.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Dual degree Computer Science and Finance
State (if domestic applicant): Pennsylvania
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public (~1200 Students)
Ethnicity: Asian (Chinese)
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 50,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First Generation, Some international awards, the business camp at Wharton.

Reflection

Strengths: I spent a lot of time on the essays explaining how I fit at Penn.
Weaknesses: Lack of Volunteer hours, ECs weren’t super strong.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I had a unique background compared to other applicants, especially with my family business. My essays also had a lot of humor and personal flair to them.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: N/A

General Comments : For those of you interested in business and engineering and their intersection, I would highly encourage you to apply to this program, even if you may believe that your stats are below par. My standardized test scores were just serviceable, and I didn’t have too many volunteer hours, but my essays made me shine out uniquely as an applicant. Also show a lot of interest by doing a lot of studying using Penn’s website. Good luck if you are an applicant! I hope this helps.

[acegirl906]

Decision: Rejected - CAS mathematical economics

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown):
SS: 2210
1st time: CR: 710 M: 740 W:650
2nd time: CR: 690 M: 770 W: 730
ACT (breakdown): Did not take
SAT II: Physics: 760 Math Lvl 2: 800
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.97 (one b in trig :c )
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 90th percentile (thanks one b in trig)
AP (place score in parenthesis): School does not offer
IB (place score in parenthesis): Physics SL (6), Business Management (5)
Senior Year Course Load: Almost the hardest but I am no longer a diploma candidate so not the absolute hardest. Taking 3 IB (if I was diploma I would have to take one more & a theory of knowledge class)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Lots of small ones, NHS, NFHS, Environmental Club (VP), Key club, french club
Job/Work Experience: Worked at my local community’s swimming pool monitoring pool chemical levels over this past summer, was my first job ever (besides cat sitting for the neighbors)
Volunteer/Community service: Tutor people through my school in math, french, and physics
Summer Activities: (see above’s work experience. That plus studying was all I did)
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Common app I felt pretty good on, I felt like it really represented my identity; 8/10
Why UPenn I thought was solid because I have memories of pennsylvania as a child (moved from there to Oregon in the 3rd grade, but some of my best childhood memories are of Philadelphia) 7/10
(I am not a strong writer by any means)

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: Physics; I was the first person at my school to take the IB Physics test because this was the first year it was offered. Everyone got too scared and backed out because it turns out our curriculum was a bit behind IB standards. At my school, IB sciences last two years (both standard level and higher level) but physics was only offered for one year. As a result I essentially self studied half of the course, and the score was pretty good. I think my teacher was really happy with me as my score reflected how successful his first year teaching an IB class was. He really likes me, so probably 10/10? He said he spent over 4 hours working on it :o
Teacher Rec #2: Business teacher or math teacher, I don’t remember but both would be a pretty generic “this kid is smart, works hard, does well in class, etc.” 7 or 8 out of 10
Counselor Rec: Also generic, I have not seen him too much. I did pop in to request the rec and popped in again to say thanks, but he has too many students to worry about (8 out of 10)
Additional Rec: Did not use
Interview: It was a little awkward, probably does not reflect amazingly or poorly on myself. We didn’t talk about penn as much as he gave me career and course advice in general. Then he said the college admissions process was essentially child abuse because of how much stress it puts on students, and he also emphasized that no matter where I go, I would have a great future. I enjoyed the conversation but when he asked me questions that were obviously questions he had to fill out (“What do you bring to the school”) I floundered a little. 5.5/10

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Mathematical economics
State (if domestic applicant): Oregon
Country (if international applicant): U.S.A
School Type: Public, generic, not well known or very high tiered but does offer IB
Ethnicity: Asian/Chinese (ouch)
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: <90,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): …being from Oregon?

Reflection
I probably should have prepared for that interview. I didn’t because I wanted to be natural but I should have at least been able to answer what I bring to UPenn.
Also probably could have connected with my counselor more to get a better rec

Strengths: SAT scores, SATII scores, IB scores,
Weaknesses: GPA, not too many extracurriculars, ethnicity, interview, poor writing skills, not taking the absolutely hardest class
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I don’t know what else I really could have done, my essay probably hurt me a lot because I’m much more of a logic person than a write intriguingly and passionately person. I was passionate about getting in, but I rarely come across as very emotional about anything heh.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: None yet, have applied UChicago EA but I feel like that’s even less likely as again, I don’t write well, and they really value their essays.

General Comments :

[fcm951]

**Decision: Accepted CAS **

A bit disappointed I didn’t get into the Vagelos LSM program, but still siked!!
Since I’ve been here for so long, I’m writing a thorough one to give back.

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2250 (670 CR, 790 M, 790 W) - second sitting. Third Time was actually worse across board lol!
ACT (breakdown): -
SAT II: Math II 780, Chemistry 770, US History 760
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.97/4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 10 out of 111. (School doesn’t give colleges our ranks though)
AP (place score in parenthesis): Chinese - 5 (School has no APs)
IB (place score in parenthesis): -
Senior Year Course Load: So we have no APs/IB’s at my school. Our own honors courses, denoted by ’ * ', is the most rigorous and like an AP. Courses --> Calc II, Adv. Physics, Adv. Lab Research, English IV, Spanish V, Econ.
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): America’s Youth in Concert - National Outstanding Musician of 2015, Scholastic Art and Writing Awards (4 silver keys and 1 gold key for oil paintings), Cum Laude Society (Top 10 in grade), Drexel Book Club Award (academic school award), Peter Lund Toebe Memorial Award (Art+music school award), Iron Man Award (will eventually get for 3 seasons of sports for all 4 years of high school), National Merit Semifinalist.

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
{Violin}
Philadelphia Sinfonia Youth Orchestra (9-12), PSCO (Chamber Orch 9-10), School Orchestra and String Quartet, (Concertmaster and Leader 10-12)
Musicfest Rising talents festival Grand Prize Winner 10 - Invited to play at Merkin Hall (i know, not carnegie lol), Another Competition 2nd prize winner.
District Orchestra, 10-12, Region Orchestra 11-12 (section leader 11), All State Orchestra 11-12, National Recognition

{Sports}
4 year, 3 season athlete: (Soccer, Winter Track, Spring Track)
School Soccer: JV/Varsity 9-12, Nationally Recognized and Ranked (#4 in nation at one point this season).
School Track (Winter + Spring): JV/Varsity 9-12, (Captain 12 for both winter and spring); Medaled at Regions, 1st place at a Novice Meet freshman year (idk why i put this lol), Independent School State Champions 2015 (Team), League Champions (Team).
Outside of school soccer: Premier level Soccer Club 9-10, a few major tournament appearances and medals

{Oil Painting}
I learned from teacher privately. Aforementioned Awards (Scholastic Gold + Silver medals and School Art/Music award). Also sent in my portfolio.

{Service}
Hospice 9-12, (Organizer). Playing music for hospital patients
Benefit Concerts 9-12. Playing music at senior residencies
Tutoring 11-12. Tutoring inner-city kids, tutoring math on an online platform

{Clubs}
DECA: Qualified for States every year 10-12
A club that has turned into a non-profit organization my friend founded (officer 11-12)
Economics Club 11-12, Astronomy Club (co-founder) 12

{other stuff I put}
-Artwork and writing featured/contributed on/to schools magazine
-Answers.com Wiki Influential Teen (WIT)
-Board Game (Go) - AGA Rank 2d - which is pretty legit
-Elaborated on how I organized a summer program for the non-profit club/organization.

-It is a 1.5 hour - 2 hour drive to school round trip for me every day.

Job/Work Experience: -
Volunteer/Community service: Already listed above
Summer Activities: National Student Leadership Conference 10, Summer Research Lab AT PENN (summer after junior year) - did it at a prestigious lab through my school’s highly selective lab program.

Essays: Common App (9/10 - on the dying popularity of classical music, its decent), Why Penn (8.5/10 - solid but maybe could have had more detail), Vagelos LSM (9.5?/10 - I thought this one was amazing, asked a relative to help who got both his sons into harvard but he’s an english not a sci/business major so…).

Teacher Recommendation: English (teacher is a really good writer) and Bio (Was a bit worried because she likes to be super super concise). I’d say my recs were probably ok but not amazing.
Counselor Rec: I think it was ok
Additional Rec: Penn Lab Rec - counselor said it was average
Interview: Ok, so… I changed the location literally last minute (I didn’t pay attention to when the location would close…) which may have left a wishy washy first impression. But I asserted myself as it went on. The interviewer was a bit awkward and clearly doesn’t do interviews often at all. So the interview was ok but I wish it could have gone better.

Supplementary Material: Violin Recording, Art Portfolio (This really showed that I was legit at oil pointing!) , Lab Research Abstract

Applied for Financial Aid?: -
Intended Major: Bio/Astronomy (I’m going to reapply for Vagelos LSM after freshman year)
State (if domestic applicant): PA
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 300K+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Mom was Post Doc at Penn for period of time?

Reflection: Well first off I am so relieved. I know my hard work has paid off. To be honest however, I am still a bit bummed about not getting into the Dual Degree but oh well. I know my profile fits “College of Arts and Sciences” much better but I wanted to give LSM a run for its money. I thought my LSM essay was amazing but in the end I guess I didn’t fit and my SAT CR was not good. Still thrilled to have gotten into Penn CAS though and don’t have to worry about the college search anymore!
Here’s my two cents:

1. You don’t need to have a laundry list of clubs. I barely participated in clubs at school and the ones I put down other than DECA are literally no time commitment or significant. If you have something that shows you are involved, like three sport athlete and school orchestra, then you are fine! Don’t be intimidated by people putting “president” for like 10+ other BS clubs.
2. Let your passions speak for itself. Also don’t think something is too “common”. You think violin is common for asian males? Yes. But did it prevent me from writing a unique essay and showing my real passion for music in my app? Nope!. If you think that admissions officers will lightly look at something, elaborate on it on the additional writing section or your essays! Don’t give incomplete info!
3. My supplements helped me a lot. My Oil Painting portfolio dispelled any myths whether i was legit at art or not. If you send in supplements however, make sure they are actually quality.
4. SAT Score isn’t everything - probably heard this before, but its true. TRANSCRIPT > SAT.
5. Keep revising your essays over and over again. And ask for help!

Strengths (part of reflection too): >> Extracurricular TIME COMMITMENT (almost every one i did all four years of high school) and Quality (national recognition for violin, national rank for soccer, oil painting awards). School feeds to Penn. Also the Summer Lab at Penn + Lab Rec. >> Supplements - I even deleted a so-so violin recording last second to make sure my supplements were very high quality. I think my Oil Painting portfolio I submitted really showed that I’m not just a random person who took art class at school. I only sent in 1 work that I did at school, the 9 others were from outside of school I did at private studio which were Extremely High Quality.
Weaknesses: SAT Critical Reading (Literally defeated me after 2 years of battling it), [*For LSM] - not enough Science EC’s - only did 1 year of lab research, Bad Start on the interview, only 25 spots anyways lol

Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: explained above
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: –
Pitt screwed up my rolling decision app - so I might get a rejection letter from them saying my application was incomplete Haha!!. I also applied Emory Honors Program and UChicago EA.

[vgirl125]

Decision: Accepted to CAS

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2310 (M: 800 R: 770 W:740)
ACT (breakdown): 34
SAT II: Math II 760, Chem 740
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Not sure
AP (place score in parenthesis): Lang (5), Physics B (5), BC Calc (5), Chem (5), Lit (4)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Gov, AP Macroecon, AP Psych, AP Stat, AP Bio, Calc 3/Differential Equations, Organic chemistry
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): N/A

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Internships at doctor’s offices, Diversity Club (president), Model UN (won a few awards), HOSA (VP), Student advisory council, taekwondo (black belt, won awards, clarinet (5 years)
Job/Work Experience: Alg 1 tutor
Volunteer/Community service: tutoring remedial level & disabled elementary schoolers, 130+ hours at hospital
Summer Activities: Medical summer camp for 2 weeks (2014,15), won award for placing 2nd on exam
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Common App: 9/10 I wrote about a funny/nerve wracking incident when I volunteered at the hospital. I went for the adulthood prompt, which I think worked in my favor, since it’s used less frequently.
Why Penn: 9/10: I used a metaphor of bifocals to frame my essay (Ben Franklin invented bifocals; I likened Penn to bifocals)
Leadership: I directed a big show at my school, was pretty involved with it for 3-4 months. It was a fundraiser for my class and we made thousands of dollars.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): All of them were okay in my opinion. They were very positive, but the letters seemed kind of formulaic.
Guidance Counselor rec: 7/10 didn’t see this one, so idk
Teacher Rec #1: 7/10
Teacher Rec #2: 7/10
Additional Rec: None
Interview: My interview was alright. It went well, but my interviewer was very subdued, so we didn’t talk for a long time. I must have made a good impression on him.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yup
Intended Major: Biology, concentration in Mechanisms of Disease
State (if domestic applicant): FL
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Indian Asian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: 100k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): No clue

Reflection

Strengths: Essays and grades
Weaknesses: ECs
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I have NO CLUE why I was accepted. I’m overjoyed, but before I saw the decision I was 95% sure I wouldn’t get in. Parchment.com said I had a 25% chance, and I believed that. Guys, miracles do happen, have hope!!
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: FSU, haven’t heard from anywhere else.

General Comments :

I CAN’T BELIEVE I GOT IN!! I’m an Indian female wanting to go pre-med; I thought this would all work against me. The other applicants from my school were very competitive as well. I seriously can’t wait to start at Penn, I feel like my whole life has changed. If you have any questions, want more info, or just want to say hi feel free to message me!

[Rrocker]

**Decision: Deferred **

Wharton y u do dis?

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 800 CR 770M 650W <— Lol Writing (didn’t send)
ACT (breakdown): 35C (34E 36M 35R 36S)
SAT II: Math II: 800 Chem: 800 Phys: 800
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): We don’t report but technically 1/225ish
AP (place score in parenthesis): All 5’s on AP Calc BC, AP Chem, AP Physics C: Mechanics, AP Macro, AP Stats, AP Lang, APUSH, AP Euro
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: APGAP, AP Spanish, AP Lit, AP Micro, Lin Alg & Diffy Eq (at college), Physics II Calc (at college), Intro to Programming (College)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): NMSF, USNCO Finalist, National AP Scholar, Small FBLA awards, Some best position paper at MUN conferences

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): FBLA (State Officer), MUN (Security Council), StuCo (Class Officer 2 years), Forensics (Captain, 10) (lol), Jazz Band (Lead alto)
Job/Work Experience:
Volunteer/Community service:
Summer Activities: WILS, HOBY, Economics for Leaders, FBLA nationals, Science Research
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common App - Honestly idek. Wrote about how I screwed up something really bad but learned from it; may have gone the wrong way. Penn Supplement - Talked about all the things I wanted to do, but I feel like I stretched myself thin. Can’t give you an objective rating because I honestly can’t tell.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1:AP Chem teacher 8/10 (My fav teacher, she really helped me enjoy science, only kid ever to make USNCO finalist under her, but she didn’t always say I was one of her “best students ever”)
Teacher Rec #2:APUSH teacher: 5/10 I read it and it was kinda all filler. I might ask him to re-write.

Counselor Rec: 10/10 She said it was amazing but I haven’t seen it. I really hope it was.
Additional Rec:
Interview: Lasted for an hour. Kinda let him talk since he wouldn’t shut up about his son. Nice guy, but kinda hard to talk to: never really knew when to start/stop speaking. Wasn’t bad but wasn’t my strongest interview.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Finance + Statistics
State (if domestic applicant): WI
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Small Public ~950 kids total
Ethnicity: Indian
Gender: M
Income Bracket: Used to be around $130k, currently is 25k since my dad left his job
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None :’’’’’’’’’(

Reflection: So my scores were fine, I think the main problem areas are essays, recommendations and leadership. It’s hard to get leadership stuff in my school because we don’t elect officers, so I think that hurt me. Also Penn had literally never before heard of my school so that was a minus. I’m not a great writer, and my common app could’ve gone the wrong way so that could be another factor. Also, I didn’t really know much about Penn, I only looked into it starting in October and that was a mistake since ED really needs to show advanced interest. Lastly I should’ve asked for more recommendations because I only asked two teachers and that wasn’t great planning.

Strengths: Scores, Did well in hard classes
Weaknesses: Essays, Recs, and Leadership in ECs
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Above^^^^^^^^^^^
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:

General Comments : Read through my reflection if you’re an underclassmen and if you’re applying this year best of luck to you!

TO ALL UNDERCLASSMEN: Make sure you have good ECs. Don’t just do the regular bullshit StuCo and shit, but make sure you do something that takes up A LOT of your time in a good way. Start something and be a founder with some of your friends, even if it is a bullshit club.

[atangy]

**Decision: Accepted (LSM) **

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 2350 Total - 800 (Math), 800 (Writing), 750 (Reading) (October 2014); 2320 Total - 800 (Math), 790 (Writing), 730 (Reading) (lol) (June 2015) lmao i didn’t superscore but it didn’t seem to hurt me that i got lower scores on a more recent test??

ACT (breakdown): N/A

SAT II: 800 (Chemistry), 800 (Math 2), 780 (US History)

Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 103.262 out of 107, my school does it on a 107 scale with 7 points added for each Honors/AP class

Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 5/527

AP (place score in parenthesis):
AP US Government, AP World History, AP Computer Science A, AP Calculus BC, AP Language, AP Chemistry, AP US History: all 5s

IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A

Senior Year Course Load:
Georgia Tech Distance Calculus - Linear Algebra course and Multivariable course
Latin 4 Honors
AP Physics 1
AP Literature
AP Biology
AP Micro/Macroeconomics

Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): 4th place in the Healthcare Administration event at FBLA Nationals this past summer, National Merit Semi-finalist, AP Scholar, but nothing really big…

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
HOSA (Healthcare Occupations Students of America) (Founder and Vice President)
Piano: 12 years, classical music, I competed in some state-level annual competitions, I was a 3rd place winner my sophomore year for the American Protege International Piano & Strings Competition and I got to perform at Carnegie Hall
Figure skating: 10 years, Gold Medalist for US Figure Skating Association’s Moves in the Field tests, Assistant Coach
FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America): 3 years, just the award I mentioned earlier…
Mu Alpha Theta (Vice President): 3 years, math tutoring
JCL/Latin Club (Vice President): 4 years, 3 time National Latin Exam Gold Medalist
Beta/Leo Club: occasional community service, just whenever I had the time
Cross Country: 3 years, I wasn’t involved competitively, I really wanted to join when I was a freshman and it become more of a way to de-stress from school…

Job/Work Experience: Assistant Coach for my skating rink’s Learn To Skate program

Volunteer/Community service: Beta/Leo club pretty much, I didn’t have that many community service hours

Summer Activities: UChicago Summer Session (Biotechnology in the 21st Century, Summer 2015), FBLA Nationals (Summer 2015), Emory Hospitals Volunteer (Summer 2015), I didn’t do much in other summers

Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Common App essays: I wrote two; one was about skating in general and one was about how I loved APUSH. Skating was maybe a 6 and the APUSH essay was 8 ish
Why Penn: 7-8, I spent a lot of time on this and I feel like I really pinpointed some specific things I liked about Penn but nothing super special
LSM essay: 7-8, I wrote about biofuels as a future energy source and the business side of science. I actually used what I learned at UChicago in this essay (for the irony).

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: APUSH teacher - 7/10. I LOVED the class a lot, put a lot of effort into everything I did, and did pretty well academically. But, I feel like my teacher was rushed writing a ton of recs for kids for the early admissions round in addition to his school duties (social studies department chair, picking up new subject to teach, etc.) so it probably wasn’t as good as it could’ve been.
Teacher Rec #2: Bio teacher - 9/10. I had her for four weeks of AP Biology this semester before she got promoted and left my high school lol. But, the whole year before, she was our HOSA sponsor and through our HOSA struggles, we grew pretty close.
Counselor Rec: 5-6/10. She has 400 others kids to worry about, and I don’t know her that well, so probably generic.
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: My interview was with a Class of 2015 alum and it was over the phone because I guess there wasn’t enough interviewers in my region apparently? It lasted around 30 minutes and it wasn’t bad. I did okay, not exceptionally well or bad, so I don’t think it had a huge effect on my application.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Biochemistry, I don’t know which Wharton concentration to put because I didn’t think I’d get into LSM…
State (if domestic applicant): Georgia
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public, ~2000 students total
Ethnicity: Asian (Chinese)
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: >$200k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): ???

Reflection: I am in complete shock that this happened. I was a mess when I found out and I’m still a little mentally unstable, but this was the best best best thing that could’ve happened to me before finals week/December college app hell, so thank you Penn <3 I think I got a little lucky because I’m more of a “well-rounder” than someone with intense passions. I wish I started my essays a little ahead of time but I’m happy with the way they turned out.

Strengths: My scores were really good and I think the effort I put into my essays showed. Also, skating is kinda unique, I guess.
Weaknesses: Recommendations, too many extracurriculars??? (being “well-rounded” vs. having focus)
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Good academics, diligence + apparent effort
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Penn has been my second decision so far! Accepted UGA EA (in state). I already applied to Georgia Tech, UChicago (my other top choice, equal to Penn), Stanford, and WashU, but nothing back yet.

General Comments : Good luck to everyone for the next round of college decisions! I’m sure all your hard work will pay off, and we’ll be done with senior year before we know it!

[jarrett211]

Decision: Deferred CAS

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1815927-chance-me-upenn-ed-uchicago-ea-columbia-rd-and-others-p1.html

If you guys want to see my profile/stats, just click on the link.

Strengths: Legacy, Essays (best part of application in my opinion), Unique Interests, Interview was pretty good
Average: Grades and Test Scores, and possibly Recs?
Weaknesses: I guess Extracurriculars? Definitely by CC standards, not sure about the overall pool though. I also had very little volunteering experience and no work experience.

I’m honestly okay after all this. I was a bit disappointed, but after about 30 minutes, I got over it, and realized, you know, there is still a chance, and even if Penn doesn’t work out, I will turn out just fine and will be happy at a number of other schools that I am applying to. I will edit this when I get back more information in April. Congrats to all those who were accepted!

[TommyD36]

**Decision: Deferred **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown):
ACT (breakdown): 32 (35/30/32/31), 32 (35/31/29/31) +24W
SAT II:
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/265
AP (place score in parenthesis):
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calculus AB, Algebra 3 Honors, Dual Credit Composition I, Dual Credit World Civilization, U.S. Government (most rigorous)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None. Minor awards: Mississippi Youth Leadership Award. Wendy Heisman School Winner. Varsity Swim Team Academic Award (2). Key Club Lieutenant Governor Outstanding Commitment Award. School’s Integrity Award and Selfless Service Award. 1st Place Local History Essay Contest. Academic Awards in 14 subjects.

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Student Council (9th - Representative, 10th - President, 11th - President, 12th - Executive President), Key Club (10th - Club Bulletin Editor, 11th - Lieutenant Governor, 12th - District Officer), Math and Science Team (12th - President), Varsity Swim Team, ACT 30+ Club, Mu Alpha Theta.

Job/Work Experience:

Volunteer/Community service: A lot of coordinated service projects from Student Council and Key Club. Started a dodgeball memorial charitable tournament to commemorate a fallen friend. Held several Project ELIMINATE fundraisers for tetanus victims. Other impactful service projects, but nothing extremely impressive.

Summer Activities: Two Key Club International Conventions, Boys State, Mississippi Electric Coop Youth Tour to DC, Shadowed my eye doctor.

Essays (rating 1-10, details): Personal Statement (7.5/10): I wrote about my visual disorder and how it made me gain a newfound appreciation and perspective of vision. The paragraphs were kinda disjointed, but it was a good essay
overall. Supplement (9.9/10): One of the best essays I’ve ever written. I tied Helen Keller’s quote to the essay and wrote about how Penn’s outreach validated its One University policy and reaffirmed the quote. Wrote about specific clubs, professors, research projects, service opportunities, and about the “take your professor to lunch” program. I clearly demonstrated interest.

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 9/10. English teacher. It was amazing! The letter was far from generic.

Teacher Rec #2: 7/10. Science teacher. She wrote about my qualities as an “astute scholar” and my personal qualities and how they relate to my intended vocation of being an ophthalmologist. It was very good.
Counselor Rec: Honestly 10/10. I read it, and wanted to cry. Just kidding, it was the best rec. letter I could ask for.

Additional Rec: 7/10. Student Council sponsor. It was great, but it didn’t scream amazing. He elaborated on how I epitomized a great high school student.

Interview: The interview went phenomenally. She especially loved how I correlated everything to vision and was impressed my my knowledge of the school and its resources.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Biochemistry & Biological Basis of Behavior + Health Management
State (if domestic applicant): MS
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Large public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: M
Income Bracket: ~40k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Asian guy from MS?

Reflection

Strengths: My application demonstrated a commitment to vision and ophthalmology which probably made me distinctive. Strong recommendation letters. From MS, so I would add geographic diversity. Interview went so well.
Weaknesses: ECs, test scores, lack of awards.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: See weaknesses.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:

General Comments: I’m honestly shocked that Penn would even defer me. I thought I was going to be rejected as I was really insecure about my application. Hopefully, I am able to convince them of my fit and worthiness into the Class of 2020. I’m highly motivated!

[sillyface]

**Decision: Accepted (College of Arts and Sciences) **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2400 (one sitting but second try)
ACT (breakdown): nah
SAT II: bio-m (780), lit (740), math-2 (790)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.96, weighted 4.69
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): not official but i’m in top 5%
AP (place score in parenthesis): bio (5), us government (5), english lang (5), psychology (5), calculus bc (5, ab subscore: 5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): nah
Senior Year Course Load: ap chem, ap english lit, ap statistics, molecular biology, graduation requirement class
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): scholastic art and writing awards (2 gold keys, 1 silver key, 2 honorable mentions), NMSF, ap scholar with distinction, schoolwide writing award

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): science bowl (captain), national honor society (vice president), environmental club (officer), creative writing club science honor society, math honor society
Job/Work Experience: tutoring, odd jobs but none really app worthy
Volunteer/Community service: volunteer as a tutor for all of freshman year, volunteer at a local hospital for one year starting junior year
Summer Activities: to be honest, just writing a lot and having fun with friends.
Essays (rating 1-10, details): CA essay (9/10), it was a risky kinda format, very abstract, and it was about my hands and through the description of my hands I kinda worked up to my love of reading. I’m not doing it any justice with my description here, but I really loved it; it was very much my own voice. Why Penn (7/10), very honest and kind of fan-girly lol, I think I said something stupid about Quakers in the last line but I tried very hard to get across exactly what I loved about Penn. It was from the heart.

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: calculus teacher, I was a good student in her class and I really liked her, I think she liked me too so I’ll go with 7/10
Teacher Rec #2: english teacher, I respect her a lot (very eloquent lady) and her class really helped me ‘shape up’ my writing. 6/10
Counselor Rec: Don’t really know her, she didn’t like my brother and I think I tested her patience a lot so 5-6/10?
Additional Rec: nah
Interview: Very chill guy who went to Penn grad school. I did a lot of embarrassing things (I teared up talking about my family, walked past him like 3 times while I was searching for him when I first got to the bookstore, and when he asked what my greatest accomplishment was I said dyeing my hair) but I guess I was being myself? It was a little short, 40 minutes, and I was pretty visibly nervous but we got along pretty well and had nice chemistry. 7-8/10

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major: biology
State (if domestic applicant): maryland
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: noncompetitive public
Ethnicity: half taiwanese/half lithuanian (eurasian)
Gender: female
Income Bracket: ~$80k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): kelly writers house contact

Reflection

Strengths:
Weaknesses: no internships, no big awards, not the most ap’s, not many extracurriculars I guess?
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: my essays, test scores, KWH contact
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: My first college decision, and thank goodness my last for undergrad

General Comments :
I never saw myself as some ‘Ivy League’ type; this kind of stuff wasn’t supposed to happen to me, I wasn’t supposed to get into Penn, I was never your typical ‘smart kid’ applicant, I don’t know what kind of script I was following but I was so sure it wouldn’t involve me getting in my dream school. Yes, I worked hard, but I wasn’t some ISEF finalist, and I loved writing, but I only submitted to my first big contest in my junior year. And yet, I somehow got recruited for writing, and eventually got in. It doesn’t feel real at all, but I guess that’s how life is. Weird stuff happens all the time, and I suppose what applying to college has shown me is that there is no script, there should be no preconceptions about what is going to happen, because admissions might just see something in us that makes them believe. I’m so honored to have gotten into Penn, that those reading my writing and my application decided to give me a shot; I’m still in shock now, so I know I’m not expressing how I’m feeling in the best way possible, but I’m so thankful for this opportunity and I swear I won’t waste it.

[futurepharm]

[aB][asize=4][acolor=#008000]Decision: Accepted [/color][/size]**

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): Never took one
ACT (breakdown): 31 (31E, 35M, 32R,26S) 06/2015 33(35E, 33M, 33R, 32S) 09/2015
SAT II:
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 96.1/100
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): Chem (4) US History (4) World History (4) Calc AB (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Bio, AP Psych, AP Calc BC, Math Research, English, Phys Ed, Participation in Gov, Econ
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): NHS, AP Scholar

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): too much to write, lots of great programs at top med schools in NYC, some school activites,
Job/Work Experience: Walgreens (30hrs) Babysitting , Tutoring, (3 years) , camp counselor
Volunteer/Community service: Nothing major, just volunteering at events as much as possible
Summer Activities: Clinical Internship at Mt. Sinai school of medicine, working
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Were told they were really strong
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): Have no idea, never read any of them

Teacher Rec #1: no idea
Teacher Rec #2: no idea
Counselor Rec: no idea
Additional Rec: didn’t send an additional rec
Interview: Really good

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major: health and societies (premed)
State (if domestic applicant): NY, NY
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: K-12 Public
Ethnicity: Black (Africa)
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: low
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, First gen, PEEP

Reflection

Strengths: Resume, essays, extracurriculars, qualiities
Weaknesses: GPA and test could always be higher
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: well getting into PEEP was a start, my application was solid plus hooks
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:

General Comments : EXCITED !!

[dbnitzz]

**Decision: Accepted - Wharton **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2370 (770W)
ACT (breakdown):36 (35 S)
SAT II: 780 Math II, 780 Chem, 760 Physics, 760 USH
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.92
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Don’t rank but ~4/196
AP (place score in parenthesis): 5s: Calc 1, Calc 2, Chem, Stat, Lang. 4s: Macro, Micro, USH, Physics 1, Physics 2
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: Multivariable Calc, Linear Algebra, AP Gov & Comp, AP Lit, AP Physics C Mechanics, AP Physics C E&M, Biomedical 4th year
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Don’t really have major awards. DECA State runner-up (finance team), National AP Scholar, National Commended is all I can remember right now.

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): 200 hrs Stem Cell research, DECA, Link Crew, Biomedical Club, Varsity Lacrosse.
Job/Work Experience: Tutor (ACT/SAT/Math/anything really)
Volunteer/Community service: Stem cell research and Link Crew
Summer Activities: Took two math courses, one of the last two summers. Also, I did the stem cell research over this last summer.
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Common App 9/10 (I was homeless for about half a year. Nowhere near as bad as most people’s situations though. Complicated.)
Penn Supplement (8.5/10) Tied in Wharton, finance, DECA, tutoring, and basically a love for being efficient and making smart choices.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): No idea, we can’t read them at my school. I’ll guess.
Teacher Rec #1: Physics 9/10 I hear she writes great recs.
Teacher Rec #2: English Language 10/10 Is like a mother in school.
Counselor Rec: 10/10 Told me she had a lot of fun writing it.
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: 7/10 It went pretty well, but nothing special. Talked for like an hour. I don’t believe Penn interviews matter at all, they’re very generalized.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Finance
State (if domestic applicant): FL
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: Hispanic (Cuban/Puerto Rican)
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: High
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Hispanic 36.

Reflection

Strengths: Scores, ethnicity, maybe my recs.
Weaknesses: Extracurriculars are horrible
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Hispanic 36.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: ED school.

General Comments : Congrats to everyone else who got in! Havn’t stopped thinking about this school since I visited.

[varsitynerd]

**Decision: Accepted - CAS **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2280 CR:730 W:790 M:760

ACT (breakdown): 33 M:33 W:31 R:34 S:28

SAT II: Math 2: 720 Literature: 730 Physics: 670

Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.875/4.23W

Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school doesn’t do any kind of ranking

AP (place score in parenthesis): Physics 1 (4)

IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A

Senior Year Course Load:
AP Physics C
AP Calc BC
Astronomy w/Lab
US History
French III
Colloquium (reading articles and discussing)
Humanities Research
HTML Coding
Poetry
Literature Elective
Social Studies Elective
History Elective

Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): nothing really “major”
National Merit Commended Student
Le Grand Concours National French Exam Bronze Medalist

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Student Council (Class Secretary) 9, 10
Key Club (Class Representative) 9, 10
Third Wave Feminism (Co-President) 11, 12
Amnesty International (Co-President) 11, 12
Astronomy Club (Co-President) 11, 12
Academic Super Bowl (Captain of 2015 State-Finalist Team) 10,11, 12
School Newspaper (Organizer of a TEDx event with this club) 11, 12
School Ambassador 11, 12
French Club 9, 10, 11, 12
Competitive Dance Team (Captain) 9, 10

Job/Work Experience: N/A

Volunteer/Community service:
Humane Society (20 hours) 11
Peer Tutoring (60 hours/year) 9, 10
Greenhouse Volunteer (50 hours) 12

Summer Activities: I hung out with my family. I never did any summer programs or had a job or anything like that.

Note: I’m not giving any recs or essays a 1-10 rating because I don’t think there’s any way for me to do that with any kind of accuracy. I got in, so they were good enough ¯_(ツ)_/¯

Essays: I wrote my “Why Penn?” essay over the course of about six hours the same day I submitted my app. This is just the way I write. I included specifics about what drew me to Penn and (important!) why I felt I was a good match for the school.
Recommendations:

Teacher Rec #1: my amazing science teacher I had for physics and astronomy junior and senior year, I’ve worked hard in his classes (but not always received A’s), and I’ve spent many hours in his office hanging out

Teacher Rec #2: my philosophy/history teacher who opened my eyes to the world of humanities, also spent quite a bit of time in his office, worked hard to impress him in class

Counselor Rec: This was probably pretty good, though this counselor is overworked and some people don’t like him because he’s not always on top of things. I’ve only ever had a few brief meetings with him, but I always presented myself well.

Additional Rec: N/A

Interview: It was with a fairly recent graduate (2013) who I had a lot in common with. It lasted about 30 minutes. We talked about what I liked about Penn, my interests, what I do outside the classroom, etc. Somewhere along the way we got off-track and talked about voter turnout in small communities (lol) but I came away feeling really good about the school. I thought I expressed myself well.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes

Intended Major: double major - Physics (with astronomy focus) / Philosophy, Politics, and Economics

State (if domestic applicant): Indiana

School Type: After my sophomore year, I transferred from my local public high school to a much more rigorous (still public) residential college prep high school about 3 hours away from home.

Ethnicity: white

Gender: female

Income Bracket: ~$130,000

Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): first generation college student

Reflection

Strengths: Overall consistency of my app, recs, interview

Weaknesses: I was sweating the subject tests because I took them for the first time in November this year, and I had to send them directly to Penn. I didn’t have anything extremely impressive to make me stand out.

Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I was qualified and lucky.

Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted to Indiana University, Purdue University, Ball State University, and University of Arizona

General Comments: This still doesn’t even feel real. I’m so excited, but also extremely exhausted because I haven’t been able to sleep or eat all week.

Go Quakers!

[ComputerAge]

**Decision: Rejected (Wharton) **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2300 Composite (800 CR, 790 W, 710 M)
ACT (breakdown): 34 Composite (34 E, 35 M, 35 S, 33 R, 31 W)
SAT II: 800 Math II, 780 US History, 730 Bio-M
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 94.8/100, unweighted
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School does not rank
AP (place score in parenthesis): Chemistry (5), US History (4), World History (5), English Lang (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Macroeconomics/Microeconomics, AP Calculus BC, AP English Lit, AP US/Comparative Gov, Ceramics, Advanced Chemical Applications, Law Studies,
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Not going to list in detail, but in hindsight they are not remarkable compared to most other Wharton candidates. Definitely am up near the top in terms of EC’s at my school.
Job/Work Experience: A lot.
Volunteer/Community service: Some, moderate amount.
Summer Activities: Have done something every summer except freshman year.
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common App Essay (6/10), Penn Supplement (8/10)
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 9/10 (AP Gov & AP World)
Teacher Rec #2: 9/10 (Precalculus)
Counselor Rec: 9/10
Additional Rec: 9/10
Interview: 9/10. Guy said my average was too low. Alum of my hs though, so we bonded over that.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Management
State (if domestic applicant): NY
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Well-reputed magnet, urban public. Penn accepted about 4 out of 18 ED applications (that I know of, probably more in real life).
Ethnicity: Asian (Indian)
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: Middle class
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First-gen

Reflection

Strengths: Recs, test scores, courseload, average to some extent (I’ve done a lot better recently).
Weaknesses: Essays. ECs (maybe). The fact that my school has so many applicants,
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I hate this–you can’t really speculate. What if your app was in the defer pile, but then they needed to cut down so they just randomly took you out? Or your app reader was in a bad mood that day? Who knows, who cares (what good does it do me lmao).
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Binghamton LMAO… waiting on UChi and UMich

General Comments: Unless you’re really sure you’ll get in, don’t waste your ED card on Penn. Apply to a school that you both love and that is a match for you, because it’ll really really relieve your stress knowing you’re going to go somewhere you like. Sort of wish I had done Georgetown instead of Penn.

[maroon25]

Decision: Accepted - VIPER SEAS/CAS Dual Degree

AGHH CONGRATS TO EVERYONE WHO’S IN!! Any other VIPER people?

[yaytest33]

Decision: Accepted (LSM)

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 2360 (800 CR, 780 Math, 780 Writing)

ACT (breakdown): 36 (35 Science, 36 Math, 36 English, 36 Reading)

SAT II: 790 (Math II), 740 (Biology E)

Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.8

Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Neither rank nor percentile are published

AP (place score in parenthesis): Biology (9th Grade, 4), World History (10th, 5), Comp Sci (11th, 5), Calc AB (11th, 5), English Lang (11th, 5), US History (11th, 4), Physics Algebra-Based (11th, 4)

IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A

Senior Year Course Load: AP English Lit., AP Chem, AP Stats, AP Economics, AP Spanish 5, Physics 2

Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Intel ISEF Finalist, Siemens Regional Finalist, 2-Time Conrad Awards International Champion, 2-Time White House Science Fair Honoree, 2 Patents Pending, Google Lunar X-Prize MoonBots international winner, American Society for Engineering Education National Student Winner, FTC World Championship Semi-Finalist Alliance, AP Scholar with Distinction, National Merit Semifinalist

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):

• Co-Founder of Two Companies based on 2 Scientific Research Advancements: won several international science/business awards (many of the awards you see above), patents pending, over a 1000 hours spent working on the research advancements and these companies, probably the biggest reason I was admitted to LSM
• FIRST Robotics (9 years, Competed in multiple International Tournaments, Team Co-Captain, international success)
• Google Lunar X-Prize Moonbots (international award winner)
• Tennis: Club and School (JV Co-Captain)
• Journalism - Staff Writer
• Asian Affinity Club (Club President)
• Debate Club

Job/Work Experience:

• Intern at Ohio State Tzagournis Research Center (Head and Neck Cancer Research, lab assistant)
• Tutoring

Volunteer/Community service:

• STEM Outreach Presenter (Ohio State Fair, School for the Blind, Girl Scouts, Middle Schools, Science Museums) - promoting STEM Education in my local and global community); my interviewer loved the fact that I am so passionate about promoting STEM education throughout my local and global community. I help host and lead several exhibits/events every year throughout my state and I attend national STEM conferences as well!
• Medical Clinic Volunteer (VA Hospital + Private Dermatology Clinic) (200+ hours)

Summer Activities:

• Scientific Research + Growing Companies (extracurricular # 1)
• Robotics (FTC + Moonbots) (extracurricular # 2)
• Intern at Ohio State Tzagournis Research Center
• Summer Programs (NSLC, Research)

Essays (rating 1-10, details):

Common App: 9/10; I spent a tremendous amount of time on my common app essay and I discussed my fascination with stories and storytelling as a child, and how this interest manifested itself as my inspiration for choosing to make two novel research advancements and create companies for these new technologies

Penn Supplement: 8/10; I was very specific with the Penn supplement and I touched on exactly what I loved about Penn and what sets it apart. I did tons of research and talked about specific professors, clubs, and activities that I would want to partake in.

LSM Supplement: 8/10; I discussed one of my research projects and how my team and I came up with a novel research advancement but did not have the information and tools to have a mass market application. I discussed and gave specific, personal examples on how a business education from Wharton would allow me to take my passion for scientific research to the next level. Overall, I think a did really good job of showing the committee what I could do with an LSM education.

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec # 1: Physics Teacher + Robotics Coach 9.5/10. I love this teacher, and I’ve spent so much time with him because of FIRST robotics throughout high school. I have put a lot of effort into this class, and I’m really passionate about the robotics team that this teacher is a coach for. Overall, we have always gotten along really well, and he said that this was the best rec he has ever written.

Teacher Rec # 2: World History Teacher 8-9/10. This was one of my favorite classes in high school, and this teacher is one of my favorites as well. I did really well in World History, and I was very passionate when it came to group discussions, projects, and other aspects of the class. This teacher asked me if he could write my recommendation.

Counselor Rec: 9/10 The college counselors at my high school are phenomenal, and I’ve grown really close with my counselor over the last two years. She’s super easy to talk to and spends hours upon hours of time on each recommendation she writes. Honestly, this entire process would have been so much harder without her help.

Additional Rec: N/A Sometimes, additional recommendations take away from the ones already there. I didn’t think an additional recommendation would have been helpful in my situation.

Interview: 8/10 The interview was around 30 mins over the phone with a recent LSM graduate. The questions were fairly straightforward, but we really connected during the interview. She was super friendly, and I covered everything I hoped for during the interview. She seemed to appreciate my responses, and she answered my questions about LSM as well!

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: LSM so dual degree (Biology for CAS, Undecided concentration Wharton)
State (if domestic applicant): OH
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: South Asian (Indian)
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: >$200k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None

Reflection: I am in complete shock that I was accepted into LSM. I honestly couldn’t believe that I was even considered for the program, and I am beyond ecstatic to be a Quaker!!

Strengths: EXTRACURRICULARS; Business Experience (co-founded two businesses, 2 patents pending), Scientific Research projects and international awards, Test Scores, Recommendations

Weaknesses: GPA, Rank??, No hooks, Ethnicity, One-dimensional??? (my application was very pointy with STEM)

Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Honestly, I strongly believe that the biggest reason for my acceptance was my extensive experience in the intersection of scientific research and business.

Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: I withdrew all of my applications after receiving the decision today!

General Comments: Good luck to anyone who is planning on applying to Penn! I honestly thought that I had absolutely no chance at LSM, and I was completely shocked today when I saw the acceptance. If you are in a similar position, I would absolutely recommend you to go for it! College admissions is such a crapshoot these days, and you never want to have any regrets!

[PennBound2020]

Decision: Accepted CAS

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2090 (640 R, 770 M, 680 W)
ACT (breakdown): 34 C (35 E, 34 M, 32 R, 34 S)
SAT II: 800 Math II, 790 Biology E
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/650
AP (place score in parenthesis): Psychology (5), Biology (4), Chemistry (5), English Language (5), Calculus BC (5), Microeconomics (5), Macroeconomics (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Statistics, AP Physics C Mechanics, AP Physics C Electricity, AP Government, AP English Literature, AP Computer Science
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): state robotics award for excellent leadership, multiple MVP awards on robotics team, national merit

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): robotics team 9-12 (scouting captain since 9, electrical captain 11, team captain 12) major leadership within the team every year and a major focus on giving back to the youth in my community; NHS (VP); class executive board
Job/Work Experience: interned at veterinary office, interned at robotics company, work for neighbor taking care of exotic pets for years
Volunteer/Community service: most volunteer work was through my robotics team, I worked during the summers as well as the school year to make sure all kids in my community have the opportunity to pursue STEM careers
Summer Activities: robotics (mostly fundraising and outreach)
Essays (rating 1-10, details): talked about what I sacrificed to teach children about robotics and STEM, what it meant to me, and explained that I give back because STEM is meaningful to me even though I don’t want to be an engineer, really spoke to my values and gave some insight into why I am so passionate about my robotics team despite my pursuit of a biology major and not an engineering one; penn essay talked about interest in multidisciplinary education because of my diverse background in engineering and biology, my unique experiment in AP psychology with live rats, different research opportunities I would take advantage of, clubs I wanted to be a part of on campus, and moving from rural MI to bustling Philiadelphia, I tried to put more personality into it and highlight my biology interests instead of my engineering ones
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: Biology/Chemistry teacher. Short and sweet, said really nice things but no major stories or super unique qualities. 7
Teacher Rec #2: Math teacher, robotics coach. Super lengthy about my leadership and exceptional math abilities, really awesome. 9
Counselor Rec: Probably okay, didn’t read. 5
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: Went really well. We had just about nothing in common but the conversation was really free flowing and I gave great in-depth answers. He was really nice to talk to and seemed really down-to-earth.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major: Biological Basis of Behavior
State (if domestic applicant): MI
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: public
Ethnicity: white
Gender: female
Income Bracket: 100,000 ish
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): nope

Reflection

Strengths: ACT, AP, class rank, extracurriculars, leadership
Weaknesses: SAT, very little involvement outside of robotics
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: grades, class rank, test scores, but qualitatively, I think my devotion to giving back really shined through in my essays and interview, as well as my fit with the interdisciplinary nature of Penn as seen in my Biology/Engineering contrasting activities, math teacher rec, interview (maybe, I’m told Penn doesn’t really care about this)
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Michigan State, Ohio State

General Comments : Hopefully this helps future applicants. I have never posted before, but have read college confidential posts for the past year in anticipation of this moment. So excited! I freaked out when I saw the acceptance. I didn’t think I would get in because of the steep competition, but congratulations to everyone who did. I’m looking forward to meeting you in the fall!