University of Pennsylvania ED Class of 2021 Results

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
21

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:

ACT (breakdown): 33 (E: 35 R: 33 M: 32 S: 31)
SAT II: Math II: 800
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.984 (unweighted)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school doesn’t rank
AP (place score in parenthesis): n/a
IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc AB, AP Statistics, English, AT Physics 1, AP Chinese, Design Class
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Presented at a National Surgery Meeting, Gold in the midwest Chinese Speech Contest, 4th Place at Science Olympiad State Competition, 6th place in the State for Girls Tennis

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH. I published two medical papers in scientific journals, one as a first author and I’m also a second author on another medical article because I did some Chinese to English translations. Varsity Tennis (4 years, Captain, State Qualifiers for two years in a row, 6th place at state 2016),
Job/Work Experience: lol I worked as an office assistant at my school Fresh/Soph years
Volunteer/Community service: President of the teen board of a foundation that helps kids (lol can’t go into specifics sry)
Summer Activities: research research research. I also attended a marine biology trip one summer and did an exchange to China
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common App: I think either 9/10 or 10/10 – my college counselor really really loved it and it portrayed my character through a narrative story, incorporating/highlighting my multiculturalness, which really stood out
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: History: 10/10–I’ve had her for three years, close friends
Teacher Rec #2: Precalc Teacher: 7/10 – not to sure about this one, she liked me but i didn’t stand out or anything
Counselor Rec: Not really sure–my counselor really did not put much effort into helping me (she kept forgetting what schools i was interested in, etc.)
Additional Rec: AMAZING 10/10 – my counselor told me that it was like 3 pages long and glowing
Interview: SO SO SO GOOD! My interviewer was a doctor and was interested in the same topics that I wanted to study. She was so so nice and we got to know each other really well!

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: no
Intended Major: Anthropology (Probably switch to Health and Societies)
State (if domestic applicant): IL
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Extremely competitive private school ughhhhh
Ethnicity: All I’m gonna say is multicultural–can’t say too much sorry
Gender: F
Income Bracket: 250,000+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Published research as a first author? I’m a really unique mix, passion for learning Chinese? i’m not too sure about this one?

Reflection:

Strengths: unique ECs (Research Publications, love of learning chinese), rec letters, GPA
Weaknesses: ACT? idk my math rec could be bad
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: HOLY CRAP I HAVE NO IDEA–beats me
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: ED BABY

General Comments :
OH MY GOODNESS. I cannot believe it. I am so proud and honestly hope that everyone will find their place, no matter what. I’ve spent wayyyy too much time looking through college confidential, trying to compare myself with all of y’all–but seriously, half of admission is just pure luck. I am so blessed to be apart of Penn 2021. You guys are all brilliant, no matter the decision you get, I promise. Good things always come to good people. If y’all have any questions plz plz plz message me or something. I’ve only just mustered the courage to make an account for myself, lolololol after years of stalking

22

**Decision: Accepted to Wharton **

Denied to a dual-degree program

Objective: Program first-choice, Wharton second-choice
SAT I {best single sitting) (breakdown): 2350 (out of 2400)
ACT (breakdown): 36.
SAT II: 720 Physics, 780 Math 2, 780 US History, 750 World History
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/212
AP (place score in parenthesis): APUSH, US Gov, World, Calc AB/BC, Lang, Human Geo, Spanish, (all 5s). Physics C Mechanics (4).
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: Seven APs, etc.
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None.

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Marching band 10-12, section leader 11-12, won major competition this year; varsity tennis 9-12; VP of graduating class 9-12; secretary of local history club
Job/Work Experience: 6 months as waiter
Volunteer/Community service: Standard stuff. I just met graduation requirements.
Summer Activities: Went to foreign country, acquired basic proficiency in its language. Summer marching band camp.
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common App: 7/10 Dual-degree program: 6/10 Wharton: 7/10
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: Math teacher: 8/10
Teacher Rec #2: Social studies teacher: 9/10
Counselor Rec: Counselor: 7/10
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: Good. An M&T guy. 8/10

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Who the hell wouldn’t?
Intended Major: Business, obviously, but unknown.
State (if domestic applicant): Virginia
School Type: Public, semi-rural, semi-suburban
Ethnicity: Latino
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 150K
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Legacy

Reflection

Strengths: It’s very rare for kids from my area to be accepted to Ivies. I have the strongest academics from any applicant to Penn I’ve ever seen in terms of consistent AP test score performance (5s). Strong standardized test scores. Good Wharton essay. I impressed my recommenders.
Weaknesses: No recognition beyond county level. I didn’t like my essays that much. While I was a legacy, my family ain’t rich and we are NOT the type of legacy family that donates enough to be a definite yes.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: My geographic location, demonstration of consistent effort through consistent AP test excellence, my already-demonstrated strength in calculus (both AP Calcs taken and scored 5 on junior year), my Wharton and Common App essays, and my reccs.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Nowhere yet. I applied to a local state school and Babson early. I had planned to apply to Princeton, Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Carnegie-Mellon, and several others if deferred or rejected.

General Comments: I came to hate the college application process this year. I agree with many of the people - adults and students alike - that say it needs to be reformed. I didn’t really think about my college resume (I know that word needs accent marks, but my keyboard is old) until this year. I just held myself to a high standard of academic excellence. I’m glad the University seemed to recognize that, but the stress I was in leading up to my acceptance was huge. I think the process needs reform. If you’re a reader applying for the ED Penn Class of 2022: I recommend writing as many OTHER college essays as possible in between the date they tell you when the decision will come out and the date the decision comes out. It is that silver lining of time and lack-of-stress that I feel provided for some of my best essays, which I ironically now have no use for. Furthermore, if you’re an applicant that is reading the College Confidential page but hasn’t made an account for it - you’re exactly as I was at that point. I only made an account to post this for future and present applicants to read and learn from. Do not worry. Life will go on. Whatever you do, don’t skip school the day or week before results come. That only encourages you to define the level of effort and value your academics are worth by your admission or lack thereof into Penn. I checked my admissions result in the middle of a marching band rehearsal - being accepted, I celebrated with my friends. Had I been denied, we’d still be playing music together as a family. As a final point: I was accepted without having founded a company, interned at a firm for six months, won any state or larger awards, nor done anything particularly flashy. I exceeded academically and locally as best I could, and I was rewarded with an acceptance. That’s the best any of us can do.

23

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:
SAT I {best single sitting) (breakdown): didn’t submit
SAT I (superscore) (breakdown): ^
ACT (breakdown): 35C 34E 35M 34R 36S (superscored - two sittings)
SAT II: 770 Math 2, 750 Math 1
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 3/468
AP (place score in parenthesis): Calc AB (5), Macro (5), Micro (4), World History (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): no predicted scores, although I am in IB
Senior Year Course Load: IB Contemporary History HL, IB Math SL, IB Lit HL, IB Spanish SL, IB Physics HL, IB Psych SL
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): no major, but had smaller like regional health quiz bowl championship and several within school (I think they’re important to show character such as Student of the Month, etc.)

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
-Student Govt. (9,10,11,12) - Student Body President (12), Junior Class President (11)
-Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) (9,10,11,12) - President (11), Pres-Elect (10)
-Bridging the Gap (intergenerational bonding program) - Co-Founder (11,12)
-Academic Olympics (10,11,12) - Co-MVP (11)
-Like to long-distance run (Ran half-marathon in surrounding city) - just mentioned it in activities in common app
Job/Work Experience:
-Co-founded website design business
Volunteer/Community service:
-about 600 hours at local hospital
-50 hours from medical job shadowing program
Summer Activities: nothing significant - worked on websites, chilled
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common App Personal Essay (9/10), Supplement (8/10)
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
-Teacher Rec #1: physics teacher, had him for physics honors, IB physics year 1, and now year 2. Thought he would discuss my dev. through the years (9/10)
-Teacher Rec #2:English teacher had her for 2 years, used a lot of creative effort and she really liked me (8/10)
-Counselor Rec:Counselor always talked to me as a top student so i assume it was good (7/10)
-Additional Rec: health science teacher for 2 years (also HOSA sponsor) (9/10)
Interview: went for an hour, she seemed nice and we had a lot in common of our family background but couldn’t really read her

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major: Biology
State (if domestic applicant): FL
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Large Public (2000+)
Ethnicity: Asian (Indian)
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: <70k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): first generation

Reflection

Strengths: leadership, community service, writing, first gen
Weaknesses: no major awards
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: hook (first gen), test scores, leadership, recs
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: one-hit wonder thankfully (withdrawing only other application from UF as we speak)

General Comments : Even if you don’t think you’re going to get in (I really didn’t think I was going to), believe in yourself and your greatness :slight_smile:
Be honest in your application, the raw and true is the best version of you whether you think it is or not

24

**Decision: Accepted CAS **

Objective:
SAT I {best single sitting) (breakdown): 1600
SAT I (superscore) (breakdown): 1600
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: 800 Math II, 800 U.S. History
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.98
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): probably 3/410, top 5%
AP (place score in parenthesis): Biology (5), U.S. History (5), Statistics (5), Calculus AB (5), U.S. Gov’t (5)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc BC, AP Physics C, AP Latin, AP English Lit, AP Computer Science A, AP Macroeconomics
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Nothing special (National Merit Commended, AP Scholar w/ Distinction, NHS)

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Varsity Mock Trial (Captain), Student Government (Class Treasurer), Teenage Republicans (President), Cross Country, Track and Field, Young Investors Society (Vice President), Peer Leaders, Science NHS (Project Leader), Latin NHS (Treasurer)
Job/Work Experience: Stop & Shop Cashier
Volunteer/Community service: Volunteered at a Hospital, helped organize Santa Foundation gift drive
Summer Activities: Mostly just work, nothing interesting
Essays (rating 1-10, details):

  • Common App – 7/10 – it was well written but pretty typical
  • Supplement – 8/10 – very specific but wasn’t very exciting
    Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 10/10 Gov’t Teacher – he was also my mock trial team’s coach since I was a freshman – he knows me very well and loves me
Teacher Rec #2: 8/10 Calc teacher – definitely likes me but I don’t feel particularly close to him so it probably was somewhat generic
Counselor Rec: probably like a 5/10 – our school is so big that it was probably really generic – I see her like once I year when picking classes
Additional Rec: 9/10 – my other mock trial coach, so she knows me very well
Interview:

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: economics/political science
State (if domestic applicant): Massachusetts
School Type: Large Public School
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: $70,000 ish
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First Gen

Reflection

Strengths: scores, academics, recs
Weaknesses: no national awards, somewhat typical ECs, essays weren’t bad but didn’t really help my app
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: No idea, I’m in awe.

Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Nowhere yet

General Comments: I’m so excited. However, was anyone else’s financial aid packages very different from what they were expecting based on the net price calculator? Mine certainly was, and I don’t know why. If that happened to you, let me know.

25

Decision: Accepted CAS

Objective:
ACT (breakdown): 35C : 36R 36E 34S 33M
SAT II: 780 USH 730 Lit
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.8
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): somewhere in top 5%
AP (place score in parenthesis):Biology, English Lang, US History, Environmental Science, Human Geography, Spanish Language, Psychology - mostly 5’s (15 ap total)
Senior Year Course Load: ap calculus ab, ap macro/micro econ, ap us/comparative gov, ap computer science, ap english literature, ap european history, aice thinking skills
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Hispanic Scholar, national merit commended, ap scholar with distinction, debate awards, school awards, ventures Scholar, uchicago neubauer adelante summer scholar

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): spanish honor society, public forum debate, florida high school democrats, ecology club, national honor society
Job/Work Experience:n/a
Volunteer/Community service:intern at debate camp, camp counsellor
Summer Activities: debate camp, camp counselor, intern, Uchicago Neubauer Adelante Program to study philosophy at uchicago
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 9, about my siblings
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): should be pretty good

Intended Major: history/econ
State (if domestic applicant): FL
Country (if international applicant): US
School Type: huge public, sends 2 to penn every year
Ethnicity: hispanic
Gender:female
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, attended PEEP which is a recruitment program basically

Reflection

Strengths: scores, essays
Weaknesses: gpa, no crazy achievements
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: showed a genuine interest in penn and my academic pursuits.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: accepted: Penn, FSU, UT Austin. waiting on Uchicago, UF.

General Comments : good luck everyone! penn is awesome. message me if you have any questions about penn.

26

Decision: Accepted SEAS

Objective:
SAT I {best single sitting) (breakdown): 1510 (English 720, Math 790)
SAT I (superscore) (breakdown): same as above
ACT (breakdown): didn’t take
SAT II: Math II 800, Chemistry 800
TOEFL (first gen immigrant, came here 4 years): 110
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 94.4/100
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 10%
AP (place score in parenthesis):
Literature (4), Physics I (5), Calculus AB (5), Calculus BC (5), Computer Science A (4), Psychology (5), Statistics (5), US History (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load:
Multivariable Calculus, AP Econ, AP Physics C, AP Music Theory, Modern Drama, Guitar
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
Siemens Semifinalist, AIME qualifier, National AP Scholar, HOSA state gold medal, regional science olympiad medals several other stuffs i dont remember.

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
International Club Vice President
Math Team A Team Member, County All Star Team Member (Top 50 in the county)
Science Olympiad A Team Member
Job/Work Experience: N/A
Volunteer/Community service:
130 hours school librarian
yearbook editor for 3 years
internship credit for doing transportation for school opera music
Summer Activities:
Science research on environment & public health for 2 years
Duke TIP Program Field Studies: blue gold
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 10/10, put a lot of effort in it, and have my counselor looked over it for me
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 5/10 Physics Teacher, not very familiar but listen and behave in his class
Teacher Rec #2: 5/10 10th grade history teacher, not very familiar either but has good grades
Counselor Rec: 6/10 i guess she just wrote what i told her to write
Additional Rec: 9/10, my research mentor wrote it and he let me see it. he really likes me.
Interview: 8/10, went well, but my english accent is bad. we were basically just talking about my sciencer research, hes a doctor so he knew what i was doing. i guess his feedback to the college helped me to get in.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Chemical and biological engineering
State (if domestic applicant): New York
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: idk? they didnt ask for it did they
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): i guess being female for SEAS is a hook? being a new immigrant and doing science research/taking ap english is a hook?

Reflection

Strengths: science research, aps, math and science ec and essays, maybe interview
Weaknesses: test scores, gpa, recommendations
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: probably because my passion deeply aligns with what penn wants?
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Umich Georgia tech and UVA all come later, so no idea yet

General Comments : Congrats to everyone who got in!! I am looking forward to seeing you guys on campus next year lollllll and for the deferred and rejected people, cheer up, you are probably going to end up in another excellent college, and it just doesnt have to be Penn!

27

**Decision: Accepted / SEAS **

Objective:
SAT I {best single sitting) (breakdown): 1430(650 CRW / 780M)
SAT I (superscore) (breakdown): same
TOEFL : IBT 110
ACT (breakdown): -
SAT II:800 Math II, 800 Physics
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 8.9 out of 10
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 5/162
AP (place score in parenthesis): -
IB (place score in parenthesis): -
Senior Year Course Load: We cannot choose the course load.
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): I have about 20 scientific olympic medals in national, state and regional levels.

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): - Robotics classes (captain and programmer for 3 years), Mentor of FLL robotics team, member of practical physics group for IYPT, member of MUN club, taekwondo black belt.
Job/Work Experience: -
Volunteer/Community service: Teacher at APOLE during 11th grade (teach math to public school students), teacher and founder of a project to teach robotics in a public school.
Summer Activities: Internet course about Arduino from UC Irvine, Went to Brasilia to represent the APOLE program, Went to the ILMUNC, took an online course from Penn about writting essays.
Essays (rating 1-10, details): This is too subjective… I would say an 8. Talked a little bit about my trasition to another state and my passion about robotics. Penn Supplement - 8~9, talked about my visit to the campus, about the clubs, teachers and research opportunities, always giving some personal characteristics.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 9 - physics teacher, helped me in some research projects for the IYPT Brazil competition, she is adorable.
Teacher Rec #2: 8 - portuguese teacher, unfortunatelly I did not had many opportunities to know a lot about her, but she read my biography and might have presented a unique view about me, apart from the STEM field view.
Counselor Rec: 9 - we only got to know each other this year, had monthly talks and I believe that she writes awesome recs.
Additional Rec: -
Interview: 7 - lasted 20 minutes, nothing special, only a normal conversation (which in my opinion was a good thing)

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?:Yes
Intended Major: Undecided within engineering
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant): Brazil
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: Latin
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: about $100k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): -

Reflection

Strengths: Good Sat subjects scores (being an international applicant might have helped regarding my 650 CRW and 6/5/4 essay), good results in scientific olympiads, having a passion (robotics) and pursuing it.
Weaknesses: I think that my PS could have a deeper conclusion, I feel that it was a bit superficial. My SAT score is below average.

General Comments : Hopping to get a larger FA than I got, will contact Penn ASAP… Probably I will be able to go to Penn, but it is going to be difficult for my parents.

28

**Decision: Rejected **

Objective:
SAT I {best single sitting) (breakdown): 2280 (760 R) (800 W) (720 M)
SAT I (superscore) (breakdown): 2330 (800 R) (800 W) (730 M)
ACT (breakdown): –
SAT II: Math II: 760 World History: 790 US History: 800
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 19/656
AP (place score in parenthesis): APUSH (5), APHUG (5), AP Eng. Lang/Comp (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): –
Senior Year Course Load: AP French, AP Macro, AP Micro, AP Calc A/B, Hon. Foreign Policy, AP Eng. Lit/Comp, AP Chem, AP Euro, Hon. East Asian History.
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar, NMSC Commended, Eagle Scout

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Boy Scouts (Senior Patrol Leader), Model UN (Officer), National Honor Society (Secretary), Euro-Challenge (team mentor), Key Club, Global Leadership Certificate
Job/Work Experience: –
Volunteer/Community service: 600+ hours from Boy Scouts including an Eagle Project, 130+ hours from Key Club/NHS
Summer Activities: Attended University of Pittsburgh’s Going Global program, summer camp where I was senior patrol leader and ran the troop
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 10 - talked about cultural identity and how I am a mix of both my Chinese and American heritage. Supplemental essay talked about how my diverse range of interests could be fulfilled at Penn given their Core curriculum.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): See below

Teacher Rec #1: 10 - APUSH teacher really liked me, I was likely one of his favorites
Teacher Rec #2: 10 - AP Lang. teacher writes really good letters and liked me a lot.
Counselor Rec: 8 - Didn’t know her very well, and she had a lot of other students to write letters for.
Additional Rec: 10 - Person from World Affairs Council who I worked with to produce a documentary about cultural identities.
Interview: 8 - Nothing special. Interviewer seemed impressed with me but I didn’t get the sense that I had impressed him that much. We talked for about an hour and a half.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: International Relations
State (if domestic applicant): PA
Country (if international applicant): –
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian (Chinese)
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: ~60,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Is Asian a URM? First generation college though.

Reflection

Strengths: Extracurricular activities. I feel like my ECs were all focused on either service or international relations, and I tried to make my application as pointy as possible.
Weaknesses: Didn’t have as many APs as some other applicants, and my overall profile seemed a bit too average.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: My app was good, but others were better, especially since our school reliably sends kids to Ivies.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Nowhere… yet

General Comments: Rejection feels like the end of the world. It isn’t. It just means I have to do more apps…

29

[aB][asize=4]Decision: Accepted [/size]**

Accepted Wharton, Rejected M&T

Objective:
ACT (breakdown): 35C 33E 35M 35R 36S 26W
SAT II: Math 2: 800, Chem: 720, M Bio: 740
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.87
AP (place score in parenthesis): Chem(4), Bio(5), Calc BC(5), Comp Sci A(5), Microecon(NA), Gov(NA), Physics C(NA), Stats(NA)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Stats, AP Physics C Mechanics, AP Gove, AP Microecon, Philosophy, 80s Lit, Human Centered Design
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
Presidential Award for Community Service
Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Water Polo for 4 years(JV Captain).
Investors Club(CFO).
Philosophy Club(Treasurer).
City Leadership Class(One of few students selected).

Job/Work Experience: Own a small baking business in my community.
Work for a tech recruiting company as a data analyst and web developer.(Summer and School)
Worked for a medical radiologist and did research(wrote me a letter of rec).

Volunteer/Community service: Created a foundation to help underserved kids navigate the transition to high school(Summer)
Student Director for a local community service kitchen that makes and delivers burritos to people in need.
Lifeguard Cadet, oversaw junior lifeguard program and worked as an ocean lifeguard.(Summer)

Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Common App(9/10): Wrote about baking and the ridicule I got for being a guy, very personal and detailed. Reflected my personality well.
Why Wharton(9/10): Extremely detailed and well written. I worked on it for a month or so and really did my research. Also talked about my experiences from visiting Penn in the essay.
Why M&T(8/10): Strong but not as strong as my why Penn essay. Detailed but probably not good enough for the program.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1:English Teacher(9.5/10): We have a very close and unique relationship. I trust that she wrote about my personality very well and reflected on all of my good attributes.
Teacher Rec #2:Comp Sci Teacher(8/10): We are not very close but I was his top student and he seemed to really like me. He is also known for writing great recs.
Counselor Rec: She was new this year and we became very close and she wrote a letter specifically directed to Penn. We connect very well and she really understands my personality.
Additional Rec: My past boss(as mentioned above) wrote about my technical skills and how I am in the work place. I trust it was very detailed and she said she reflected on her time at Penn and how she thought I would be a great fit.

Interview: Interviewed with M&T alumni, went very well.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Management/Entrepreneurship
State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Large Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: Medium-High
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):
Legacy
Reflection

Strengths: Non-traditional extracurriculars, great essays and recs.
Weaknesses: Low-ish GPA, Classes not hard enough for M&T.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I have always wanted to go to Penn and I think that really came through in my essays. My extracurriculars were also very different from what I imagine they usually read and my test scores were solid. I didn’t try to be someone I wasn’t and I felt that my app reflected who I really was and what I was passionate about which may have helped.

General Comments :
Very excited!

30

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

Objective:

SAT I {best single sitting) (breakdown): 2400 (800 CR, 800 M, 800 W)
SAT I (superscore) (breakdown): 2400 (800 CR, 800 M, 800 W)
ACT (breakdown): did not take
SAT II: 800 Math II, 800 Biology E, 800 English lit
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.87
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school doesn’t rank
AP (place score in parenthesis): Psychology (5), English lit (5), US gov (5), Human Geography (5), World History (5), Biology (4), Calculus BC (4), Calculus BC - AB subscore (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP US gov, AP World History, AP Calculus BC, Chinese Honors course, Philosophy Honors course
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): inventing, designer for school paper, founder of fusion band, conductor of Korean folk band, photography club, varsity softball, organizer of school TEDx
Job/Work Experience: intern at university biology lab
Volunteer/Community service: volunteer service for multicultural families
Summer Activities: Penn Pre-College camp
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 7, wrote about how my pet hedgehog inspires me to be more than a high school senior (it sounds lame here but even great movies sound lame summarized!)

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 8-ish
Teacher Rec #2: 8-ish
Counselor Rec: 9-ish
Additional Rec: 8-ish (from instructor at Penn Pre-College program; he was a Penn graduate student)
Interview: 8-ish

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: no
Intended Major: anthropology
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant): South Korea
School Type: private boarding school
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: F
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

Reflection

Strengths: diverse and unique extracurricular activities, detailed why essay, clear future aspirations, test scores
Weaknesses: I don’t think the main essay was that great. also my GPA is low for a Korean applicant
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I feel like my activities and my academic interest fit well together without being too cookie-cutter. I was probably pretty easy to understand as a person
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: withdrew all other apps

General Comments : I’m so excited!!! I have only one week of school left so I can do whatever I want for eight months!

31

Decision: Deferred SEAS, Rejected M&T

Objective: M&T
SAT I {best single sitting) (breakdown): 2240 (770 CR 760 W 710 M)
SAT I (superscore) (breakdown):
ACT (breakdown): 35 (35 M 34 S 35 W 35 R)
SAT II: 800 Chinese with Listening 760 Math 2 720 Chemistry 680 World History
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/552
AP (place score in parenthesis): Calculus AB (5), APUSH (5), Statistics (5), Chemistry (3), Physics I (3), Language & Composition (4), World History (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calculus BC, AP Lit, AP Psychology, AP Gov
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): no major awards really except for some FBLA, National Merit Semifinalist, and Silver Presidential Service Award

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Formosa Association of Student Cultural Ambassadors (Vice President of Activities)
FBLA (State Projects Officer)
Motivating Matadors (Public Relations)
Do Something (Public Relations)
NHS
Red Cross
MESA

Job/Work Experience: none
Volunteer/Community service: lots and lots of volunteering
Summer Activities: flew to Taiwan as part of a government program to teach English to kids from financially disadvantaged areas, took an online course in Java, camp counselor for FASCA camp
Essays (rating 1-10, details): hard to self rate but they were not my best works
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): waived my right to see them

Teacher Rec #1:
Teacher Rec #2:
Counselor Rec:
Additional Rec:
Interview: Thought it didn’t go very well since i wasn’t able to answer the interviewer’s questions very well.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Computer Engineering
State (if domestic applicant): California
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: <100K
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none

Reflection

Strengths: Grades, GPA, rank
Weaknesses: EC’s were mostly just a handful of clubs
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I think I was deferred because my EC’s were pretty weak and kind of all over the place and my science AP scores were quite low for an engineering applicant.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:

General Comments : It’s not the end of the world! I cried and I got over it, and I still have a chance during the RD round, so congrats to all those who made it in! And for those deferred/rejected, we just have a few more essays to type, but we’ll be ok! To future applicants, just write about something that really matters to you no matter how cliche it may sound because the only way your essay will really stand out is if it really shows who you are!

32

**Decision: Accepted ** to the College of Arts and Sciences

Objective:
SAT I (superscore) (breakdown): 1410 (700 - Math 710 - Reading)
ACT (breakdown): never took but was planning to take it tomorrow should I get deferred/rejected
SAT II: I feel like they never saw these scores since I just took them in Nov (640 - Math 1, 680 - Math 2); hopefully they didn’t since I didn’t do so hot
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.91 UW 4.53 W
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school doesn’t rank but I would definitely be in the top 3%
AP (place score in parenthesis): didn’t send, took 11 APs in high school
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: 3 APs (Chemistry, Lang, Statistics, 2 Dual-Enrollment (Communications, Sociology)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): none

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Captain Varsity Field Hockey (4 years), Billboard Musical Lead Vocalist (3 years), President of school’s Ambassadors Program (3 years), NHS, Debate Team, Peace Club, Math Honors Society, Minority Scholars Program
Job/Work Experience: none
Volunteer/Community service: nothing notable
Summer Activities: none
Essays (rating 1-10, details): wrote about coming to terms with my agnosticism and how I realized it’s ok to not know the answer to everything (9.5/10)
Supplement: very very weak (6/10, though it must haven’t have been so bad since they let me in spite of it)

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: AP Lit teacher, I was a teacher’s pet so I assume it was pretty strong (10/10)
Teacher Rec #2: AP World teacher, I know she included a link to me singing a song I wrote for an APWH project, so I guess that helped me stand out (10/10)
Counselor Rec: my counselor told me she took extra time with mine, I have a relatively good relationship with her and she has high expectations for my future (10/10)
Additional Rec: nope
Interview: nope

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: YES
Intended Major: PPE (Philosophy, Politics, and Economics)
State (if domestic applicant): Maryland
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Majority-minority Public
Ethnicity: African-American (Ethiopian)
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: only child, single-mom home, around $30k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): first-gen American, first-gen college, URM, under-performing high school

Reflection

Strengths: Common App essay, GPA, transcript, all my hooks, pretty involved in school
Weaknesses: supplement, test scores, community service
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I believe my Common App essay was strong enough to warrant their interest and perhaps cancel out the fact that my supplement and test scores weren’t anything special. I took the most rigorous course load possible in high school, so I’m sure that impressed them. Also, being first-gen and black probably helped me stand out.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: I got in to Tulane and had already applied to UMD and Emory. I was planning to apply to over 6 colleges RD but who cares now!

General Comments :
It’s been 5 hrs and I am still in disbelief! There are so many qualified students who unfortunately get rejected. It makes me all the more flattered that I got in. GOOD LUCK TO ALL IN YOUR FUTURE ENDEAVORS! I’m actually intimidated by all the little geniuses on here.

33

[asize=4][acolor=#FFA500]Decision: Deferred to Wharton [/color][/size]

Objective:
SAT I {best single sitting) (breakdown): n/a
SAT I (superscore) (breakdown): n/a
ACT (breakdown): 33C (35E 33M 34R 28S)
SAT II:n/a
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.86
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):n/a
AP (place score in parenthesis): World History (5), Microecon (4), Macroecon (4), Chinese (5), US History (5), Calc AB (5), Eng Lang and comp (5), Physics 1 (3)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP stats, AP envirosci, AP lit, AP american gov/AP comp gov, advanced business, honors chinese, etc…
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):State academic athlete award, AP scholar with distinction, national merit commended, some others to do with community service

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): i have a lot but some of the more notable ones are: DECA pres, editor/business mgr of school newspaper, varsity tennis (4 years, awards, championships, etc), community service, tutoring, NHS, etc, etc, etc…
Job/Work Experience: nothing significant. barista job in the summer, server job at an unconventional restaurant
Volunteer/Community service: volunteering in china (teaching), peer tutoring, community service though national honor society, etc.
Summer Activities: volunteering in china!
Essays (rating 1-10, details): common app (8/10), why penn (7/10) - i really can’t tell how good or not good my essays are
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: idk
Teacher Rec #2: idk
Counselor Rec: idk but should be pretty good
Additional Rec:
Interview: pretty short, it was okay…

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: no
Intended Major: Finance
State (if domestic applicant): WA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: public, nationally ranked
Ethnicity: i selected Chinese (although i have a unique ethnic background - this may have been a contributing factor to my deferral)
Gender: F
Income Bracket: 200k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): n/a

Reflection

Strengths: essays perhaps? teacher recs?
Weaknesses: gpa, act, ethnicity, WA actually has a lot of very qualified penn applicants so my state was a weakness
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: i think i have the potential to be a solid applicant, however, my scores and gpa are low, and i really do not have a hook of any sort.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: nowhere yet!

General Comments : I truly am grateful for the opportunity to apply to Penn, and that the admissions office will continue to review my application. I do wish I had something that really made me stand out. Higher test scores and GPA wouldn’t hurt either.

34

**Decision: Accepted **

College of Arts and Sciences

Objective
SAT I (Old): 2140 (680 CR, 710 M, 750 W)
SAT I (New): 1470 (770 R, 700M)
ACT: N/A
SAT II: 770 Math II, 700 USH
Unweighted GPA: 3.82/4.00
Weighted GPA: 4.82/5.00
Rank: Top 15%
AP: 4 Statistics
IB: 6 Psychology
Senior Year Course Load: IB TOK, IB Mathematics HL, IB History HL, IB English HL, IB Physics HL, IB Spanish SL
Major Awards: US Naval Sea Cadet Corps Citation Ribbon, National Merit Commended Scholar

Subjective
Extracurriculars: Aeronautics Club (Founder and President), US Naval Sea Cadet Corps (Company Commander), Varsity Track and Field (8x Varsity Athlete), National Honor Society (Subject Head), FBLA (Club Officer, Competition)
Work Experience: Library Page (part-time, 3 hrs/wk)
Volunteer/Community Service: Service League Club Officer, Service Trip to Haiti, Autism Bike Camp
Summer Activities: Naval Academy Summer Seminar, Engineering Summer Academy at Penn - Computer Science, US Naval Sea Cadet Corps Boot Camp Instructor
Common App Essay: 9/10 - I believe this is a great essay… but about generic topic, my service trip to Haiti
Supplementary Essay: 7/10 - Not as good as CA Essay; about my career plans as a naval officer

Teacher Recommendation #1: English Instructor - she likes me a lot
Teacher Recommendation #2: History Instructor - he likes me a lot
Counselor Recommendation: he likes me a lot
Other Recommendation: US Naval Sea Cadet Corps Company Commander - she likes me a lot
Interview: I thought it went perfectly

Other
Financial Aid: No
Intended Major: Philosophy, Politics and Economics
City, State: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Country: United States
School Type: Public (very well connected)
Ethnicity: Asian (Chinese)
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: $200,000
Hooks: Legacy (sister & father), Took Courses at Penn

35

Decision: ACCEPTED HOLY CRAP OMG: ENGINEERING, Rejected M&T but whatevs :-j :-j

SAT I: 2230: 800 M, 800 W, 630 CR (Yikes, I can’t win with critical reading smh)
SAT R: 1550: 800 M, 750 R
ACT (breakdown): 35 composite and superscore so kind of a waste that I took it twice >:P
SAT II: 800 Math, 770 Physics, 730 US History, and 780 Chemistry
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): No idea, my school only weights.
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): No ranking, but top 3% after sophomore year
AP (place score in parenthesis): too lazy to type out, but ten 5’s, and three 4’s
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: Multivariable Calculus, AP Physics C, IB Business HL, 4th Year Newspaper Staff, AP Gov, AP Capstone Research, and AP CS Principles (I took AP CS A sophomore year, so idk why I took this class. Total blow off, do not recommend)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Purdue Hackathon 1st Place, Top 3% scholar, Indiana DECA State Champion, Coke Scholar semifinalist, selected to present research abstract at ACS poster session and national meeting, and Chem Olympiad local exam honorable mention

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Leader of Literacy and Coding outreach, leadership role in Carmel DECA, Section Editor of school newspaper, two-year research intern for prestigious, local research program that resulted in me publishing my findings and presenting at ACS poster sessions and national sessions, tennis and soccer for the school, programming for robotics team, and math team w/ local and national math awards

Job/Work Experience: Kumon Math Tutor
Volunteer/Community service: School on Wheels tutor and mentor (tutored at-risk youth in downtown Indianapolis and helped them stay on track in school), Teen Volunteer Corps at Library, and Ronald McDonald house regular
Summer Activities: AwesomeMath UC Berkeley and 2 summers with Indianapolis Project STEM (research internship) through IUPUI computer science department

Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Engineering: 9, really specific, showed drive, did my research on the school, and talked about my research internship + how I got into graphic design via newspaper and how my graphic skills got me recognized by Uber Indiana
M&T Long: 10, kind of disappointed that I didn’t get in bc I thought that I brought a unique angle of being someone who wants to be in Silicon Valley but is from Indiana
Leadership: 10, talked about how leadership can be persuasive, not necessarily positional, my example was op and very original, I thought a lot about how to approach this question bc limit is 250 words

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 10, my APUSH teacher junior year who is my second mother, she is amazing and we are as close as it gets, she helped me when my parents were going through a rough time and understands my hopes and aspirations
Teacher Rec #2: 10, DECA sponsor, talked about my leadership role in DECA with graphics and how I put my knowledge of tech with my interest in business to get Uber Indiana as my company
Counselor Rec: 8, we are close, but she has 1000 other students to take care of, a con of going to a huge school
Additional Rec: 8, research mentor, talked about my role in research but we aren’t super close
Interview: 8, via facetime, good convo but hella laggy

Applied for Financial Aid?:Yes
Intended Major: Computer Science (Wanted CS and Entrepreneurship for M&T)
State (if domestic applicant): Indiana (corn everywhere aka limited opportunities!)
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: huge, 5000+ students
Ethnicity: Azn (hurt me hella)
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: didn’t get a penny from financial aid LMAO
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): N/A, more like I had anti-hooks which made this acceptance even more surprising to me

Reflection:
Side note: I had a mini stroke and started hyperventilating when I opened my decision. It was amazing.

Holy shiitake mushrooms, I cannot believe that I am going to UPENN!!! I am so humbled and honored. I didn’t expect to get into ANYTHING, I just tried because this was my dream school, and now it is a reality. A tip to current juniors who are terrified right now reading through these college confidential threads; I was exactly where you are a year ago. I had no idea I would get into a school like Penn, but I pursued what I was truly passionate about (coding/business/literacy outreach) rather than listen to everyone else’s ideals for me (medicine), and I honestly couldn’t be happier.

ALSO, DON’T LISTEN TO THE HATERS AROUND YOU WHO TELL YOU THAT YOU CAN’T GET IN. JUST BE YOURSELF AND DON’T TRY TO BE ANYBODY ELSE, EVEN IF PEOPLE LOOK DOWN ON YOU. AS I HAVE SHOWN, YOU NEED NEITHER NATIONAL MERIT NOR A 2400 TO GET IN SO DON’T JUST GIVE UP BC YOUR SCORES AREN’T PERFECT. GO FOR IT.

[edited for privacy]

36

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

Objective:
SAT I {best single sitting) (breakdown): n/a
SAT I (superscore) (breakdown): n/a
ACT (breakdown): 35 (34E 34M 36R 34S) One sitting.
SAT II: 760 Math II 720 U.S. History
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.98
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 4
AP (place score in parenthesis): US History (5), US Gov (5), English Lang (4), Statistics (3, self taught lol). My school only offers four AP classes and one is senior English.
IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: Media, Spanish III, AP Macro, AP Micro, Honors Physics, AP Lit, AP Calc AB
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None really, only AP Scholar with honor.

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): NHS (Executive Council)
Rho Kappa History Honorary (Service Coordinator)
Mu Alpha Theta Math Honorary (VP)
Chess Club (President)
Student Council (Class President)
Varsity Basketball
Varsity Soccer (Captain)
Varsity Track
Quiz Bowl (Captain)
Lunch Program- Essentially a community service project providing food for low income students. (Founder and Coordinator)
Christian Club
Marching Band (Drumline Captain)
Wind Ensemble (Section Leader)
*Not all these were in my activities section but my additional essay was about who I am outside of the classroom. Also talked about playing piano, painting, photography, skateboarding, and my other hobbies.
Job/Work Experience: YMCA for two years. Seasonal
I run a business selling shoes and clothing.
Volunteer/Community service:
A lot through my church and program. Probably about 200 hours.
Summer Activities: Just sports. lol Nothing special.
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Common App (9/10) - Talked about a kid that inspired me to found my community service program. Got real cheesy and stuff. Admissions officers probably shed a tear or two.
UPenn Supplement (8/10) - Talked about my experience running a business. I spoke on the importance of connections and how there is no better place to make connections than Penn. I also threw in some stuff about flexible curriculum, location, and other stuff that everyone loves about Penn.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: (6/10) Probably pretty average. The teacher really likes me, but he follows a formula for every rec letter he writes.
Teacher Rec #2: (8/10?) US History teacher really loves me but I did not read it so no way of telling.
Counselor Rec: (7/10) Pretty good. Talked about me being creative and successful, two things you can never talk about enough.
Additional Rec: (9/10) 8th grade math teacher who loves me. She convinced my school district to let me skip classes and work ahead, super rare where I am from. I’d say it is really good.
Additional Rec: (10/10) My BD who loves me. Probably said something along the lines of work ethic and passion. I would say it was fantastic because he’s very intelligent and really likes me.
Interview: Went flawlessly. My interviewer was just like me. We talked about Knicks basketball for probably ten minutes and she seemed to like all my answers to her questions. No curveballs. Lasted about 50 minutes.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Behavioral Economics (Wharton)
State (if domestic applicant): Ohio
Country (if international applicant): US
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: African-American/Caucasian
Gender:M
Income Bracket:120K
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Founded a business and a community service project. I don’t know if these are necessarily hooks but I probably wouldn’t have gotten in without them.

Reflection

Strengths: EC and leadership (particularly my business and community service project, ACT score, Common App Essay.
Weaknesses: Maybe my SAT II scores, lack of rigorous courses (wasn’t my fault), no standout awards or internships.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Diversity, leadership, business experience.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
Ohio State - Accepted

General Comments : Really didn’t think I would get in. No one from my school has gotten into an ivy since the sixties. I feel incredibly blessed.

37

**Decision: Accepted to SEAS **

Objective:
SAT I {best single sitting) (breakdown): 1490 (760 math, 730 eng)
SAT I (superscore) (breakdown): only took once
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: 800 chem, 800 math II, 800 bio M
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.96
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school doesn’t rank, i guess roughly about top 5%
AP (place score in parenthesis): Calc BC (5), Bio (5), APUSH (5), Lang (3), AP Stat (4), CS (5), World (5), Chem (5), self studied a couple of them
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: CS class at local college, non-euclidean geometry, AP Eng IV, French 5 honors, AP Physics C, AP micro/macro
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): some small science olymiad stuff, local thing for community service

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): tutoring (President of organization), school newspaper (tech manager), food magazine (co-Editor in Chief), science olympiad, then a handful of small things
Job/Work Experience: I some wrote code for a startup once
Volunteer/Community service: tutoring
Summer Activities: last summer did an engineering program, summer before that didnt do much other than reading random stuff and traveling
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common app was good, but I’m sure most of what they read is much better. Penn supplement was fairly decent, full of details and really drew together my different intellectual interests
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: from a teacher who I knew really well from all sorts of stuff but got an A in classes without much effort I guess an 8/10
Teacher Rec #2: from a teacher whose subject I wasnt skilled in but worked my ass off to get better, although the teacher doesnt know me all that well, 7/10
Counselor Rec: probably slightly better than generic rec since I did a bunch of work to help out the guidance department, but she still has to do hundreds of recs 6-7/10
Additional Rec: from summer engineering program director, no idea if this 4-8/10
Interview: We talked a long time but I don’t think it added anything to my app because i didnt say anything that wasnt in my common app

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: nope
Intended Major: computational biology
State (if domestic applicant): California
Country (if international applicant): US
School Type: large competitive public
Ethnicity: white
Gender: girl
Income Bracket: high
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): girl in stem

Reflection

Strengths: my course rigor, community service
Weaknesses: no legacy, no sports, no music, mediocre SAT, privileged background, no extraordinary ECs
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: my strengths
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: no where

General Comments : To all those who are still in freshman/sophomore year, my advice is to just remember there is no one way to get into a great college. I have friends who got into Penn who pursued very different tracks than I did. If there is something that you like, just commit yourself to it and try to somehow use it to help the community, because admissions officers say they really are starting to care more and more about community involvement. Don’t ever feel like you need a certain SAT score or GPA or number of ECs, just make sure you spend a lot of time working and working well. Also, I didnt realize until this year, basically whatever you do, you can find a way to put in college apps so never feel like doing something won’t count.

38

Decision: Accepted CAS

Objective:
SAT: Did not take
ACT (breakdown): 35 (36 E, 31 M, 35 R, 36 S), 28 W (one sitting)
SAT II: 800 lit, 800 bio
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 95.0/100
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school doesn’t rank
AP (place score in parenthesis): Latin (5), Bio (4)
Senior Year Course Load: School doesn’t offer a lot of AP’s so its kind of meaningless to say. But taking rigorous classes in 5 core subjects, fourth year of language, AP AB Calc
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Lots of writing awards and publications, some pretty major (also, National Latin Exam awards and some smaller piano competitions)

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Piano/music precollege program (9-12) (sent a music supplement), volunteer at music organization (9-12), president of music volunteer club (11-12), Creative writing, Red Cross club president (member 9-12, president 11-12), regional Red Cross board (12), Writing tutor at school (12)
Job/Work Experience: Piano tutor (10-12)
Volunteer/Community service: Lots, see above
Summer Activities: Moderately prestigious summer piano program (9,10), took Statistics at a local college (11)
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Why Penn: 9.5/10, I was very proud of this and it took me a long time to write. I visited Penn many times and wanted to go for very specific reasons.
Common app: 8/10, About a time I forgot the notes and had to get up and leave the stage during a piano competition. It wasn’t necessarily an original topic, but it was genuine.

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: Didn’t read them but I’m guessing 10/10, from my English teacher who loved me
Teacher Rec #2: From my Latin teacher, probably 8/10, she didn’t know me very well but I did well in her class
Counselor Rec: Counselor rec probably 8/10, she likes me but we’re not super close
Additional Rec: 10/10, Rec from my piano teacher, she’s been my teacher for ages and loves me, and let me read it. Not sure if these hold any weight though.
Interview: 7/10, We didn’t super hit it off but she was very nice, we mostly talked about her Penn experience, brought my resume (definitely do this) and at the end she said she would write me a “nice review”. Took place at her office and lasted around 45 minutes.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Comparative literature
State (if domestic applicant): tristate area (NJ/CT/NY)
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public magnet, ~30 kids go to ivies each year
Ethnicity: Asian/White
Gender: F
Income Bracket: pretty low
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Possibly got KWH recruitment, but not sure because they did not contact the people they recruited this year. (If you are interested in writing at all, definitely visit/check out the Kelly Writers House!)

Reflection

Strengths: Scores, grades, essays, awards
Weaknesses: EC’s were nothing special, lack of AP’s/AP scores
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: No idea really!! But probably my creative writing stuff, and my love of the major I’m applying to. When I toured Penn for the first time last November the admissions officer told me the single most important part of the application, beyond having competitive scores/grades, is the Why Penn essay.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Penn is the first school I heard back from!

General Comments : The best advice someone gave me on one of these threads is “think about conducting a straight line through your application”: try to present yourself as an angular, focused applicant in your ec’s/essays/rec choices. Beyond stats I think Penn puts a lot of weight into essays and recs, so be specific and genuine about your goals there.

I remember being in 8th grade and dreaming of writing my results in this exact thread. Congrats to everyone accepted and can’t wait to meet you!!! Good luck to all future applicants!!

39

Accepted : School of Nursing
Nursing

Objective:
SAT I {best single sitting) (breakdown): 2260 (760 Reading, 740 Math 760 Writing)
SAT II: 700 Chemistry, 800 Math II, 750 Biology M
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.96
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 16/632
AP (place score in parenthesis): Calculus AB (5), Biology (4), US History (5), Psychology (5), Language & Composition (5)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics 1, AP Calculus BC, AP English Lit, AP Microeconomics, AP US Government and Politics, Human Anatomy and Physiology
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
AP Scholar with Distinction

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):National Honor Society, National Spanish Honor Society, Society of Toxicology (VP), 2 years JV and Varsity Cross Country (Co-Captain)
Job/Work Experience: Paid peer tutor (6 hours a week)
Volunteer/Community service : Hands4Hope (Secretary and Organization wide Youth Leader-150 hours a year), local hospital ICU and Rehabilitation volunteer (3 hours a week), , UC Davis Medical Center Research Laboratory Volunteer (2 hours a week)
Summer Activities: Traveling, volunteering, the usual.
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common App-about running and the accompanied personal struggles. Maybe a 7/10
Why Penn- talked about how great the nursing program is and why I want to go into nursing. I spent forever on this maybe an 8/10
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: AP Calculus teacher-she knew me really well and asked me a ton of questions to get depth for the letter. Probably a 7 or 8
Teacher Rec #2: AP Biology teacher. Probably average she didn’t know me very personally. 5/10
Counselor Rec: Meh she know who I was bc I kept visiting her but we weren’t close.
Additional Rec: My supervisor at the lab. I got to read this one. VERY personal and in depth. 10/10
Interview: I had 2 interviews. One with an admissions official went well in my opinion about 20 min.
Second was Skype with a recent alumni-this one went better than the first and was about 35 minutes.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?:no
Intended Major: Nursing
State (if domestic applicant): CA
School Type: Large public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: approx. 200,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): not really.

Reflection
I think for nursing they really wanted you to demonstrate passion and most of my ecs revolved around that so that probably helped.

Strengths: SAT, GPA, healthcare related ECs
Weaknesses: the letters of rec from my teachers most likely
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I think I was able to really communicate how strongly I felt about nursing.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
University of Pittsburgh (15k a year scholarship)

General Comments : Whoohoo I’m so excited! Congrats to all of my fellow future Quakers, I can’t wait to meet all of you!

40

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

ACCEPTED INTO M&T!

Objective:
SAT I {best single sitting) (breakdown): none
SAT I (superscore) (breakdown): none
ACT (breakdown): 36 C (35E, 35R, 36M, 36S)
SAT II: Math 2 (780)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0…i believe? My school only gives us a weighted QPA.
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 9/656
AP (place score in parenthesis): 5 on Calc BC, Chem, English Lang, Computer Science A. 4 on APUSH and Physics 1
IB (place score in parenthesis): none
Senior Year Course Load: AP Classes: English Lit, Psych, Econ, Latin, Physics 2, Stats. Honors Classes: Foreign Policy, International Business
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): NCWIT Affiliate Winner, Nat’l Merit Commended, AP Scholar with Distinction, 1st place at DECA states and districts, lots of local debate awards, a few national debate awards

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Speech and Debate (VP, PF Event Leader), Interact Club (VP), DECA (President), Dance-a-thon (Captain), NHS, Class Council (10th & 11th President), Soccer
Job/Work Experience: summer internship and part-time employee for web design and SEO for a local business, soccer referee, TA at a programming camp at CMU
Volunteer/Community service: Meals on Wheels, Interact Club, my borough’s junior councilperson — probably over 250 hrs/year
Summer Activities: worked 45 hours/week in two jobs during the summer before senior year which was probably what set me apart the most, debate camps, leadership camps, vacations
Essays (rating 1-10, details): “Why Penn?” 10/10 really unique, “Why M&T” 8/10 pretty basic but not bad, “M&T Leadership” 10/10 really personal
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 10/10 knew this teacher for 5 years and he knows everything about me
Teacher Rec #2: 8/10??? I have no idea. Got a 99% in the class but wasn’t that close with her.
Counselor Rec: 9/10 likes me a lot, knows me very well
Additional Rec: 9/10??? No idea. From my professor that I TA’d for at CMU.
Interview: 8/10 basic information, not my best interview

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: no
Intended Major: CS and Business at Wharton (dual-degree program)
State (if domestic applicant): PA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: public
Ethnicity: asian
Gender: female
Income Bracket: 150,000+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): first gen. immigrant

Reflection

Strengths: definitely work experience, rec letters, and Why Penn essay
Weaknesses: interview and awards
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Pitt with $40K/year

General Comments :

I’M SO EXCITED!!