University of Pennsylvania ED Class of 2021 Results

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
61

Decision: Deferred

CAS

Objective:
SAT I {best single sitting) (breakdown): 1490 (WR: 750 M 740) (Perfect essay score)
SAT I (superscore) (breakdown): 1500. (WR 760 M 740)
ACT (breakdown): None
SAT II: Spanish: 780. US History: 740 Italian: 700
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.65
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Lang: 5
IB (place score in parenthesis): None
Senior Year Course Load: Biology 2 Honors, Political Theory Honors, AP English Literature, AP Spanish Language, Calculus
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Scholarship Letter of Commendation, Premio de Oro (98th Percentile) in National Spanish Exam, 3 Gold Keys and 3 Silver keys in the Scholastic Art and Writing Competition

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Spirit Committee, Executive Committee, Theatre Club Founder, Literary Magazine Publicist, Managing Editor of School Newspaper, House Captain,
Job/Work Experience:
Volunteer/Community service: ESL Instructor, JDRF Volunteer
Summer Activities: Hillary for America Volunteer, Interned at a magazine where I got published

Essays (rating 1-10, details): 10, about helping my grandpa in his old age
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: My English teacher and poetry adviser who loved me. 10
Teacher Rec #2: My history teacher who liked me a lot. 8
Counselor Rec: She was a big fan of me. 10
Additional Rec:
Interview: Went perfectly fine.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Comparative Literature
State (if domestic applicant): NJ
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: White Jew
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 200,000 +
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Upward trajectory for all of high school, speak 3 languages, done two independent studies

Reflection

Strengths: Legacy, demonstrated interest, great common app/supplement, interested in language, made school history with language learning
Weaknesses: Not the hardest course load or highest GPA, late bloomer,
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I think it was my grades and course load. I’m also an overrepresented race from an overrepresented school in an overrepresented state
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Nowhere yet

General Comments : I really thought I was going to get accepted ED and I’m worried now.

62

Decision: Accepted
Wharton

Objective:
SAT I : 1400 (690 Reading, 710 Math)
SAT II: 740 Math II
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): (My school does the 100 scale so 97 unweighted ,101 weighted, all straight As)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 4/124
Senior Year Course Load: College/AP French, College/AP U.S. History, College/AP Calc 2 (BC), College/AP Chemistry, College/AP English Composition
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): State awards, Model UN Awards (I also put NHS & FHS on my award section)

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Model UN, Student Council, Mathletes (President/Founder), Fed Challenge (President/Founder), French Club (President), Interact Club (President), JV/Varsity Soccer, Guiding Eyes for the Blind (Service Dog Trainer), Intern on a congressional campaign, Intern at a disabilities center

Job/Work Experience: Worked on a farm as a cashier/baker (Mentioned this in my resume)

Volunteer/Community service: Through my extracurriculars & Also went volunteered internationally at a school in India

Summer Activities: My internships

Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common App 9.5/10 (Very unique), Penn Essay 10/10 (Wrote about how I found my passion in Business Economics & Public Policy and only wrote about very specific and unique opportunities Wharton could offer me)

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 8/10
Teacher Rec #2: 9/10
Counselor Rec: Probs just a bit better than a basic GC Rec
Interview: Interview went super well! He was very impressed with my work ethic and attitude!

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Business & Public Policy (Wharton)
State (if domestic applicant): NY (Upsate)
School Type: Rural public school with around 500 kids
Ethnicity: Asian (Indian)
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: >150,000

Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Female in business, From small town but accomplished a lot, Founded Clubs, Did intense work in my internships (Mentioned all of this in my resume & Essays), Getting my Associates Degree (73 College Credits) in June with my regular Diploma (Being Asian did not help at all because most women in Business are Asian at UPenn so I was a majority lol)

Reflection

Strengths: Definitely my essays and ECs and resume
Weaknesses: Test scores!!
Why you think you were accepted: I really spent a lot of time on my Penn Essay and Common App and thought they were super unique, I spent hundreds of hours on most of my ECs each year which shows commitment, I displayed myself as a unique and passionate candidate and I think they loved that!
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Only applied to Penn!

General Comments : Penn wants students that are involved in unique things! There are thousands of applicants with good SAT scores & are in 10 clubs but what they want to see is originality and passion! Really focus on your essays, do some cool internships, and if you’re starting early try to do something cool like founding a program/club.
I’ll probably be making a YT video on my experience over the summer because no one has done that yet and I’ll surely link it on this thread. Good luck with the application process! :slight_smile:

63

**Decision: Rejected **

CAS

Objective:
SAT I {best single sitting) (breakdown): 2360 (770CR, 800M, 790W)
SAT I (superscore) (breakdown): 2390 (800CR,800M,790W)
ACT (breakdown): NA
SAT II: Math II (730), Eng Lit (760)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 3
AP (place score in parenthesis): Eng Lit (5), Eng Lang (5), Calc AB (5), APUSH (4), Bio (4), Psych (3), Human Geo (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): NA
Senior Year Course Load: AP Chem, AP Calc BC, APES, AP Stats, AP Music Theory, AP Gov
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Semifinalist, AP Scholar w/ Honor, State Solo & Ensemble, region orchestra/area qualifier every year, multiple tennis awards

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): NHS (President), Varsity Tennis, FW Youth Orchestra, UIL Academics
Job/Work Experience: donut shop cashier/stocker, 10 hrs/week
Volunteer/Community service: NHS
Summer Activities: job
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 6/10, Maybe I’m just hard on myself but I don’t think my essays were anything special
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 10/10, AP English Lit teacher, loves me
Teacher Rec #2: 5/10, AP Bio/APES teacher, good but pretty generic, he did it last minute
Counselor Rec: not too sure, I have a good relationship with her though
Additional Rec: 10/10, tennis coach, loves me
Interview: NA

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Bio
State (if domestic applicant): TX
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: fairly large, 6A HS
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: F
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

Reflection

Strengths: test scores
Weaknesses: essays maybe? rec letters?
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: strong applicant pool, maybe my essays weren’t as good as they should’ve been, rec letter?
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: UT (auto admission)

General Comments : pretty bummed out, I thought I had a decent chance

64

**Decision: Accepted **

Wharton

Objective:
SAT I {best single sitting) (breakdown): 2210 (790CR, 760M, 660M)
SAT I (superscore) (breakdown): 2280 (790CR, 760W, 730M) 2 attempts
ACT (breakdown):
SAT II: 770 English Lit 710 Math 2 (Oops!) 550 Spanish (lol)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0 (in my school anything 90 & above in an H or AP course is a 4.0)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/349
AP (place score in parenthesis): 5AP classes, Psych (5), English Lang (5), Calc BC (3, but didn’t send)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Stat, AP Gov, AP Econ, AP English Lit, 5AP Spanish, AP Studio Art, Journalism 2H, Marketing Mgmt 2H
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Commended, New Jersey Scholars Program (NJSP), DECA International finalist and top 10 test scores in the world

Subjective:

Extracurricular (place leadership in parenthesis):

  1. Health and Wellness Club (founder and president), organized school’s first ever Health and Wellness Fair. Attended by 16+ businesses/vendors/clubs and 1300+ students.
  2. Health and Wellness Campaign (founder, 1yr prior to club)
  3. DECA (Vice President)
  4. School Newspaper (Editor in chief)
  5. Member of state ranked Mock Trial team
  6. Competed in Empire Mock Trial World Championships
  7. Volleyball JV/V
  8. Track and field

Job/Work Experience: None
Volunteer/Community service: Volunteer at Local Library 3.5 hr/wk, 8 wk/yr, Volunteer for Genetics study at UPenn 4 hr/wk, 5 wk/yr
Summer Activities: NJSP
Essays (rating 1-10, details):

A) Common App, 9.5, wrote about specific problem in creating an art piece. Showed perseverance/creativity/problem solving. Included pic. of piece in art portfolio submission. Unique, but not emotionally moving, and no real dialogue.
B) Wharton Essay, 9, Wrote about Health Fair I planned. Also included part of a correspondence with a UPenn professor. Specific about business concentrations and classes. Tried to not be generic.
C) Huntsman essay, 7, Wrote about interest in reducing obesity in Latin America. Discussed interest in learning from ‘Huntsmanites’. Essay could have been better if I had more experience in Latin America beyond a trip to Puerto Rico.

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 9, Psych teacher, wrote about how I could quickly synthesize info, Penn specific rec. Didn’t say “I was the best student he’s ever had”, or anything that impressive, but talked about me well.
Teacher Rec #2: 9, English teacher, liked me, thought I was a great writer
Counselor Rec: 10, Loved me, won a national award for best rec’s
Additional Rec: 9 Health and Wellness Club adviser, teaches Bio, but I never had her as a teacher. Probably talked about leadership qualities.
Interview: 6, INSANITY. 90 min interrogation, tough questions, answered the best I could. He told me he was not going to write a neg. letter. Abnormal.

Other: Speak 4 languages w/ varying fluency (English, Marathi, Spanish, Hindi). Huntsman target lang. was Spanish.

Applied for Financial Aid?: No, got discount b/c of parent’s employment.
Intended Major: Econ, took a Social Entrepreneur angle in Wharton essay by mentioning specific biz concentrations.
State (if domestic applicant): NJ
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public about 1450 students total. send 2-5 people to Ivy’s/comparable each year
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: F
Income Bracket: 150k+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Legacy, Parent works at UPenn Hospital, Sibling goes to UPenn engineering school

Reflection

Strengths: GPA, Rank, Unique activities, Hooks, NJSP (it’s considered to be an Ivy feeder)
Weaknesses: Math level 2 score, did not submit Calc BC score, did not take multi calc even though offered, extracurriculars too spread out, interview
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I was a unique applicant. I sent in an art portfolio with my culturally inspired sculptures, and sent an ‘applicant update’ with a pdf of a school newspaper article I wrote on how schools kill student creativity. Good hooks. Solid essays (spent a lot of time on those).

Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Applied ED.

General Comments : Applying through Huntsman, even though I didn’t get in, may have assisted me with admission to Wharton with below avg math scores. Also, when picking my senior yr course load, I did not want to take multi variable calculus. My counselor contacted Penn and met with Penn admissions people on my behalf to see whether this would be acceptable (I know he’s amazing). This showed interest early on. Know that it is possible to get in with sucky math scores, even as an Asian Female. I’m super thrilled.

Tips for other people? Do unique activities. Penn wants to see initiative. They also take into account environment. If you come from a humble background, they want to see you do everything you can with the resources you have. But this also means that if you’re a rich white male you have to really do something impressive to stand out b/c you have more resources. Be genuine in your essays, and know that there is no one ‘right’ essay. My sibling’s UPenn essay was completely different than mine. If you have some artistic ability send a portfolio. Don’t let CC posters scare you; the art doesn’t have to be world class amazing. Good Luck to all RD! Anyone else who got accepted to Wharton hmu :slight_smile:

65

Decision: Accepted to the College of Arts and Sciences

Objective:
SAT I (superscore) (breakdown): 2110 ( 670 Math, 730 Writing, 710 Reading)
ACT (breakdown):
1st: 33… (35 English, 32 Reading, 34 Math, 29 Science, 29 Writing)
2nd. 34…(36 English, 36 Reading, 33 Math, 29 Science, 29 Writing)

SAT II: 790 US History, 740 Math I, 680 English Lit
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): UW: 4.0, W: 3.91
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 4/768 or top 1%
AP (place score in parenthesis): Discluding senior year, I was in 7 ap classes. Including senior yr, 14.
test scores: 5- human geo, 4-world history, 5-us history, 3-euro, 5-psych, 5-english

Senior Year Course Load: 7 APs, 2 online PE classes (Chemistry, Lit, Statistics, calc bc, environmental, bio, econ,)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): A lot of Debate related. Very accomplished (Harvard top 10)

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): recycling, nhs, snhs, mu alpha theta, debate, fbla, feminist club, gay straight alliance, key club… mainly captain or minor officer. only president of feminist club.

Job/Work Experience: none
Volunteer/Community service: Narratio (nonprofit 4 publishing refugee poetry), Vasda Punjab (nonprofit for south asian culture), 3 political campaigns including one with the green party, Houston GLBT caucus, A LOT of poli organizations basically.
Summer Activities: campaigning or interning for politicians
Essays (rating 1-10, details):

Common App (8.5-9/10)
Supplemental (9/10)
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: AP Lit teacher, (8/10)
Teacher Rec #2: AP US history (10/10) AMAZING. two whole pages of pure boasting
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: (9/10) campaign field organizer who loved me
Interview: yes. She said i was one of the most eloquent people she met over the years

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: YES
Intended Major: political science
State (if domestic applicant): Texas
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Majority-minority Public
Ethnicity: Asian (Indian subcontinent)
Gender: Genderqueer
Income Bracket: 50-70k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): first-gen American, first-gen college, gay, feminist

Reflection

Strengths: extra curricular, 2 solid recs, im honestly a personable person and it comes across in my writing, GPA & course load, resume
Weaknesses: test scores!!!
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: The fact that what I want to do at Penn is so clearly illustrated by my cohesive interests and that even my recs mention my passion for social justice and how it pervades in every facet of who I am as a person exemplifies that I’m intelligent in ways outside of academics. My essays are essentially about being an empathetic political person. I think I ultimately presented my entire application cohesively… they like to see personality.

General Comments :
GOOD LUCK!!! work hard on ur essays

66

**Decision: Rejected CAS **

Objective:
SAT I {best single sitting) (breakdown): 2280 (800 CR, 730 M, 750 W), only took once
ACT (breakdown): 35 (36 E, 33 M, 36 R, 34 S), only sent this sitting
SAT II: 800 Math II, 780 Chem
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.99
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Near top?
AP (place score in parenthesis): Chinese (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: IB HL: French, Chem, Math…SL: Lit, History, Biology
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Semifinalist, random essay contest that’s technically national

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Swim, violin, Yearbook web manager, teacher’s assistant, NHS, an activism club, other random stuff but nothing really
Job/Work Experience: None
Volunteer/Community service: Some, but nothing big
Summer Activities: A medical camp, then Stanford Summer Humanities Institute
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common App: 8/10, was pretty personal and kinda deep, people who read said it was really well-written
Why Penn: 6/10, passable, but no super unique reason for wanting to go
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 9/10, French teacher, liked me but no super special connection
Teacher Rec #2: 7/10, Math teacher; again I just sort of knew her and did well in her class, talked a little bit outside of school
Counselor Rec: No idea
Additional Rec: Nope
Interview: 5/10, was my first interview and i was a bit awkward, but nothing bad happened. It had to be over the phone, though, so not very personal.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Undecided
State (if domestic applicant): MI
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Small public
Ethnicity: East Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 200K
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Cousin went there so a tiny bit of legacy?

Reflection

Strengths: None really, English/Reading standardized test scores?
Weaknesses: Math SAT score, lack of leadership, no really “cool” extracurriculars
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Nowhere yet
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Nowhere yet

General Comments : Didn’t really expect much, was basically just counting on essays. Congrats those who got in!

67

Please replace the “[a” below with just “[” before posting.

**Decision: Accepted to Wharton **

Objective:
SAT I {best single sitting) (breakdown): 2190 (800 R, 700 M, 690 W)
SAT I (superscore) (breakdown): 2240 (800 R, 740 M, 700 W)
ACT (breakdown): none
SAT II: Math IIC (780), US History (770), Bio (770)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.917
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): not avaliable
AP (place score in parenthesis): Micro econ (5) (self-studied), Macro econ (4)(self-studied), Statistics (4), US History (5), English Language (4)(self-studied), AP Physics 2 (3)
IB (place score in parenthesis): none
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc BC, AP Psychology, AP Physics 1, AP Spanish, and some regular courses
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): none

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Independent science research in school, President of 2 clubs (founder for one), JV Cross Country, self-studied APs, a Wharton business online course in marketing, and some activities I can’t think of off the top of my head
Job/Work Experience: 1 Paid job at a major car parts company that was a leader in many emerging technological trends (6 weeks), 1 unpaid internship at a marketing consulting firm (2 weeks)
Volunteer/Community service: Habitat for humanity, peer tutoring, and some activities I can’t think of off the top of my head
Summer Activities: Employment
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 10. They demonstrated my character/interests very well.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): waived my right to see them

Teacher Rec #1: AP US History. Didn’t see, but I suspect they were phenomenal because I participated a lot in the class and made some deep insights.
Teacher Rec #2: non-AP Spanish. Didn’t see, but I suspect they were phenomenal because my spanish teacher seemed to like me as a person, told me that I was conscientious, heard me make insightful comments/connections in her class, and saw much creativity in my work.
Counselor Rec: Didn’t see.
Additional Rec: Came from my employers.
Interview: It went extremely well. I talked about my interest in service (improving the world through business) and in tech-related business in particular. Demonstrated compassion and insightful thought. By the end of the interview, the interviewer wasn’t even asking questions (it was a flowing, natural conversation). It lasted for over 1 hour.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Business (I think I’ll get a BS in econ for business)
State (if domestic applicant): Hawaii
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Boarding School
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: $200k+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none

Reflection

Strengths: My application showcased my character very well (caring, passionate about helping the world around me, making deep connections between topics, insightful, and creative). My employment, I suspect, is quite significant as mainly COLLEGE seniors/juniors take these jobs. It also helps too that I drew unique insights from my work.
Weaknesses: Weaker than average scores and GPA for Wharton applicants. Weaker than average course load for Wharton applicants. Relatively few extracurriculars (in quantity). Lack of super-specialized ECs (ex. a national award). Weaker than average AP scores.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: My character was reflected well in the app, and I suspect that it would be one that fits business very well. My employment further solidifies my passion in business. I suspect that this is important because Wharton is very specialized, in business, and thus wants someone who’ll use what they learned in that school to change the real world (a job would be a sign of someone being likely to do this). The fact that one of my jobs was paid also helps, as it tells Wharton that I provided some real contribution to the company I worked in. My app also made it clear what I want to do with business- improve the larger world around me through the proliferation and development of technology.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: None (This is the first app I got back)

General Comments: I’m extremely happy to get in. For future Wharton applicants, my recommendation is to demonstrate passion and character in your apps. Getting a job or two will also be a significant boost. As for grades, SATs, and course load: I believe that there’s a basic threshold to pass to be considered. Once that threshold is crossed, however, it won’t matter too much. My advice is to get good grades but don’t be crazy about them- explore your interests and passions instead.

68

I don’t feel that the decision was made very holistically, as I feel I would have at least been deferred (I was rejected) if they had read my essays (Yes, I am that confident about them as I hardly feel proud of anything I do and I was extremely proud of my essays). I know my test scores are low and my GPA is on the lower side, but these numbers do not accurately reflect my academic promise as I am extremely motivated to do well.

DECISION: REJECTED

Objective: CAS (Political Science/Law)
SAT I {best single sitting) (breakdown): n/a
SAT I (superscore) (breakdown): n/a
ACT (breakdown): 30 (32 English, 26 Math, 34 Reading, 26 Science)
SAT II: 590 Lit (oops), 640 US history (oops again)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.5 uw, 4.05 w
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 41/200
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP US History (4), Lang (4) FIT College Class 9th grade (A)
IB (place score in parenthesis): ESS (7), Spanish (7)
Senior Year Course Load: IB Calculus, IB Psychology III, IB TOK II, IB Contemporary History, Internship, IB Literature IV, Anatomy and Physiology Honors
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): IB Math Award Junior Year (one given out in entire school), AB Honor Roll 9-12 grade

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): 4 years Varsity Volleyball (4 years of being Varsity Captain), 2 years on JV volleyball 7-8 grade (my school is a junior-senior high school), Competitive Horse-Back Riding (13 years), Varsity Track 9 grade, writing a book about my first hand experience of being the victim of teenage bullying,
Job/Work Experience: Public Customer Service Associate (2 years), babysitting on top of working at Publix, worked as a horse trainer and keeper 8-9 grade at a local stable, Students in Action Club 11-12, Spanish Club 11-12, National Honor Society 9-12
Volunteer/Community service: volunteering with a therapeutic riding program for children with disabilities such as Cerebral Palsy
Summer Activities: Horse-back riding, working at Publix, babysitting
Essays (rating 1-10, details): a freaking 12 for both common app essay and Penn supplement (I’m not proud of a lot of things that I do, but these essays I am very proud of)
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): 10/10, 10/10

Teacher Rec #1: My TOK teacher who really helped me when it came to when I was being bullied, he really supported me during my difficult times when I had no one at school (10/10)
Teacher Rec #2: My Chemistry teacher from 10th grade and my current interning teacher, she really loves me and always has helped me through my rough times, we have a really good relationship (10/10)
Counselor Rec: 8/10, simply because my counselor doesn’t know me that well
Additional Rec: I was going to add another one but didn’t know if it would help my chances or hurt my chances as I didn’t know him very well, so decided not to.
Interview: Went very well! My interviewer was very nice and was currently in Law School. 9/10!

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Political Science
State (if domestic applicant): Florida
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public, (Only school in district with 7-12 IB)
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: 110k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Being bullied really affected me and I began to think I should stop trying, but I turned my life around and I ended up taking the obvious reach to apply to Penn, knowing that my chances were very slim, as well as doubt that I would get in.

Reflection

Strengths: My commitment to volleyball, volunteering, essays and recs!!! (In the IB Program 7-12 grade)
Weaknesses: obviously my GPA and ACT and SAT II test scores, it was a long shot to begin with and on top of that their ED numbers nearly TRIPLED this year!!!
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I’m just being real: Pretty sure they just looked at my test scores and GPA and threw my application in the trash because IN ALL HONESTY if admissions had read my essays and recs I am 99% positive I would have been deferred AT LEAST. I really believed Penn was going to be one of those crazy good schools that were true to what they said when they said the decision was based on a holistic review, but it is certain now that it is not true.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted (Florida State University, Florida Institute of Technology) Waiting (Tulane University, University of Florida, and Syracuse University)

General Comments : I am beyond shocked that Penn did not defer me, I was expecting a no, but thought my essays would give me a serious shot at acceptance and deferment. I am embarrassed of my GPA as many people will say that it isn’t that high, but as an 8th and 9th grader I let my grades slip and accepted Bs as okay when I didn’t have time to achieve an A as I really did think I was going to play volleyball in college and I was told athletes could achieve an acceptance with a slightly lower GPA than other applicants. I regret it but hey, I can’t change it. I was just hoping. Now I am eager for an acceptance to Tulane as I am in love with the school and new that Penn was a long shot. Also I did get an A in an advanced Psychology class at a private university where I live (Florida Tech) when I was in 9th grade (not dual enrollment as I had to be admitted by FIT when I was in 9th grade to take a college course there). So I don’t feel that my HS GPA accurately reflects my achievement in college. So I know I’m ranting but I am not trying to come off as arrogant, I am simply in disbelief that the application review is truly HOLISITIC.

69

SEAS: DEFERRED

Objective:
SAT I {best single sitting) (breakdown): Didn’t send
SAT I (superscore) (breakdown): N/A
ACT (breakdown): 32C (35 E 32 M 32 R 30S)
SAT II: Math II (750), Bio M (730)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 3
AP (place score in parenthesis): Calc BC (5), US Government (5), World (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): NA
Senior Year Course Load: AP Bio, AP US, AP English, AP French, Honors Phsyics
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar, National Hispanic Recognition Program

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): NHS (President), Code Club, App Development (Sent them an App that I created, Debate Club, Chem Club.
Academics
Job/Work Experience: none
Volunteer/Community service: NHS
Summer Activities: programming
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 9.2/10 Talked about my heritage and culture and how it defines me. The writing style was maybe a little too over the top looking back. The supplement was good but also looking back i think the way i highlighted my passion of comp sci/programming was also over the top and wasn’t presented in the bett possible light.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 10/10, AP Calc Teacher
Teacher Rec #2: 10/10, AP World Teacher
Counselor Rec: never saw it
Additional Rec: no
Interview: Went pretty ok. We bonded over politics which we both find interesting, overall 8.5/10. We got along very well but some underlying weaknesses in my app were exposed which was embarassing, but he was pretty cool about it.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Comp Sci.
State (if domestic applicant): PA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: small, rural school, less than 159 students
Ethnicity: Hispanic/Latino
Gender: M
Income Bracket: less than 40k a year
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM

Reflection

Strengths: Having a passion, my ethnicity, my grades and class rank.
Weaknesses: ACT? maybe, over the top writing style?
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: strong applicant pool, over the top essay style, passion not presented in best light. Ed doesn’t help nearly as much as people say it does. My hook could only go so far.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: UPitt, Temple

General Comments : I knew it was gonna be close af, and I didn’t quite make the cut. I’ll be applying to more Rd schools and will try to convince Penn to admit me in the RD round.

70

**Decision: Accepted **

SEAS

Objective:
SAT I {best single sitting) (breakdown): 1510
SAT I (superscore) (breakdown): 1530 (790 math, 740 english)
ACT (breakdown): n/a
SAT II: 770 Math ii, 700 physics and us history
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.98
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1 out of 250
AP (place score in parenthesis): apush (4) physics (4) lang (4) human geo, micro and macro economics
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: ap Calc bc, ap physics c, ap comp sci, ap environmental science, ap stats, ap lit
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): nothing major but numerous school award for highest average in math, economics. Brown book award, SILS award (regional)

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): engineering club (president and founder) stem task force (selected by the principal as a student representative to increase stem education in the district), NHS vice president, varsity field hockey, competitive dance
Job/Work Experience: basketball referee
Volunteer/Community service: BKP volunteer (they ship books to the Philippines)
Summer Activities: nothing much
Essays (rating 1-10, details): common app essay: 9/10 related my love for yoga to finding out I was interested in biomedical engineer
Penn suppliment 7/10 got pretty specific with a certain study abroad program which was good, talked about breaking the boundaries of an engineering education, could have been longer
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: math teacher of 3 years (my best subject) so I imagine it was pretty good
Teacher Rec #2: elective teacher for 2 years and I TA for him so it was really good, he said I was the best student he’s ever had
Counselor Rec: decent, don’t know him too well
Additional Rec: my principal which was something unique since I knew him pretty well and worked closely with him on some projects for the school, this was probably something that stood out
Interview: decent, pretty short, he seemed impressed by my involvement in the school

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major: biomedical engineering
State (if domestic applicant): massachusetts
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: public
Ethnicity: white
Gender: female
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): my mom is an immigrant from italy, my dad didn’t go to college

Reflection

Strengths: extracurriculars, class rank/gpa, common app essay, recommendation from principal
Weaknesses: penn suppliment, interview, subject test scores
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: see strengths and weeknesses
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: nowhere

General Comments : so so so happy

71

**Decision: Deferred **

WHARTON SCHOOL OF BUSINESS :’(

Objective:

ACT (breakdown): 35 (35 Math, Science, English, 36 Reading, 24 Essay (rip))
SAT II: 770 Bio E, 800 Math 2
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.95
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A, barely top 10% I think
AP (place score in parenthesis): 5 on AP English Language, Calc AB, Chinese, Microecon, Comparative Gov, Euro
Senior Year Course Load: 6 APs
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Finalist in International Diamond Challenge, 1st in State Business Plan Competition, Top 10 nationals TSA.

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): EIC of school newspaper, Band president, Founder of interview website published in multiple local newspapers, Founder of iMessage app featured on App Store/other sites with thousands of downloads, Congresswoman youth advisory board, Varsity Golf, Assistant Captain TSA.
Job/Work Experience: 150 hours at Trademark Company, Sales/customer service
Volunteer/Community service: Director/head of fundraising at local soccer camp for at-risk kids (550 hours, raised $4000), founder of ACT course for underprivileged students (recognized by local Congresswoman)
Summer Activities: Endevvr @Penn, YYGS (International Affairs and Security)
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Common App - 8, great stories and imo interesting, but guess not.
Why Penn - 8, super specific (highlighted my passion for social entrepreneurship and innovation policy) and very fitting to my profile, but guess not.

Teacher Rec #1: 6, v average
Teacher Rec #2: 6, v average
Counselor Rec: 8, she buttered me up so hard but tbh, did she really translate it into recs?
Additional Rec: none
Interview: average, was interrogated for 45 min, barely a conversation

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: nope
Intended Major: Public policy and Social Impact
State (if domestic applicant): CA
School Type: Private Catholic
Ethnicity: Asian…
Gender: M
Income Bracket: high
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): I thought it was the hard work I had put into the things I did over the last four years and my passion, but sikeeeeeee.

Reflection

Strengths: ECs
Weaknesses: not valedictorian, teachers prob didnt care about me
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: The two spots Wharton had for the unhooked Bay Area Asian males were already taken up, so shucks. And I guess I’m boring.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: But I only applied to Penn…

General Comments: IF YOU ARE AN ASIAN FROM THE BAY AREA, DON’T BE TOO AMBITIOUS WITH YOUR ED IF YOU WANNA GET IN EARLY AND BE DONE - I’m watching my friends get deferred or rejected from HYPSM (don’t be deceived by Penn’s 23% ED acceptance rate, Wharton’s way harder, probably closer to -3%) with their strong ass profiles, and it makes me sad… Don’t make me sad. I have 8 apps to start now.

72

Decision: Accepted CAS !!!

Objective:
SAT I {best single sitting) (breakdown): 1280 (660 reading and writing, 620 math)
SAT I (superscore) (breakdown): 1280 (same)
ACT (breakdown): 28 (27 English, 27 Math, 29 Reading, 27 Science)
SAT II: 750 US History, 740 Spanish with Listening
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.72
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 10/280
AP (place score in parenthesis): Human Geo (3), Psychology (5), US History (5), Calc AB (5), Spanish Lang (5), English Lang (3)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: 6 AP’s
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):None LOL! AP Distinction, honor roll, most volunteer hours, nothing major

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): A lot!! President of NHS. VP of Mu Alpha Theta. Secretary and Treasurer for 6 other clubs. Captain of the Varsity Cheerleading Team (First male on the varsity team ever). Varsity Volleyball, JV Cross Country, etc etc.
Job/Work Experience: Math Tutor, Babysitter
Volunteer/Community service: A LOT!! Started a scholarship program for low-income students at my high school. Founded the first ever Gay Straight Alliance. Volunteered at a hospital with cancer patients for 4 years (1,000+ hours) Tutored low-income children.
Summer Activities: Dual Enrollment, nothing else honestly! Summer programs aren’t necessary! I remember not doing any and stressing because all of my friends did.
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Personal Statement was about my background of growing up in a foreign country (Colombia) and the struggles of being a low income immigrant in this country. Basically character development and my coming of age, cultural shocks, etc etc. Penn supplement was extremely specific (mind you i’ve been obsessing over this school for years). I spoke a lot about the LGBT center and how i am friends with the director; i mentioned a lot of obscure events and programs that i would love to be a part of. I attended PEEP, and it definitely helped me IMMENSELY. They basically told us what to write about.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): US History teacher: 7/10, generic but insightful. Calculus teacher: 5/10. He did it in 15 minutes, literally.
Counselor Rec: 10/10 amazing and very specific, he was so sweet!
Additional Rec: none
Interview: Over the phone, lasted 15 minutes. I thought it went HORRIBLE. The interviewer was in a rush and i felt extremely pressured. He asked if i thought a hot dog was a sandwich? IDK

Other:

Applied for Financial Aid?:Yes (very generous)
Intended Major: Mathematical Econ i think??
State (if domestic applicant): FL
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: public charter
Ethnicity: Hispanic/Latino (Afro-Colombian)
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: <60k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, first gen, LGBT, low-income, immigrant. PEEP helps so much!!!

Reflection

Strengths: Extracurriculars!!! I definitely left a legacy at my school for years to come, and i for-sure displayed this in my application the most i could. I am extremely involved at my school and in my community, and since Penn is all about that i think that is why i was accepted!! Also PEEP was sososo helpful, any URM’s PLEASE apply!!
Weaknesses: SCORES!!! I probably have the lowest scores on here! JUST KNOW scores are NOT everything! If you convey your genuine passions through your essays you will be fine!
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: EC and essay, in my opinion, the most important parts.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: I applied to the University of Florida, and that’s basically it.

General Comments : It’s been a week since decisions came out and i am still in utter shock. I’ve always looked at these result threads and cried because my scores were not comparable to the other students on here, but look at me now! Any future students reading this, dreams seriously come true if you work hard and have positive vibes! Giving back to the community and leaving a legacy is so important for Penn, i think that is why they accepted me! I wish all you future CC’rs lots of luck, and remember that at the end of the day everything happens for a reason!

73

Decision: Accepted to CAS!!

Objective:
SAT I {best single sitting) (breakdown): 2020 (670 CR, 680 M, 670 W)
SAT I (superscore) (breakdown): 2020 (same)
ACT (best single setting) (breakdown): 31 (33 E, 32 M, 31 R, 28 S)
ACT (superscore) (breakdown): 32 (35 E, 32 M, 31 R, 29 S)

SAT II: 650 Spanish, 640 Math II
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.85
Weighted GPA (out of 5.0): 4.44
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School does not rank but probably top 15-20%
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Euro (4), AP Spanish Language (4), AP Psychology (5), AP English Language (3), AP Biology (3), AP Spanish Literature (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Statistics, AP Calculus BC, AP United States History, Honors Neuroscience, English IV elective, economics
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar with Distinction, National Spanish Honor Society

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Top nationally ranked tennis player, varsity tennis (captain and #1 singles), theater (lead or supporting role in multiple productions), student government (secretary), improv club, athletic recruiting club (founder and president)
Job/Work Experience: None
Volunteer/Community service: None
Summer Activities: Playing in tennis tournaments, acting in theater productions
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common App - 8; I thought it was pretty good and spent a lot of time on it (about theater and tennis)
Penn - 7; Really good and well-written but not original
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 9/10; psychology teacher that I spent every afternoon in his class room, super tight, one of his favorite students in all his years of teaching
Teacher Rec #2: 8.5/10; spanish teacher that was probably very good
Counselor Rec: 7/10; don’t know him that well but still probably decent
Additional Rec:
Interview: 8.5/10; got along really well, was super nervous so a little quiet at the beginning but still had a very good conversation, talked for almost 2 hours

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: PPE (Philosophy, Politics, and Economics)
State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Recruited athlete

Reflection:

Strengths: Upward trend in grades, recruited athlete
Weaknesses: Test scores on the lower side, GPA is a tad lower, no community service
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Recruited athlete
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Nowhere else

General Comments: Literally only was accepted because I got recruited to play tennis.

74

@Orangebananapeel No one knows the acceptance rates of individual schools at Penn, since those are not released. Wharton is probably a bit harder but not way harder. Also keep in mind that the 22% percent factors in legacies, and athletes, since both groups apply mostly ED. If you look at non-legacy, non-athlete applicants only the ED acceptance rate is probably still higher than the RD acceptance rate(~6-7%), but nowhere near as high as 20%+.

75

[[asize=4][acolor=#FF0000]Decision: Rejected [/color][/size]

College of Arts and Sciences

Objective:
SAT I {best single sitting) (breakdown): 1490 (710 CR, 780 M)
SAT I (superscore) (breakdown): same as above, only took the new one once
ACT (breakdown): 34C (35E, 32M, 36R, 33S)
SAT II: 740 chemistry, 710 Math II, 620 History (had to send immediately but wouldn’t have sent the history if i’d known :confused: )
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 12 of 405
AP (place score in parenthesis): Calc BC (5 w 5 AB subscore), APUSH (5), Lang (4), APES (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): not offered at my school
Senior Year Course Load: 5 APs (chemistry, biology, literature, stat, psychology), spanish III honors, honors civics, honors entrepreneurship
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): presidential service award, ap scholar with honor, mpa music award for our orchestra

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
• orchestra (2 years first violinist, 1 year second violin section leader)
• p.a.l.s. club - eating lunch every day w our peers with disabilities
• nhs
• key club
• speech + debate club
• science olympiad
• model un
• piano
• chicken enthusiast - (yes, i really did put this as an activity - maybe it helped me stand out?)

Job/Work Experience:
• citizen pops - selling popsicles at farmers market every weekend
• etsy shop - selling a few products that i make on ■■■■■■■■

Volunteer/Community service:
• second chance adoptions volunteer - local nonprofit cat shelter
• other activities through key club + nhs

Summer Activities:
• duke tip summer studies - 3 years
• duke tip field studies - 1 year

Essays (rating 1-10, details):
common app: 9/10 - wrote a comedic essay about how tall i am and how it’s shaped me as a person
why penn: 9/10 - wrote about how i’m a curious person and keep a list of unanswered questions and value all of their research programs for my future career

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: ap calculus teacher - 9/10 - never saw, but heard her mention a few aspects and we’re pretty close
Teacher Rec #2: ap chemistry teacher - 7/10 - never saw, but did really well in her honors and ap class, may be a little unemotional because she’s a fairly rigid person
Counselor Rec: 8/10 - never saw, doesn’t know me too well but knows i’m smart and passionate about school
Additional Rec: 7/10 - from my employer, not sure how helpful but basically testified to my responsibility and good working qualities
Interview: over skype, thought it went pretty well

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: no
Intended Major: biochemistry
State (if domestic applicant): north carolina
School Type: public
Ethnicity: white
Gender: female
Income Bracket: >$100,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): n/a

Reflection

Strengths: gpa, courseload, array of extracurriculars
Weaknesses: not too many extracurriculars before junior year, low subject test scores
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I really thought I had a shot at getting into penn since I did early decision to boost my chances, and quite frankly i’m still upset about it. i’m sure the admissions officers have their reasons but i wish i could get feedback as to how i could improve my application.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: haven’t heard back from anywhere else yet

General Comments:
if anyone has any ideas as to why i was denied instead of deferred or accepted please let me know!

76

**Decision: Rejected **

Wharton Applicant

Objective:
SAT I {best single sitting) (breakdown): 2290 (800 W, 770 M, 720 CR)
SAT I (superscore) (breakdown): 2320 (800 W, 800 M, 720 CR)
SAT II: 800 Math II, 740 Chemistry, 700 US History
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.944 - 2 B’s, 1 in PE and 1 in Alg 2/Trig 9th grade 1st semester
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 20%
AP (place score in parenthesis): Calculus BC (5), Chemistry (5), US History (5), Macroeconomics (5), Spanish (4), World History (3 - self studied), Language & Composition (3 - self studied)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Literature, AP Computer Science, AP Government (1st sem), AP Microeconomics (2nd sem), AP Physics C: Mechanics (1st sem), AP Physics: E&M (2nd sem), ASB/Leadership (for student government), Law; I couldn’t take a math class (AP Stats) because classes were full so I did it over summer
Other: Concurrent Enrollment at Community College - Macroeconomics (A), Statistics (A)

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):

  1. Student Council 10-12 (Senior Class President)
  2. FBLA 9-12 (State Officer, Chapter Officer before that) - Placed at states/qualified for Nationals in several competitions; placed 5th at Nationals for 1 of those
  3. Speech & Debate 9-12 (Varsity Debate Captain)
  4. DECA 11 - Placed at States/qualified for Internationals in 2 competitions

Job/Work Experience: N/A

Volunteer/Community service:

  1. Led/organized a project w/ multiple 10-week long programs that taught low-income students about personal finance; gathered 40 HS students to serve as teachers; organized a faire run by the students we taught that earned $1.2K+ for charity
  2. Worked on a congressional campaign (150+ hours), served as a captain and recruited/trained new volunteers

Summer Activities:
Before 10th: Congressional campaign
Before 11th: Software/finance unpaid internship
Before 12th: Concurrent enrollment

Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Common App (9/10) - how an experience adjusted my understanding of business w/ humorous intro
Supplement (8/10) - thorough details about specific programs at the school and how it would benefit me; well-written anecdotal intro

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: (9/10) - Math teacher, also my club advisor who travelled w/ me several times and knew me pretty well
Teacher Rec #2: (8/10) - Lit teacher
Counselor Rec: (9/10) - My school has 2200+ students so counselors barely know anyone aside from an interview, but my interview was longer than most and was great
Interview: My answers were okay, but we had a pretty solid hour-long conversation about the college experience

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Business Economics & Public Policy in Wharton
State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant): US
School Type: Public, one of top schools in the nation
Ethnicity: Asian (Indian)
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 250k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none

Reflection

Strengths: solid leadership and extracurriculars, pretty solid essays, hardest courseload my school offers w/ some concurrent enrollment, and my 2 B’s are less significant than most (9th grade 1st sem and PE)

Weaknesses: just missed cutoff for top 10% at my school, no hook, could’ve done more over summer; pretty much the typical, solid grades/leadership, good background, Silicon Valley kid, which is not quite enough for Wharton

Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I come from a very competitive area with many Asians/Indians who have pretty similar apps, so the bar for top schools is higher since many of us are so similar. They probably already accepted a lot of students that were like me but slightly better in some aspect of their app and hit their cap.

Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Didn’t ED/EA anywhere else, probably should’ve EA’d to some safeties

General Comments: At first I was disappointed that I didn’t at least get deferred, but I’ve come to terms w/ it and am confident that I’ll be fine wherever I go. My advice to others is don’t get cynical and beat yourself up over some circumstances that could’ve gone your way and made you get in (like several kids from my school groan about how they wished they lived somewhere else b/c the standards aren’t as high), just be happy w/ how you did in HS, do your best on your apps, and do great wherever you go :slight_smile:

77

**Decision: Accepted **

CAS

Objective:
SAT I {best single sitting) (breakdown): 760 reading and writing/630 math/1390 composite (it was very last minute and also I suck at math but I had to send it without seeing my score first…somehow they were kind enough to look past the score /:))
SAT I (superscore) (breakdown): n/a
ACT (breakdown): 32
SAT II: 780 Lit, 680 US History (sad thing is, decided to take US History a month before and Lit the day before…and yet…)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.85
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): US History (4), Bio (4), Language & Comp. (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP US Gov, AP Environmental Science, AP Studio art, AP Stat, AP Lit
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): none

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): art, tennis (varsity as sophomore), dance, teaching art to kids, painting mural for disabled children’s school, guitar
Job/Work Experience: interned in summer coding program for Girls Who Code with the Honest Company and Jessica Alba
Volunteer/Community service: volunteered walking dogs at an animal shelter, cleaning language center, traveling to third world countries and volunteering at orphanages with church
Summer Activities: Girls Who Code
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 8.5/10, wrote about my experience with art and how it shaped who I am and how I perceive the world

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: APUSH teacher; wasn’t super close with her but had done well in her class and she praised me a lot 8/10
Teacher Rec #2: AP Lang teacher; wasn’t super close with her but had done well in her class and she praised me a lot (same as APUSH) 8/10
Counselor Rec: kind of a long story but I sort of live with my counselor…so 10/10
Additional Rec: art teacher, I am very close with her 10/10
Interview: There were some awkward moments, like when she asked me how my friends would describe me and for some absurd reason my mouth said “bossy” before my mind could realize that probably wasn’t the best answer–but other than that, she was very nice and we had a good conversation. She said she thought I was brilliant, and didn’t know how much her review would help but she really hoped I would get in.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major: undecided, want to minor in Fine Arts
State (if domestic applicant): California
Country (if international applicant): lived in the Republic of Georgia for last year of high school…don’t think that qualifies me as an international applicant but technically I am applying from a foreign country I guess?
School Type: two years of public school, one year of high school, one year of homeschool
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): legacy, but my mom never donated

Reflection

Strengths: SAT 2 Lit score, essays, interview, year abroad
Weaknesses: my SAT score, definitely, and my ACT score really wasn’t that great either, lack of variety and consistency in extracurriculars
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: God
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: didn’t apply anywhere else

General Comments: Applying to Penn for me was very last minute–my college advisor/family friend told me my chances of getting in were pretty much zero, so I didn’t allow myself to entertain any hopes of me getting accepted. I was so shocked I actually got in and am very excited to be attending in the fall!

78

Deferred

Objective:
SAT I {best single sitting) (breakdown): 1390 (740 math, 650 English)
SAT I (superscore) (breakdown):
ACT (breakdown):
SAT II:: bio m, 650. Math 2 650
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.2
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): my school doesn’t rank but I am not in the top ten percent.
AP (place score in parenthesis): bio, stat, and computer sci
IB (place score in parenthesis): no
Senior Year Course Load: bio, comp sci, stat, English, history, Hebrew, and two other Jewish studies classes.
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): xerox award.

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Soccer for two years, lacrosse for one year, co president in 12th, science club for 3 years, engineering club for 3 years.
Upenn internship, volunteer- I did a lot of other cool things there for doctors. Accomplished a lot there in the hospital.
Job/Work Experience: car mechanic, waiter
Volunteer/Community service: upenn 2 summers and during the year. JRA food packaging.
Summer Activities: upenn and work.
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 8
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): 9

Teacher Rec #1: 9
Teacher Rec #2: 8
Counselor Rec: 9
Additional Rec: 10
Interview: liked me had a cool conversation

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: yep
Intended Major: bio
State (if domestic applicant): pa
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: private
Ethnicity: white( jewis from Middle East descent)
Gender: male
Income Bracket: <40,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): first gen

Reflection

Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: grades sat
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:

General Comments :

79

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:
SAT I {best single sitting) (breakdown): 1540 (770 Reading and Writing) (770 Math) (12 Essay)
SAT I (superscore) (breakdown):
ACT (breakdown): 35 (36 English) (36 Math) (35 Reading) (35 Science) (26 Writing)
SAT II: 800 Math Level II
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.92
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): probably top 10-15% (school doesn’t rank)
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Calc AB (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: Independent Study (Songwriting), Advanced Calculus (AP Calc BC and more), Advanced Physics with Calculus, French V, Jazz and Soul, International Relations, Entrepreneurship, English
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Commended, Questbridge Finalist

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):

Youth group leader, worship band keyboard accompanist/drummer, school soul band, highschool admission team, tutor, event planning organization at school, teach drums and piano to middle school/high school students
Job/Work Experience: internship during the summer at a startup in San Francisco

Volunteer/Community service:

Vacation Bible School at my church every summer, mission trips to Oregon and other places during the summer with youth group, tutored students after school
Summer Activities: internship, mission trips, volunteering activities above, traveled to many places
Essays (rating 1-10, details):

Common App (9, I talked about my experience of moving from Korea to America and how being an outsider in both cultures/environments helped me develop a skill for cognitive empathy and how I apply that skill in my ECs, tried to make it unique and different from other typical immigrant essays)

Why UPenn (8- was very direct and straight forward with what I wanted to involve myself with and why, didn’t get it edited by anyone else)

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: (10, really excited to write me a rec. when I sat down with her)
Teacher Rec #2: (9, knew her very well)
Counselor Rec: (8, knew her pretty well)

Interview: (8, went pretty well, had a long conversation, she told me at the end that she would write me a good rec.)

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major: International Relations (but prob. gonna change)
State (if domestic applicant): California
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: private
Ethnicity: Asian (Korean)
Gender: M
Income Bracket: low
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): nope

Reflection

Strengths: Even though I didn’t have many ECs, I did a good job explaining why they were important to me and what they meant to me throughout my application, I made sure my teacher recommendations were going to talk about different aspects of me- one was from a class I excelled in, one was from a class that I improved, teachers were eager to write me good recs, test scores, academics- taking hard classes
Weaknesses: I could have written more polished essays, ECs
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I think I did a pretty good job expressing myself throughout the application and I didn’t stress out too much during the essays by trying to figure out what college admission officers would like to hear, just focused on showing who I was- was very direct in my essays, I didn’t mess around lol. I also took the hardest classes possible in my school and did well on tests
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:

General Comments : super excited for next year yee

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Congrats! I think you’re a great applicant and I feel personally offended that your counselor said that, haha. It doesn’t sound like you were someone that was only applying to ivies with their over confident mindset, so why the need for you counselor to be negative about it? I hope to have the same results, fingers crossed!