ECs: Tutor at my school’s Tutoring Center for a variety of math and science classes, helped organize presentations for a STEMGirlz event, Environmental projects, presented at a Student Research Conference, summer program where I got to work in a Nanofab facility. High School: Baseball Manager (3 yrs), Soccer (1 yr), Bowling (4 yrs), National Honor Society, Valedictorian (1/42)
Recs: Got a recommendation from a professor I’ve taken 3 classes with and knows me well (Gen Chem II, Organic Chem I, and Organic Chem II currently) so I think that may have had a positive influence.
@megadiancie Don’t sell yourself short. A 4.0 at Emory? After having been a kid living on their own and needing to work? Presuming also a not-so-great public high school and no prep classes for your ACT or parental or hired help for any of this? Do you know what your ACT, etc., would have been under the advantageous circumstances most other applicants have? You’re extraordinary and deserving. I hope you have a fantastic time at whatever school you choose!
Hey guys, so I just called Penn admissions and they said the main reason for the rejections was because they got more transfer applicants this year than in past years. Usually, as a percentage, they accept more transfers than freshmen, but it was the opposite this year. They said they’re very strict in terms of the pre-reqs since they don’t want students to fall behind, so working with a counselor to develop your course plan if you haven’t already would help.
I also asked about a class they require that no local community college offers, and they said in that situation, to keep looking around at other schools or working with your own.
I got into CAS with a 580 math score on the SAT. Anything is possible! For transfers I think it’s easier to get in if you are singularly focused on something (for me it’s the humanities, especially English), rather than being well rounded and overly qualified in every area, as is typically needed for freshman admissions.
@EconDon23 Sure. I’ll be a sophomore next year.
I applied as an English major to the CAS.
High school GPA: 4.21 (we did not calculate unweighted), College GPA: 3.75 (all A’s except for Latin).
SAT: 800 CR, 750 W, 580 M
Current School: Top 15 LAC
Extracurriculars: in college I work, do creative writing independently, and spend most of my time doing mock trial. In high school I worked on student publications, student gov’t, orientation programs, and mock trial too.
Essays: Very specific as to the resources I wanted to take advantage of—Kelly English house, the public speaking incorporated into certain classes, the different concentrations available to English majors, etc. Focused on how English has always been my thing, and being at Penn and living in Philly will help me take this passion to the next level.
Recs: Reasonable, my professors don’t know me that well and I’m not sure how much they could really say about me. I supplemented this with a rec from my high school English teacher that I know was incredibly specific and put me in a good light—my teacher was my mentor and we were incredibly close.
Do rejected applicants have a chance of being offered a spot on the waitlist after May 26 or were transfers originally waitlisted when decisions came out?
Hey y’all. Got accepted as a sophomore CAS transfer this year. Here are the numbers and school:
High school GPA: 3.95
College GPA: 3.82
SAT: 750 CR, 710 R, 720 M
Current School: University of Michigan
Also: got waitlisted at Columbia and rejected at Harvard.
& @VaishS I was able to access it prior to my payment.
