Applied the afternoon of 15th but still haven’t received a portal invite, should I email Penn or is this the norm?
@bvbchamps You should email them. I received my portal invite a few hours after submitting my application. You should also check your entire inbox and your spam inbox just in case. The email is from eapps@admissions.upenn.edu and is titled “Welcome to the Penn Applicant Portal.”
@bvbchamps My daughter just received her portal invite an hour ago and she submitted her application last Thursday, so it usually takes a few days. Now it feels real…I am nervous and I’m not the one applying I can’t imagine how all of you are feeling.
Does anyone have any information about the Mid term report? It says its only required for incoming sophomores. I am an incoming junior so do I just ignore the flag? I emailed admissions and they haven’t really given me an answer. I called them today and the guy just said ignore it but that doesn’t sound very comforting.
@sspears1893 It is only for incoming sophomores because they only have 1 semester of college grades to go off of , so they want to see what your grades are like in the Spring semester.
@sspears1893 I’m applying as a junior and I’m ignoring the mid-term report because I have a B in one of my classes xD.
just had my midterm report requirement waived, changed from red cross to grey tick. Anyone else got the same?
Seems like Penn has processed all my documents and its just 2 months of waiting now :neutral: !
@aussiedude all check marks on my daughter’s app as well…now the waiting! I am feeling the nerves and I am not even the one applying 
I can only imagine how nervous all of the applicants must be!
Hello! I applied as a Fall 2019 transfer as well and could use some feedback on how strong of an applicant I am.
School: Stony Brook University
Major: Political Science
Credits: 59 completed
College GPA: 3.71/4.0 (one C in a Calculus 2 class I did not even need for my major). Overall, very high upward trend: 3.31, 3.82, 4.0
SAT: 1280 (probably the weakest part of my application)
College extracurriculars: President of my fraternity’s chapter at Stony Brook, service trip to Honduras in partnership with Students Helping Honduras, service trip to Pinellas County, Florida in partnership with Habitat for Humanity, Secretary of a club on campus that 3D-prints toys for children in the nearby hospital and daycare, Content creator (writer) for an online writing platform, TA for an Introduction to Stony Brook class, Undergraduate College “Fellow”: essentially serves to be an on-campus mentor for first year students, member of the debate club, member of Model United Nations club, Member of Pre-Law Society here at the university. I also have an on-campus job at the Stony Brook business school.
Recommendations: 8-9/10
Got three professor recommendations. One of them was a writing professor that I had during my first semester in college. She was crying when I walked out on the last day of classes. One of them was my professor for an upper-division political science class (300+ level) I had. I was the youngest student in the class and still received an A. This individual also has a PhD in Political Science. Lastly, another adjunct political science professor at the university wrote about some of my experiences in Honduras as that is her field of study.
I also got a recommendation from a former high-ranking government official who knows me and my personal life struggles fairly well.
Essays: 7/10. I do believe I could’ve done better at the essays. I was very blunt about the reasons why I wanted to leave my current institution and mentioned some of the specific programs I’d like to take advantage of at Penn. I also talked about the College of Arts and Sciences curriculum (the three parts) and how that will allow me to explore my academic and intellectual interests.
High school GPA: 93/100 (we did not have a GPA format). Also very high upward trend: started with getting mid 80s and ended up getting over 100s in my junior/senior years.
AP courses taken: AP Biology, AP Calculus, AP Physics, AP Human Geography, AP US History
High school extracurriculars: Over 50 volunteer service hours at my local community center, participated at the NY FED Challenge at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, was treasure in Student government, attended various math competitions, took college-credit courses in high-school (2 classes), worked at a construction management firm under as a law apprentice/cost estimator.
Hooks: First generation college student with an absent father and a deceased mother
Any feedback is appreciated! Goodluck to us all
@justroks sounds like you have a really strong application and hopefully they’ll consider your circumstances when viewing your SAT. Good luck!
@aussiedude thank you!
@justroks As has been said before on this thread it’s a total crapshoot because you never know what will catch the attention of the admissions office. It looks like you have a lot of positives in your application. All you can do now is try to stay calm and pray for a positive result. Wish you the best of luck!
Going to post this again because the last thing I want is for this thread to be filled with chance me’s lol…
By the way to everyone posting chances me’s, you could have the most elite record of academic achievements and EC’s and we still could not tell you a better answer than “maybe.” For top schools, the evaluation process is holistic and impossible to predict. Even more so for transfers where the acceptance rates are (usually) lower than freshman rate. From the information I have read in past threads here is what I have learned. Having a respectable GPA/EC (+ SAT can vary) is just going to be a given component. If you are lacking in those you are already at a disadvantage. Having a 4.0, 1600 SAT, great AP Scores, amazing EC’s does not guarantee you admission to any of these schools. Once you get your foot in the door with these stats it’s all about how you frame yourself fitting into the school/major of your choice. We are transfers, not freshmen, what really decides your chances AFTER initial stats is just how you show passion and “fit” in your essays. Do your research and show the school is meant for you. Good luck.
@transferszn that is exactly it! This process is so unpredictable and even more so for transfers. At this point your application is already in so the best thing you can do now is try to stay calm for the next month and a half and pray for a positive result.
@transferszn i disagree.
This thread should be open to chance mes. It’s one way many students can get a clearer picture of where they stand and it’ll help alot for the applicants in later year. With applications and essays all submitted, it’s also the only thing people can do until May.
If you haven’t gone through the process entirely yourself then your guidance is equally relevant/irrelevant as everyone elses depending on how you see it.
@aussiedude The thread is open to anything you want to post. All we are saying is that’s its impossible to predict how an admissions office selects students. You can have the greatest stats, recs, EC’s etc and it doesn’t guarantee you will be accepted. If it helps you to hear that your stats are great and you definitely have the qualifications to get accepted then great!
Just so you know I have gone through the process multiple times and my guidance is based on experience.
@NYCpapa just clarifying - what I disagreed with was the discouragement of posting chance me’s not the unpredictability of the process (which I agree with!)
@aussiedude I hear you…I have no issue with people posting what ever they think will help them through this process. How are you holding up? Is Penn your only transfer choice?
Everyday goes by so slowly. I’m counting each day as it goes.
Penn is my only choice. I fell in love with the uni and theculture there while I was on exchange. From a recruiting perspective, I’d be a step back due to the competition but I really want to be back the Penn student culture.
I wouldn’t be too devastated though because the MBA counts more!