**Decision: Waitlisted **
Objective:
[] SAT I (breakdown): C 2330 (CR800/M770/WR760) (once)
[] ACT (breakdown): C35 (E36/R35/M35/S35; W32) (once)
[] SAT II: 800s Math II, Chemistry, and US History, 770 Spanish w/o Listening, 760 Physics (Yikes!)
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School does not rank
[] AP (place score in parentheses): All 5s: US History, English Language, World History, Calculus BC, Chemistry, English Literature, European History, Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, Spanish Language, US Government
Enrolled in AP Biology this year
[] IB (place score in parentheses): none yet; taking all exams this year
[] Senior Year Course Load: IB Biology HL/AP Biology, IB Chemistry HL, IB English A Lit HL, IB Spanish B HL, IB Math HL, IB History SL, IB Computer Science SL
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National AP Scholar, National Merit Finalist (Semifinalist on application), AIME Qualifier last year, US Senate Youth Program Alternate this year[/li]
[/list]Subjective:
[li] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses):[/li]Boy Scouts (Eagle Scout), Chess Club (President two years), Math Club (President), Key Club (President), XC (Captain), Spanish Club (Treasurer), Robotics Club (Secretary two years), Student Council, NHS, Linguistics Club
[li] Job/Work Experience: two summers (2014 and 2015) working in an industrial QA lab[/li]
[li] Volunteer/Community service: Nothing huge: summers volunteering at a local recycling center, local restorative justice program for teens, etc.[/li]
[li] Summer Activities: summer work, recycling center, a couple of summer programs[/li]
[li] Essays:[/li]Personal Essay: 9/10, I described a unique (and rather entertaining) tale of an ancestor’s exploits and how all the men in my family, myself included, seem to exhibit that ancestor’s audacity
Wharton Essay: 7/10 I probably talked a bit too much about Penn in general, and I struggled to make it clear that I found business as an intellectual challenge that happens to be lucrative rather than the other way around.
M&T Essay: 6/10 I found this deceptively easy-looking question to be a bear.
[li] Teacher Recommendation:[/li]
1: Honors Physics and AP/IB Chemistry teacher: 10/10, I didn't read it but does he know how to make someone sound good!
2: History teacher; 8/10, possibly generic but I think more likely 10/10; we talk about politics and history a lot lol
[li] Counselor Rec: 10/10 new counselor but very supportive[/li]
[li] Additional Rec: n/a[/li]
[li] Interview: 6/10 I tried to mention relevant observations of the business world in my life, but as I was talking to an M&T graduate who had chosen very similar majors to the ones to which I aspire, I must have sounded foolish. Also, it was limited to 30 minutes, but I think that didn’t matter much.[/li]
[li] Supplementary Material: n/a[/li]
[/list]Other
[]Intended major: ChemE and Finance (M&T); Finance (Wharton Single Choice if rejected from M&T)
[]Applied for Financial Aid?: nope
[] State (if domestic applicant): the Mother of Vice Presidents (Schuyler Colfax, anyone?)
Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: relatively competitive public charter
[] Ethnicity: White bread
[] Gender: XY
[] Income Bracket(mention if FA candidate): See FA
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): nada nada, limonada
[/list]Reflection
[] Strengths: strong grades and test scores
[] Weaknesses: no truly impressive extracurriculars, essays, interview
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I visited and interviewed, but I don’t think I demonstrated enough interest because I didn’t even apply ED for M&T. My essays also left much to be desired.
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted: Stanford (REA), Notre Dame (w/likely letter), WashU, Cornell Engineering, Brown, safeties
Waitlisted: Case Western (lol—this was supposed to be a safety!), Harvard (this shouldn’t have happened—I’m not near worthy!)
Rejected: Princeton
[/list]**General Comments: **
I was a bit surprised, as I thought I might at least be admitted to Wharton. I realize the competitive nature of Penn’s admissions, though. Nevertheless, I will have to juggle good choices already, so I’m not likely to take the waitlist spot.
For anyone applying in the future, apply ED if you love Penn enough; if not, understand that Penn favors ED heavily and that RD may be artificially difficult.
I wish nothing but the best to those admitted, the best of luck somewhere else amazing to those rejected, and an easier time to those waitlisted since I’ll be one less competitor 