I was just wondering- Is it common for Upenn ( as well as other top tier schools) to request first quarter grades from guidance counselors? In my county, these grades do not show up on the official transcript, and are seen as more of a mid-semester progress report if anything.
I assume you mean whether they request them when you apply early action or early decision. (For regular admission, you need to provide first semester grades after you apply at many colleges, but not any quarter grades.) There are some colleges with EA or ED that actually do require you to submit first quarter grades, but they state that requirement in their EA or ED application requirements, and UPenn is not one of those, and it would be rare for any college like Penn to actually contact the guidance counselor and ask for such grades on particular applicants.