UPenn Class of 2021 RD Results

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
1

Since no one started this yet, I thought I’d get the ball rolling.

Objective:
[aB][asize=4][acolor=#008000]Decision: Accepted[/color][/size]**
[aB][asize=4][acolor=#FFA500]Decision: Deferred[/color][/size]**
[aB][asize=4][acolor=#FF0000]Decision: Rejected[/color][/size]**

SAT I (breakdown):
ACT (breakdown):
SAT II:
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):
AP (place score in parenthesis):
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load:
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Job/Work Experience:
Volunteer/Community service:
Summer Activities:

Rate out of 10
Essays:
Teacher Recommendation:
Counselor Rec:
Additional Rec:
Interview:
Other

Applied for Financial Aid?:
Intended Major:
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant):
School Type:
Ethnicity:
Gender:
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

2

Objective:
[aB][asize=4][acolor=#008000]Decision: Accepted[/color][/size]**
School of Arts and Sciences

SAT I (breakdown): didn’t submit
ACT (breakdown): superscore 33 R: 36 S: 33 E:33 M: 29
SAT II: didn’t submit
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):3.95
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):1
AP (place score in parenthesis): APUSH: 4 Human Geo: 5 Gov: 4 World: 3 Psych: 5
IB (place score in parenthesis): Earth: 4
Senior Year Course Load: AP Chem, IB English 12, IB Bio HL, IB 20th Century History, IB Math SL, IB Latin HL
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar with Distinction

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
co-founder and president of a club which got a $700 grant for a Hashtag LunchBag event
Varsity and JV lacrosse
Science Olympiad
Captain o the quizbowl team
second place in a speech about women’s inequality
a few minor school awards
service-learning diploma (over 250 hours)
Class representative for senior class
member of NHS
Job/Work Experience:
Volunteer/Community service:
volunteer at local Korean School for three years to teach traditional Korean instrument
volunteer at the local art museum for children
Summer Activities:
State’s governor school
interned at local legislative

Rate out of 10
Essays: UPenn supplement: I took my best essay from UChicago and changed a bit. It was a good essay that I thoroughly loved and thought was my best one. I changed a good chunk of it, applied to specifically UPenn and gave that. I am not going to rate my essays since they will be pretty biased and I would overrank them.
Common App Essay: It was a bit of risk, but I love it. It talked about my experience with interning at the local legislative and how none of them cared. At the end, we got to offer a fake bill and mine was sexual comprehensive bill, which I got a negative feedback. People telling me I liked sex or people insulting me. I live in a very conservative state. It hurt a lot since I put a lot of passion and preparation for a speech. And I realized people will always exist to crush your passion
Teacher Recommendation: Waived right to read
Counselor Rec: Probably generic since she was new to me
Additional Rec: Old counselor who retired and I think she liked me
Interview: Went really well, one of my favorite interviews
Other: Sorry, I am not ranking anything because people on CC always tend to overrank everything and I want to give you an unbiased report

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Politics, Philosophy Politics and Economics
State (if domestic applicant): NC
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Public, large
Ethnicity: Korean
Gender: Female
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none

Reflection

Strengths: I want to say my essays since they really expressed me as a person. My test scores were mediocre to be honest
Weaknesses: Lack of spectacular ECs, no major awards
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Honestly, I have no idea. I am surreal to find out that I got accepted. Everything feels like a dream. I have really nothing going for me. I think my essays really pushed for me because they contained a lot of emotion and heart. Honestly, my test scores were alright and being Asian that definitely can work against me. This feels great since I basically got rejected from all of other reaches. Emory stung the most. My state school seemed a real possiblity for me.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted: UNC Chapel Hill, Wake Forest, Oxford at Emory, NC State, and Penn
Waitlisted: Berkeley, Emory
Rejected: UChicago, Duke, Yale, Brown, Yale-NUS
Waiting: Stanford
General Comments :
I am doing this because I used to be glued to this website. I just want you to know that you don’t have to be perfect to go to a school like this. They are not looking for perfect stats. They are truly looking for it and whether you can contribute to the overall culture of the campus. These processes are truly holistic because I am honestly an average student with nothing truly special. Those who were rejected, the school doesn’t make you, you make the school. Don’t let this rejection define you. Those who were accepted, congrats! Go Quakers!

3

[aB][asize=4][acolor=#008000]Decision: Accepted[/color][/size]**

Objective:

ACT: (Composite 34) (English: 34) (Mathematics: 32) (Reading: 36) (Science: 34) (Writing: 23) (ELA: 31) (STEM: 33)
SAT II: Mathematics Level 2: 790 Spanish: 580
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.964
Weighted GPA: 4.732
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 14/528
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Human Geography (3), AP European History (3), AP Statistics (3), AP English (4), AP World History (3)
IB (place score in parenthesis): IB Spanish(6) update remainder at end of school year.
Senior Year Course Load: IB Twentieth Century History Year One HL A, IB English A Literature Year Two HL A, IB Further Mathematics Year Two HL A, IB Chemistry Year Two SL A, IB Economics Year Two SL, IB Spanish Year Two HL A, AP Computer Science A
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Honor Society, Spanish National Honor Society, National Merit Scholarship Commended Scholar

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Chinese (Mandarin 6yrs), Golf (3yrs), Chess Club (3yrs), Quiz Bowl (3yrs)
Job/Work Experience: Private Tutoring (Summer 2014)
Volunteer/Community service: Translating (Spanish)and Tutoring (Math/ Spanish)
Summer Activities: Georgia Boys State Leadership Action Program
Essays (rating 1-10, details): (8), with 10 being the best.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):(8), with 10 being the best.

Teacher Rec #1 (rating 1-10, details): (10), with 10 being the best.
Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details): (10), with 10 being the best.
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): (8), with 10 being the best.
Additional Rec (if any) (rating 1-10, details): N/A
Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details): .

Other:

Questbrigde: Yes/ Questbrigde Finalists
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: International Business
State (if domestic applicant): Actworth, Georgia
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Public (Campbell High School)
Ethnicity: Afro-American / Pacific Islander
Gender: Male
Age: 17
Income Bracket: 60k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM

Reflections:

Strengths: Good Study Habits, combined with Good Time Management skills.
Weaknesses: Overconfidence somethings gets the best of me.
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: The International Baccalaureate Diploma Program workload and strong scores helped. I don’t think my extracurriculars were all that great, but they did not hurt.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Waiting for March to find out the rest.

4

Can’t believe I get to do this!!

Objective:
[aB][asize=4][acolor=#008000]Decision: Accepted[/color][/size]**

Accepted to CAS!!

SAT I (breakdown): didn’t send
ACT (breakdown): 32 superscored (36E, 35R, 27M, 29S)
SAT II: didn’t sent
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.81 (4.2W)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): APUSH (4) AP Euro (4) AP World (4) AP English Lang (5) AP English Lit (4) APES (4) AP Gove (5) AP econ (4) AP Calc AB (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): taking them this year
Senior Year Course Load: IB bio HL2 (AP bio 2), IB English HL2, IB History HL2, IB math SL, IB ESS, TOK, IB french
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): nothing, unless national AP scholar counts lol

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): tutoring inner city youth, cultural club (vague to protect identity, president), NHS (committee head), Student council (committee head), volunteered at hospital
Job/Work Experience: summer jobs, worked first semester junior year at restaurant
Volunteer/Community service: above (100+ hrs total)
Summer Activities: above

Rate out of 10
Essays: Common app-“perfected” this over a span of about 3 months, had several people read (but only made changes I wanted). Written about a very cliche topic (coming to America), but my “voice” was very very evident. Lots of figurative language. I would give it a 7-8 (judging harshly, since it’s subjective). Upenn supplement- expressed my passion for Penn, but also spoke about myself and my passions (and how Penn fits into that). I’d rate a 7-8.
Teacher Recommendation: were probably both pretty good given the acceptances and scholarship offers I’ve been given
Counselor Rec: prob good
Additional Rec:
Interview: okay-ish. It was in the phone, so that was a bit awkward. Lasted 30 minutes. Definitely would not call it “great”
Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major: English
State (if domestic applicant): Midwest
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: small, nationally ranked public
Ethnicity: Black
Gender: F
Income Bracket: 115k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM

Reflection

Strengths: essays, AP scores, English and reading ACT scores (since I’m an English major)
Weaknesses: Science and math ACT scores, C’s is Chem honors and AP calc
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: My essays for sure! I might have been memorable because of this. I have been really involved throughout high school as well.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted: 3 instate safeties, Tulane, USC, Notre Dame
Waitlisted: Uchicago
Rejected: Harvard
Waiting: Stanford

Additional comments:
Wow still in absolute shock! I used to look through all the Penn results thread (starting Soph year) because it was my #1, so I’m doing this to help future applicants. My #1 advice is apply to a good range of schools, and write KILLER essays. These essays should desplay passion, creativity, and curiosity (among other things). Use descriptive language, make sure the adcoms remember you! Don’t be afraid to shoot for the sky!! I didn’t think I’d get into any selective colleges, but that has not been the case at all. But also LOVE your “safety”. I absolutely love my safety (my state school), and I’m still considering it because they gave me a full ride.
Now I’m left with so many choices that it is hard to choose, but feeling so blessed and lucky! I know I will end up where I belong. Congrats to other accepted students, and good luck to everyone else. I know you will also end up where you’re meant to be!

5

[ size=4][ color=orange]**Decision: Waitlisted after Deferral **[/color][/size]

Wharton School of Business

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2360
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: 800 Math 2, 800 Biology E, 780 US History
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): ~3.9
Weighted GPA: 4.65
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Salutatorian
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Calculus BC (5), AP Physics 1 (5), AP Biology (5), AP US History (5), AP Statistics (5), AP Lang (5), AP Physics 2 (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Lit, AP Economics, AP US Gov, AP Physics C Mechanics, AP Spanish

Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

*Octofinalist (Top 16) at NCFL Nationals in PF Debate
*2 time Tournament of Champions qualifier for PF Debate
*NSDA Nationals Qualifier for PF Debate
*Scholastic Gold Medal
*Top score in state on AMC10
*2nd Place in event at FBLA Nationals
*Placed at PUMaC
*International Public Policy Forum Debate Top 32 in World
*2 time AIME qualifier

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Speech and Debate Team (2 year debate captain), Math Honor Society (President), FBLA (Vice President), Science National Honor Society (Project Director), National Honor Society (Warden of Leadership)
Job/Work Experience: Tutoring?
Volunteer/Community service: Key Club (~70 hrs)
Summer Activities: Boys State (served as State Senator), FBLA Nationals, attended debate camps, founded my own debate camp for middle schoolers
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common app was about a failed startup and how valuable the experience was even though it didn’t succeed

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1 (rating 1-10, details): 8/10 (My AP Lang teacher, was active in her class and one of her best students that year. Should’ve been decent)
Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details): 6/10 (My AP Physics 2 teacher, did not stand out too much)
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): 6/10 (I go to a large public school, so it was probably generic, but my counselor interacted with me a lot because I was a top student so it should be better than average)
Additional Rec (if any) (rating 1-10, details):
Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details): 8/10 (Thought it went well, my interviewer said she would vouch for me)

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Economics
State (if domestic applicant): NJ
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Large Public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: M
Income Bracket: 150K+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Heh

Reflections:
Strengths: Test scores, awards, and I thought essays, but maybe not
Weaknesses: GPA wasn’t insane, teacher recommendations weren’t outstanding, maybe interview went awry
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: My narrative wasn’t super compelling compared to some of those of the other kids applying. The anti-hook doesn’t help either.

Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:

Accepted: Brown, UC Berkeley, Rutgers, UNC Chapel Hill
Waitlisted: Yale, Harvard, Cornell, UChicago, Duke, Northwestern
Denied: Princeton, Dartmouth, Columbia

General Comments (if any): Hella waitlists. Glad to have gotten into Brown though!

6

Decision: Accepted

College of Arts & Sciences

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2360 (800 Math, 760 CR, 800 Writing) after three tries lol
SAT II: 790 US History, 780 Math II, 730 Biology M
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): ~3.9
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 5%
AP (place score in parenthesis): Biology (3), Euro (5), Calculus AB (5), Human Geography (5), Chemistry (3), US History (5), Calculus BC (5), English Language (5), Psychology (5)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics C: Mechanics, AP English Literature, AP Statistics, AP US Government & Politics, Fine Arts and PE to graduate lol
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): 1st Place local Academic WorldQuest, 13th Place National Academic WorldQuest, Gold Level President’s Volunteer Service Award, National Merit Commended (didn’t include)

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): online flu/disease map aimed to educate teens on public health developments (Founder/Developer, 11-12), annual high school medical publication (Founder/Editor-in-Chief, 10-12), community health advisory board at local university (Youth Chair, 11-12), Future Doctors of America/HOSA (Founder/President, 9-12), medical explorations class at local K-8 school (Teacher, 10), Jr. HOSA at local middle school (Founder/Club Mentor, 9-12), Superintendent’s Student Advisory Committee (STEM Chair, 11-12), Peer Tutoring (Founder/President, 9-12), Peer Ambassador (11-12)
Job/Work Experience: cardiac stem cell research at local university (coauthored a paper, 10-12), adolescent cardiovascular health research at local community health center (11-12)
Volunteer/Community service: N/A
Summer Activities: Wet lab and public health research, took a class (got an A!) in Global Health at local university

Rate out of 10
Essays: Common App (9.5/10) - definitely my best essay, I told a very creative, quirky, and purposeful story about how learning what band-aids are (I grew up in a hippy-dippy eastern medicine household, didn’t know what band-aids were until I was about 7) inspired my passion for problem-solving and medicine. Make sure your essays tell a story, are not boring, and reinforce the theme/spike to your application, because that’s what makes them stand out.
Why UPenn (9/10) - talked about getting excited about interdisciplinary ideas at my dinner table, showed how different programs/departments/overall opportunities at UPenn make the school another dinner table. Talked about non-academic pursuits at UPenn as well, how one of my goals is to “cultivate an interest in muenster cheese and focaccia bread” at some notorious food trucks there haha. Have fun with these essays!
Recommendations:
Teacher Rec #1 (rating 1-10, details): 9.5/10 - AP Lang, my teacher and I were so tight. We’d have awesome philosophical talks and she mentioned how I’d rap book reports or socratic seminars in class, so that probably made me stand out as the wacky nerd I am.
Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details): 9/10 - AP Bio, teacher wrote about the endless number of questions I’d have about material both during and outside of class time. We really hit it off, I love my bio teacher, and I believe she reflected my curiosity well in the letter.
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): 10/10 - ok my counselor is literally the bae. enough said.
Interview: Didn’t receive one

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Health & Societies
State (if domestic applicant): CA
School Type: Public ~2000 students
Ethnicity: White (Middle Eastern)
Gender: XY
Income Bracket: $150,000-$200,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None!

Reflections:
Strengths: extracurriculars extracurriculars extracurriculars, make sure to show a very clear spike/theme in these (9/10 of my extracurriculars were related to medicine or public health). Also my essays were very strong, make sure to tell a story that supports your spike/theme in a quirky way.
Weaknesses: LOL grades and AP scores in general. I got a C in AP Physics (hate that class) on my midyear report first trimester of senior year, so I was REALLY worried that would tank me completely. The C was due to family circumstances (heart arrhythmia with my dad, I actually tied the explanation to my extracurriculars/passion quite nicely, really lessened the blow of a crappy midyear report, got counselor to support it in an additional update). I thought as a pre-med my threes in AP Bio and Chem would have also wrecked me. Thankful it worked out!

Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Huge medical/public health spike that was supported by my quirky and narrative-like essays

Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted: UC Berkeley (Regents), UCLA, UCSD (Regents), UCI (Regents), UC Davis (Regents), UCSB (Regents), USC
Waitlisted: JHU, UChicago, Harvard, Dartmouth
Denied: Duke, Rice, Princeton, Brown, Yale

General Comments (if any): It’s all just so crazy looking back. Loved high school, can’t believe the growth I’ve seen in myself and friends. You’ll see it too! Do things that you love, things that keep you up at night thinking. If you go about high school that way, the rest (grades, acceptances) will come.
Looking forward to Quaker Days, and UPENN '21!!!

7

Decision: Accepted

Objecttive:
SAT I (breakdown): OLD SAT (710M 740 CR 790 W) 2240 Superscore
ACT (breakdown): 34 Composite; 35 MATH 34 READING 33 SCIENCE 33 ENGLISH (one sitting)
SAT II:Math level 2: 790 Physics: 760 World History: 800
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):3.99
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):?
AP (place score in parenthesis):I have taken 8 exams; 7 I got a 5, 1 I got a 4
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load:AP Calc BC, AP Physics 2, AP English Lit, AP Art History, AP Gov, AP Macroeconomics, AP Biology, Religion (catholic school)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.): AP national scholar, commended national merit thing, top in the class awards, some cross country/ track awards

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description):
Cross Country Track Varsity, Regional Championships 7 times, featured in newspaper as all area honorable mention, team captain
Student Council Secretary Junior Year and Senior Year
NHS Historian Junior Year, President Senior Year
Played Piano since 8, won some local competitions
Pep Band (9th and 10th grade)
Math Team
Part of a Running Club in my area
Scholar Bowl Team Captain
Job/Work Experience:N/A
Volunteer/Community Service: tutoring after school, making peanut butter and jelly sandiwches for shelter every monday, playing piano at nurisng homes, playing piano at church and school fundraisers (catholic school), some stuff with running
Summer Experience: volunteered one summer at hospital, went to Uruguay for cultural trip one summer
Essays (rating 1-10, details):Common App- about the Washington dc metro; I would give it an 8
Why UPENN? I talked about how I love their language certificates program and how I love biophysics at Upenn based on my running experiences

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Recommendation #1:I CANT RATE THESE but they were all good
Teacher Recommendation #2:
Counselor Rec:
Additional Info/Rec:NA
Art Supplement: NA

Interview: it was so short I was so doubtful about this outcome

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?:Affirmative
Intended Major:Biophysics
State (if domestic applicant):FL
Country (if international applicant):USA
School Type: small, catholic, suburban
Ethnicity: Asian/White
Gender:MALE
Income Bracket:80-90k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none I am literally asian

Reflection

Strengths: actually loving what I profess to love
Weaknesses:scores as an asian going into STEM
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Just showing my passion for running and how it inspires me.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
Accepted: Brown, UPENN, Georgetown, Univesity of Florida
Waitlist: UChicago, Darmouth, Yale, Harvard
Rejected: Princeton, Duke, Rice

General Comments : Honestly you never know what is going to happen. I thought I was so cookie cutter, but apparently there was something about me they loved because it was not my scores.

8

[aB][asize=4][acolor=#008000]Decision: Accepted [/color][/size]**

Objective:

ACT: (Composite 34) (English: 34) (Mathematics: 32) (Reading: 36) (Science: 34) (Writing: 23) (ELA: 31) (STEM: 33)
SAT II: Mathematics Level 2: 790 Spanish: 580
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.964
Weighted GPA: 4.732
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 14/528
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Human Geography (3), AP European History (3), AP Statistics (3), AP English (4), AP World History (3)
IB (place score in parenthesis): IB Spanish(6) update remainder at end of school year.
Senior Year Course Load: IB Twentieth Century History Year One HL A, IB English A Literature Year Two HL A, IB Further Mathematics Year Two HL A, IB Chemistry Year Two SL A, IB Economics Year Two SL, IB Spanish Year Two HL A, AP Computer Science A
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Honor Society, Spanish National Honor Society, National Merit Scholarship Commended Scholar

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Chinese (Mandarin 6yrs), Golf (3yrs), Chess Club (3yrs), Quiz Bowl (3yrs)
Job/Work Experience: Private Tutoring (Summer 2014)
Volunteer/Community service: Translating (Spanish)and Tutoring (Math/ Spanish)
Summer Activities: Georgia Boys State Leadership Action Program
Essays (rating 1-10, details): (8), with 10 being the best.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):(8), with 10 being the best.

Teacher Rec #1 (rating 1-10, details): (10), with 10 being the best.
Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details): (10), with 10 being the best.
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): (8), with 10 being the best.
Additional Rec (if any) (rating 1-10, details): N/A
Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details):

Other:

Questbrigde: Yes/ Questbrigde Finalists
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: International Business
State (if domestic applicant): Actworth, Georgia
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Public (Campbell High School)
Ethnicity: Afro-American / Pacific Islander
Gender: Male
Age: 17
Income Bracket: 60k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM

Reflections:

Strengths: Good Study Habits, combined with Good Time Management skills.
Weaknesses: Overconfidence somethings gets the best of me.
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: The International Baccalaureate Diploma Program workload and strong scores helped. I don’t think my extracurriculars were all that great, but they did not hurt.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Waiting for March to find out the rest.

9

**Decision: Accepted to CAS **

** Objective: **

SAT I (breakdown): NEW SAT 760M 740R (one sitting)
ACT (breakdown):
SAT II: Didn’t send
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 4/120
AP (place score in parenthesis):
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load:
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

** Subjective: **

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Model UN 2010-2015 (Delegate, Secretary General…) Lead role and director of Language Fair plays in French, Chinese and German 2012-2015. Member of theater company 2010-2016, Latin rhythm dancer 2012-2015…
Job/Work Experience: German A1 Teacher Summer 2015, Full time 5th grade teacher in local private school 2015-2016. 3rd grade teacher Ago-Oct 2016 and au pair in Canada right now.
Volunteer/Community service: +450 hours (summer camps, tutoring, congresses)
Summer Activities: worked and volunteered

Rate out of 10
Essays: Personal statement 9/10 Penn essay 8/10
Teacher Recommendation: my teachers loved me so I’m guessing they were good!
Counselor Rec: Great!
Additional Rec:
Interview: Very casual
Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yessssss
Intended Major: International Relations
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant): Mexico
School Type: Private
Ethnicity:
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: 10k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Nothing

** Reflections: **

Strengths: Good SAT score and GPA and my background I guess
Weaknesses: not enough extracurriculars maybe??
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I honestly have no idea
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted: Vanderbilt, Williams, Colby, U of Rochester and W&J
Waitlisted: Babson and Amherst
Rejected: Dickinson and WUSTL

10

Decision: Rejected

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): N/A
ACT (breakdown): 35C (36E 35M 35R 35S) 8/12 Essay
SAT II: Math II (800) Bio-E (760)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.87
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 6/529
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Bio (4) AP World History (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: Most rigorous, but I dropped hard classes to take choir and theatre lol
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Boys Nation Senator, Questbridge Finalist

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Chess Club (founder, President)
NHS (Officer)
Book Club (Officer)
SkillsUSA (Officer)
FBLA (Officer)
Concert Choir (Unofficial section leader, I helped restart the club and grow it from 7 members to 100 in 6 months.)
Choir also has sung at district banquets, and we went on tour in LA.
Lead role in school musical

Job/Work Experience: I work 20 hours a week with my Dad.
Volunteer/Community service: 10 hours a week at church, with various events.
Summer Activities: FBLA National Conference
Mission trip to Nicaragua
Boys State and Boys Nation

Essays (rating 1-10, details):

Questbridge Essays -
8/10 - It compared my life to a wooden desk I’ve owned since I was little. I scribbled on it and wrote down my thoughts when I was going through bad times, and the desk became an extension of my personality.
6/10 - I wrote about how chess was an underappreciated art form. I went on to say I found people at school to create a club with.

Common App Essay - 7/10, it was about how I visited my Grandma before she passed from terminal breast cancer. She was playful and humorous even in her last moments, so I wrote about how she didn’t let her condition stop her from having fun with her grandchild for the last time.

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: English teacher, pushed me to pursue politics. 8/10
Teacher Rec #2: Bio teacher, I was funny and over-excited in her class. I wasn’t the best student, but I got close to her as a person. 8/10
Counselor Rec: Generic, I got a new counselor starting junior year. 4/10
Additional Rec: None.
Interview: None.

Other:

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Political Science
State (if domestic applicant): AZ
School Type: Large public, 2500 students total.
Ethnicity: Asian-American (South Korean Immigrant)
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 35k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First gen, poor (?)

Reflections:

Strengths: Test scores, ECs
Weaknesses: Dat GPA, holy balls I should’ve tried harder for all 4 years.
Why you think you were accepted/rejected/deferred? I just got lucky. Plain and simple, don’t read too much into your decisions because it can seemingly be random at times and they do not determine your worth as a person.

General Comments: I didn’t care at all about school in my freshman year, so my GPA took a beating. I started to wake up and realize that I didn’t want to go to my state school (no offense ASU!) and end up with a desk job, working 9 to 5 and not accomplishing more. I was entitled - I thought I was such a smart kid, and that I was destined to rule the world, cure cancer, marry Emma Watson. So I involved myself in a bunch of clubs that I didn’t care about, started studying for tests that I hated studying for, all in an attempt to pad my application. In my senior year, I took a look at myself and I didn’t know who I was. I was a phony, a hack, who did what he had to do to get to a place that he thought he had to get to. I embraced my quirks and my love for music during this past year, but I regret that it was too late. When I look back on my high school life, I realize that I wasted my time doing things that I didn’t like doing. I can’t think of more than 5 memorable experiences I had in my high school years. I just wish I had accepted myself earlier. Then I could say, “Oh I don’t regret high school. I had a ton of fun!”

Anyways, remember that admissions to top colleges are basically like drawing the lottery. I’m blessed to be accepted to these institutions. I just feel weird, knowing that they didn’t accept me, per se - they accepted a bluffed-up version of me.

Other College Decisions: Harvard (Accepted), Princeton (Accepted), Amherst (Accepted), Wesleyan (Accepted), USC (Accepted), Vanderbilt (Accepted), UChicago (WL), Dartmouth (WL), Northwestern (WL), Pomona (WL), University of Virginia (WL), MIT (Rejected), Columbia ED (Rejected), Brown (Rejected), Yale (Rejected), UPenn (Rejected)

11

REJECTED!!

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1550 (750 eng, 800 math)
ACT (breakdown): 35 (35 eng, 35 math, 34 reading, 36 science)
SAT II: Math 2 (800), Chinese (780)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.97
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): probably around top 15/500
AP (place score in parenthesis): Biology, Psychology, Chem, US History, English, Chinese (all 4s/5s)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Gov, AP Calc AB, AP Physics 1, AP Compsci A, English, Band
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Marching band, various music ensembles, cultural club
Job/Work Experience: No “official” job
Volunteer/Community service: Lots of tutoring/teaching
Summer Activities: did berkeley summer session before
Essays (rating 1-10, details): I’d say a 6, i didn’t have anyone read them for me because they were really personal
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): one of them a 9, another one probably at 6. counselor rec like 6 bc my school is really big and our counselors don’t really know us personally

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major: politic
State (if domestic applicant): California
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: Pretty high
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None

Reflection

Strengths: My test scores, basically
Weaknesses: my extracurriculars are really not on the same level as most ivy applicants
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: what i said above
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted at UC Berkeley, UCLA, UCSB, UCSD, UCD, UCI, USC, Boston university. Rejected here.

I wasn’t expecting to get in really so I’m not bummed out or anything. Good luck everyone in the future years

12

[aB][asize=4][acolor=#008000]Decision: Accepted[/color][/size]** Wharton

SAT I (breakdown): New SAT: 1540 (800 math and 740 reading and writing)
ACT (breakdown): 34 (35 writing, 36 math, 35 reading, 28 science) and 35 superscored with a 33 in science in a previous sitting.
SAT II: 800 Math II, 790 Physics and 780 World History
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.96 (school doesn’t weight)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school doesn’t rank but low-key somewhere in top 5
AP (place score in parenthesis): Calculus BC (5), World History (5), US History (5), Physics 1 (5), Physics 2 (5), Physics C: Mechanics (5), Physics C: E&M (5) and English Language (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Stats, AP English Lit, AP Government, AP Microeconomics, AP Biology, AP Chem and Multivariable Calculus
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National AP Scholar, National Merit Scholar, Voice of Democracy (State winner)

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Founder and Chairman of a private investment firm and I run its blog/manage a $10K portfolio (not as big as it sounds, trust me), Founder and President of FBLA chapter (qualified for nationals), Nat. Dir. of Fundraising for JSA and VP of chapter, UIL captain of math team (regional qualifiers), pres. (9/10) and treasurer (11/12) of STUCO, founder and captain of school’s powerlifting team (regional qualifiers), Varsity basketball (9/10)
Job/Work Experience: N/A
Volunteer/Community service: Coached a 4th/5th grade girls basketball team for 4 years through this community organization; volunteered at this refugee help center near the US/Mexico border, helping refugees get across the border and to family in the states; volunteered at this nature park my freshman summer, planting trees, cleaning ponds and such; various math tutoring and NHS as well.
Summer Activities: Nothing big, FBLA National Conference, a JSA summer program at Princeton

Rate out of 10
Essays: Common App: 9/10, it was about powerlifting and how it was a factor in my intellectual development, everyone who read it loved it. Supplement 7/10, really showed that I did my research in Wharton but wasn’t written really eloquently-- I honestly think they just look for raw information as to how you’re going to use your Penn education in this one.
Teacher Recommendation: First one was from my calc. teacher (10/10), full of anecdotes and he loves me to this day; second one was from my English teacher (8/10), she writes like 20 recs a year so idk how much time she gave mine but she’s a good writer.
Counselor Rec: 6/10 didn’t read and don’t have personal experiences with her
Additional Rec: 9/10 got it from my boss at JSA, 2 pages long as really anecdotal.
Interview: 7/10 she said 30 minutes but it lasted an hour… hard for me to connect with a pre-K teacher who didn’t know too much about finance though.
Other:

Applied for Financial Aid?: Nope
Intended Major: Finance
State (if domestic applicant): TX
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: too much for aid, too little for comfort
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Nope

Reflection:

Strengths: A lot of business related extracurriculars and test scores
Weaknesses: Nothing extraordinary community wise and I’m not the best writer
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I think they really saw my passion towards business. Considering the only schools I got into were solely business schools, this seems like the reason.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted: UT Austin (Business Honors Program), Wharton; Waitlisted: Harvard (deferred and then waitlisted, make up your mind!); rejected: Princeton, Columbia and Stanford

General Comments: Creating an application is an art, honestly. You could do many things but if you don’t craft it correctly, you’ll get denied everywhere. After this process, I truly believe that each university has its own identity that it looks for in its candidates, and they’ll only accept you if you fit that identity, regardless of what extraordinary things you’ve done. My passion was business and I got into the best business school in the country. When y’all are writing your applications, make sure you think about what your identity you want to portray and then make sure every single part of your app bolsters that image.

13

Objective:
Decision: Accepted College Arts and Sciences
Rejected: Huntsman Program

SAT I (breakdown): 1500, 770 math, 730 reading/writing
ACT (breakdown): none
SAT II: 800 Spanish, 750 US History
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.99
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1 out of 35 (super small school)
AP (place score in parenthesis): 5 Spanish Language and culture, 4 US
IB (place score in parenthesis): none
Senior Year Course Load: Accelerated physics, Human Anatomy and Physiology, AP Calc AB, AP Stat, Honors English
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Place in my age group in a couple of big city running races

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): 4 years cross country/track as the only member of the team… not much time for anything else running 40-50 miles per week
Job/Work Experience: Neo-Latin script editor, translation coding
Volunteer/Community service: Volunteer at local church
Summer Activities: Running, said work, Spanish immersion in Costa Rice going into junior year and went to China before my senior year

Rate out of 10
Essays: Common App: 8/10, about how I used foreign language to discover myself, but some have told me part of my essay is insensitive stereotypical because my first line was something like “I hate it when foreigners use Chinese to pick up native Cantonese girls” #老外, Why Penn 7/10, started saying I’ve been eating sushi since I was an infant and how I could fulfill my passion for the Orient at Penn, Huntsman Essay 6/10, wrote about how foreign businesses exploit the native people in Costa Rica, wrote it all the night before, so not spectacular
Teacher Recommendation: First was Latin teacher, she’s said I’m one of her best students in over 25 years of teaching, 9/10, second was freshman and junior English teacher, one of top two students he has had in 15 years, the other studied at Oxford 9/10
Counselor Rec: 8/10, decent relationship with counselor, but not like teachers
Additional Rec: 7/10, from my cross country/track coach, most likely spoke on how I trained with the local public school team and led the team
Interview: 8/10, interviews don’t matter much because anyone applying to an Ivy also knows how to be personable, but it went well and got to talk about the Steelers and Antonio Brown
Other:

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: East Asian Languages and Civilizations on application, but don’t think that’s gonna happen.
State (if domestic applicant): PA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 50-75k, but I guess because my father is an oral surgeon they decided to give no aid…
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): my dad works part time in the dental school, but I don’t think that helped

Reflection

Strengths: Non-Hispanic who learned Spanish without ever taking a Spanish class at school, can handwrite Chinese characters, letters of rec?? but I feel like everyone as good letters
Weaknesses: average test scores, your typical middle class white boy in the Philly area applying to Penn, no major awards, my school rarely sends kids to elite schools
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I found out what a “spike” was a little over a year ago, and I pushed my passions hard. Everything was about learning languages or running in my application. Those are what I have “extraordinary potential” in—quoting the acceptance letter. Nonetheless, it took a little bit of luck. Someone must have loved languages reading my application, and that’s all I needed.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted: Boston College (four years of housing), Villanova, Lafayette, Tufts, and Penn; Waitlisted: Lehigh (lol no demonstrated interest, they don’t want to be a “second options”), Middlebury, Williams, Georgetown; Rejected: Amherst, Dartmouth, Harvard, Yale, Princeton

General Comments: It’s a crapshoot, but you can help yourself to make it less of one. Find out what you like, I work tirelessly to become truly special at your passion. Don’t waste time playing JV soccer to pad your application. Sure, I only got into 5/14 schools I applied to, but you only end up going to one school. You’ve heard it before, but colleges want people who will change the world, so you gotta have something you bring to the table because 4.0 and 1600/36 likely won’t cut it. It’s an emotional roller coaster, but it’s worth it is truly a dream come true to say I will part of the Class of 2021!

14

Decision: Accepted

Objective:

  • SAT I (breakdown): 770 M, 750 CR+W, 20 Essay
  • ACT (breakdown): 36 Composite, 35 English, 36 Math, 36 Reading, 36 Science,
  • SAT II: 800 Math II, 760 Chem, 760 Physics
  • Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.98 UW, 4.61 W (scaling is subjective per school so don’t take this too seriously)
  • Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 4th out of 230
  • AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Chem (5), AP Physics 1 (4), AP World (5), AP US History (5), AP Calc BC (5), AP Calc AB Subscore (5)
  • IB (place score in parenthesis): None
  • Senior Year Course Load: AP US Government, AP Literature and Composition, AP Physics C: Mechanics, AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism, AP Psychology, AP Statistics, AP Physics 2, AP Biology, Multivariate Calculus, Linear Algebra
  • Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
    • Academic awards: AP Scholar with Distinction, National Merit Scholarship Program Letter of Commendation, Excellence in Mathematics and the Natural Sciences from the Society of Women Engineers (CT Section), Presidential Scholars Semifinalist.
    • Dance awards: Dance Teachers Club of CT Scholarship Winner (2010, 2012, 2013, 2015), DMA National Jr. Mr. Dance Most Talented Non-Finalist (2012), DMA Jr. Mr. Dance of CT (2012), Sophisticated Production’s Highest Scoring Solo (age 15 and under) (2013), DMA Teen Mr. Dance of CT (2014), DMA Tap Class Audition Scholarship 1st Place Recipient (2016), Numerous First Overall Solo and Group Awards (2010 – Present).

Subjective:

  • Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
    • Competitive Dancer (Senior Competition Captain) Tap: 10 Years, Ballet: 9 Years, Jazz: 9 Years, Hip-Hop: 7 Years, Contemporary/Modern: 7 Years
    • Nutcracker Ballet (I've played the role of Prince and Cavalier these past 3 years) (9, 10, 11, 12)
    • National Honor Society (Tutoring coordinator/tutor) (11, 12)
    • French Honor Society (Executive Officer) (10, 11, 12)
    • Seaperch (11, 12)
    • Math League (9, 10, 11, 12)
    • Varsity Tennis (4 singles, 3 doubles) (10, 11, 12)
    • Offered to produce music for small fashion lines
  • Job/Work Experience: None
  • Volunteer/Community service:
    • Assistant Dance Teacher Ages 9-14
    • Nutcracker Ballet Student Rehearsal Assistant
    • NHS Tutor, all subjects
    • Writing Center Tutor
    • Math Center Tutor
  • Summer Activities:
    • 4 Weeks of Dance Intensives/National Competitions
    • Helped build a dance studio/gym in my basement
    • Dance training
    • College Tours
    • Tennis
  • Essays (rating 1-10, details):
    • Common Application Essay Rating: 9?? I had my AP Lit teacher read it over, as well as a few friends. They all said it sounded really personal and unique while being memorable, but I couldn't judge myself accurately.
    • Penn essay: I remember struggling with this one, I thought it was a 7 at best.
  • Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
    • Teacher Rec #1: AP Calc/Multivariate/Linear Teacher, Math Team Coach
  • I assume it would be very good as he knows my intense schedule in and out of school, my work ethic, my sense of humor, and my sociability.
    • Teacher Rec #2: AP Chem Teacher Same as Rec 1, with the addition of my love and curiosity of the natural sciences plus my drive and independence in the classroom.
    • Counselor Rec: Unknown, but she used to attend my dance studio? So maybe that helped. This was also her first year, so personal details may have been rough.
  • Additional Rec: None.
  • Interview: Straight Fire.

Other:

  • Applied for Financial Aid?: None.
  • Intended Major: Physics
  • State (if domestic applicant): Connecticut
  • Country (if international applicant): NA
  • School Type: Public
  • Ethnicity: White
  • Gender: Male
  • Income Bracket: Upper middle class
  • Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Male dancer?
  • Strengths: Test scores, extracurriculars, strong commitment to dance, national dance awards, rigorous course schedule, 3 independent studies in physics (shows initiative), interview was straight fire
  • Weaknesses: Supplement was shaky.
  • Why you think you were accepted/rejected/waitlisted: Dance major, test scores, strong essay, unique, really connected to my interviewer.

General Comments: Probably going to end up at YPC but Penn was and still is an amazing choice!

Other schools you applied to and their decisions:
Accepted: Williams, Swarthmore, Middlebury, Muhlenburg, William and Mary, Duke (likely letter), Columbia (likely letter), Princeton, University of Pennsylvania, Yale, Cornell, NYU, Wesleyan, Amherst

Waitlisted: Tufts, Brown, Dartmouth, Stanford

Rejected: Harvard

15

Decision: Accepted

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown):
ACT (breakdown): 35C (35E, 36M, 36R, 32S, 8W)
SAT II:
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 97.59 UW / 101.55 W
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 10%
AP (place score in parenthesis): USH (3), Lang (4), World (4), Chem (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Lit, AP Bio, AP Calc BC, AP Stat, Anatomy & Physiology, Latin IV H
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar w/ Honor, An award from a community college for my grades

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
JV Bowling - 9
Varsity Bowling 10-12 (Captain - 11-12)
General member of Miss Rep 11-12 & Amnesty International 9-10
Bowling leagues during sophomore year & summer after my sophomore year
Inducted into NHS 11th grade; active member this year
Black Youth Awareness Club (12) (Co-Founder & Treasurer)
Job/Work Experience: N/A
Volunteer/Community service: 100+ hours at a hospital
Summer Activities: Camp on Diversity in summer 2016

Rate out of 10
Essays:
Common App: solid 10. Loved my essay and both my english teachers from junior & senior year thought it was really good
Teacher Recommendation:

  1. From my Pre-calc teacher. She loved le so 9/10
  2. From my honors bio teacher, she said it was easy to write so 8/10
    Counselor Rec: Probably generic af
    Additional Rec:
    Interview:

Other:

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Neuroscience
State (if domestic applicant): NJ
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Black (Caribbean)
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: 95k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, first gen (for 4 year college)

Reflection:

Strengths: Overall academics & essay
Weaknesses: apush test score
Why you think you were accepted/rejected/deferred: Not to sound cocky but I feel like I am a strong applicant overall
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted - Duke University, Morgan State University, Princeton University, Rutgers University, Johns Hopkins University

General Comments: Do what you love and colleges will love it too :slight_smile:

16

Decision: Accepted

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): didn’t send
ACT (breakdown): 33 (35E 29M 36R 30S 11W)
SAT II: didn’t send
GPA (weighted): 97.4 (my school doesn’t convert to 4.0 scale)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 10/166
AP (place score in parenthesis): APUSH (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Euro, AP French, AP Lit, AP Studio Art, AP Calc AB
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Congressional Art Award, tons of Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, other random school awards, placed well in some state debate meets and qualified for nationals, etc.

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Student Gov (Student Body VP), School Magazine (Founder & Editor), NAHS, Congressional Debate
Job/Work Experience: wrote articles for my local newspaper over the summer, interned at a photo gallery, bussed tables at a restaurant
Volunteer/Community service: started the Environmental Club at my school, facilitated a partnership with a local composting service, and redesigned the waste distribution system in my cafeteria which reduced our waste output by 30% :slight_smile:
Summer Activities: AAJA JCamp 2016, internships

Essays: Common App 7/10, Penn Supplements 9/10
Teacher Recommendations: I sent a bunch, probably 8/10 overall
Counselor Rec: 7/10
Interview: 9/10 but interviews don’t make much of a difference I’m afraid

Other:

Applied for Financial Aid?: nope
Intended Major: Urban Studies
State (if domestic applicant): Maine
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: F
Income Bracket: 200,000+/yr
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

I’m so surprised I actually got in! I think it helped that my Penn supplement was very specific and true to my passions. I went to a semester program in NYC my junior year of high school where I discovered my interest in interdisciplinary learning and urban studies so I talked about that a lot in my app. I think it helped that my letters of rec also reflected this interest of mine. Good luck everyone!!

17

Decision: Deferred -> Rejected

Wharton

Objective:
SAT I superscore (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): 2300 (770/740/800/8) only sitting
SAT II (subject, score): Math 2 - 800
Unweighted/Weighted GPA: 3.9 ish UW
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 5%
AP/IB (place score in parentheses): APUSH (4), AP Lang (4). AP Calc AB (5). AP Gov (5). AP Comp (5). AP Environmental (5).

Senior year course load:
AP Calc BC
AP Physics
AP Statistics
AP Economics
AP Literature

Awards:

  • AP Scholar with Distinction
  • National Merit Scholar Commended
  • Chosen as 1 of 8 teens nationwide for a major program (lots of publicity)
  • (2x) High school award in math and science - given to best student in each class
  • Yale essay contest 1st place
  • Two other, smaller online essay contests - finalist/top10 winner
  • second place in We The People state competition
  • High honor roll, NHS, etc.

Extracurriculars (exactly what is on my Common App):

  • Blogger for the Huffington Post
  • Co-Editor in Chief of school newspaper
  • Co-President of DECA business club
  • Co-Founder of a growing company (annual revenue projected around $15k-20k)
  • Published writer and journalist: fantasy novel published on Amazon, reporter for local newspaper, published in 4 literary magazines
  • Editor for a national high school literary magazine
  • Karate Black Belt (first degree)
  • Class Treasurer
  • AVID Tutor and Freshman mentor
  • Former waiter and housekeeper at a bed and breakfast, ongoing private tutor with 3 clients, former employee for a financial literacy website

Recommendations:
Good

Essays:
Pretty good

Other:
U.S. State/Territory or Country: competitive state
School Type: Very large public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket Range: No financial aid
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athelete, development):

Strengths: ECs
Weaknesses: Scores and GPA
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I think the peer recommendation helped me as well as the interview!
What would you have done differently?: Nothing
Where else did you apply?

Accepted: Dartmouth, Johns Hopkins, Northwestern, UVA, and BC
Waitlisted: Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Duke, and UChicago
Rejected: Princeton, Penn, Cornell, and Brown

A little frustrating but oh well. Dartmouth it is!

18

[aB][asize=4][acolor=#008000]Decision: Accepted[/color][/size]**

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): didnt send
ACT (breakdown): 32C (31M, 34R, 34E, 27S, 22W)
SAT II: didn’t send
Weighted GPA: 101
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 15/650
AP (place score in parenthesis): World History (4), Biology (3), US History (5), English lang & comp (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): none
Senior Year Course Load: physics honors, AP US government & politics, AP English lit & comp, AP Calc AB
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar w Honor, every subject honor society

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Jazz band (first chair and section leader of trombones), concert band (first chair and section leader of baritone horns), school newspaper (editor-in-chief) drama club (lead role in spring musical)
Job/Work Experience: worked in office of local pool club and camp counselor at programs at my school
Volunteer/Community service: volunteered in special needs grammar school, several Campus Ministry activities (soup kitchen, eucharistic minister, lector, retreat leader), peer tutor, volunteer at freshman orientation
Summer Activities: attended weeklong business seminar at local college, as well as summer jobs

Rate out of 10
Essays: 10/10, okay i usually hate people who give themselves 10/10 on these things but i really do think these aspects of my application were what helped me get in! everyone who proofread my essay really enjoyed it and thought it would stand out for its humor and honesty.
Teacher Recommendation: 10/10, two teachers who i’m very close with
Counselor Rec: 10/10 also knows me very well
Additional Rec:
Interview: it was okay, kind of awkward, but i think i conveyed my ambition and my goals well enough for her to give admissions some good news!
Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major: Economics
State (if domestic applicant): NY
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: private catholic
Ethnicity: white
Gender: female
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): nah

I wanted to post here because when I was scouring these message boards a few short months ago, I couldn’t find anyone with an application similar to mine (specifically no SATIIs and right at Penn’s median ACT score) who got in! So here’s proof for anyone who might be feeling discouraged about their chances; you don’t have to have perfect scores or a Nobel Prize in order to get in. You have to work really hard, step out of your comfort zone, keep good relationships with your teachers, and be honest in your essay and application. Difficult, but most definitely possible! Good luck to everyone applying in future years, and congrats to everyone who got in as well!

19

Objective:
Decision: Accepted CAS

SAT I (breakdown): 2210 - Maths (750), Reading (770), Writing (690 lol) all one sitting (only ever took it once)
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: 760 Literature, 700 Chemistry
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): Don’t have GPAs (I’m Australian, but I got straight As from yr 10 - 12)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/180 (although my school didn’t submit a rank for overseas applications)
AP (place score in parenthesis): N/A
IB (place score in parenthesis): 45 --> History HL (7), Geography HL (7), Chemistry HL (7), English A SL (7), Maths SL (7), French B SL (7)
Senior Year Course Load: Full IB Diploma (see subjects above + ToK/EE)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): a few state linguistics olympiad silver medals, state finalist for french speaking competitions, IB subject awards for Maths/French/English, one national leadership award

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): School Captain, Co-Pres/Co-founder of school’s first social justice club, magazine editing committee (head of writing), NGO poverty/gender equity ambassador, year long research paper with a university professor on feminism, 4 years of Netball, Acapella choir (leader), member of my state’s youth council (there’s 1 or 2 more but I can’t remember)
Job/Work Experience: N/A
Volunteer/Community service: see above
Summer Activities: French language exchange

Rate out of 10
Essays:
Common App - maybe 8? hard to tell since it was very out of the box/creative. I wrote humourously about hating cheese and how that became a problem when I was on French Exchange. I related it back to cross cultural bonding/connections which worked well with my proposed major (International Relations)
Penn Essay - 7 definitely not my most interesting writing but it illustrated my diverse experiences well and my love for social justice came through, was a very boring read though in my opinion and I wrote it in 3 hours (literally was the reason I was so sure I would never be accepted here)
Teacher Recommendation: First one was from my History teacher who said he’d written me the best reccomendation he’d ever done so probably at least a 9? Second was from my French teacher who adored me but had only written a few recommendations before so possible a 7 or 8/10.
Counselor Rec: probably an 8. Had a really good relationship with her and she knew me really well, but she was a bit disorganised and did all the recs in a rush.
Interview: 6/10 It was actually terrible - the guy just talked about himself most of the time and barely asked me any questions, I got a free coffee out of it though so I can’t complain

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: International Relations
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant): Australia
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: Indian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: 200k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none sadly

Reflection

Strengths: definitely my IB 45, also probably my ecs - they showed my passion for social justice/leadership/advocacy work, maybe also my common app essay? but I still have no idea whether it was objectively a good strange or just plain weird
Weaknesses: Indian, International applicant, low test scores (esp that 690 in writing and my Chem SAT II), interview, boring Penn essay
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: really not sure to be honest, but I think my application did show a single ‘focus’ on social justice work and my common app essay really strongly portrayed my voice/humour
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted- Berkeley, UCLA, UMich, NYU (all my safety schools); Waitlisted - Cornell; Rejected: Duke, Brown, Stanford REA (rip)

General Comments: I had a really weird time during this whole application process esp as an international student because I literally had no idea if what I was doing was too weird (re: common app essay) or if I was on the right track/if I actually had a chance at any top tier schools. In hindsight, college apps are so random - I was 100% sure that if I was going to go to any ivy it would be Brown (because of fit/my interview went spectacularly) and I though Penn would reject me no doubt, but it turned out to be the opposite. It goes to show that legitimately there is no rhyme or rhythm or pattern of any kind to admissions and if you just focus on your passions throughout highschool/in your app some college will see something in you that they’d like in their freshman class.

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Great job to everyone!