UPenn Ed Chances?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
1

Hey Everyone, I’m thinking about applying ED to UPenn’s College of Arts and Sciences. Where do I stand in the ED applicant pool?

Thanks in advance!

Here are my stats:

Asian Male

SAT (Superscore): 2230 (CR-670, M-770, W-790 Essay:10)
SAT II: 800 Math II, 750 Biology E, taking Chem in Oct.
ACT: 32 (Math:33, Reading: 28, Science: 35, English: 32) - Took Sept. Test

NC GPA (Unweighted) - 3.96
NC GPA (Weighted) - 5.125
Class Rank: 7/631
Attend Top Public School in NC
Student in North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics Online Program
Taking courses offered nowhere else in the country, which include Honors Medicinal Chemistry and Honors Bioinformatics

AP (7 AP’s taken):
Biology (4)
Calculus BC (5)
Statistics (4)
Human Geography (5)
US History (4)

Senior Year Courses:
AP Computer Science A
AP Physics II
AP US Government and Politics
AP Psychology
Honors Anatomy and Physiology

NCSSM Courses (Semester-Long Courses):
Honors Bioinformatics (Taken)
Honors Computational Chemistry
Honors Medicinal Chemistry

Major Awards: Winner of Genentech Emperor Science Award in Cancer Research, President’s Volunteer Service Award recipient, Selected and Completed NC Governor’s School in Mathematics, Junior Marshal (Top 35 Class Rank), Research Paper passed first set of edits for Harvard’s Journal of Emerging Investigators (should get accepted & published)

Extracurriculars:
Varsity Men’s Tennis Player (9-12)
Research Lab Assistant at UNC and Duke (11-12)
Key Club (9-12) / Executive Board Member (10-11)
Science Olympiad (9-12) / President (11-12)
National Technical and Spanish Honor Societies (11-12)
Quiz Bowl Team 9-12) / Co-Captain (10-12)
Tutoring Club (9-12) / President (10-12)
NC School of Science and Mathematics Ambassador (11-12)
NC School of Science and Mathematics SIDE Leader: Create and teach enrichments to K-12 students across NC (11-12)
UNC Hospitals Volunteer (11-12) 200+ Hours
Red Cross Volunteer (9-12) 35+ Hours

Teacher/Counselor Recommendations will be very good, as I know my them very well and interact with them daily.

2

do ore volunteer hours

3

eh. Test scores are ok but not standout. Your gpa is really good tho.

4

Your test scores are stellar, GPA great, and EC’s - including governors school and award in cancer research are phenomenal … I think you are a top applicant. Good luck!

5

Asian Male… That is an important anti-hook. You do have solid credentials. Work hard on your application. Good Luck!

6

Hey guys I bumped up my ACT to a 34 composite ( E: 35 M: 34 R: 34 S: 31) and a 35 superscore (E: 35 M: 34 R: 34 S: 35). How do my chances for UPenn ED look now after taking these into account?

7

@therealdeal23, given that you were able to raise your ACT to a 34 you should have very solid chances of getting into Penn ED. Although having high test scores is important, it does not make up everything in the scheme of things. To put this in perspective, I know someone who got a 33 on his ACT and still got into Penn RD even though he had several anti-hooks. It seems like once you are within the 32+ range, your essays, recs, and ECs become the “real” deciding factors. From what you have shared, it looks like you have a lot of those aspects of your application up-to-par. At this point, make sure your essays are really good.

Best of luck!

8

Your Penn essay needs to describe the path for bringing your ECs to their existing campus and Philly area (fun activities/service organizations/research). Penn in particular focuses on serving community (Philly) more than other Ivies. What will you add to the student and local communities, and what new adventures do you want to explore? Passion, themes and a bit of humor always tie everything together for admissions when they need to read thousands of essays. At the same time, be specific…

9

Hopefully Finapp’s advice upthread was a joke – otherwise he or she needs a dope slap. Congrats on the improvement. I think you’ll have a solid chance.