@collegemomjam ED to Penn is a great idea. She has a good shot.
@collegemomjam I understand that your daughter loves Penn the most. The questions that need to be answered is there a close second, or is Penn head and shoulders above the rest and is it the only school she can think about right now. The other question is does she have a strong preference for her number two school? Are Georgetown, Notre Dame and others all pretty close in her mind.
If Penn is significantly above the rest AND she doesn’t have a strong preference for her number two school, I would apply ED to Penn and RD to the others. Her best shot at getting into Penn is EA.
If Penn is significantly above the rest, but she has another school clearly at number two, then I would look long and hard at the acceptance rates for EA and RD for her number two school.
If Penn is not significantly above the rest, then you have a much tougher decision. Your best shot to get into ND is EA while Georgetown claims that the acceptance rate for EA and RD are roughly the same. My son is headed to ND this coming year and while I think your daughter would have a greater than 50% chance of making it, there were quite a few people posting on CC that didn’t make the cut despite their impressive resumes.
Thanks @GraceDad and @f2000sa for the replies. @GraceDad, that is a very good way of looking at it. The plan is to take her to observe classes at Georgetown, Penn and Notre Dame in the fall (already scheduled for Domer for a Day at Notre Dame). If it comes back a tie at all, she may just go with EA to Georgetown and Notre Dame. And I know exactly what you mean about Notre Dame not being a sure thing, by any stretch of the imagination. Honestly, my biggest hang up with her going ED to Penn is that she is giving up EA to Notre Dame and they admit that if you are deferred EA (I doubt she would be an outright reject there) you do have a slight advantage in the RD pool. Of the three, I got the best vibe at Notre Dame. What a special place. I honestly got chills when we pulled up at night and saw the dome. Congrats to your son, I’m sure he will love it. What a great choice.
I went to BC myself which she would also have to give up applying to EA if she goes ED to Penn and I’m also concerned that legacy at BC only helps EA and also worry if you are RD legacy at BC it COULD hurt you (this is actually the case at Penn, ironically but no legacy there). She wants business (except at Penn, no interest in Wharton) and all three schools have extremely competitive applicant pools for their business schools!!! And giving up 3 EA’s for one ED which might end up a rejection is not sitting right with me…but it’s her call.
Thanks again!
@collegemomjam Just curious why your daughter has no interest in Wharton but would pursue business at ND and Georgetown.
Good question! I can assure you a lot of thought went in to this…
Mostly, she doesn’t want the cut throat environment of Wharton. From what we hear about the business programs at Notre Dame, BC (my other daughter is in the business school at BC), and even Georgetown to a certain extent, the environment is more collaborative and inclusive. Students are more likely to help each other than compete with each other. And yet they are still very highly ranked and recruiter intense programs.
Also, she is most likely leaning towards a career in Management Consulting and coming out of Penn as a liberal arts major is suitable for that career choice, as well as other business careers. We realize that she may not be able to take many classes at Wharton, but I think she would be OK with that.
And, Wharton is such a long shot…it really would not be worth it.
@collegemomjam Wharton offers Liberal Arts Business Education. It is hard to pass by.
@f2000sa thanks for the note…I’m sure you are right and there is no denying Wharton is an absolutely phenomenal school. I’m sure the graduates are very well rounded upon graduation and poised for enormous success. I just don’t think it’s for my daughter, despite her interest in business.
Did you guys get the email with the supplemental essay? They’ve released all supplemental essays for the 2016-2017 cycle
@collegemomjam Just saw your post above re your daughter- I’m confused as to why you have to give up applying EA to other schools while you apply ED to Penn?
You can apply anywhere EA but can’t apply to more than one school ED. If you apply ED to Penn, and get in, only then you would have to rescind your applications to other EA schools…
I don’t know what Georgetown’s policy is, but at ND you can’t apply EA if you have applied ED anywhere. So you would be allowed to apply EA to both Georgetown and ND but couldn’t if you were applying ED to Penn
oh ok- I guess I just was looking at it from Penn’s perspective where they say (From Penn’s web site) -
“You can apply Early Decision to Penn and early action to other schools, as long as they are not single-choice or restrictive early action programs (which restrict you from applying early to other schools). It is best to check with any schools to which you are applying early to see what their policies are.”
Just checked Georgetown and BC also restrict to no other schools ED for EA -
I didn’t realize that!
Yes, Notre Dame, Georgetown, and BC all have REA…and therefore you cannot apply to Penn or any other ED school, or even a SCEA school. I think it’s a fair policy but makes it harder to decide!
Do you think me not going to the LBW lowers my chance of getting in to wharton?
@classof2017345 No, it will not lower your chances (or at least that is what they say to prospective students), but it will give those students more experience for their application.
I’m joining this group again because I will officially be applying ED to Penn! 
@collegemomjam I’m a student at Penn. If she really does have the spectacular credentials she appears to, the best thing you can do is spend time creating a story in your application that allows admissions to get to know you just through the essays they have. Every student at Penn is academically gifted. Every student has some form of leadership. Almost every student did a varsity sport or something similar. Every student volunteered. The question is can you make your daughter stand out to admissions. Highlight any unique aspect she might have whether it is thinking process, interests, or discoveries. Hope this helps.
Hi, applying UPenn ED in CAS! Most likely this is my choice of school! Love what I know of the school so far!
I will be visiting the school soon!
Good luck to everyone!
Can anyone who’s visited tell me what the campus is like?
Just awesome!
Ben Franklin invites you to take a virtual look around 
:
If I’m not mistaken, Penn was the first college or university to have it’s campus on Google Street View–they used a bicycle instead of a car to photograph the pedestrian walkways!