UPenn ED? Please read!

Colleges & Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
1

<p>UPenn is my dream school and I want to apply ED, although my mom wants me to apply to Boston College EA. I am going to major in Nursing and I was wondering if that is going to help me because it seems like most people are applying to Wharton.
I realize that UPenn is a major reach for me, but I love the school and I figure that I really have nothing to lose if I apply ED.
My SAT scores are really my only major weakness and I'm afraid that they will be the reason I won't get in. I'm hoping that my GPA will make up for it though.
SAT:
Critical Reading: 620
Math: 600
Writing: 600
Essay: 8</p>

<p>Subject tests:
Math II: 600
Biology E: 560 (too low to send?)
History: 520 (I'm positive this is too low to send...lol)</p>

<p>AP Tests:
Bio 3
English Lang 3</p>

<p>GPA: 4.25, top 3% of my class (I have never gotten anything less than an A and will have 6 AP classes by the time I graduate). I live in California in an extremely small town. My high school doesn't offer a lot of AP classes and there are only 288 people in my graduating class. However, my high school is very competitive and it is not easy to get all A's. I've worked very hard to get good grades. Just because my SAT score is low, it doesn't mean that my GPA is high only because my high school is "easy". My parents could not afford any SAT classes for me which I think would have helped me a lot...</p>

<p>EC's:
-Founder and President of Cal-HOSA (Health Occupations Students of America) which is basically the only Health Club at my high school. This is the second year of the club and there are about 50 members.
-Health Explorer, over 150 hours of volunteer work at the local hospital and for Cal-HOSA
-Teacher's Assistant for the Migrant Education Program, 50 hours (English is my native language but I am fluent in Spanish as well).
-Secretary (sophomore) and Vice President (junior and senior year) of Key Club. About 200 hours combined of numerous community service activities including working in the Soup Kitchen, Relay for Life Captain (Cancer Awareness), Canned-Food Drives, Trash Pick-Up, Tutoring at Elementary Schools, Project Linus, Project D.E.F.T.
-Link Crew leader for 2 years (volunteering to help the incoming freshman)
- Section Leader and 1st chair in my school's band (freshman and sophomore year). I have played the clarinet for 7 years and the piano for 9 years.
- JV and Varsity Volleyball Team. I played JV as a freshman and sophomore and then made Varsity as a Junior and Senior. Volleyball is very competitive at my school and I skipped over the freshman team and went straight to JV. (It's kind of funny because I'm pretty sure I'm the only one in the history of my high school to be in both band and volleyball at the same time...two very separated groups at my HS).
- Varsity Swimming all four years (made the 1st Team Squad in my league and won league championships my sophomore and junior year). I made the Junior Olympics when I was 10.
- Mathletes for 2 years
- Youth Alive all 4 years (I am very involved in my church and I sing and play piano in the Youth Band)
-International Club for 2 years, Secretary sophomore year
- Secretary of NHS junior year
-Habitat for Humanity for 2 years (community service building houses)
- I have worked as a Lifeguard for 2 years at the local pool and have dealt with some pretty serious situations for ex. one time a lady had a seizure and fell and hit her head, and another time, a girl broke a glass lamp and it sliced her head open in the restaurant right next to the pool.</p>

<p>Awards:
- Interviewed for Girl's State
- California Scholorship Federation all 4 years
- National Honors Society for 3 years (they don't accept freshmen)
- Top Ten GPA Award
- Scholar Athlete Award
- Top Team GPA in the league for Volleyball</p>

<p>Nursing and the medical field are both extremely important to me. My mother was diagnosed with Lupus, an auto-immune disease, when she was 30. I was tested when I was little and I have Lupus in my blood, but the doctors said that it hasn't "emerged" yet. My mother is very weak and my dad is gone all the time because he is a firefighter (and there a lot of huge fires in Cali!). I practically raised my little brother when my mom was really sick. However, she has gotten much better in the past few years and now actually teaches Spanish at the junior high school.
Both of my grandparents have had different kinds of cancer, which also runs in my family... My grandma had breast cancer and different forms of skin cancer as well. In April, my grandpa died of stage 4 lung cancer which was very hard for my family to deal with. I saw my grandpa the day before he died and he held my hand and told me how proud he was of me and to never give up on my dreams. He said that he believed in me and knew I could accomplish anything. That struck me hard, because no one had ever told me that before. My grandpa was so special to me and he is a huge reason of why I want to go into the medical field.</p>

<p>My goal is to become a nurse and work in a children's cancer/disease hospital. When people hear this, they say "Oh, well, that is really sad and it takes the right person to do that kind of job..." What they don't understand is that I am that person. And yes, it is sad, but I want to make a difference in those children's lives. I want to make them laugh and smile and know that they are special. I want to make sure that they are never forgotten. </p>

<p>Well, that pretty much sums up who I am. Thanks so much for any feedback or helpful hints you can give me. :)</p>

2

<p>Do you have any hooks?</p>

3

<p>Not really. I’m white and both of my parents went to college. I’m going to need a lot of financial aid. I’m from a very small, unknown town though.</p>

4

<p>bumpppppppppppppp</p>

5

<p>anyone??? feedback please??</p>

6

<p>As much as I’d like to think that it’s a possibility for you to get accepted, I think that it is really a high reach for you. But anyway, why consider just Penn? There are so many other universities that offer good nursing programs, and Penn’s isn’t the “best” anyway!</p>

<p>You should consider the University of Washington and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, !</p>

<p>For these two colleges, your SAT scores are within the accepted region, and they both have one of the top nursing schools!</p>

7

<p>I would prefer the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, though. UoW is in Seattle, no matter what the name suggests. It’s too cold out there!</p>

8

<p>Thanks so much for your post! I’m applying to Chapel Hill as well, but it’s probably going to be very hard for me to get in there because I’m out of state. If I lived in North Carolina, it would be first on my list, no doubt! Do you know anything about Villanova’s Nursing School?</p>

9

<p>I see. Nope, sorry, I’m an international student so my knowledge of colleges is quite limited. Anyway, this link might be of some interest to you: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/villanova-university/567399-villanova-nursing.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/villanova-university/567399-villanova-nursing.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>However, it would be easier to get in than Boston College, but I’m not sure of the quality of the education there so you should check it out by doing some research online.</p>

<p>Anyway, this also may be of use to you:
[Best</a> Nursing Programs | Top Nursing Schools | US News Best Graduate Schools](<a href=“http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-nursing-schools/nursing-rankings]Best”>http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-nursing-schools/nursing-rankings)</p>

<p>Although it is a ranking for graduate schools, it can be used as an indicator for undergraduate programs as well. The things you’ll have to look for are the SAT scores (Even though they are only a component in the admissions process, they are still important), how good the nursing program is, and whether the college as a whole is fitting for you.</p>

10

<p>Well your SAT’s are not as good as most applicants that apply to UPenn. Not saying you wont get in, but chances are low. But you should still apply because your EC’s are awesome!!</p>

11

<p>yshuwah93: I’m actually applying to Villanova as well! And thanks for the link. It helped a lot.
needstostudy: Haha thanks! If only my SAT’s were higher…but honestly, I’ll be happy to go to Villanova or BC. They are great schools too!</p>

12

<p>I don’t think you have much of a shot at Penn… sorry. You do have low SAT scores and the fact that you have high gpa but dismal AP scores makes your school look rather slack and not competitive, which makes it even stranger when you say its hard to get A’s.</p>

13

<p>I would apply to Boston College EA. I realize UPenn is your dream school, but it’s not really necessary for the health profession. Don’t worry you’ll grow to love Boston College once you’re there.</p>

14

<p>HI FIVE! fellow nursing applicant/competition</p>

<p>I get your point about the low SAT and the high GPA problem, but I don’t think admissions officers can really see through that. Your SSR might help disprove the perceived grade inflation at your school, if it is true.</p>

<p>However, you do have some solid extracurriculars and some great essay material, so I’d give it a shot anyways.</p>

<p>Maybe we’ll both make it in and see each other their ;)</p>

15

<p>I think you have an average chance. I’m not sure how competitive nursing is in the ED round, though. Make sure you send ALL your SAT/SAT-II scores…I saw earlier you said that a score was “too low to send”…that is not allowed. You MUST send all your scores. Wouldn’t want to be disqualified.</p>

16

<p>^oh, really?? thanks for telling me! I recently visited BC and I really loved it! I’m really thinking about applying to BC EA now. Does anyone know how much it increases your chances of getting into BC applying EA rather than RD?</p>