<p>country/city: Detroit, MI
school type: Public
Gender: Male
ethnic group: White (Russian)
apply fin aid: yes
academic scores (sat I & II, gpa): 31 ACT, no SAT IIs
rank: ~10%</p>
<p>EC: Owner of online retail business (<a href="http://www.amazingmusicbox.com%5B/url%5D">http://www.amazingmusicbox.com</a>) with 6 figure sales and 20% rate of growth, four-years dedicated laser physics research (including working on world's most powerful laser, research at national lab, and research in Moscow), President FBLA, President Young Democrats, Hockey Goaltender (two time league champs)</p>
<p>essays: Autobiography (talked about how my mom's skiing accident inspired me to start my business), Why Penn (took a creative approach, wrote in third person), Jerome Fisher (talked about my interests in laser physics and business)</p>
<p>recommendations: Outstanding...very well written. One wrote 'will make his mark on this world', another wrote about me being a future entrepreneur. Prolly as good as recs can get, what's important is that they formed a clear picture and defined me pretty well.</p>
<p>awards: Siemens Regional Finalist (one of 30 indiv. finalists in nation), ISEF Finalist, 1st place in state for science fair, Dept. Homeland Security Scholar (one of 6 in nation), featured in young biz 100.
legacy: no
recruit: no
any hooks? Laser Physics Research + Business</p>
<p>what most impress the admission?
I think I presented myself in a very unique way. How many kids are out there who spend their free time researching lasers with a music box business on the side? All of my extracurriculars were dedicated, laser research started in 9th grade, business started in 9th too. Also, the story of how I started my business probably impressed them as well (which i wrote about in my essay).</p>
<p>Adding to what people have mentioned before, it's clearly all about the essays, recs, and intangibles. I think in the future, since more and more people are getting 4.0s and high SATs, either the SAT will be made harder or testing eliminated.</p>
<p>" since more and more people are getting 4.0s and high SATs, either the SAT will be made harder or testing eliminated."</p>
<p>thats a biased CC view. the overwhelming majority of high school seniors don't have 4.0s or even 2200+ SAT scores. What seems average for CC, isn't average.</p>
<p>I agree with both Newyorker and IvyPoison: The standardized test scores and academic marks are making it more difficult for universities to discern the actual academic merit of each student. At some point, things will change. And I agree that most people who post on CC tend to have higher than average scores and grades. However at some point, the admissions process must be reworked.</p>
<p>I agree also. The line b/w 700 & 800 on each test is not very much at all. As the scores get lower it is easier to differentiate, but curves like on math (e.g. 800-770-740-720) are a joke, especially when most of the top candidates for schools for Penn are in the 700ish range anyway.</p>
<p>to the acceptees (those who posted their stats in particular):</p>
<p>i was just curious and i was just throwing a question
i have made some bad decisions in choosing the words such as "qualified"....
i seriously didnt mean to degrade any of u guys...
however, since it is my fault that some of the acceptees were offended, i apologize for what i have said</p>