What Are My Chances for UPenn/Columbia?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

SAT: 1590 (790R/800M)
SAT II: Math II 800
UW GPA: 3.67 [3.85 If you exclude my sophomore year in which I would suffered from a severe medically diagnosed concussion which made school extremely difficult for a period of time. Sophomore year semesters are the only period dragging my GPA down).
GPA w/ Bonus Points (+.018 per Honors.AP Class): 4.1 [Would be 4.3 excluding sophomore year]
Class Rank: 33 out 165 (Top 20%) [Excluding Sophomore Year would be Top 10%]
ACT: 34 [Not sure if I will/should submit this or not]
Awards: NMSF, AP Scholar, Currently Finishing on AP Capstone Diploma
Curriculum: 100% Most Rigorous available at my school, Math Classes at Local College, 6 Years of Chinese Study

of APs Taken: 11 (Remainder are all Honors Classes where AP is unavailable)

Extracurriculars:
Viola - (10 Years, City-Wide Advanced Philharmonic Symphony, 3 Years Section Leader, Founder of Only Stringed Ensemble/Orchestra at School)
Tennis - (10 Years [4 Years School Team] 3 Years Varsity, Team Captain`, #2 Singles, 2x State-Qualifier, State-Ranked USTA Player, Several Local Tournament Championships/Placements, Team Top 5 in State)
Musical Theatre (7 Years, Summer Camps, Civic Theatre Acting/Musical Theatre Classes, Leading Role in School Production(s))
Math Team - (11, 12; Team Captain, State Math Competitions, 2nd Place Individual Event, Team 1st Place Overall)
School’s Stringed Ensemble - Leading Violist, Founder/President)
Varsity Choir/Vocal Performance - (12, Previously only Did Musical Theatre but a newly discovered passion, Leading Bass In School’s Advanced Exclusive Audition-Only Capella Group)
Quiz Bowl - (11, 12; Co-Captain, State-Qualifying Team)
Chinese Club - (9, 10, 11, 12)
Model UN - (10, 11, 12)

Essay(s): 10/10
Why Penn: 8/10
Teach Recs: 8-10/10 (Will be good for sure but unsure about the passion in them, both could definitely write me a great one but they could both also write me a generic one, haven’t read either)
Counselor Recommendation: 10/10 [Super Close to her, definitely great]
Additional Rec - 10/10 From Capella Group Director and Musical Direction of School Musical Productions, After hearing me audition for the musical my junior year he literally begged me to join the Capella group, definitely a great rec.)

Gender: Male
State: MI
Race: White
Income: 100-150k
School Type: Private Catholic
Hooks: (LGBT?, Essay about my struggling gay identity/orientation in a conservative environment at my high school)

2

I know you have unusual circumstances, but I still believe your gpa will prevent you from acceptance even with a strong rest of the application

3

Are you applying (or did you apply) for either ED? Did your counselor explain the circumstances around your GPA? Your ECs are good, but kind of standard. I’m not sure what your major is, but you should evaluate whether your ECs reflect your interest in what you want to pursue.

Overall, assuming both are RD applications, I’d say that you’re more likely to be accepted at Penn than Columbia. Even a 3.85 could be a bit low for Ivies, and that’s if they ignore a large portion of your academic history entirely. Make sure you have a good amount of matches and safeties as well!

Best of luck! :slight_smile: Chance me back?
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1966406-chance-me-upenn-ed-yale-brown-princeton-etc-will-chance-back-p8.html

4

I’ll be applying ED for the Class of 2022. I’m trying to decide which school is worth my boosted admission chances during ED period

5

And yes, my counselor has explained the circumstances surrounding my sophomore year GPA drop. Everything is in order and will be legitimized