What should i do to get in to Upenn

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
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<p>Hi world,</p>

<p>My dream is to go to Columbia or Upenn. I am a rising freshman, asian, male. My interests are in architecture. Since i haven't officially started my high school career, i thought it would be a great idea to ask CC to see what i should do to further my chance of making it to Columbia/Upenn.</p>

<p>Could i follow in the footsteps of a local architect, becoming his "apprentice". Furthermore, would it be a good idea to start an architectural club, and are there any architectural associateions that i could affiliate with? I want to sound like a well-rounded person, but not like a robot that joins clubs for the sake of it, not for the love of it.</p>

<p>Also, being a freshman, would it be a good idea to take AP computer science? I dont have an extremely heavy course load, so i think it wouldn't be too hard to handle. If any has taken it, can you please tell me how hard it is, and if a freshman could handle it?</p>

<p>Thanks in Advance...;)</p>

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<p>If you’ve got the prerequisites I’d say taking AP Comp Sci as a freshman wouldn’t be too hard.</p>

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<p>The answer to ever question you asked is yes.</p>

<p>Would you be able to get in without them? Potentially.</p>

<p>Would they help a lot? Probably.</p>

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<p>yea, i dont get what u want from us. just try ur hardest and say ur graces…thats all u can really do. admissions are a strrraaangee world and i dont know if anyone on this forum can really crack them or solve the mystery behind them. just work on being extremely well-rounded and show ur interest in the school cuz ive been told by numerous officials that for penn that REALLY helps (maybe do their highschool summer program)good luck!</p>

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<p>I was accepted early at upenn, and I will be attending the college of arts and sciences next year. What I did was the following: I tried hard in all my classes, made sure my transcript was strong (all As except for two Bs freshman year), took classes that were considered very difficult (as many APs as I could), participated in extensive community service, got a job, got an internship, played a sport, did well on the SATs, and tried to write good essays for my application. Do this, and you’ll probably get in.</p>

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<p>also, play an instrument.</p>

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<p>i wouldn’t do stuff just for getting into college, enjoy your high school years…</p>

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<p>i was accepted ED to penn CAS. i play oboe. maybe you should play oboe too.</p>

<p>i didn’t find collegeconfidential until i was done with everything needed in the college process (minus one SAT II and essays)</p>

<p>go play.</p>

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<p>Best advice you can get. Be smart throughout high school, but don’t let the pressure to get into a good college drive you crazy freshman year. After all, that’s what Junior Year’s for!</p>

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<p>i spent most of my high school years enjoying myself and, while working hard some of the time and doing a few extracurriculars, i never did anything over the top. i got a lot more sleep than most of my peers because i didn’t spend hours in clubs and studying for tests. in the end, i got into an ivy league school anyway. college admission is such a crapshoot that you can waste your high school years doing everything possible to gain admission and fail anyway, or you can enjoy your high school years and hope for the best. you can’t control college admissions, but you can control having a good high school experience, which, in the end, is far more important.</p>

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<p>Ur right cereal, it is a crapshoot. Just out of curiosity, what Ivy did u get into?</p>

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<p>^based on his posts… a school ranked lower than UPenn</p>

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<p>No i’m pretty sure he’s at Penn.</p>

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<p>Being a freshman myself, aspiring to go to Wharton at Penn, this is an interesting thread. Of you that have been accepted to Penn, what did you do after graduating high school? Apply right away or go to other colleges and get a full-time job? From what I’ve read there seems to be an emphasis on your careers before applying, so I an just looking for clarification.
Thanks in advance.</p>

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<p>excursions, i’m pretty sure he’s at cornell.</p>

<p>early bird and OP, get off of CC. you’re freshmen. seriously, don’t waste your time worrying about this stuff. live your life. learn for the sake of learning and do things because you want to do them. i didn’t start using CC until summer before senior year, and i still got into penn.
as for careers, they probably meant summer jobs.
just do the best you can and see where fate gets you.</p>

<p>good luck froshies.</p>

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<p>You’re right CrystalPineapple, I should be doing the ECs that I enjoy, and taking the classes that I want to take. I guess I was just a little apprehensive, as I am with many things. Anyways no matter how hard I work, and what ECs I take, getting into Penn, as is the case for every Ivy, is a crapshoot.</p>

<p>Cheers</p>

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<p>Make sure you get above 2300 on your SAT Is and above 750 on all SAT IIs (recommend taking Biology SAT II in sophomore year), and also make sure you start or continue something in music and some kind of sport or martial art. And MAKE SURE you get above 2300 on your SAT because at top schools, Asians automatically get a -50 points on their SAT I when compared to other races, so a 2300 is really only a 2250 for Asians.</p>

<p>"Bailey said the vast majority of students who apply to highly competitive schools like Yale and Princeton are qualified candidates, and thus admissions committees must consider a much wider range of indicators than just grades and test scores. </p>

<p>Li said his case is based on a study of admissions processes published by three Princeton researchers in 2004, which found that while elite universities gave African-American applicants an advantage equivalent to 230 extra SAT points and Hispanic applicants 185 points while making admissions decisions, the schools placed Asian-Americans at a disadvantage equal to a loss of 50 SAT points. </p>

<p>Li said he was aware of the discrimination revealed by the report before he applied to Princeton. </p>

<p>“Before I’d even applied, I had known about this discrimination,” Li said. “When I found out I was wait-listed, I had been hoping to get rejected so I would have legal standing to file the complaint.” </p>

<p>Two of the three researchers conducted another study on “disaffirmative action” in 2005, which found that Asian applicants to elite institutions would be the “biggest winners” if race were not a factor in admissions. In that scenario, the acceptance rate for Asian students would go up from 17.6 percent to 23.4 percent, the study found. </p>

<p>The San Francisco-based group “Chinese for Affirmative Action” supports the practice of affirmative action in education for all ethnic groups, but Asian-Americans in particular. CAA Executive Director Vincent Pan said Asians are often held up as the “model minority” — as a stereotypically high-achieving ethnic group — to supposedly prove that minorities do not need extra support, but this view is largely a myth."</p>

<p>[Yale</a> Daily News - Anti-Asian bias alleged](<a href=“http://www.yaledailynews.com/articles/view/18978]Yale”>http://www.yaledailynews.com/articles/view/18978)</p>

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<p>I’m aware of the above study and am baffled that AA still exists. It’s insulting as an Hispanic to have the bar lowered. In any event, the OP should reconsider other programs for architecture, as Penn’s is weak. Yale and Columbia have terrific programs.</p>

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<p>Wayward, I was assuming Penn’s architecture is weak. Btw, is Penn’s campus small? Because Columbia’s campus, IMO is tiny.</p>

<p>To angryasianman, I know a high SAT score is essential, it is for any race. As for making sure I have a sport, martial art, etc., I don’t think having every single one is essential. Most colleges are looking for well-rounded people, NOT people that make themselves seem like robots, and do countless ECs to build up a “desirable college resume”. As many know, there is no formula of ECs and grades to get your self into any Ivy.</p>

<p>Cheers</p>

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<p>Columbia’s campus is somewhere between 32 and 36 acres. Penn’s campus is around 270 (and with the Postal Lands acquisition, it’s just under 300 acres.</p>

<p>This is also the first time I heard of Penn’s architecture program being “weak.” It is a department of storied history (and in another bonus over Columbia, it never disgraced its name with the charlatan Bernard Tschumi)</p>