WILL CHANCE BACK-- UPenn (double legacy), Vassar, Amherst, William and Mary, Swarthmore

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I'm a double legacy at Penn (both parents), where my dad also works. planning on applying ED. It's my dream school. If I don't get in, I would probably apply to Vassar ED II and the rest regular decision.
gender:female
race: asian/white (will probably check "other")
location: NJ
school: public, very competitive
major: undecided, will apply to college of arts and sciences, nothing in math or science though
SAT 1:2060 (math/cr/w) 640/690/730 (2 seatings)
SAT 2 (no studying): Lit-670
Math 1-630
(1 seating)
Class rank: 36/404 (top 9%)
weighted GPA: 3.9
AP: English lang junior year (5)</p>

<p>ap psych senior year
ap euro senior year
ap lit senior year</p>

<p>ec:
varsity winter track 10-11 (i explain why i stopped running in my essay, it's a valid reason)
varsity spring track 9-11
key club 9-12
interact club 10
varsity club and S.A.D.D. club 11-12
NHS- 11-12 (i don't think we have any others besides art)
worked this past summer at a snack bar (seasonal)
volunteer for track special olympics
tutoring
relay for life- participated on team and raised money 9&11
created and ran team 10
will probably participate 12 but it's in june so it won't affect anything
co-founded and co-leader of a chapter of the international organization Project HEAL (established chapter at my school, we hold multiple fundraising events a year, give assemblies, advertise, organize meetings etc.)
coordinated a NEDA Walk in october (raised over $18,000 and climbing)
i've been volunteering for a local youth band since 2007, i mentor the students and help them with their music.</p>

<p>other?????:
4 years of Honors Wind Ensemble (1st chair saxophone) at my school
senior year courses: ap psych, ap euro, ap eng lit, honors calc, sociology,honors wind ensemble
have almost always taken most rigorous courses (exception: math junior year/sr. year)
my school isnt offering AP Spanish 5 this year and i took high school spanish 1in 8th grade, so i mean technically i have 4 years of high school level spanish and they'll be understanding hopefully. (also, may be in spanish honor society? i'm not sure because of the cancelled spanish this year how it will work)
recommendations: honors u.s. history 2 (high)
Honors english 2/a.p. lang/ supervisor in HEAL (most likely amazing)
common app essay: 8 i talk about project heal and how it has changed who i am
penn essay: 8 talked about how it's great for an undecided major person like myself, then how i grew up there and ive always wanted to attend and what i love about it</p>

<p>hook: obviously, both of my parents attended Penn. My dad currently works for them, and my mom worked for Penn Medicine for over 10 years. my mom was also the dean scholar but i don't know if that affects anything? i've also met the admission committee. </p>

<p>I KNOW MY SCORES ARE VERY LOW. that is a work in progress.
also, there are a ton of ED applicants from my school. well, not a ton. but like 6.
:D </p>

2

<p>also, i won’t need financial aid, these SATs, besides math, are actually in the middle 50%. also, a weird thing that happened, i asked one of the officers about double legacies as compared to single legacies and she said, “it’s double-y good! haha you still have to apply”. don’t know how to interpret that???</p>

3

<p>Good chance for upenn because you have the legacy thing going for you. Otherwise, I’d say it would be a reach. I think you’d have a better chance at vassar. Your extracurriculars are fantastic and ranking too. Good luck, and please chance me back on my last thread if you can.</p>

4

<p>@97college thank you! done (:</p>

5

<p>I think you will get into Vassar without a problem because of the great ECs and GPA. But the low SAT reasoning and subject tests might hurt the Penn ED chance. It’s worth a shot though, but it’s a crapshoot for most. </p>

<p>Please chance back. <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1700717-chance-a-low-gpa-but-good-sat-with-special-circumstance.html#latest”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1700717-chance-a-low-gpa-but-good-sat-with-special-circumstance.html#latest&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>I think penn would be a reach, but you have the legacy so you have a much better chance. I sincerely hope you get in.
Also, Vassar should be a pretty good chance.
Good luck :)</p>

7

<p>Your legacy is a big plus. If you didn’t have that it would be a big reach but that’s not you so don’t worry haha. Vassar is extremely difficult to get into! That would be a reach! Good Luck</p>

8

<p>the more i think, the more i’m not sure if i will apply ed or rd to vassar. how would i rank for the other schools? any recommendations?</p>

9

<p>Penn is somewhat match because of your legacy and ec, but I would aim to increase SAT2 score by 100 points each.</p>

<p>Vassar is low-reach, but with a bit higher SAT you have a shot. If you are planning to take SAT again, work on Math sections. </p>

10

<p>Your test scores are kind of low but since you have legacies AND your dad works for them, u should have a RLY good chance of getting in. I would still try to increase ur scores tho. Good luck!</p>

11

<p>IMO even with the double legacy your chances aren’t fantastic at penn. In your essays, focus in on 1-3 specific extracurriculars and go into greater detail specifically about them. Good luck.</p>

12

<p>Your chances are bolstered by the fact that you’re a double-legacy, but I’m not sure if that hook will be strong enough to gain admission. Your test scores are rather low for UPenn (decidedly 25th percentile) and your courseload could be a little more rigorous. Make sure you knock those essays out of the park, because I truly believe that will be the deciding factor, along with your ECs.</p>

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<p>Remember, only 40% of legacies who apply ED get in. OP’s stats are lower than my son’s, and he decided it was too low a chance (double legacy too) to get in, and he applied ED elsewhere after much thought. YMMV.</p>

<p>I agree that your courseload rigor and test scores are lower than average. You can at least take some SAT classes and increase those (if you are a junior).</p>

<p>Did not your parents clue you in about what classes would give you the best chance to get into Penn? Or do they think all legacies get in automatically?</p>

<p>And I’m clueless as to what you meant you “met the admission committee”. My son met Dean Furda, so do lots of kids. Do you mean you had a special interview?</p>

<p>I’m also confused if you are a junior, or you applied by yesterday’s ED deadline because you are a senior.</p>

<p>I do think if you could get your SAT score up to 2200+ and subject tests 700+, you would have a much better chance. Make sure you take a SAT class to help you out, they really do help IMHO.</p>

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<p>The legacy certainly ups your chances at Penn, but you have otherwise strong ec’s and a solid GPA. Because you wrote your essays already, you’re probably a senior and don’t have a chance at retaking the tests. Don’t worry about it too much; test scores don’t determine everything, and admissions officers recognize that. Best of luck, and thanks for chancing mine!</p>

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<p>@rhandco‌ By “met the admission committee”, I’m guessing that her mom is good friends with them (She was Dean Scholar) and set up something. I appreciate your candor, though, and would be thrilled if you could chance me! </p>

16

<p>OP, you said your GPA is 3.9 weighted. What is your unweighted GPA? I am concerned both GPA and test scores are low for where you are aiming.</p>

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<p>@sudsie my unweighted is a 3.8 @rhandco i am a senior. the reason i have so few ap’s is because we are unable to take them until junior year, and even then, some are restricted until senior year, and besides two maths, i have taken the most rigorous schedule available to me. also i have no idea what any of your abbreviations mean.</p>

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<p>in general: submitted my app yesterday. after re-editing my essays, i think they are both at least 9’s. my teacher recommendation letters are in, and i know they’re fabulous (one told me in the hallway he wants to clone me). also, my guidance counselor promised a great one.
i also know that within the context of my school, my guidance counselor rated my top 5%(highest) for rigor, extracurriculars, grades, personal qualities, etc.</p>

19

<p>ED = early decision. You should have applied early decision or you will not have your legacy status considered.</p>

<p>YMMV = your mileage may vary = you may have a different experience but that was mine</p>

<p>OP = original poster = you, empanada</p>

<p>I hope you meant that you submitted on November 1.</p>

<p>If you are taking the most rigorous program at your school, that matters a lot.</p>

<p>But can you retake the SATs? That would be the most worrisome of your stats. Your status at your school really doesn’t mean much if your SATs are bad; my best friend went to a terrible school, was valedictorian, but also a NMS Finalist. His SAT scores were far above anyone else’s at the school, probably for the previous and next five years.</p>

<p>Good luck, hopefully you will make it!</p>

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<p>You have a really good chance of getting in, last year my friend got in through Questbridge and was really involved in her ECs like you are. You both have similar applications, but she took a total of 14 AP classes throughout high school. Overall, you have a great chance of getting in! Hope everything goes as planned! Please chance me back :slight_smile: </p>