<p>I really want to apply early, but I have a feeling my SAT scores will really hold me back.</p>
<p>SAT: CR-660 M-790 W-620 Composite-(2070/2400 or 1450/1600)</p>
<p>SAT 2's: Literature-660 US History-710</p>
<p>I have a feeling applying early would not work to my advantage and I'd have a better shot at regular decision after I retake the regular SAT and US History and get an 800 when I take Math 2.</p>
<p>I know the answers already, but what do you think?</p>
<p>If Penn is your first choice maybe you should apply early. You could always take the SATs in October (I think) and have your scores sent to Penn right away. SAT scores are definitely not everything, and yours are not terrible. First of all most colleges don’t even look at the writing section at all. I got in early last year with a 690 in CR and an 800 in Math so yours are not that much lower than mine.</p>
<p>I don’t know your other stats or anything, but your GPA and ECs are much more important than SAT scores…If those aren’t excellent you may not stand a chance though…</p>
<p>No I think Penn actually takes writing into consideration, contrary to what you said about most schools. I have similar scores (I just suck at standardized tests), but I also have an incredibly high GPA (top 3%/621), with a rigorous course load at a very competitive public school (we send kids to Penn, Princeton, MIT, Schreyers [PSU Honors college], etc). I’m applying ED. Focus on perfecting your essays and make sure your recommendations are good. Sure the SAT’s may make an admissions officer scrutinize a little more, but in the end it’s the subjective information that will keep you in or out. Good luck</p>
<p>OH and extracurricular activities w/leadership positions… you don’t wanna make yourself appear like a book-worm that only studies. They look at EVERYTHING dude</p>
<p>Early is better. You will be deferred to RD if you are not accepted to ED. You can always send more scores later for RD even though October and November SAT could be sent in for ED. At the very least with ED, you are telling them that Penn is your first choice.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t be so sure to commit to ED though. Remember, a LOT of people get rejected ED…it’s NOT just Accept/Defer…the REJECT option is very common. And only 5-10% of those deferred get accepted RD…Defer doesn’t mean Admit later on! Reject is still a high chance!</p>
<p>hardworking, if you are suggesting that you have a better chance of getting rejected by applying ED, then I disagree. I will submit that if you are rejected ED, basically they must feel that you have no chance of being admitted RD, thus not offering a deferral. So it makes very little sense to think that somehow RD gives you a better chance of getting accepted. The overriding point of all this should be that if Penn is your absolute #1 choice, you should apply ED if financial aid is not an issue and if Penn is not way out of range of your qualification.</p>
<p>Alright, perhaps I will apply ED, although my other stats are no better (besides extracurriculars). I pretty much screwed up my first two year due to personal issues, and got a 3.4 UW GPA combined between freshman and sophomore year. I did get a 4.0 UW GPA junior year though and I’m taking 8 AP classes total (AP isn’t offered until junior year at my school). This all resulted in me only being 33/415 (Top 8 percent).</p>
<p>Do you think they’ll take uber-improvement into account? If I had taken my classes seriously throughout high school I would probably be valedictorian (seeing how I beat ours in classes this year).</p>
<p>Oh, as for ECs: </p>
<p>Activities:
Marching Band
Percussion Ensemble
Wind Ensemble
PMEA District Band
Creative Writing Club
French Club
Interact Club
Scholastic Scrimmage
Young Republicans
National Honors Society
Blue Eagle Ambassadors (Student Government)
Fellowship of Christian Students
Helping out with Church
Center for Talented Youth
Ski Club <3</p>
<p>Leadership:
Marching Band - Lead Tenor
Blue Eagle Ambassadors - Student Government member
Creative Writing Club - Officer
Young Republicans - Founder</p>
<p>Community Service:
ArtsQuest - 100+ hours
Interact Club - 25 hours</p>
<p>Awards:
2007 USSBA Grand National Champions
2008 USSBA Grand National Champions
2010 USSBA Group IV National Champions
AP Scholar
Schlastic Scrimmage - 2nd place in Districts
PMEA District Band - You have to try out and stuff
High Honor Roll
National Honors Society
Recognition from Principal for Advanced on 4Sight Tests</p>
<p>^^Forgot to mention another community service. I performed at the Concert for Cancer, which raised money for cancer treatment…</p>
<p>I agree with ttparent. If you are rejected ED you would not have gotten in RD. If they feel like they want to see more information, you will be deferred. Even though it can be very stressful to be deferred, you still have the same chance you would normally have applying RD (although the people who are deferred are probably more qualified as a whole than people applying RD since none were rejected right away). While you are applying to college it seems like being deferred is the same thing as being rejected. However, the important thing to remember is that people do get accepted after being deferred. I’ve met a lot of people here who said they were pretty much ready to be rejected RD before getting admitted in the spring. So it does happen.</p>
<p>@ttparent and Poeme: I didn’t mean that. I just wanted to remind everyone that the reject option during ED is very present. It seems as if a lot of people on these forums say “oh, if you don’t get accepted ED, you’ll just get deferred”. That simply isn’t the case…</p>
<p>So…do you think I should retake the SAT or take more Subjects in October? I’ve decided I’m going to apply ED to UPenn…</p>
<p>What school are you applying to?</p>
<p>u should apply ED, a extra 2 months wont make that big of a difference. when school starts u prolly wont have that much extra time to study for the SAT’s…assuming ur taking a rigorous course load. going with ED=slightly higher chance of getting in, but if u have another school in mind then maybe RD would be the better option for u.</p>
<p>@ttparent</p>
<p>I’m applying to the School of Arts and Sciences. I think I might take 3 Subject Tests in October. My SAT score is passable but my Subjects are a bit weak…</p>
<p>I am thinking that it might be better to improve your SAT 1 scores. 2070 is closer to bottom quartile of past admitted students and it would be very beneficial to improve on that. I have a feeling that SAT 1 is a little bit more important than SAT 2s. I think 2200+ SAT will go much further than 3 more very good SAT 2 scores. You can also take SAT 2s in November and Penn should get the scores in time for ED. Also consider doing the ACT test. Try doing the ACT practice test and if you do well, you should definitely take the ACT. You can use ACT in place of both SAT 1 and 2s.</p>
<p>Wait, so I can send my November scores to UPenn in time for ED?</p>
<p>And if I did this, would it look bad that I’m rushing in scores?</p>
<p>Why would it look bad? They just add new scores into your file. Read the “When to Take The Tests” section:</p>
<p>[Penn</a> Admissions: Required Tests](<a href=“http://www.admissions.upenn.edu/applying/testing.php]Penn”>http://www.admissions.upenn.edu/applying/testing.php)</p>
<p>Yea, I just read that :P</p>
<p>Anyways, I might try to ACT. I was a little skeptical at first but I just took a little practice science section with no practice and got 6/6 easily, so I might look into it.</p>