braindeadxx

I just want to know if i should apply early decision or regular decision. I know that early decision has a 25.3% acceptance rate to the regular decisions which is only 12.6%. Although 888 of the 4527 applicants were deferred and later accepted which would bring the early admissions up to 45%. The problem is that i heard that the early applicants are much more qualified than those of regular decision. So i ask you do i have a nonexistent/reach/decent/good/great chance of getting accepted, and if so should i apply for early or regular decision?


GPA: 3.75
SAT: 2200 Math:750 English: 750 Writing: 700
ACT: 33
AP classes:
English
US history
World history
Comparative govt and politics
Biology

College classes:
SUPA Economics
ESF environmental science
SUPA Psychology
SUPA Participation in government

I didn't take many AP courses because my school does not offer many, i took as many as i could fit into my schedule. AP classes are not available till 11th grade and even then for only a few classes.

The rest of my classes are almost all honors except for a couple regents courses.

Sports:
Lacrosse (4 years) varsity
Swimming (3 years) varsity

Clubs:
Model UN (went to Georgetown, Cornell, and Brown conferences, along with many more)
Science Olympiad
Chess Club

Volunteering:
200 hours at a nursing home
100 hours at a library

I am a very dedicated lacrosse player, and was team captain for sophomore and senior year. I was the swimming captain both junior and senior years. Some of my grades went down a little because i was averaging 3-4 hours a day on either swimming or lacrosse

I also attend one of the top schools in NY... so its quite competitive

perazziman

What are your SAT Subject Test scores?

domino2017

Your scores are okay for Penn, but your GPA and extracurriculars are on the low end. Your clubs don't seem like a huge deal, but I see that you spend a lot of time on sports, so are you a recruitable athlete? If you've been recruited, your chances definitely go up. Also which school are you applying to? For instance, acceptance to Wharton is going to be more difficult than CAS.

If Penn is your top choice, go for it. Write some really amazing essays and you might get in. Good luck!

domino2017

Oh and to address something in your original post, 888 is the total number of students who were deferred. 99 of them were later accepted. Therefore, the total acceptance rate for early including accepted deferrals is really 27.5%, not 45%. Just thought I'd clarify that even though it doesn't really affect anything I've said.

rowingkid117

Just a heads up a lot of people who apply early are legacies or recruited athletes. In reality the acceptance rate for a normal applicant is probably the same as RD or even lower. Make sure that your application and stats are the best they can be before applying ED.

dfree124

Citation needed.

deathblade127

^You don't even need to to cite, that is definitely wrong.

Eric Furda himself admits that there is a higher-acceptance rate for ED students, mainly because of their passion towards the Penn.

"or example, students who apply early decision to Penn share a demonstrated passion for our academic programs, the campus community and the city of Philadelphia, and we respond to this pool with a higher admit rate than in regular decision. So I would suggest that the benefit does not come from simply marking the early decision box but that the decision to apply early comes after a thoughtful search process, where one school becomes the student’s clear first choice."

Answers From the Admissions Dean of the University of Pennsylvania, Part 1 - NYTimes.com

drac313

Early Decision pools have more commitment, highest possible yield (99%), and are actually less competitive because the absolute most competitive students apply to EA, SCEA schools and take their chances in the RD round. This makes for a better chance overall for ED students who apply. That being said, you still have to be competitive to get in a top 20 school even if you apply ED.

dfree124

I know, I was being a bit sarcastic .

deathblade127

^Sarcasm here is appreciated LOL.