Chance me for UPenn Nursing [NH resident, 3.87 GPA, 1450 SAT]

Chance Me / Match Me
1

  • Demographics

    • NH

    • Private High School

    • Legacy at UPenn

    • US Resident

    • Male

    • Does meet any aid requirements or need any aid

    • Middle Eastern

  • Intended Major

    • Applying to the Nursing School for BSN

  • UW GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

    • UW: 3.87 and W: 4.38

    • Rank: ???

    • SAT: 1450 ATM (I am waiting for August SAT and am able to take SATs until Admission deadlines)

  • Coursework

    • 5 Community College (Not on Transcript)

    • 12 APs + 1 Self Study

      1. Last Year: AP Physics 1 (4), AP Lang (5), AP Calc AB (5), and APUSH (5)

      2. This Year: AP Calc BC, AP Physics 2, AP Stats, AP Lit, AP Bio, AP CSA, AP Physcology, AP Gov, and AP Latin (Self Study)

      3. 12 Honors (Max Possible)

  • Awards

    • 1x State Champion [Redacted Category] Science Olympiad

    • 2x State Champion Math Team

    • MC3 Competition (Top 10% international)

    • Sports Team Awards (Tennis and XC)

    • Purple Comet Math Competition 2nd in State

    • Runner-up State Champs in Tennis

    • Other Science Olympiad Placements (Redacted)

    • NHS Member

    • AP Scholar with Honor

  • Extracurriculars

    • Undergraduate Research Conference

I created my poster and presented it at the conference, worked with a PhD to make it, a pretty big conference with 200-300 people, it was about Nursing Education

  • Retreat Leader

Lead a large group of high schoolers through a 4-day overnight retreat about personal growth and life experience. Sharing my own deep personal talk and procuring a safe environment to share

  • 3 Sports

Participated in Varsity XC, Varsity Basketball, and Varsity Tennis all 4 years, captain of XC (Basketball 1 year JV and Track and Field 1 year instead of Tennis)

  • Math Team

Participated in a math team league, which participated in meets, held practices, and other things. We are really good (State-Champions many times over)

  • Science Olympiad

Participated and prepared for a team competition of the science olympiad, where I placed very highly in my events, and our team did quite well. I organize it all and I am President

  • Big Medical Center Intern

Participated in a summer internship, where I worked with a variety of different departments for 7 weeks, 40 hours. I made great connections, shadowed for many hours, and gained lots of clinical experience. (10-5% acceptance rate program)

  • Volunteer Hours

Volunteered many hours: 14 Hours Hospice, 48 Hours Food Banks, 37 Hours School Related Volunteering, 42 Hours Math Team and Math Competitions, 3 Miscellaneous, and 200+ Hours of Church Volunteering (Rough Estimate, haven’t added it all up, this is a rough underestimate)

  • LNA

I participated in a couple-month-long process of getting my LNA license through a program. I spent my summer doing this, took a while, and got around 100 clinical hours.

  • Research Papers

I have up to three in the works, if I get them submitted good but idk if I can move that quickly. The first which I will get submitted is about Nursing Education, which could get into a 4.0+ Impact Rating Journal or maybe just 3.0. The other one is for a high school journal, I just started writing. The last one hasn’t even concluded data collection.

  • Non-profit Co-President

Done some stuff, but need to get more events done, working on more volunteering groups, fundraising, and a toy drive (Haven’t done too much, maybe not on Application_

  • Committee Member (Could add to Internship if needed):

Scheduled volunteer groups, ran a blood drive for interns, and planned social events

  • Class Secretary (1-year)

  • Shadow Hours

50 hours at the moment of shadowing, doctors, nurses, and a PA (Dermatology, Pathology, Orthopaedics, Oncology, Clinical Microbiology, Nurses in ER, and Nurses in ICU) (More soon)

  • CPR Certified and BLS Certified

  • Jobs:

    1. Grocery Store Bagger (2 years)

    2. Support assistant for families (1 year)

    3. Nursing Home LNA (1-year)

  • Additional Info:

    • Founded two other clubs, participated in three other ones, and took classes at community college, took care of a family member for a decent time during Freshman + Sophomore Year

  • Essays/LORs/Other

    • Essays will be about person moments in my life that I felt really have affected me

    • Latin Teacher, Calculus Teacher, Counselor, Researcher at Ivy, and PhD APRN

  • Cost Constraints / Budget

    • No concerns

  • Schools including Safety

    • Top Nursing Schools

    • ED UPenn

2

Unlikely but talk to your college counselor.

Good luck.

3

Is there any reason for your answer? Thank you for your response!

4

Congrats on your accomplishments. IMO it is impossible to chance for hyper-competitive programs such as Penn nursing. All anyone can say is apply and give it your all. Be sure to also seek out match and safety schools that appear affordable and that you would be excited to attend.

Good luck.

2 Likes
5

Yes, I totally get that. I will give it a shot then if you think I have a reasonable chance. I also have safety and other schools too!

6

I expect your best advice will come from the guidance counselor at your private HS.

2 Likes
7

Sure - and I noted as @happy1 said, to talk to your counselor. College counselor changes things - but in general, your SAT is very low for Penn, which you noted. Nursing is obviously very competitive - so what would seem a safety at a university overall isn’t necessarily a safety for nursing.

You are a strong student - congrats. But you asked - and Penn, in general, most are getting turned down so statistically it’s a hard admit. So anyone who is saying - yes, you’re in - is setting, in my opinion, an unrealistic expectation. But then you have a 1450.

You have a strong record though and we don’t even know what’s on your community college record.

And I do agree - apply (you are ED which helps) and see - because in the end, only what Penn thinks matters - and it’s clearly your #1 choice - and you worked hard so take your shot. I’m not Penn…it’s just an opinion. The worst that will happen - they’ll say no. You can go to any nursing program - and do well. So Penn or otherwise, if you want to be a nurse, you will be.

Good luck.

8

Thank you so much. I totally get your opinion, and thank you for being honest. I now definitely understand my SAT needs work, and I will make sure to hone in on that in the future, to improve admissions, and I also get what you mean about the randomness. Thanks again for the constructive criticism; it’s very helpful.

9

My school is kinda garbage, we get new counselors every year, and they usually have no experience, so it’s not very good, but thank you, and I will try to reach out to the other, more experienced counselors too. Thanks!

10

In the end, while your counselor should provide great guidance - and perhaps they can help your package - you’re a very strong student, with an SAT that can use 70-100 points - and we don’t know how your essays or LORs will be. Your ECs are super strong - so take your shot. No one should tell you otherwise. If they say no, not a huge deal.

Just ensure you have a safety - and that doesn’t mean schools like Pitt and Case Western - they can be on your list, of course.

Think about this - UMASS, you’re an easy in - right? But nursing had a 10% acceptance rate. U CIncinnati, a substitutional school, would be much easier admit. Purdue, with a 24% acceptance rate, might be a target, etc.

Nursing often has a small acceptance rate compared to an entire university, etc. But there are some schools with very high rates. I’ve been in several hospitals including Vanderbilt (a top cancer hospital). Nurses come from not only many unknown schools (including online Aspen was one of mine) but my dad’s entire care team came from the Philippines. So I hope you get into a top and great school and I’m sure you will (Penn or otherwise - if you want to be a nurse, you can definitely be a nurse - just make sure your safety really is a safety.

Hope that helps.

1 Like
11

Is this an elite high school with large numbers of graduates going to Penn and other similarly selective private colleges? If so, it likely has dedicated college counselors who will know better.

Permanent resident (“green card”)?

College courses taken while in high school and their grades must be reported to colleges you will apply to, either by sending the transcript or including them on the self-reported academic record (depending on which the college uses for applicants).

Penn is highly competitive to get into, and nursing majors are typically more competitive to get into than the host school for many host schools. Nursing does tend to be one of the less college-prestige-sensitive professions.

1 Like
12

I do not agree, as others might, that predicting admissions at top schools is impossible. Given Penn’s move to test required, it will be especially challenging for you to be admitted with tests in the mid 1400’s. If you end up in the 1500’s I give you a shot. If you go to a lesser private, odds are pretty slim, but if you go to St Pauls or Exeter, it becomes a lower reach. Good luck.

1 Like
13

I gotta think it’s not a top school given this comment - but the student is a legacy which may help.

14

Congrats on your accomplishments. I think you should apply if you want, but chancing you for a competitive major in a high reach school is impossible, imo. Maybe one of the guidance counselors at your school can be of assistance.

I am not sure what this means. I know nurses at very well known teaching hospitals who received their nursing degrees at schools that most have never heard of.

I would apply to UPenn, but I would also spend time researching schools that are more likely for both admissions and major. Nursing is very competitive.

Best wishes!

2 Likes
15
  1. It’s not an elite high school, sends 1-2 to Ivies yearly.
  2. Born in the US, both parents are US Citizens
  3. If my community college transcript is gone, do I just type in the scores I got for them, and if one of the scores is in the 80s (89), should I mention it?
  4. Genuine question, I feel like my ECs are very strong for nursing, and my only weak points are my SAT and GPA. Do you concur, or is there something I am missing?
  5. Thank you for all the feedback, it’s very helpful!
16

Yes, thank you so much. I am going all in on the SAT and will try my best. If not, my state has some good in-state nursing programs, so I should be able to find a suitable option, and I have some other targets to consider.

17

Okay, thank you so much for the feedback. I do not attend a prep school, so it seems my odds would be slim, but if I were to get my SAT into that 1500 range, would it increase my odds a lot, or is there something missing in my application?

18

I mean, like other top nursing programs in the country: Duke, OSU, UPitt, Emory, etc.
Thank you for the feedback as well!

19

Well, your GPA, rigor, and rank (because a GPA can be inflated or deflated) - hence you have SATs or AP scores as validators - how else does my kid get an A in an AP class but bomb the test….grade inflation!! ECs don’t make up for your academic record - so your “weak” points are sort of the issue moreso than ECs - unless you cured cancer or one a gold medal….so in that sense you’re missing a lot.

Define community college transcript is gone - if you took classes, they need to be reported, 69 or 89 - it doesn’t matter. You don’t get to decide what gets seen. You have to submit all.

In the end, if you’re hell bent on applying ED to Penn, then do so and don’t worry about the chancing. While I don’t think you’ll get in, neither myself or anyone here is Penn - so if it’s your true #1, take your shot.

btw - no one has to ED - it’s a choice you are making but for Penn, probably a good one if it’s your true #1 and you truly want to pay for it, given you can have the same outcome and job coming from myriad of other less expensive schools.

Good luck.

20

Duke is a reach regardless of major. Emory could be as well.

Pitt is a target school but nursing is a reach and I cannot chance you. Ohio State, while imo a target school, is competitive for nursing. That doesn’t mean you won’t get in. Ohio State has a few spots for direct entry (I think) and everybody else applies as a secondary entry- some get in, some do not.