Did I shoot too low?

Applying to College
1

I want to preface this by saying I mean no disrespect to Penn’s College of Arts & Sciences in this post, and I am grateful to have been accepted.

That said, this is something that has been bothering me for a while now. Back in the fall, I had a great deal of difficulty deciding where I would apply, and eventually settled that Penn was my favorite all-around school, specifically their Huntsman program, and I decided I would apply early decision. When applying early decision to a dual-degree program, Penn offers the option for an applicant to select their second, single degree choice should they not be selected for the program, since admissions are extremely competitive for Huntsman. After selecting their second choice, students also have the option to decide whether they would like to be considered under early decision or regular decision for this second choice. After much thought, I decided to ED my second choice, The College (I decided I wouldn’t be happy studying just business for 4 years), resolving that Penn was my favorite school regardless, and that I may not have had a shot to get in RD. I was accepted to CAS but rejected from Huntsman, and since, I have feared I shot too low and robbed myself of other RD options by binding myself to my second choice. I really don’t know what to do or why I’m making this post, other than to hear your honest opinions if I may have had a shot at some of my other top choices, like Yale, Stanford, or UChicago, for example. Here are my stats for reference:

SAT I: 2320 superscored - 770 M 750 CR 800 W
ACT: 33
SAT II: 800 Math II, 780 US History, 770 Literature
GPA: 3.98 UW 4.44 W
Rank: 5 out of ~300

Leadership -
Student Council Secretary
President of Mock Trial w/ multiple awards
FBLA Regional Secretary
Captain of Math Team
Captain of Science Olympiad
Varsity Field Hockey
NHS

Work-
Worked for a local Newspaper over the summer after junior year / before senior year. Field reporting + 4 articles published
Intern at local Community Organization in Fall/Winter of junior year (Paid)

Service-
Volunteer at state congressman’s office for 6 months this past fall/winter

Essays-
Common App - 8.5/10,
Why Penn - 8/10
Huntsman - 8/10
Senior year courses: AP Psychology, AP Stat, AP Comp Sci, AP Lit, AP Gov + Macro, Hrs Chinese 5, Hrs Accounting
AP’s (will have 14 by the end of the year): Calc BC - 5, English Lang - 5, APUSH - 5, AP Physics C: M - 4, Chemistry - 5, Euro - 4, Bio - 4, APHG - 5

  • White Female Suburban Pennsylvania Public high school, ~250k income no hooks
2

You can cheer that you are going to a great school or rue the road not taken.

3

You got accepted to one of the most competitive schools in the country. How is that shooting too low?

4

There’s no point in looking backwards.

5

Penn is shooting too low? Please…

6

As Groucho Marx once put it, “Please accept my resignation. I don’t want to belong to any club that will accept me as a member.”

7

Did you have a shot at your other top choices. Yes, but it was a very, very small shot. There is nothing in your record other than stellar academics that indicates that you would have been a compelling candidate for any of those schools. You have no hooks. You aren’t coming from an under-represented part of the country - like a rural area that sends few kids to college. You mention no compelling back story that suggests you have overcome major hurdles in your life that provide you with a unique perspective. You have no national level awards or honors (many of those who are accepted do). You have no publications or original research. And unless several of your letters of rec include phrases the ‘the best in my career as a teacher’ or similar, then I’d say your change was close to zero. Does someone like you occasionally get in? Sure. It’s possible. This year someone decides they need an upper income white conventionally achievement-oriented female from suburban PA and there you are…

Does that make you feel better? The fact is you got into a great school. Focus your energies now on how you are going to get the most out of your next four years. What does the school have to offer that you want to make sure you take advantage of?

8

Congratulations on getting into Penn! You’re getting an education at one of the best universities in the world.

The fact is, that as stellar as your stats were, there’s no guarantee you would have gotten into Stanford or Yale - because most everyone who applies to those universities has outstanding stats/ECs (applications to the colleges are pretty much self-selecting). In other words, Stanford only selects 6% of students who are more or less like you, which means that no matter how good you are, your chances of getting in are about 1/20. That doesn’t mean the other students are better than you, but Stanford only has room for so many. You might have gotten lucky, but there’s maybe only a 10% chance you would have gotten in.

If given a choice, would you have taken 1/10 odds at Stanford over 10/10 odds at Penn (since you’re already admitted)? Probably not. Don’t worry about what might or might not have been.

9

20-20 hindsight. Don’t look back. Enjoy your fabulous acceptance!

10

Agee with all these posters. While at Penn take some classes in psychology and learn hour cognitive biases and distortions play tricks with your mind. We greatly prefer things that are not accessible to us. It’s the “grass is greener where they won’t let you go” phenomenon. How could you have done better than Penn? Can 't you see the distortion?

11

Yeahhhh I’m kind of regretting even posting this. It was pretty narcissistic and idiotic to begin with I think. Plus, I had my gripes with all those other schools I listed and still thoroughly like Penn better. I don’t know what got into my head, probably some petty concern over a ranking here or there. Tried to delete the post but missed the 15 minute mark.

I think this is a rare case where CC has actually reduced my stress, thanks guys :slight_smile:

12

Good think you put that last post in OP, because some might think you were behaving in an entitled and elitist manner. The old saying “think before you speak (or type)” comes to mind. Good luck to you.

13

You can always turn down Penn, take a gap year, and play the lottery again next year.

14

It’s not unusual to wonder “what if?” We’re all human. I’m glad to see CC actually reduced your stress. Congrats on your acceptance.

15

OP, I agree with post #13. It’s natural to wonder and completely normal to have moments of second-guessing after you’ve received the “stamp of approval”/acceptance from a school as great as Penn.

Hopefully the advice on this thread will be useful for posters in the future as well as to you personally.

Be aware that you might have some pangs when huge numbers of your friends and classmates hear back from lots of schools at the end of this month. Their news will be new and exciting for them and everyone else, and by then you will have known your fantastic news for almost 4 months so t won’t seem as thrilling.

My advice is to focus on all the well-thought out reasons why you chose Penn for your ED application and be thankful that your wait for your acceptance was so much shorter than other people’s were.

Congrats and best of luck in the fall!

16

So many other posters on CC ask this question the other way around each April: Why did I shoot so high?

Congratulations, OP. Your hard work paid off. Enjoy Penn!

17

OP there were reasons you applied as you did in the fall. You had a clear first choice. You have gotten some good feedback here. Maybe your friends are getting acceptances, and talking them up at school? Maybe the novelty has worn off, and you are itchy to move on (senior year), or someone says a thoughtless comment that makes you wonder “what if.” As posted in #14 you have had this news for several months – maybe you are restless? Your wonderful news seems anticlimactic after the exhilaration of all those standardized tests, apps and essays, college visits, etc? I will make a prediction: in 4 months, it will no longer be an issue for you. You will be wrapped up in graduation, then on your own for the summer. In 6 months you will be so wrapped up in your new life, you will look back and laugh at your own second thoughts.

18

What if you hadn’t applied ED, and were rejected by your 2nd choice department? What if you were rejected from Harvard, Yale, and Stanford, in addition to U Penn?

19

In my Penn interview I was asked why I hadn’t applied ED. You were smart enough to do so and it paid off.