Does high school reputation help a lot? Chance me for Penn CAS ED

Colleges & Universities University of Pennsylvania
1

<p>Chinese-Canadian Male
Goes to Top 20 US boarding school
(Penn accepts 8-9 students every year from my school)
High School: Private
High School Type: sends many grads to top schools
No need for aid</p>

<p>Academics:</p>

<p>GPA - Unweighted: 3.95
GPA - Weighted: 0.00
Class Rank: top 10%
Class Size: 168</p>

<p>Classes</p>

<p>Freshman Year, GPA 3.48 first semester, GPA 3.91 second semester</p>

<p>10- Alg 2 H, AP Chinese (5), World history, French 1, English 2, Bio Lab GPA:4.0
A, A+, A-, A, A, A</p>

<p>11- AP Stats (5), AP Calc AB (5), English 3 H, French 2 H, Chem H, US GPA 3.9
A, A+, A-, A, A, B+</p>

<p>12- AP Calc BC, AP Econ, AP Psych, AP Physics C: Mechanics, English 4 H, World Views </p>

<p>Scores: (taking SAT I again in Oct)</p>

<p>SAT I Math: 770
SAT I Critical Reading: 710
SAT I Writing: 710
SAT II Math Level 2 (IIC): 800
SAT II Chemistry: 760
SAT II Chinese with Listening: 790</p>

<p>Extracurriculars: (I only listed the ones I put the most time in)</p>

<p>Significant Extracurriculars: Peer Counselor 2 years, Big Brother 2 years, Piano 6 years
Leadership positions: President of stock market club, Varsity Swimming, Peer counseling head, Chinese Club Co-president
Athletic Status - list sport and your level: Cross Country - Varsity - 12
Swimming - Varsity -9, 10, 11, 12
Volunteer/Service Work: Community service 50 hours
Honors and Awards: Award of outstanding performance in AP Stats, AP Chinese, French 1, French 2. (1 award is given in each subject at the school each year)
College Summer programs: Cornell Business World 3 college credits</p>

2

<p>It is essentially impossible for colleges to “rate” high schools or even get a handle on individual high school factors such as grading curve, intellectual quality of the student body etc.</p>

<p>In general colleges like to take new applicants from high schools that have provided good students in the past (good students defined as individuals that have done well at the University or College).</p>

<p>In your application process, I would take the time to determine the past performance of your private school. If you get a list of where past seniors have gone to college you will find that the same schools seem to pop up on the list and about the same number of students from your high school go to each college each year.</p>

<p>You will have a statistically better chance getting into a college that has accepted candidates from your high school in the past then getting into a college which has never accepted someone from your private school</p>

3

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<p>Do you have statistically defensible data to support this claim?</p>

4

<p>I’m very screwed then. My school has sent to students to all the other Ivys, except I think, Penn and Dartmouth. If that’s the case, I find that to be pretty unfair.</p>

5

<p>Are your high school college advisors telling you that the process of getting into college is a “fair” process?</p>

6

<p>It is “fair” in the sense that top students who work hard are rewarded with admission. ;)</p>

7

<p>^ at least most of the time. lol</p>

8

<p>no, all the time. Top students are defined by who gets into top colleges LOL</p>

9

<p>^that isn’t what I said. There are obviously plenty of talented students beyond those schools.</p>

10

<p>which rankings are you relying on? Do you know if your prep school is in line with Exeter and Andover? </p>

<p>If so, you should be fine. I would definitely take advantage of having a good college counseling office and use whatever resources your counselor has to offer. Looking at statistics from past years will give you a good ball park of where you stand. </p>

<p>I know that most kids who do end up at the Ivies from Andover and Exeter have a GPA of about 3.6.</p>