<p>Decision: Accepted-Wharton</p>
<p>SAT I (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): (800/790/700)
ACT (breakdown): 35 on everything except writing (31) and math (36)
SAT II (subject, score): Chinese (800), Math II (800)
Unweighted/Weighted GPA: 3.97 unweighted
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/172
AP/IB (place score in parentheses): Took 9, got all 5s.
Senior Year Course Load: Calc II, Intro to Statistics, and Chinese at a university, AP Physics, AP Euro, and Journalism at the high school.
Number of other ED applicants in your school: 0
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): National Merit Semi-finalist
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.): National AP Scholar, state “Student of Integrity” award. Little school awards here and there, nothing big. </p>
<p>Subjective:
Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description): Student council president (12th), Senior class president, Junior class president, Editor-in-Chief of school paper (11-12), Varsity captain of tennis team (11-12), French Club president (11-12), Volunteer at local camp (12).
Job/Work Experience: Did a summer research internship with the local university shadowing med students (aka I killed mice). Currently intern at university’s fashion magazine.
Volunteer/Community Service: Taught at a local Chinese school.
Summer Experience: Went to China my sophomore year! Went to a state camp for girls’ leadership-- won a state election there.
Teacher Recommendation #1: Great teacher, but generic.
Teacher Recommendation #2: Didn’t get to read it。
Counselor Rec: Very genuine.
Additional Info/Rec:
Interview: Didn’t get one. </p>
<p>Writing (Subject, 1-10 rating, details):
Why Penn: 8? It was an open-ended question, so I talked about growing up in a poorer part of the country-- how kids here hear a lot of "no"s growing up, and how Wharton could change those to "yes"s for kids like me. Mentioned international interests, and how Wharton truly is the best of both worlds: learning and doing good. </p>
<p>Any dual-degree program essays: Applied for Huntsman RD, didn’t get it.
CommonApp Essay: It was pretty bad. Written two weeks before the deadline, in a fit of desperation. Maybe some would find it creative, or at least amusing. It was about my first music festival experience: feeling way out of my comfort zone, (you know what music festivals tend to entail, plus my tent got soaked), but learning to embrace the pouring rain as I (probably) really awkwardly rocked out to music with my friends in knee-deep mud. Yeah. Hippie. I know.
Number of reminder emails received: None. </p>
<p>Other:
Date Submitted App: 12/07
U.S. State/Territory or Country: OH
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket Range: somewhere in the middle
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athlete, development): being from a relatively disadvantaged school/area</p>
<p>Reflection
Strengths: Languages? I’m not entirely sure. I think I just made the best out of what I was given. Sought out weird opportunities (like killing mice in the lab over the summer-- fun! Or interning at the fashion mag.)
Weaknesses: I don’t know if my Common App essay was too … honest/progressive. As much as colleges want to hear about unconventional topics, I’m not sure a music festival (and its suggestive nature) was the way to go.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
Accepted: Duke, University of Michigan
Wait listed: Harvard, Princeton
Rejected: Stanford, Yale
What would you have done differently?: I’m pretty happy with how everything turned out. Not surprised at all: my best essays were for Duke, Harvard, and Princeton, my worst for Yale and Stanford. Wharton is an incredible school, and it was/is my top choice. </p>
<p>To people applying next year: when they say “be yourself”, they really do mean it. Although my Common App topic was a little risqué, I would use it again. I probably sounded VERY foolish (I still cringe at parts)-- at one point I mentioned my fear of parking in tight spaces, how Diane Rehm’s voice has therapeutic properties to me, and a guy I liked in my science class–all in an essay about a music festival. (Now that it’s been typed out, I realize how ludicrous that must’ve been). But the point is, as much as I think it could’ve been written better, I don’t regret writing it. I think the CA essay is the hardest part for people, so hopefully this heartfelt diary entry ^ will help people loosen up 
</p>
<p>Bon chance et du courage, mes petits choux! </p>