PSU Class of 2023: Chance Me

Colleges & Universities Penn State
1

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 1140
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II subject tests: N/A
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.4
Weighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.79
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): Taken 4 AP Classes, passed no tests
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: 2 Honors level classes and 2 Dual Enrollment for the spring
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): N/A
Total of Honors, AP Courses: 11

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Harvard Secondary School Program (2017), Volunteer at my Monastery, Professional Business Group in town, Her Campus HSA Ambassador, Started my own non-profit organization Raised $13K+ The Greek Syrian Refugee Crisis (Co-Founder), Competitive hellenic dancing Since 8 years old, Thespian Troupe 6180, part of theatre program at my school (Assistant Sound Engineer), NHS, Female Impact (Feminist Club, Secretary),
Job/Work Experience: Work weekly at my family business since 2008
Volunteer/Community service: Volunteer weekly at my local Monastery 5+ Hours, GOYA (Greek Orthodox Youth of America)
Summer Activities: Work with Refugees in Greece, Harvard Secondary School Program; Took Macroeconomics and Journalism (Given 4 Harvard Credits each)

Essay (rating 1-10, details): 10, I had written about how I was challenged at Harvard and received a D- in Macroeconomics. I believed I was unstoppably and I used my non-profit as well as my mature lifestyle as an example of how I had thought I was unable to possibly fail and therefore learned my limits. A past Columbia University Admissions officer read my essay and said it was strong.

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 9, Science Teacher, she saw my highs and lows because it was in a science class and I am not gifted in that subject, she had seen me struggle to get a good grade as well as seen me help others. We are also very close and are part of the same friend group. But, she is a newly graduated teacher who had no idea how to work the Common App.
Teacher Rec #2: 7, History Teacher, he has a good opinion about me due to my outspoken thoughts and interests as well as my ability to debate. He isn’t really the person to go in depth about a person.
Counselor Rec: (?) My class size was 650-700 kids, she told me to write info on a paper and then she’d write it based off of that.

Other:

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Political Science B.A.
Start Campus: UP
Alternative Start Campus: Harrisburg
End Campus: UP
Optional Summer Start at University Park: No
State (if domestic applicant): Florida
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Hispanic, Puerto Rican, and White, Greek
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: <100K
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First Generation, Single Parent household, Hispanic

2

As a Liberal Arts major, you should be ok. Your weighted GPA is ok, but your UW and test scores are kind of low. You would have a much better shot if you put summer. I still think you will get in, but if not, Harrisburg is a great campus.

3

I just saw that you applied after priority. That may hurt you. You still applied to one of the lesser competitive majors, but if you can swing it, adding summer would certainly boost your application chances.

4

I don’t think you give enough weight to the high school to high school variations. Based on a Naviance scattergram from our high school:

Almost half of all our accepted students got below a 3.5 unweighted. Very few get declined. We are just a public high school in Suburbia.

5

@MelioraScott I’ve consistently posted about how Chance threads are difficult because you can’t possibly know the high school’s weighting scale or grading scale. I’ve also consistently posted about how difficult it is to chance someone with that limited information. Still, chance threads being what they are, I try to reply and one can only advise based on the averages. The average GPA of all ENROLLED freshmen is 3.58. The 25% of ACCEPTED students is a 3.55.

A 3.4 is bubble. A 3.79 is a likely admit. It all depends on the grading and weighting scale. Still, for a liberal arts major that should be fine. The concern is that this poster applied after the priority deadline and therefore is ‘in line’ after all of the other EA and priority applications. There is not unending room at PSU and majors do fill.

Also, for Naviance, it has been reported here on CC many times that Penn State Naviance includes all of the campuses, which greatly skews the numbers. I can’t speak on the truth of that personally as our high school does not use Naviance and I have no personal experience with it. But being here for many years, that is what is reported.

6

@melioraScott, when applicants or their parents post “chance me” threads, they are asking for an opinion, which means opening themselves up to both positive and/or negative feedback. These same individuals could just as easily research the CDS stats or look on the admissions website and draw their own conclusions. @jlhpsu goes the extra mile to provide advice on how to improve the student’s chance of getting accepted. Simply saying, ‘oh yeah, you’ll get in, no problem’ doesn’t help the applicant. Anything we can do to improve a kid’s chance of getting into their dream school by giving them advice, we do. But we also want them to be realistic and think about where they see themselves succeeding.

I think we can all agree that we’d like to keep these threads more positive.

@AthenaCA , good luck with your application. I think checking summer will also improve your chances. Please make sure to run the net cost calculator with your parent and note that summer is extra. Unfortunately, PSU isn’t known for giving a lot of financial aid and/or merit, so it can be an expensive option for OOS students.