<p>Hey, I think I’ll be going to the scholars preview too!</p>
<p>@powerbomb: I don’t think it’s just for ethnic minorities. TacticalPenguin up there is a white male and he’s going. I’m a Hispanic/Latino/whaddayacallit female and I’m going. Nattilee is a white female and she’s going.</p>
<p>Wonder how they picked people for the preview?</p>
<p>I’m not questioning if multicultural scholars are all ethnic minorities. I’m questioning if the “Scholars Preview” is for multicultural scholars.</p>
<p>Decision: Accepted CAS (likely letter)</p>
<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): 2370 (800 CR, 770 M, 800 W)
[</em>] SAT II: 790 Literature, 740 US History, 760 Math II
[<em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9
[</em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): officially unranked, but ~3/54
[<em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): 5s on AP Euro, AP US History, and AP English Language
[</em>] Senior Year Course Load: AP English Literature, AP French, AP Biology, AP World History, AP Calc BC
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Scholar, AP Scholar</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[<em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Gay-Straight Alliance (head), Literary Magazine, Math Club, Peer Tutors, Writing Center, Varsity Crew (captain, various local and national medals, Junior National Team ID Camp)
[</em>] Job/Work Experience: mostly babysitting, some computer work
[<em>] Volunteer/Community service: this is where my application totally stunk. I had some very cursory neighborhood cleanup type things, but nothing substantial.
[</em>] Summer Activities: CTY, rowing camp, biomedical camp
[<em>] Essays: I thought they were pretty good.
[</em>] Teacher Recommendation: Didn’t read them, but they should have been great.
[<em>] Counselor Rec: Ditto.
[</em>] Interview: I never got one, despite living in Philadelphia…</p>
<p>[/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>] Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
[</em>] Intended Major: Linguistics
[<em>] State (if domestic applicant): PA
[</em>] School Type: small private in Philadelphia, usually sends between 2-6 to Penn out of a class of 50-something each year.
[<em>] Ethnicity: white
[</em>] Gender: F
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Philadelphia resident, legacy</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[<em>] Strengths: My test scores and essays. Also, I have lots of legacy (brother, parent, two grandparents). Even if that doesn’t count in the RD round (which is what I’ve heard many times), it does give me a significant degree of familiarity with the school, and I think that this made my “Why Penn?” essay very compelling. Also, I am a Philly resident and my school has a very good acceptance history with Penn.
[</em>] Weaknesses: My activities aren’t very unique or interesting and my volunteer work is either dismally boring or nonexistent.
[li] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/denied: See strengths.[/li][/ul]General Comments: YAY</p>
<p>Decision: Accepted</p>
<p>Objective:</p>
<ul>
<li>SAT I (breakdown): 780 V, 630 M, 770 W = 1410 / 2180 SS (single sitting)</li>
<li>ACT: N/A</li>
<li>SAT II: 780 Biology-E, 780 US History </li>
<li>Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.87</li>
<li>Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): my school does not rank, but top 15% probably</li>
<li>AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Latin Vergil (5), AP Biology (5), AP European History (5), AP US History (5)</li>
<li>IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A</li>
<li>Senior Year Course Load: Hardest possible</li>
<li>Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar with Honors, Maryland Distinguished Scholar - Honorable mention, school award, National Latin exam three times, tons of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu awards, almost all about 1st or 2nd place.</li>
</ul>
<p>Subjective:</p>
<ul>
<li>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Israeli Krav-Maga, Philosophy Club (Founder), Yearbook, Newspaper, Book Club, Tutored in 11th and 12th, some other less major things…</li>
<li>Job/Work Experience: worked for my school last summer…</li>
<li>Volunteer/Community service: volunteered a lot in 9th and 10th grade</li>
<li>Summer Activities: above</li>
<li>Essays: excellent; as in top 16/10,000 (invited to UNC Chapel Hill) </li>
<li>Teacher Recommendation: both excellent, though I waived the rights</li>
<li>Counselor Rec: probably pretty good, though I waived it.</li>
<li>Additional Rec: N/A</li>
<li>Interview: Good. I emailed the guy later, telling him I was accepted, and he went on about how my interest in classics reminded him of why he got a Philosophy degree. </li>
</ul>
<p>Other</p>
<ul>
<li>State (if domestic applicant): MD</li>
<li>Country (if international applicant): US</li>
<li>School Type: Private</li>
<li>Ethnicity: Hispanic</li>
<li>Gender:M</li>
<li>Income Bracket: upper middle class</li>
<li>Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):URM, verbal SAT, classics, passion / essays, interview </li>
</ul>
<p>Reflection</p>
<ul>
<li>Strengths:verbal and writing SAT scores, URM, rare major, my essays and teacher recs </li>
<li>Weaknesses: math sat score, ec’s not amazing I guess</li>
<li>Why you think you were accepted/deferred: I suppose the combination of top 1% in reading and writing scores, hispanic, classics, and excellent essays really paid off.</li>
<li>Other schools accepted at: UChicago EA (University Scholar $5000 / Year), UNC Chapel Hill EA (Honors / Scholarship Day), UMD College Park EA (Honors / Bannecker-Key), UVA (OOS / Echols Scholar), William and Mary (OOS), waitlisted at Princeton </li>
<li>rejected at Harvard.</li>
<li>Comments: wow. This is fantastic.</li>
</ul>
<p>Decision: Rejected</p>
<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): 2170 (690M, 680CR, 800W)
[</em>] ACT (breakdown): 33 (36E, 32M, 32CR, 33S)
[<em>] SAT II:
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.90
[<em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 7%
[</em>] AP (place score in parenthesis):
[<em>] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[</em>] Senior Year Course Load: Most Rigorous
[<em>] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Finalist, Scholar Athlete Nominee
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[</em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): National Honor Society (President), School Newspaper (Editor-In-Chief), Varsity Golf, JV Golf, JV Skiing, Intramural Basketball (Captain), Junior Golf Tour, NHS Tutor, National Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine, Pro-Life Club, Model United Nations
[<em>] Job/Work Experience: Golf Course Assistant
[</em>] Volunteer/Community service: Habitat for Humanity, Hospital Volunteer, Soup Kitchens, St. Vincent de Paul Drives, Thanksgiving Food Drives, Inner-City Detroit Orphanage Volunteer
[<em>] Summer Activities: Summer Job, Hospital Volunteer
[</em>] Essays: Common App one was excellent, Penn Supplement was pretty good
[<em>] Teacher Recommendation: Excellent
[</em>] Counselor Rec: Decent
[<em>] Additional Rec: Excellent
[</em>] Interview: Didn’t have one
[/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>] Applied for Financial Aid?: No
[</em>] Intended Major: BBB / Pre-Med
[<em>] State (if domestic applicant): MI
[</em>] Country (if international applicant): U.S.
[<em>] School Type: Private Catholic
[</em>] Ethnicity: White
[<em>] Gender: Male
[</em>] Income Bracket: High
[<em>] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Legacy
[/ul][ b]Reflection**[ul]
[</em>] Strengths: Essays, EC’s, Community Service, Genuine Interest in Penn’s BBB Major, Legacy
[<em>] Weaknesses: White Male, Low Test Scores
[</em>] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/denied: Probably just didn’t have quite high enough test scores, plus didn’t satisfy quotas
[/ul][ b]General Comments:** I didn’t really expect to get in, but I would’ve loved to have gone to Penn. There’s always the transfer option, though.</p>
<p>[ size=+2][ color=green][ b]Decision: Accepted[ /b][ /color][ /size]</p>
<p>[ b]Objective:[ /b][ list]</p>
<p>[ *] SAT I (breakdown): Math 710 Reading 610 Writing 640
[ *] ACT: Didn’t take them
[ *] SAT II: Math 700 Physics 720
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): N/A
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Not too sure but maybe top 15%
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis): None
[ *] IB (place score in parenthesis): Out of 42 usually (39) Was predicted 40 and above for Finals though.
[ *] Senior Year Course Load : Higher Level subjects were Physics, Math and Econs. Standard were French, English and Chemistry.
[ *] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None really.</p>
<p>[ /list][ b]Subjective:[ /b][ list]</p>
<p>[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Member of school magazine (editor), Varsity Soccer ( Team Captain), Participated in a few athletic competitions in my school, Member of the swim team, Table Tennis club (President in Grade 10), Member of a youth soccer team, Vice-President of Student Government, Participated in an African cultural dance group.
[ *] Job/Work Experience: None really.
[ *] Volunteer/Community service: Did quite a bit. Teaching students in deprived communities. Raising funds for deprived communities etc.
[ *] Summer Activities: Just Chilling.
[ *] Essays: My common app was pretty good i think. My Penn essay was very average if not below.
[ *] Teacher Recommendation: Didn’t see them but I think they must have been good. Not amazing though.
[ *] Counselor Rec: Didn’t see.
[ *] Additional Rec:
[ *] Interview: Wasn’t too sure about it but I’m thinking it might have saved me.</p>
<p>[ /list][ b]Other[ /b][ list]</p>
<p>[ *] Applied for Financial Aid?: YES
[ *] Intended Major: Math?? Will change it.
[ *] State (if domestic applicant):
[ *] Country (if international applicant): Live in Ghana but I am a green card holder.
[ *] School Type: IB boarding school
[ *] Ethnicity: African
[ *] Gender: Male
[ *] Income Bracket: Not high
[ *] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None.</p>
<p>[ /list][ b]Reflection[ /b][ list]
[ *] Strengths: Maybe Interview and cultural background
[ *] Weaknesses: Penn Essay was quite generic. Thought there was no way I was getting in because of it.
[ *] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/denied: Beats me :/</p>
<p>[ /list][ b]General Comments:[ /b]</p>
<p>Decision: Accepted</p>
<p>Objective:[ul]</p>
<p>[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): Didn’t take
[</em>] ACT: 36 English, 36 Reading, 34 Math, 30 Science, 34 Composite. 34 from another science section makes it superscore-able to a 35.
[<em>] SAT II: Lower math one, US history, and english one upper 600’s (cant remember exact numbers)
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.89
[<em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 6/300-something
[</em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): None
[<em>] IB (place score in parenthesis): Full Diploma Candidate, don’t know what my predicted scores were though. Definitely a 30 or lower.
[</em>] Senior Year Course Load : Higher Level subjects were English A, European History, and Spanish B. Standard were Math, Psychology, and Chemistry. Also took TOK, a filmmaking class, and an international relations course at my community college.
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Nominated for US Presidential Scholars Program. </p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Subjective:[ul]</p>
<p>[<em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Speech and Debate (Secretary of team, later VP) National Qualifier and State Runner-Up, some Tennis, 3 years of student council.
[</em>] Job/Work Experience: None.
[<em>] Volunteer/Community service: 150 CAS hours for IB.
[</em>] Summer Activities: nothing really.
[<em>] Essays: Fairly good essays. Nothing great though.
[</em>] Teacher Recommendation: Probably good, my teachers like me.
[<em>] Counselor Rec: Didn’t see.
[</em>] Additional Rec:
[li] Interview: STELLAR interview. I think this is what got me in. </p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Other[ul]</p>
<p>[<em>] Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes, but wont get any.
[</em>] Intended Major: History
[<em>] State (if domestic applicant): Wyoming
[</em>] Country (if international applicant):
[<em>] School Type: public school with IB
[</em>] Ethnicity: Caucasian
[<em>] Gender: Male
[</em>] Income Bracket: upper middle
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Nope.</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[<em>] Strengths: Interview.
[</em>] Weaknesses: I didn’t think that I had enough ECs.
[li] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/denied: definitely interview.</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]General Comments:</p>
<p>Excited to see you guys there next fall!</p>
<p>Decision: Waiting List</p>
<p>[<em>] ACT: 27
[</em>] SAT II: French 800 / Spanish: 760</p>
<p>[/list]Subjective:[ul]</p>
<p>[<em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Co-founder charity organisation, leader political debate, presiding board student association, etc.
[</em>] Job/Work Experience: tutoring, office assistant, auxiliary nurse, etc.
[li] Volunteer/Community service: Yes, appro. 5hours per week </p>[/li]
<p>[<em>] Essays: about Ratatouille 
[</em>] Teacher Recommendation: really awesome! especially for international student. Teachers here are usually not really aware of the american system.
[<em>] Counselor Rec:really good!
[</em>] Additional Rec: no
[li] Interview: it was just great! The interviewer said I was exactly the kind of person Penn was looking for</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Other[ul]</p>
<p>[li] Intended Major: undecided, history or international relations, but open to other choices</p>[/li]
<p>[<em>] Country (if international applicant): switzerland
[</em>] School Type: public
[<em>] Ethnicity: caucasian
[</em>] Gender: F</p>
<p>[/ul]Reflection[ul]</p>
<p>[<em>] Strengths: good grade, original essay, great recommendation letters
[</em>] Weaknesses: ACT score, international student (more competitive)
[li] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/denied: I guess the ACT score, because I think the rest of my application was quite good. And also because of the competition! it is getting harder and harder (perhaps especially for international student) to get into an ivy league institution.</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]General Comments: keep my fingers crossed! Hope to receive a big envelope at the end of may :S</p>
<p>Decision: ACCEPTED!!!
School applied to: CAS</p>
<p>Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 570 M 590 CR 680 W - 1840 Composite
ACT: N/A
SAT II: 720 Spanish, 610 Math II
Weighted GPA (out of 100): 91.25
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): N/A
IB (place score in parenthesis): Full IB diploma - the scores were PREDICTED scores, I will take the exams in May 2011; HL history (6), HL port A1 (5), HL english (5), SL math (4), SL physics (4), SL br. soc. studies (6)
Senior Year Course Load: Most challenging
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Beta Honor Roll grades 9-10, Alpha Honor Roll grade 11, National Winner of Creative Writing Contest, Poem published in magazine
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Too many to list… Reporter and columnist for school magazine, Founder of a tutoring (writing-focused) activity, Varsity Cheerleader Captain, peer leader
Job/Work Experience: none
Volunteer/Community service: several experiences hands-on in different places
Summer Activities: Summer courses: Columbia University in 2008, Yale University in 2009, Israel in 2010
Essays: I loved it; about my summer in Israel and how I grew.
Teacher Recommendation: English was excellent, IR I’m not so sure; not so close with him.
Counselor Rec: Very good
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: Went great, we talked for over 1 hour non stop about her experience at Penn and how I could learn from her
Other
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant): Brazil
School Type: Private, well known school
Ethnicity: White, US Citizen, Brazilian Citizen
Gender: F
Income Bracket: high
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Legacy
Reflection
Strengths: Everything but my GPA and test scores.
Weaknesses: GPA and test scores.
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: See above
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: accepted to 9/16 schools I applied to
General Comments: Deferred applicant accepted regular decision round. I KEPT HOPING, DREAMING, WISHING, sent a letter to the admissions office restating my fit and desire to go to Penn, and on March 30th received the best news of my life.</p>