The University of Pennsylvania

“I told them how much and i have beenMar 09 2007Unknown
I told them how much and i have been waiting for this chance my whole life
Male

“I visited the campus and attended recruitment events asDec 12 2006Communications
I visited the campus and attended recruitment events as often as possible-- and made sure the admissions office knew it. I put a LOT of effort into my admissions essays. I worked hard in high school: got great grades, took difficult and interesting courses, won awards, held leadership roles in extracurricular activities.
ACT: 34 SAT: 1540 Female

“Excellent HS transcript, solid test scores, well rounded individualDec 03 2006English
Excellent HS transcript, solid test scores, well rounded individual with positive attitude!

“Honestly, I don't think there is any magic formulaOct 08 2006Undecided
Honestly, I don't think there is any magic formula. Obviously you need to be within the SAT and GPA range. I was below the average and still got in. Take the application seriously; spend the time to write a good essay. A good essay should show the admissions board that you are VERY different and would contribute to the diversity of the class. If you are part of the majority, this can be difficult... so be creative. Try to put yourself in the admission board's shoes; they receive thousands and thousands of applications from people with essentially the same GPA and SATs. You have to do SOMETHING to stand out.

Besides that, it really appears to be almost a role of the dice, so don't be too bummed if you don't get in somewhere. Some of the process is likely to just be if get lucky enough to catch a board reader's eye.
SAT: 1380 Male

“Penn looks for people who have really stood outOct 07 2006Undecided
Penn looks for people who have really stood out in their communities. at convocation, the president told us that the main reason we are here and what we all have in common is 'passionate intensity'. top notch grades and SAT scores are important but do not guarantee admission here. penn seeks students that are well-rounded and have had balanced and productive lives in high school. the impression i have got here is that the university would much rather take someone with strong leadership, well-developed extracurriculars, great essays and good academics than "Mr. 2400, 4.0" with no life. In the end, your essays, extracurriculars and class rank (should be atleast in top 10%) are what are going to make the difference.
I was President of my high school, have published a book, conducted extensive economic research for a firm, wrote for school newspaper, model UN delegate etc....SAT was 2190 (decent but not great)...grades were mostly A's some B's and a few C's sprinkled about...graduated top 5% of my class...and am now enrolled in the College of Arts and Sciences. Just make sure you've really stood out wherever you can, remember it's not important to be perfect (and no applicant is), just come off as genuine and unless you apply from an area from where penn recieves a large no. of applications you should get in. there are a lot of ppl here with lower stats than mine, and probably an equal no. with better...penn is really looking for a geographically and individually diverse class and hence you never know who is going to get in and who's not. if i were to leave you with TWO pieces of advice on getting into penn, they would be:
1. Stand out in your community, do something different and make sure this is CONVEYED WELL in your application.
2. If you REALLY want penn, apply early decision--you're facing a 28% admit rate ED as opposed to 13% RD....penn fills 49% of its class early decision....applying RD is so intense no matter how qualified you are it's a coin-toss, whereas a very strong applicant early decision is IN.
SAT: 2190 Male