Anonymous
Post 04/06/2025 00:38     Subject: Worth taking the UPenn shot?
Anonymous wrote:She has almost no shot with those scores and that background and to be brutally honest, she has very little chance of succeeding in engineering there, even if she managed to get in.


What are you basing this on? She had a perfect math score on the PSAT. What makes you say she wouldn’t succeed?
Anonymous
Post 04/06/2025 00:32     Subject: Worth taking the UPenn shot?
She has almost no shot with those scores and that background and to be brutally honest, she has very little chance of succeeding in engineering there, even if she managed to get in.
Anonymous
Post 04/05/2025 23:17     Subject: Worth taking the UPenn shot?
Anonymous wrote:My junior DD attends the governor’s school here in Virginia. She has a 3.8/3.9 uw / 4.2 w GPA with a 1390 SAT. She’s going to take the SAT again in August, but, for this question, assume she’s not able to increase. She will most likely be a.NMSF and attained a perfect math score on the PSAT. She is interested in pursuing engineering. Probably either electrical or mechanical at this point. We toured a ton of schools in Pennsylvania over break. She will apply to plenty of safety schools, but she really loved the vibe and campus at UPenn. Is it worth her taking an ED shot or is there absolutely no way that she will get in given her low SAT score? She will ED1 and we are able to full pay. She has played a varsity for all four years, another varsity sport for two years, has over 140 hours of volunteering, including volunteering with two organizations since sixth grade. She’s in several honor societies and has a part-time job amongst other ECs. She was just accepted into the engineering summer program at Virginia Tech. Would love to hear thoughts. Is it even worth her spending her time applying or should she focus on other less competitive schools. She really loved Pitt as well so a more realistic contender.


Those stats won't even garner a UVA or W&M acceptance.

UPenn?

Nope.
Anonymous
Post 04/05/2025 23:07     Subject: Worth taking the UPenn shot?
DD did ED to Penn this cycle with better stats. Sorry, there is no chance.
Anonymous
Post 04/05/2025 22:39     Subject: Worth taking the UPenn shot?
Anonymous wrote:
Misleading. No advantage ED Swarthmore!
https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/60/1260414.page#29607569


Wrong..look at CDS. Overall a acceptance is 7.4%, big ED advantage at 18%.

https://www.swarthmore.edu/sites/default/files/assets/documents/institutional-effectiveness-research-assessment/Swarthmore-College-CDS-2024-2025.pdf


Anonymous
Post 04/05/2025 22:38     Subject: Worth taking the UPenn shot?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My kid went to Princeton, and I advise sixth graders about devising paths to have a shot at Ivies. With the stats you mentioned OP, your child is unlikely to be admitted to an Ivies.

I would argue that state schools are often better for engineering majors, so I would not stress if I were you. Have her go to a state school wherever you live. Once there, have her focus on getting the best internships and Co-Ops possible. Good luck!


You know how unhealthy that is, right? To have pre-teens structure their lives around getting into particular colleges, before they have any inkling of their own priorities?


These aren't " normal kids". They are " cream of the crop". Similar to many elite athletes charting their course at a young age, so do elite students.
Anonymous
Post 04/05/2025 22:32     Subject: Worth taking the UPenn shot?
Penn alum here with dc there now but no engineering. That said, if SAT can increase to 1500 you should choose a reach school and go for it. Girls applying to Engineering do get a tiny break by their ED choice, but you have to choose strategically. What colleges in particular like your school? Apply there. That said, we know ED engineering girls ultimately accepted to Penn and Cornell with 1510, 1530 and 1450 (TO). Everyone hates Columbia right now so you could catch a break there. For RD, you need minimum 1550 at any of these engineering programs.
Anonymous
Post 04/05/2025 22:25     Subject: Worth taking the UPenn shot?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My spouse and I both graduated from Penn, our older kid (hs class 2023) had a 4.75 gpa in mcps, 1590 SAT, 15 APs of all 5s with a few 4s, top rigor incl APs in all 5 core subjects and math thru MV calc, was captain of varsity sports team along with other ECs, strong writer, I believe strong recs, and was not accepted (applied ED). Other equally qualified kids his year had same results, only kid accepted was an ED app and had a hook. We won’t even have younger sib apply.


Strong:
Number of APs and mostly 5s
SAT
Legacy

Neutral (assume most have this)
Good writer
Letters of rec

Not:
-MV math is good but not what I wld think is ivy great (lots of kids have a year beyond that)
- captain of a varsity sports is meaningless (over saturated)
- legacy - counterintuitive but: http://www.thedp.com/article/2023/03/penn-legacy-admissions-policy-changes-university




Agree with your gist but you are wrong on the math. I have a kid at an ivy and one at a “little ivy,” and both have reported that many of their classmates “only” took calc as a senior (in many excellent school systems in the northeast (not magnets), that is the most rigorous path), and many of them “only” took calc ab. My kids both took thru calc bc, so not even MV like pp’s kid. At Whitman, where my kids went, I don’t think they even offer beyond MV.

To get back to op’s question, if Penn is your kid’s dream school, then sure apply, but even if she gets her SAT to above 1500 she will be in a pool with literally tens of thousands of equally qualified kids. I’d suggest you try to find a college (Emory?) that has many of the aspects she likes about Penn, but where her stats give her a better shot and where early decision is an advantage.
Anonymous
Post 04/05/2025 22:20     Subject: Worth taking the UPenn shot?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Have a kid at Penn Engineering now. Did MV Calc in HS. It is not accurate that many are a year beyond that in HS.

My kid loves it and the programs are very supportive of women.

Best of luck, whatever she decides to do!!



Depends on the school district. FCPS has many who do it…22 schools teach a version of it (AV or DE), 22 teach linear algebra, and 4 schools teach Differential Equations. Advanced? Yes. Uncommon? No. Otherwise it would just be offered directly through a local college, which is an option at all FCPS high schools.


I am saying that it is not common at Penn, at least among my kid’s friends. I’m not sure anyone in her HS class went past MV- but can’t be sure.
Anonymous
Post 04/05/2025 21:49     Subject: Worth taking the UPenn shot?
Anonymous wrote:My kid went to Princeton, and I advise sixth graders about devising paths to have a shot at Ivies. With the stats you mentioned OP, your child is unlikely to be admitted to an Ivies.

I would argue that state schools are often better for engineering majors, so I would not stress if I were you. Have her go to a state school wherever you live. Once there, have her focus on getting the best internships and Co-Ops possible. Good luck!


You know how unhealthy that is, right? To have pre-teens structure their lives around getting into particular colleges, before they have any inkling of their own priorities?
Anonymous
Post 04/05/2025 21:49     Subject: Worth taking the UPenn shot?
Anonymous wrote:Have a kid at Penn Engineering now. Did MV Calc in HS. It is not accurate that many are a year beyond that in HS.

My kid loves it and the programs are very supportive of women.

Best of luck, whatever she decides to do!!



Depends on the school district. FCPS has many who do it…22 schools teach a version of it (AV or DE), 22 teach linear algebra, and 4 schools teach Differential Equations. Advanced? Yes. Uncommon? No. Otherwise it would just be offered directly through a local college, which is an option at all FCPS high schools.
Anonymous
Post 04/05/2025 21:41     Subject: Worth taking the UPenn shot?
Is your DD planning to go to grad school? If not, I'd skip the LAC engineering programs and go for a big engineering school. I'm an engineering professor, and unless you're wanting to do general engineering with an eye for graduate school, the smaller programs really do not provide enough depth into each engineering discipline.
Anonymous
Post 04/05/2025 21:41     Subject: Worth taking the UPenn shot?
Have a kid at Penn Engineering now. Did MV Calc in HS. It is not accurate that many are a year beyond that in HS.

My kid loves it and the programs are very supportive of women.

Best of luck, whatever she decides to do!!

Anonymous
Post 04/05/2025 21:40     Subject: Worth taking the UPenn shot?
Anonymous wrote:Look at Cornell engineering. I know of kids that got in with similar stats but applying ED.


Cornell will be test required in the next cycle. That score is unlikely.
Anonymous
Post 04/05/2025 21:36     Subject: Worth taking the UPenn shot?
Look at Cornell engineering. I know of kids that got in with similar stats but applying ED.