Does Penn compare students from the same school?
This actually might be a more general question for all Ivies/T10s, but at my school at least half the grade will probably apply to UPenn due to our location and because a few get in every year. (You could say we're a feeder school.)
Even though we don't do class rank, I'm definitely not the top in my grade GPA-wise, nor do I have perfect test scores. The only advantage, maybe?, that I have are my activities, intended major, and direction of study which stands out a little from my peers.
But all my classmates this year are super competitive, so I guess my question is, does Penn limit the number of acceptances in a high school? Would they compare me with my more qualified peers and cut my application because I'm not as good academically?
Thanks!
Admissions officers always look at students relative to their opportunities and high school, and they tend to take a limited number of students from each school to build a diverse student body. I can't say for sure whether they'd filter out your application though, as it depends on many different factors beyond academics, including ethnicity, intended major, ECs, etc. Maybe they're looking for someone of your particular profile and may take you over people with higher grades. As long as you're within Penn's typical accepted student stats, you may still have a shot!
Wow, an expert answered my question! This was honest and very helpful. Thank you so much!
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