2008-2009 U Penn (University of Pennsylvania) Secondary Application Thread

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I haven't received any status update (yet)...this is all so confusing. (I have a 35). I'm assuming based on the posts here that it's not based on numbers but something else.
 
I don't see why deferred status is any worse than where we were before. I mean, the odds of an interview at Penn for ANY applicant are generally worse than 1 in 8 (if those are actually our odds right now).

The "deferred status" is only bad news if Penn has already filled its class and/or stopped interviewing...(Has it? I know Penn is non-rolling...) Penn won't be accepting any more applications after 11/15 anyway so we're in a fixed pool anyway.

Would our odds be better if we didn't have the deferred status notification? Well, hard to say, I guess...I don't think any of us are worse off than we were before we got the 'deferred' message if that's any sort of consolation.

PS. Old threads make reference to 1 or 2 people getting interviews out of the 'deferred' page.

I'm just looking at the cup half-full, maybe 😕😕.
 
jgberken said:
No, I don't feel like our situation is any different now than it was before.
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I do. I feel like I was just deferred from the "you may get an interview" pool to the "lolercopterroflsk8z, you're rejected!" pool. 🙁
 
does anyone NOT have the deferred message?
 
bluesmd said:
does anyone NOT have the deferred message?
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ami1983, StIGMA, Nikhil72 and I do not have the deferred message, but that message is the old complete message though...
 
jgberken said:
No, I don't feel like our situation is any different now than it was before.
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I'm inclined to agree with neuronix's reasoning. If they rejected some people, and deferred some, then I wouldn't be as negative. However it seems like deferring is just a way for UPenn to maintain their committment to being non-rolling while at the same time doing us a favor by keeping us updated.

Of course this is coming from someone who was a guaranteed reject anyway, so take my attitude with a grain of salt. 👍
 
stixx said:
I'm inclined to agree with neuronix's reasoning. If they rejected some people, and deferred some, then I wouldn't be as negative. However it seems like deferring is just a way for UPenn to maintain their committment to being non-rolling while at the same time doing us a favor by keeping us updated.

Of course this is coming from someone who was a guaranteed reject anyway, so take my attitude with a grain of salt. 👍
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Yeah, but bear in mind, they also haven't sent out new interview invitations...
 
pianola said:
Yeah, but bear in mind, they also haven't sent out new interview invitations...
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According to the interview invitation thread, they send interviews twice a month. So I am guessing this upcoming week, they might be sending out more interviews. Hopefully!
 
In searching the forums from last year, it looks like the "deferred" message is the pre-interview hold and "[the same old thing]" is just the 'smaller pool' that people have been referring to. And for those on a hold, there were definitely posts where people were invited in late January to interview during the last weeks of interviewing, so don't lose hope at all. I wish there were a PennDictionary.
 
I think everyone who has been "under review" for a long time has been given the deferred message. Most likely, we will be rejected...but this new message isn't telling us anything new! We all knew that the likelihood of getting an interview was low. And there is still a chance of getting an interview invite. I don't know...this doesn't really change anything for me.
 
Nikhil72 said:
In searching the forums from last year, it looks like the "deferred" message is the pre-interview hold and "[the same old thing]" is just the 'smaller pool' that people have been referring to. And for those on a hold, there were definitely posts where people were invited in late January to interview during the last weeks of interviewing, so don't lose hope at all. I wish there were a PennDictionary.
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Does everyone from the non-deferred pool get an interview?

By the way, can someone post the link to last year's thread. I tried searching for it, but I could not find it...
 
I don't know if you can correlate the length of "under review" with receiving the message...I've been complete since mid-July.
 
Also deferred! I think I'm becoming desensitized to rejections, though, because I don't really care.
 
Does anyone else respect the schools that reject you straight-up a lot more? I'd prefer to know where I stand, even if it's disappointing. 🙂
 
Lady Marid said:
Does anyone else respect the schools that reject you straight-up a lot more? I'd prefer to know where I stand, even if it's disappointing. 🙂
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Yes! I wish more schools would operate like this. There's nothing worse than a 6 month long NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
 
Lady Marid said:
Does anyone else respect the schools that reject you straight-up a lot more? I'd prefer to know where I stand, even if it's disappointing. 🙂
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YES! Exactly! Like right now, with the deferred status, I'm sure there's a handful of people who they are actually considering interviewing while the majority of us have been rejected. Why don't they just reject us?!!?
 
jgberken said:
YES! Exactly! Like right now, with the deferred status, I'm sure there's a handful of people who they are actually considering interviewing while the majority of us have been rejected. Why don't they just reject us?!!?
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Seriously, it makes no sense at all. Wouldn't it be more advantageous for them to reject people early on, rather than getting tons of letters of interest and whatnot from candidates they're no longer seriously considering?
 
Lady Marid said:
Seriously, it makes no sense at all. Wouldn't it be more advantageous for them to reject people early on, rather than getting tons of letters of interest and whatnot from candidates they're no longer seriously considering?
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They say: "Oh, more fanmail. Lulz."

But yeah, I agree, Lady Marid.
 
pianola said:
They say: "Oh, more fanmail. Lulz."

But yeah, I agree, Lady Marid.
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lol, for some reason that made me imagine an adcom full of LOLcats. Someone on SDN should make an LOLcat about this ridiculous process. 😉
 
TRN1983 said:
I do. I feel like I was just deferred from the "you may get an interview" pool to the "lolercopterroflsk8z, you're rejected!" pool. 🙁
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Deferred.

And I was going to feel bad for myself until I saw TRN's post...now I'm just laughing 🙂

lolercopterroflsk8z for real. UPenn is a lollersk8.
 
Sinusites said:
Deferred.

And I was going to feel bad for myself until I saw TRN's post...now I'm just laughing 🙂

lolercopterroflsk8z for real. UPenn is a lollersk8.
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:laugh: no need to feel bad! This is the process...we can't win them all 😛

Let's put all of our energy into rooting for funkymonkey! 😀
 
jgberken said:
:laugh: no need to feel bad! This is the process...we can't win them all 😛

Let's put all of our energy into rooting for funkymonkey! 😀
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Thank you Berk! I would love to go to Penn, or at least just have the opportunity to interview there. THANKS!
 
Joining the masses in the "deferred" pool. Oh well ...

I can understand U Penn being ridiculously picky because it is such a great institution, but I would be shocked if every one of these deferrals was a rejection. So many people with awesome numbers and stellar extracurriculars (*cough*shemarty et al.*cough*) are now deferred even though they have gotten interviews from a bunch of equally competitive schools.

Do we think they are winding down interview invites already? Are they saving all the remaining slots for people who were complete late in the season? And since they aren't going to be getting any more applications at this point, I don't think it is unreasonable to think they will go back and look at the pool as a whole to round out the interviews with well-qualified people who may have been passed over early in the season.

Anyway, maybe I'm completely wrong and I don't know much about this process (which is true!), but I'm choosing to think this deferral is not completely doom-and-gloom. It's certainly not as nice as an interview invite, but perhaps it is not the complete end-of-the-line scenario people are making it out to be.

Here's to hoping! :luck:
 
blurryLines said:
I can understand U Penn being ridiculously picky because it is such a great institution, but I would be shocked if every one of these deferrals was a rejection. So many people with awesome numbers and stellar extracurriculars (*cough*shemarty et al.*cough*) are now deferred even though they have gotten interviews from a bunch of equally competitive schools.
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This is true, but everyone (roughly...) gets a couple of rejections. And there are plenty of stories of people getting into any given top-tier school and not getting into their state school or an unranked private school.

That said, I'd rather have and interview than the deferment I have. It just doesn't go with the decor, you know?
 
Loon said:
This is true, but everyone (roughly...) gets a couple of rejections. And there are plenty of stories of people getting into any given top-tier school and not getting into their state school or an unranked private school.

That said, I'd rather have and interview than the deferment I have. It just doesn't go with the decor, you know?
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I agree with you about admissions and the decor :laugh:. Virtually everyone gets rejected from at least a few places and it does end up seeming random with regard to which schools. What I am surprised about in this case is the quantity of people who just got deferred overall given the top-notch level of the applications if a deferral is truly equal to a rejection.

But who knows, maybe this status update is just a reminder of how brutal this process can be! These could all very well be rejects! I'm just hoping they aren't 🙂
 
Yeah, I'm kind of inclined to agree with blurryLines.
 
so i just read everything i missed... so sorry to hear about the deferments guys!!! 🙁
 
I still have the old complete message...hoping that's a good thing? I'm sure that they've passed over my application at least once already. I've been complete for a while, around late august/early september. And I do not have a 35+ MCAT.
 
linguini said:
I still have the old complete message...hoping that's a good thing? I'm sure that they've passed over my application at least once already. I've been complete for a while, around late august/early september. And I do not have a 35+ MCAT.
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👍*highfive* for the complete message still being displayed. I believe we may be the lucky ones!:luck::luck::luck:

EDIT: and you got an interview to Harvard HST, so there is something right about your application despite not having a 35+
 
With a crazy senior year of courses and research I just got around to checking my secondary offer from U Penn to realize the deadline was today! I figured they would have at least a DEC 1st deadline like most other schools.

Is it worth my time to call them on Monday and see if I can get a 3-4 day extension? Or is my fate sealed?

Thanks.
 
slrplx said:
With a crazy senior year of courses and research I just got around to checking my secondary offer from U Penn to realize the deadline was today! I figured they would have at least a DEC 1st deadline like most other schools.

Is it worth my time to call them on Monday and see if I can get a 3-4 day extension? Or is my fate sealed?

Thanks.
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Penn has an easy secondary. Just submit now!
 
funkydrmonkey said:
👍*highfive* for the complete message still being displayed. I believe we may be the lucky ones!:luck::luck::luck:

EDIT: and you got an interview to Harvard HST, so there is something right about your application despite not having a 35+
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Well I hope that luck presents itself for us soon! Makes me nervous that they've already reviewed my application and chose not to interview me at that time. I'd love to visit Penn.

And what HST saw in my application shall remain a mystery to me. But I'll gladly accept it!


And for the poster above, I would email/call admissions about an extension but I wouldn't hold your breath. They surely have a million things to do and may not be able to accommodate your late application for that reason. But it's worth a shot! Just don't be disappointed if they cannot consider you for this application year.
 
funkydrmonkey said:
Penn has an easy secondary. Just submit now!
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I did right away once I realized the deadline was this afternoon. I'm just worried that they won't accept my letters if I have them sent out on Monday 🙁
 
pianola said:
Neuronix, do you interview applicants for admission to Penn? (Or have you interviewed applicants for admission to Penn?)
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I did for several years. I haven't done it in a few years though so I'm a little out of date. It has not changed that your odds are very low if you have been "deferred", since there are no pre-interview rejections at this stage. You'll only know for sure you've been rejected when the last interview invites go out and you still have the same status message.
 
has anyone been formally rejected or is this deferment status it, more or less?
 
aquamarine said:
not sure what to think...i have the normal status complete message but i submitted pretty late (mid- to late september from what i can remember). possible that they haven't gotten around to my app yet?
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I understand what you mean. I keep checking to make sure there is no deferment message...

I called the office and they said that if you get the deferred message, basically they have gone through the round of screening, and there is another round of screening it will go through after all of the applications have been screened. If you do not have a deferred message, that means that your file was not finished going through the first round of screening when the status page was generated. Everyone will get the deferred message after it has passed the first round of screening and you have not received an interview invite. So, basically that really bites...🙁
 
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funkydrmonkey said:
I understand what you mean. I keep checking to make sure there is no deferment message...

I called the office and they said that if you get the deferred message, basically they have gone through the round of screening, and there is another round of screening it will go through after all of the applications have been screened. If you do not have a deferred message, that means that your file was not finished going through the first round of screening when the status page was generated. Everyone will get the deferred message after it has passed the first round of screening and you have not received an interview invite. So, basically that really bites...🙁
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That's the response I got as well.
 
I'm deferred too. This whole process makes me think of the Robin Williams bit about golf. This must be Penn's way of putting sand traps, water, and god knows what between us and a hole hundreds of yards away...and then putting a little flag over there to give us f*cking hope. :laugh:
 
copingmethods said:
So did anyone get put in the small pool?
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It sounds like the people who aren't deferred are in the smaller pool. As in, there still being screened right now.

Or maybe the people who aren't deferred really haven't been screened the first time yet? But some of these people have been complete for a long time, so it seems unlikely that their file hasn't been picked up at all.

I don't really know, I'm just randomly guessing.
 
shemarty said:
But some of these people have been complete for a long time, so it seems unlikely that their file hasn't been picked up at all.
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As I mentioned previously, sometimes the admissions office really has a hard time getting a stack of applications back from an application reviewer. Then there's often a delay from the time those are received to the time the status page is updated.

Yep, it's a long and painful process. That's what happens when you have to make decisions on thousands of applications. Sorry about that.

Personally I don't know what the "small pool" is. Either that's a new thing or it doesn't really exist. If your status just says complete and not deferred it means a decision has not yet been made/posted. Every year a lot of people try to read things into the admissions process. It's really not that complicated. There's no hinting or special messages going around, at least at this stage of the game.
 
Neuronix said:
Every year a lot of people try to read things into the admissions process. It's really not that complicated. There's no hinting or special messages going around, at least at this stage of the game.
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Except for how "defer" = "reject."
 
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