2009-2010 University of Pennsylvania Application Thread

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Me three!!!!! So excited about this one. Is the Amtrak the way to go?

I would say so. 30th street station in Philly is only like a 15-20 minute walk from Penn's campus (and if you're interested in Drexel, it's right there, too).

Edit: Coming from Boston, this was easiest and cheapest (Amtrak has sales if you book like 2 weeks in advance or something).
 
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Aww, I wish I could. That's my last day of class before finals. So much for having 3 interviews together. 🙁

Haha, good luck whenever you end up going. You should try to make it a northeast grand tour with a few in the area emails.
 
Me three!!!!! So excited about this one. Is the Amtrak the way to go?

I would say so. 30th street station in Philly is only like a 15-20 minute walk from Penn's campus (and if you're interested in Drexel, it's right there, too).


It depends where you're coming from but I think the BoltBus might be a better deal. It also stops at the 30th street station
 
Just got the interview invite - anybody else going for December 18th? I have to do it then because prior to that I have finals and Hanukah...representing the Jew Crew here.
 
congrats!!! did you ever have the "deferred" status, or were you complete the whole time?
 
Just got the interview invite - anybody else going for December 18th? I have to do it then because prior to that I have finals and Hanukah...representing the Jew Crew here.

never, ever thought i'd see someone using chanukah as a reason to postpone an interview. of all holidays to care about... :laugh:
 
Congrats to all of you who got interview invites. I go to Penn right now (but got no love, I was deferred), and I'd recommend you take either a train or a bus to 30th Street Station, which is only about a 10 minute walk from campus. Boltbus and Megabus offer cheap fares (most tickets are less than $10) and drop you off at the train station as well. Good luck
 
wow all these interview invites going out 3-4 months after completion gives me some hope....
 
just invited. extremely excited. application was complete for about 2 months.
 
Did who already interviewed go to the minority dinner at Houston Hall the night before their interview? If so, details please?? what to expect?

🙄
 
"The Committee on Admissions reviewed your application but has not invited you for an interview at this time. Additional reviews will occur and any change in your status will be communicated to you."

Is this the same as deferred 🙁?
 
That is not the same as the normal deferred message. Unfortunately, I think that's worse. 🙁
 
"The Committee on Admissions reviewed your application but has not invited you for an interview at this time. Additional reviews will occur and any change in your status will be communicated to you."

Is this the same as deferred 🙁?

I previously had a message saying something along the lines of "the Committee has deferred a decision on your application," but now I have the same message as you. I hate to say it, but it sounds more like a rejection than a deferral 🙁
 
I previously had a message saying something along the lines of "the Committee has deferred a decision on your application," but now I have the same message as you. I hate to say it, but it sounds more like a rejection than a deferral 🙁

me too, womp womp... maybe they edited everyone's deferred message? (to convey a stronger sense of pessimism? ha)
 
mine's edited too. i guess it's time for me to unsubscribe from this thread now. see ya!
 
Did who already interviewed go to the minority dinner at Houston Hall the night before their interview? If so, details please?? what to expect?

🙄
It was totally laid back, they just let you ask questions. It seems like they have a very tight-knit (and rather small) community, more so then I have noticed at any other school thus far.
 
I previously had a message saying something along the lines of "the Committee has deferred a decision on your application," but now I have the same message as you. I hate to say it, but it sounds more like a rejection than a deferral 🙁

I have this same status change but I see it as more of a positive:

#1: its not a deferral anymore
#2: Additional reviews will occur

Why would they review again if this was as good as a rejection? And you can't even get an interview if your app is being deferred. No interview "at this time" doesn't mean never! Keep positive everyone!
 
I have this same status change but I see it as more of a positive:

#1: its not a deferral anymore
#2: Additional reviews will occur

Why would they review again if this was as good as a rejection? And you can't even get an interview if your app is being deferred. No interview "at this time" doesn't mean never! Keep positive everyone!

I'll join Team Positive over here... Has anyone who initially had the "deferred decision" status had their status changed to something else? Perhaps they just decided to edit the original message but it still means deferral, rather than rejection? Is there a different "rejection" version of the status?
 
I also have this new status. I see no reason to view it as anything other than just a rewording of the original "deferred" status, unless people still have that status with no change...
 
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Mine has been in "complete" status with no change...

I guess it means they haven't even touched my application, and I was complete since middle of september....🙁
 
Mine has been in "complete" status with no change...

I guess it means they haven't even touched my application, and I was complete since middle of september....🙁


same here, it's pretty ridiculous. does this mean they haven't even looked at it? or is a silent reject on its way soon 🙁
this process is the suck
 
Mine has been in "complete" status with no change...

I guess it means they haven't even touched my application, and I was complete since middle of september....🙁

same here, it's pretty ridiculous. does this mean they haven't even looked at it? or is a silent reject on its way soon 🙁
this process is the suck

doubt this is the case, guys. I've been "Complete" since mid-aug, and I can hardly believe they haven't even gotten to my app yet. hang in there...
 
Until recently I had the "deferred" status, now I check and it says:

"The Committee on Admissions reviewed your application but has not invited you for an interview at this time. Additional reviews will occur and any change in your status will be communicated to you.

" Is there any meaning to this? Can anyone decipher it?
 
Until recently I had the "deferred" status, now I check and it says:

"The Committee on Admissions reviewed your application but has not invited you for an interview at this time. Additional reviews will occur and any change in your status will be communicated to you.

" Is there any meaning to this? Can anyone decipher it?
See above
 
mmmm i have been complete since august 18th. hahahahaha. 😀
 
is there a status check site? I got a complete email a while back, but I don't see any of the messages you guys are talking about...
 
I also experienced the change from "deferred" to the new message. Either they just didn't like the sound of the old one or maybe it means they are beginning the reviews of the previously deferred soon. Who knows...
 
I also experienced the change from "deferred" to the new message. Either they just didn't like the sound of the old one or maybe it means they are beginning the reviews of the previously deferred soon. Who knows...

Or maybe that message invited too many phone calls from us neurotic applicants seeking clarification, that they decided to remove that 'confusing' deferred thing.
 
So until recently my application status just said "complete". When I checked earlier today I found that it has been update to:

"Your application is now in the screening process. Complete applications will go through a series of competitive screenings. Interviews will begin in September and continue into February, 2010. Applicants invited for interviews will be notified via email. The Committee on Admissions will make all final decisions in March, 2010.
ALL ADMISSIONS DECISIONS WILL BE ANNOUNCED BY MARCH 15."

I was complete mid-September so I didn't expect to see this now. Does anyone else have this status after being complete for a while?
 
So until recently my application status just said "complete". When I checked earlier today I found that it has been update to:

"Your application is now in the screening process. Complete applications will go through a series of competitive screenings. Interviews will begin in September and continue into February, 2010. Applicants invited for interviews will be notified via email. The Committee on Admissions will make all final decisions in March, 2010.
ALL ADMISSIONS DECISIONS WILL BE ANNOUNCED BY MARCH 15."

I was complete mid-September so I didn't expect to see this now. Does anyone else have this status after being complete for a while?

mine said the above ever since I was complete..
 
Does Penn care about this semester's grades for the March 15 decision? With interviews its been pretty hard to keep my grades up.
 
Does Penn care about this semester's grades for the March 15 decision? With interviews its been pretty hard to keep my grades up.

unless you choose to update them with a new transcript, it can't really factor into the decision (and it's not really a March 15 decision, probably more like March 25th or so, last year was the 26th I think). Obviously, if your grades are low enough, they might rescind your acceptance after the fact, but they'd have to be pretty bad
 
unless you choose to update them with a new transcript, it can't really factor into the decision (and it's not really a March 15 decision, probably more like March 25th or so, last year was the 26th I think). Obviously, if your grades are low enough, they might rescind your acceptance after the fact, but they'd have to be pretty bad

Is it generally a good idea to update Penn post-interview, pre-decision? I'm resubmitting a a paper for publication and probably will be presenting my work at a few conferences over the next few months (two Penn conferences, one outside Penn). I also have been volunteering in a HIV clinic once a week since after I submitted my AMCAS, and I don't think I mentioned this in my interview... but I can't really think of anything super substantial to update them on. I'm not sure if it's really worth bothering them with an update, especially if they don't care too much about it. I also graduated a while ago, so I have no new grades to send.
 
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