UPenn: Should I apply? Yes or no?Answered
Hey guys, so I currently have a 3.3 GPA and im in my Sophomore year at Penn State, (I'm finishing up my last two semester at PSU and then applying to UPenn... Is this a good decision to make? I know the 3.3 GPA is really low but I can tell them in the essay portion that I've been battling depression and anxiety. I have also been hospitalized like four times throughout my time at PSU. The depression is so severe that I got diagnosed with it and hospitalized for suicidal attempts and ideation.
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2 answers
Hi @lemonspice ,
I'm sorry about your mental health experience at PSU for the past 3 semesters. It's probably time for a change. Finding a college that is a good fit is paramount for you and for everyone looking to apply to college. If the environment is not supportive, you will suffer and not thrive. And if the environment is uber competitive without group collaboration where everyone fends for themselves then it's easy to find yourself isolated, struggling to keep up.
Therefore I seriously caution you on where you apply as a transfer student because Penn State was not an easy school for you. If you got a 3.3 at PSU, I guarantee you that the course rigor, amount of reading and homework, and expectations of your professors to produce high-level work would only be harder at an Ivy League school. Ivy's are not only very hard to get into but also very hard to stay on track and get top marks. Some people say that Harvard suffers from grade inflation which may be true, but I'm sure the classes are harder than the ones at PSU both for Core classes and electives. My friends at Ivys and Elite colleges are all sleep-deprived and that is a big no-no for mental health.
I think it will be a waste of your time to apply to UPenn as a transfer student because of your low GPA. UPenn's transfer rate from 2 classes back is 4.5% and I think it will be lower for the last cycle and this upcoming cycle. While it's better than the .8%-1.3% transfer rates at Harvard and Yale and Princeton, it's still much worse than applying there as an undergraduate.
If you want to transfer to Ivys, I only have 4 suggestions for you.
Dartmouth - 10%
Columbia University - 14.6%
Cornell University - 15.7%
Barnard College (if you are female) - 22%
Other excellent colleges with very good transfer rates are the following:
NYU - 41%
Vassar - 16%
Bryn Mawr - 25%
Smith - 33%
Haverford -23%
Colgate -18%
Trinity College 32%
In addition, these colleges have excellent mental health counseling on-site at the schools. Something I highly recommend you look into.
GWU - 48%
UVA - 36%
Vanderbilt - 17.5%
Boston College - 34%
If you have time to visit some campus that would be great. Perhaps you can visit some over XMas break which starts 12/16 before you apply.
Applying to UPenn is a terrible idea for your mental health. Please don't pursue that while you're still working on your recovery, Ivy academics are insanely competitive and will take their toll on any healthy individual. The people at these schools come from completely different backgrounds than you and are literal machines. They struggle with mental health problems but either push them aside to prioritize their education (whether or not that's the right thing to do!!), can't handle it and drop out, or worse. It would be a very toxic environment for you.
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Oh, and I didn't mention this but I will be doing 1 course a semester online.