Huntsman: The Huntsman Program in International
Studies and Business
1. In light of your personal interests in language,
business, and international affairs, please discuss a current
global issue and explain how the Huntsman Program would allow you to explore it
in greater depth. (500-700 words)
2. Please indicate how many years and how extensively
you have studied the language you selected for the Huntsman Program.
LSM: The Roy and Diana Vagelos Program in Life
Sciences and Management
LSM seeks students who are enthusiastic about
combining science with management. What excites you about this combination?
What advantages and opportunities does the combination provide, and what does
it address? Be as specific and original as possible in addressing these
questions. (400-650 words)
M&T: The Jerome Fisher Program in Management
and Technology
Please complete both prompts.
1. How will the Jerome Fisher Program in Management
and Technology help you pursue your specific interests in both engineering and
business? Please address in depth engineering fields, areas of business, and
their potential integration that you plan on pursuing through this Penn
program. (400-650 words)
2. Please describe a time in which you displayed
leadership. (250 words maximum)
NHCM: Nursing and Healthcare Management
Discuss your interest in nursing and health care
management. How might Penn's coordinated dual-degree program in nursing and
business help you meet your goals? (400-650 words)
VIPER: The Roy and Diana Vagelos Integrated
Program in Energy Research
Describe your interests in energy science and
technology and your previous experiences (academic, research, and
extracurricular activities) that have helped you to appreciate the scientific
or engineering challenges related to energy and sustainability. If you have
previous experience with research, consider describing your research project at
a level appropriate for an educated non-expert, outlining the goals,
hypotheses, approach, results, and conclusions. Describe how your experiences
have shaped your research and interests, and how the VIPER program will help
you achieve your goals. (400-650 words)
NETS: The Rajendra and Neera Singh Program in
Networked and Social Systems Engineering
Describe your interests in modern networked
information systems and technologies, such as the Internet, and their impact on
society, whether in terms of economics, communication, or the creation of
beneficial content for society. Feel free to draw on examples from your own
experiences as a user, developer, or student of technology. (400-650 words)
Seven-Year Bio-Dental Program
- Please list pre-dental or pre-medical experience. This
experience can include but is not limited to observation in a private
practice, dental clinic, or hospital setting; dental assisting; dental
laboratory work; dental or medical research, etc. Please include
time allotted to each activity, dates of attendance, location, and
description of your experience. If you do not have any pre-dental or
pre-medical experience, please indicate what you have done that led you to
your decision to enter dentistry.
- List any activities which demonstrate your ability to work with
your hands.
- What activities have you performed that demonstrate your ability to
work cooperatively with people?
- Please explain your reasons for selecting a career in dentistry.
Please include what interests you the most in dentistry as well as
what interests you the least.
- Do you have relatives who are dentists or are in dental school?
If so, indicate the name of each relative, his/her relationship to
you, the school attended, and the dates attended.
What Penn Looks For
“What you seem to be, be really” Benjamin
Franklin
Each year, the University of Pennsylvania Admissions
Selection Committee seeks to enroll a class of 2,420 scholars, scientists,
artists, athletes, entrepreneurs—and more—who hail from all corners of the
world and a wide range of backgrounds.
Through the application review, we look for students
who aspire to develop and refine their talents and abilities within Penn’s
liberal arts-based, practical, and interdisciplinary learning environment. Our
ideal candidates are inspired to emulate our founder Benjamin Franklin by
applying their knowledge in “service to society.”
The Admissions Selection Committee looks for students
with a demonstrated record of academic excellence, a commitment to seeking
challenge, a range of interests and talents, and developing leadership. In
terms of academic credentials, our primary focus is on the high school
transcript, grades and rigor based on what is available at the student's high
school, but we also take a close look at standardized test scores, correlating
them with high school performance.
Additionally, Penn seeks to attract students with
intellectual curiosity, interdisciplinary mindset, and the desire to engage
with faculty. Our ideal applicants are people who have demonstrated an ability
to channel their ideas and interests into positive action—students whose
talents and experiences are likely to make an impact on our campus community,
the city of Philadelphia, and maybe even the wider world.
So how does our admissions philosophy relate to your
application? While we could easily fill the class with valedictorians and
students with perfect test scores, our goal is to build the ideal incubator for
tomorrow’s leaders. As such, we look beyond mere numbers to intangible
qualities. It is therefore essential that you help us discover what separates
you from those with the same, or similar, GPA and test scores.
Let us hear your authentic voice. Tell us your story.
As you prepare your application, take some time to reflect on these questions:
- What matters most to you?
- Why do you want to attend Penn?
- Down what path will Locust Walk lead you—academically, socially,
and personally?
- How do you plan to use your Penn education as a foundation for
making your mark on the Penn community and the larger world?
Penn is firmly committed to ensuring this education is
available to the brightest minds. We are need-blind through the evaluation and
selection of our class, meaning we do not take a student’s financial background
into consideration when making admissions decisions for citizens or permanent
residents of the United States, Canada and Mexico. Penn's financial aid
is need-based only. We do not award academic or talent-based, such as
athletic or music, scholarships. Instead, all aid is devoted to helping
families who need financial assistance to afford Penn. All admitted
students who demonstrate need will have their full financial need met
throughout their undergraduate years at Penn; we will meet 100% of the
demonstrated need. Finally, our financial aid packages do not include loans.
All aided students are awarded no-loan aid packages, allowing them to
graduate debt-free.
Our Admissions Selection Committee looks forward to
reviewing your accomplishments, learning about your ideas and dreams, and
getting a sense of what you might contribute to the Penn community.
When looking at colleges, I always ask students to
first look within yourself, a self assessment that I call the 5 I’s:
- Identity: How do you see yourself and how do others see you?
- Intellect: How do you think and approach the acquisition of
knowledge?
- Ideas: What do you think and why?
- Interests: What do you choose to do when you have the time and
flexibility?
- Inspiration: What really motivates you?
IDENTITY: To figure out
this piece, you must ask yourself who you are as an individual. How do
you see yourself and how do you think that others see you? How do you
drill into–essentially, unpack–the definition you create for yourself?
Forget putting a name to a college now–don’t say I have to get into Penn or any
other school. That comes later. Think about who you are without connecting
yourself to anything external, such as brands, people, grades, etc. Think
about who you are at your core.
INTELLECT: Part of your identity is your intellect. How do
you think and how do you take in information? We want to know about your
mind. Pretty simple, right? As educators, we know that all students
have a unique intellect with different strengths and learning styles.
Recognize that your intellect comes into play in a range of activities, not
only while you are in class or doing homework. The problem solving skills
that you utilize during club meeting, your perseverance during track practice,
and the public speaking ability you employ while running for leadership
positions are all positive manifestations of an intellect that is alive and
growing.
IDEAS: We want to know what you think about and why. When you have
time to hang out, what are your ideas? What do you think about big issues like
global warming? What do you think about local issues right here in your
backyard? What are your ideas and what has informed those ideas? Ideas are what
make college communities really interesting. When diverse students with
unique intellectual paths share their thoughts with one another, it results in
a great synergy. Students who work together, crossing traditional
academic boundaries, have the potential to make waves in their community and
world. So yes, your ideas, even if at this point they don’t seem
realistic, can help you get into college. We are interested in the
intellectual innovation you will bring to campus. We are interested in
your spark.
INTERESTS: What do you like to do? What do you like to do
when someone is not telling you to do it? What are your hobbies? This is one
way that I think about interests: If you could pick up three books or
three magazines, what would they be? Sometimes we need to pick books or
magazines up because they feed into the courses that we are taking; other times
it is a reflection of our natural acclimations and interests. You can do
the same exercise with films, or museums. When you walk into a museum,
what is the first section that you go to? All these things are going to be
interesting to you and they’re going to interesting to the community that you
are looking to be part of in college.
INSPIRATION: What really motivates and inspires you? We can
sit down for forty-five minutes and you might not be sure how you want to
answer this question or you might be thinking too hard about it. But
then, there is this point in the conversation where I ask you something and your
eyes light up and your arms start to move about. You are inspired;
something really moves you. Tap into this power source and build on it.
Be
mindful of content already conveyed to the Admissions Committee in your
application and the opportunity this question offers you to articulate
specifically “Why Penn?” For example, imagine standing at the nexus of
Locust Walk and College Green and looking at the path ahead. What are the
opportunities you would like to explore in this space? What
do you hope to learn about and create in your undergraduate school of choice?
Strive to make this piece both uniquely you and uniquely Penn.
And while this text is not binding (you are encouraged to explore, expand, and
change in college), it can serve as a blueprint for the mark you
make on campus. As inspiration, consider Jake Cohen C’13 who pledged to
start a bagpipe band in his freshman application. Jake created Penn Pipes
in his senior year and now student pipers can be found at events across campus. The
Admissions Office, including Jake’s Regional Director Jordan Pascucci, is
proud.
