Expert: Susie Watts - 5/10/2008

Question
I went to the communications high school of the Monmouth county vocational school district in NJ. They called it a "career academy" and made it seem prestigious.  In fact, every report card said, "All students accepted via a competitive application process and follow the same rigorous course of study…All courses are taught at an honors level." Personally, I didn't think the classes were very difficult and always pointed out that an honors class can only be honors when compared to non-honors courses and that since all of our classes were honors they really weren't honors at all.

I got a 1260 on my SATs and my cumulative GPA for all 4 years was 92.045. (92 or above was an A+ in our classes.) They didn't do class rank, so I wouldn't be able to say how I compared to my peers. I was, however, VP and co-president of my student council and wrote for the school newspaper. I graduated in 2005.  

Instead of trying hard in school, I focused on becoming a humor writer. I had a zine, was profiled by the local newspaper, was published online, and was featured in The Best of McSweeney's Humor Edition by Vintage Press. At 17 I started interviewing comedy makers about making comedy and would go on to have my work featured online and in print in such venues as Time Out New York, NY Press, Philly City Paper, and Pittsburgh City Paper. In 2007 my work was nominated for an award in the field of best comedic commentary by the Emerging Comics of New York. I am currently in the process of branching out from entertainment writing to socio-political and cultural commentary, investigative reporting, and the sort of pieces where one has experiences and writes about them, like Hunter S. Thompson or David Rakoff. I think I'd make a good contributor to a school's news and humor publications.

Last year, at 20, I started going to community college. My GPA will be 3.875 at the end of the semester and I can earn an honors associates degree in philosophy by the summer's end, which means that I managed to get 64 credits in a single year. I'm 21 now. I have been on the dean's list for both the spring and the fall (they don't have it during the summers). I am also a member of Phi Theta Kappa, the international honors society for 2-year colleges. I think I would be a good contribution to a school's philosophy and history department.

I did a co-op in the fall semester for an entertainment oriented website as well, conducting interviews with many irrelevant celebrities both famous and non-famous, including Ashley Simpson and Dave Navarro. I also got to speak with a lot of people I personally enjoyed, despite the fact that readers had never heard of them, such as Saul Williams, Mike Patton, Daniel Johns from Silverchair, Spike Feresten, and Crispin Glover.

I would like to attend Upenn's school of general studies in the fall. I have two professors lined up to write me letters of recommendation and was also planning on having an entertainment industry insider, perhaps a musician or a writer/producer, write me one as well. I would like to major in philosophy and possibly history. I am already a writer, journalist, and humorist, but I would like to climb to the pinnacle of this profession. This is a lofty aspiration, yes, but I feel that one day my skills will be proficient enough to convey my unique yet relatable vision of the world in such a way that I can make legitimately positive contributions to humanity.

I am also a first generation American, with my parents emigrating from the Soviet Union in the late 80's.

I feel that these reasons as well as my ability to discern when to use emigrating rather than immigrating make me a good candidate for such an institution. What are my chances of getting in and how do I make those chances even more favorable?

Looking forward to your reply,

Sincerely,

Ben

Answer
Penn is a very competitive school, but it sounds as though you have accomplished a lot in your life so far.  Many of the attributes you have are the kinds of things that Penn likes to see.  I would suggest you make a point of visiting Penn, taking a tour, sitting in on a class or two and having an interview if possible.  I would also suggest you establish an email relationship with some of the professors there who may be in a field that interests you.  Make sure your application is your best with strong essays to support your writing and humor.  You should also apply early decision so the school knows you are committed and this will increase your chances for admission.  Work hard and pursue your dream to make it a reality.