Penn c/o 2015 Applicants (2011-2012 cycle) Forum

[DonnaDraper]

Just got an email from the Dean requesting a phone interview. Wow, seems kind of unprecedented?

Edit: Looks like 2 people on here had them last year (maybe 1 or 2 more I didn't see), and one person got in and the other didn't. I'm guessing it's because my grades junior year went down pretty sharply, but I've rebounded pretty well this semester (and I have 2 grades in, an A and an A-, so I'll mention that I guess). I really have no idea what to expect though, but we'll see.

GOOD LUCK ROBK! You tell Dean Post to let you in. Got my fingers xx for you.

[iamrobk]

Just got an email from the Dean requesting a phone interview. Wow, seems kind of unprecedented?

Edit: Looks like 2 people on here had them last year (maybe 1 or 2 more I didn't see), and one person got in and the other didn't. I'm guessing it's because my grades junior year went down pretty sharply, but I've rebounded pretty well this semester (and I have 2 grades in, an A and an A-, so I'll mention that I guess). I really have no idea what to expect though, but we'll see.

GOOD LUCK ROBK! You tell Dean Post to let you in. Got my fingers xx for you.

Thanks! Oh god, you figured out what my username means. Now everyone is going to recognize me at law school.

[jasonxu89]

Just got an email from the Dean requesting a phone interview. Wow, seems kind of unprecedented?

Edit: Looks like 2 people on here had them last year (maybe 1 or 2 more I didn't see), and one person got in and the other didn't. I'm guessing it's because my grades junior year went down pretty sharply, but I've rebounded pretty well this semester (and I have 2 grades in, an A and an A-, so I'll mention that I guess). I really have no idea what to expect though, but we'll see.

GOOD LUCK ROBK! You tell Dean Post to let you in. Got my fingers xx for you.

Thanks! Oh god, you figured out what my username means. Now everyone is going to recognize me at law school.

You finished your final? Tell Dean Post to let me in as well! Good luck!

[iamrobk]

Just got an email from the Dean requesting a phone interview. Wow, seems kind of unprecedented?

Edit: Looks like 2 people on here had them last year (maybe 1 or 2 more I didn't see), and one person got in and the other didn't. I'm guessing it's because my grades junior year went down pretty sharply, but I've rebounded pretty well this semester (and I have 2 grades in, an A and an A-, so I'll mention that I guess). I really have no idea what to expect though, but we'll see.

GOOD LUCK ROBK! You tell Dean Post to let you in. Got my fingers xx for you.

Thanks! Oh god, you figured out what my username means. Now everyone is going to recognize me at law school.

You finished your final? Tell Dean Post to let me in as well! Good luck!

Yeah, it was at 8am. I've never had an 8am class but this is the second 8am final I've ever had... bleh. Better than the 5:30pm Friday finals though. One of my professors this semester used to give a final, but stopped this year because he got stuck with the 5:30pm Friday time slot 3 semesters in a row and was sick of it.
Still a bit of time until my phone interview though, which is nice since I can try to relax a bit now that I'm done with auditing forever.

Edit: And actually now that I think about it, the first 8am final I ever had was freshman year and I somehow overslept it, ran there, and made it about a minute before the professor was about to leave. Luckily the "final" was only like 25 multiple choice questions and it took me about 5 minutes.

[iamrobk]

Had my phone interview. I think it definitely went well. Talked a bit about my current semester (I think I did a good job to show that I had made a good academic recovery, which I've always thought was an important issue), how I'd get involved in the community, etc. I asked her about job recruiting and got a nice, honest-sounding answer.

Also, relevant to everyone, she said at the end that the committee are meeting tomorrow but that I almost definitely won't hear tomorrow (but will early next week). Not sure exactly what that means, or what they're doing the rest of today or Friday. But maybe it means RD decisions will start Thursday? Or the rest of the ED people will hear?

[quaker10]

Thanks for the info - way to take the interview like a champ.
Here's to some RD movement!

Had my phone interview. I think it definitely went well. Talked a bit about my current semester (I think I did a good job to show that I had made a good academic recovery, which I've always thought was an important issue), how I'd get involved in the community, etc. I asked her about job recruiting and got a nice, honest-sounding answer.

Also, relevant to everyone, she said at the end that the committee are meeting tomorrow but that I almost definitely won't hear tomorrow (but will early next week). Not sure exactly what that means, or what they're doing the rest of today or Friday. But maybe it means RD decisions will start Thursday? Or the rest of the ED people will hear?

[Cornelius]

Thanks for the info - way to take the interview like a champ.

+1, bets of luck to you.

I sent in a LOCI in response to my hold, hoping for the best.

[Nelson]

Had my phone interview. I think it definitely went well. Talked a bit about my current semester (I think I did a good job to show that I had made a good academic recovery, which I've always thought was an important issue), how I'd get involved in the community, etc. I asked her about job recruiting and got a nice, honest-sounding answer.

Also, relevant to everyone, she said at the end that the committee are meeting tomorrow but that I almost definitely won't hear tomorrow (but will early next week). Not sure exactly what that means, or what they're doing the rest of today or Friday. But maybe it means RD decisions will start Thursday? Or the rest of the ED people will hear?

I hope they start RD tomorrow! If I had to bet, though, I would say RD is not going to hear until next week based on their technical difficulties this week and the fact that only one round of ED folks have heard.

[curiousgeorgia]

good job, robk. i hope you convinced her of your love of philly and she feels compelled to accept you on those grounds alone

my status checker just sent me an update saying penn added one of my LORs (that was submitted like a month ago) so maybe this means they are working on RD apps today?

[DonnaDraper]

Thanks for the info - way to take the interview like a champ.

+1, bets of luck to you.

I sent in a LOCI in response to my hold, hoping for the best.

If there was any way you could get a LOR from a professor, I think you should try that. I know you have been out of school for a couple years, but from Penn's app instructions it seems that they would prefer having someone who can comment on your abilities in an academic environment.

[Cornelius]

Thanks for the info - way to take the interview like a champ.

+1, bets of luck to you.

I sent in a LOCI in response to my hold, hoping for the best.

If there was any way you could get a LOR from a professor, I think you should try that. I know you have been out of school for a couple years, but from Penn's app instructions it seems that they would prefer having someone who can comment on your abilities in an academic environment.

I've thought a lot about doing this, but I don't think there's anyone who would even really remember who I am, much less well enough to write a LOR. Didn't really form a meaningful bond with any professors. The detrimental effects of skipping class too often. Kicking myself now.

[iamrobk]

Had my phone interview. I think it definitely went well. Talked a bit about my current semester (I think I did a good job to show that I had made a good academic recovery, which I've always thought was an important issue), how I'd get involved in the community, etc. I asked her about job recruiting and got a nice, honest-sounding answer.

Also, relevant to everyone, she said at the end that the committee are meeting tomorrow but that I almost definitely won't hear tomorrow (but will early next week). Not sure exactly what that means, or what they're doing the rest of today or Friday. But maybe it means RD decisions will start Thursday? Or the rest of the ED people will hear?

I hope they start RD tomorrow! If I had to bet, though, I would say RD is not going to hear until next week based on their technical difficulties this week and the fact that only one round of ED folks have heard.

Yeah, the way she phrased what she said (about when I would hear), I couldn't tell if it was because they were planning on rejecting me, if she still had no idea, or if they just had a big backlog and wouldn't be able to tell anyone tomorrow. I guess no one will hear Friday, because she didn't even make it sound like that was an option for me to hear back (maybe the adcomm doesn't meet Fridays?).

good job, robk. i hope you convinced her of your love of philly and she feels compelled to accept you on those grounds alone

my status checker just sent me an update saying penn added one of my LORs (that was submitted like a month ago) so maybe this means they are working on RD apps today?

Haha one of her questions was something like "Do you see yourself in Philly long-term?" which I obviously answered yes to.

Thanks for the info - way to take the interview like a champ.

+1, bets of luck to you.

I sent in a LOCI in response to my hold, hoping for the best.

If there was any way you could get a LOR from a professor, I think you should try that. I know you have been out of school for a couple years, but from Penn's app instructions it seems that they would prefer having someone who can comment on your abilities in an academic environment.

Now that you mention the LOR's, she also asked me why I had 1 LOR from a professor instead of 2 (and I'm still in undergrad), which I think confirms my suspicions that maybe my LOR's sucked. Or they really like 2 from professor's if you're still in undergrad. I basically replied that I had made the decision to try to get letters that showed two different sides of me, though I had one professor this current semester who I wish I had a previous semester because I would have loved to get a LOR from him. Not sure if that's the answer she was looking for, but eh, it's the truth.

[maxpower430]

[quote="quaker10If there was any way you could get a LOR from a professor, I think you should try that. I know you have been out of school for a couple years, but from Penn's app instructions it seems that they would prefer having someone who can comment on your abilities in an academic environment.

I've thought a lot about doing this, but I don't think there's anyone who would even really remember who I am, much less well enough to write a LOR. Didn't really form a meaningful bond with any professors. The detrimental effects of skipping class too often. Kicking myself now.

I know this is kind of TLS-echo chamber stuff, and might be after the fact and not all that helpful, but if you still have some work from any class, it couldn't hurt to ask. professors get asked to write letters for kids they barely know all the time, and assuming you did well in their class will usually be accomodating. sure, it probably won't be as personal as a letter from a prof you took multiple classes with, went to office hours etc, but if they really want an academic LOR it can't hurt.

[msblaw89]

I'm starting to think Penn has forgotten about me. RD 11/04 complete

[Killingly]

I'm starting to think Penn has forgotten about me. RD 11/04 complete

11/01 complete. Have they accepted any RD people?

[crumpledq]

I'm starting to think Penn has forgotten about me. RD 11/04 complete

+1

[curiousgeorgia]

I'm starting to think Penn has forgotten about me. RD 11/04 complete

11/01 complete. Have they accepted any RD people?

Not yet, no. They still have a bunch of ED people that they need to get back to. My guess is that RD acceptances will come next week, as they mentioned that some RD applicants will hear back by the end of the year.

[Killingly]

I'm starting to think Penn has forgotten about me. RD 11/04 complete

11/01 complete. Have they accepted any RD people?

Not yet, no. They still have a bunch of ED people that they need to get back to. My guess is that RD acceptances will come next week, as they mentioned that some RD applicants will hear back by the end of the year.

Ah, gotcha. I've in neglecting the Penn thread and am somewhat behind on the happenings.

[curiousgeorgia]

Ah, gotcha. I've in neglecting the Penn thread and am somewhat behind on the happenings.

Understandable, as there were more exciting things happening elsewhere. So far it has been focused mainly around ED's waiting/acceptances, and debates about the pros and cons of Philadelphia, so you haven't missed much

[iamrobk]

I'm starting to think Penn has forgotten about me. RD 11/04 complete

11/01 complete. Have they accepted any RD people?

Not yet, no. They still have a bunch of ED people that they need to get back to. My guess is that RD acceptances will come next week, as they mentioned that some RD applicants will hear back by the end of the year.

Eh, I don't know if I'd say it's "a bunch" of ED applicants. If I had to, I'd say ~33% at most haven't heard back, probably closer to 20% or so. There's only 4 people on LSN who haven't heard (or haven't updated their accounts) out of 17 applicants, and there's only like 2 or 3 other people besides me on here who haven't heard. But it's my guess that they're planning on sorting out the rest of these and perhaps starting RD tomorrow, we'll see.

[Cornelius]

I know this is kind of TLS-echo chamber stuff, and might be after the fact and not all that helpful, but if you still have some work from any class, it couldn't hurt to ask. professors get asked to write letters for kids they barely know all the time, and assuming you did well in their class will usually be accomodating. sure, it probably won't be as personal as a letter from a prof you took multiple classes with, went to office hours etc, but if they really want an academic LOR it can't hurt.

Maybe I'll see what I can do, no harm in trying. Although it may not make a difference at this point, by the time they write the LOR, mail it, and it gets processed and finally sent to Penn.

[so_fetch]

I know this is kind of TLS-echo chamber stuff

lol this is awesome. I suppose retaking the lsat and applying early would also fall under this category

[Cornelius]

I know this is kind of TLS-echo chamber stuff

lol this is awesome. I suppose retaking the lsat and applying early would also fall under this category

I know I was tempted, but didn't want schools to hold off on my application until December LSAT scores came in. I figured having them in and being looked at sooner outweighed the potential benefit of 4 or 5 points (my PTs were consistently in the mid 170s, so I underperformed with my 170).

If only I could have kept the letters G and J straight, I would have had a 171.

[arez]

I'm starting to think Penn has forgotten about me. RD 11/04 complete

I'd been complete since 10/19 (RD) and just went UR today if it makes you feel any better

[crumpledq]

I'm starting to think Penn has forgotten about me. RD 11/04 complete

I'd been complete since 10/19 (RD) and just went UR today if it makes you feel any better

You know what...it really does