“I live in the Far Northeast of Philadelphia, right near the borders of Huntingdon Valley and Abington.” I became very used to this description of the location of my home soon after I began high school. In grade school, I had been able to say simply that I lived in Philadelphia, because there were only two groups of people: those who lived in Huntingdon Valley and those who lived in Philadelphia. When I said I lived in Philadelphia, everyone knew...

Last April, I took a quiz on buzzfeed.com: Which Ivy League School Should You Attend? I got Penn. I did not trust the quiz, so I took it again, changing a few answers. Still I got Penn. This past summer, I took Math 104 at Penn. Every Monday through Thursday I took a forty minute train ride to University City Station, walked to DRL, and sat for two hours straight learning math. When the course ended in August, I left...

Be very specific about your "Why Penn" essay. Penn places...

I wish I wouldn't have stressed so much about standardized testing. ...

I definitely demonstrated a strong interest in a few different areas, most notably...

I regret not applying for more outside scholarships. Although my family is receiving a...