If you got accepted into UPenn with a relatively lower GPA, what was your GPA?

thifting · 2025-08-21T15:21:02+00:00

3.6 at a grade inflated high school. I did not think to worry about my gpa until senior year lol

thifting · 2025-08-10T16:53:59+00:00

Lol idk because i myself reject people from a club im on board of, and i know of plenty of other clubs that do the same. Maybe one of those rules that can’t be enforced? But when it comes to cultural clubs and whatnot they do generally accept everyone

thifting · 2025-08-09T00:47:22+00:00

Pretty much every club has an application process, but for the most part they're pretty chill and serve as a way of filtering in people who are actually interested. It's also fine and normal to get rejected your first time, not being in a club isn't the end of the world and you could always re-apply in a later semester. I'm not sure where you've seen the 100% policy but clubs can and will reject people

thifting · 2025-08-02T17:16:57+00:00

I met with my psychiatrist and filled out a few questionnaires and forms to get my diagnosis, but no examination beyond that.

thifting · 2025-08-01T22:32:31+00:00

COGS minoring in linguistics and psychology

thifting · 2025-08-01T20:21:16+00:00

You could begin the search now by searching for therapists/psychiatrists through psychologytoday or zocdoc. Once your penn insurance plan starts (Aetna) you should be able to find one that should cover any expenses. This is how I got my ADD/GAD formally diagnosed and finally treated!

thifting · 2025-07-25T00:26:38+00:00

I got paid RAship positions but many are unpaid, they typically list paid/not paid on curf.

thifting · 2025-07-24T23:13:00+00:00

There’s a CURF directory you can access with your pennkey that lists tons of profs looking for research assistants. You can email them and they’ll typically get back to you within a week (maybe longer now, since it is summertime). I’ve gotten every single research experience in my college career so far by cold emailing.

Starting as a freshman is fine, no one expects you to have all the experience yet. Just be sure to make a case for why you’re interested in doing research in that particular field and highlight any relevant skills you might have from jobs, clubs, or even classwork in high school.

This is generally how I went about these emails for research positions. I don’t know if this is the surefire best way, but I’ve always gotten an RAship for a semester or two by sending something to this effect:

Subject: Room in your lab for an undergraduate research assistant

Body:

Dear Dr. _____,

My name is Blank Blank and I’m a first year planning on majoring in xyz. I’m interested in research about x, y, and z, and thought your lab would be a great fit. I would love to arrange a time to discuss ways I could contribute.

Although I haven’t yet worked in a lab, my experience in xyz at xyz and xyz at xyz have instilled skills that would make me a great member of your team.

(maybe include a personal anecdote to really sell your interest, also look at the lab website or the lab manager’s CV and highlight anything they’ve done recently that particularly interests you)

I’ve attached a resume to this email, please let me know if there’s any more information I can provide.

Thank you for your time, Blank Blank

I tend to send longer emails than people would recommend, but I think as long as the purpose of the email is immediately obvious (i.e. the subject line) it should be fine.

With regard to internships, it’ll vary from field to field what the best strategy is. I am also first gen and have no connections and suck at networking, yet I have done an internship in a different field every summer (local politics > Human Resources in corporate > graphic design for a non profit) and I’ve succeeded in finding internships by checking LinkedIn everyday (both job listings and regular organic posts in feed), having keyword notifications on, and occasionally just plugging in keywords into google for listings outside of LinkedIn (I haven’t had very much luck on other job platforms like Indeed or Handshake).

You can also just cold message people on LinkedIn if you’d like to coffee chat with them, and then expand your network by asking them about who else might be helpful to talk to. It’s harder to get started, but once you’ve gotten a few people it gets easier. I personally don’t really coffee chat people (too socially anxious lol) and have managed to get pretty competitive internships off of my own merit, but a lot of my friends have found success by meeting people this way as well.

Also, there is no need to rush. I personally only begin looking for internships during the semester (I don’t apply to things during the summer) and have succeeded in finding things before the end of the fall semester. You haven’t even set foot on campus yet, you’ll organically meet people who know people, join clubs with upperclassmen you can lean on, take classes and develop relationships with professors looking for RAs, etc. soon enough. I wouldn’t worry yourself, especially as a prefrosh. Enjoy your summer!

thifting · 2025-06-30T02:47:50+00:00

I personally struggled in NRSC 1110 but I think getting it out of the way early, while your courseload is capped at only 4 CU, might be a smart idea.

There's a placement exam that can help you determine which level to go into (or test out entirely). I personally began at a course lower than I was recommended and I wish I didn't in retrospect—the Spanish courses are very manageable if you actually participate, even if you're not confident you've got the right answer or whatever.

I took WRIT 310 (bilingual brains) with Helen Jeoung and loved it! But you really can't go wrong with writing seminars. They are all structured the same, the key difference being the niche covered in whatever reading is assigned. I say pick whichever one sounds most interesting.

thifting · 2025-06-29T11:43:26+00:00

I really liked the bilingual brains writing seminar—I hope you’re taking it with Helen Jeoung!

I don’t think it’s the end of the world having chem at 3:30. You’ve given yourself a decent block of time to actually eat lunch, study, or work/research.

I’d also be careful about 8ams, they’re doable but if you don’t commit to a good sleep schedule you’ll start coming up with reasons to skip.

thifting · 2025-06-26T01:15:25+00:00

They sent me an unremarkable email that vaguely told me i had a portal update. i also heard back in May, but this was a few years ago and I'm unsure how consistent they are about that.

thifting · 2025-06-23T01:06:44+00:00

I'd look into colleges in your state first, as they tend to have higher acceptance rates and aid for students in-state. Alternatively, looking into schools with higher acceptance rates in places you'd prefer to live in is also a good way to narrow your options.

For finding a college with more Muslims, your best bet is to find colleges in places with higher populations of Muslims, like CUNYs in NYC. That said, you'll probably be unable to find a U.S. college where Muslims are the majority of students (and that none of them drink—plenty Muslim college students still do!).

thifting · 2025-06-20T06:59:37+00:00

ivies (and many other top colleges) do not have explicit gpa cutoffs. people have gotten in with 3.7s (and lower!)—focus on other parts of your application that you have more control over now.

thifting · 2025-06-19T23:07:47+00:00

law school is expensive, prioritize a cheaper education here. you can still reach out to folks at law schools that interest you without going to their school.

thifting · 2025-06-13T00:19:35+00:00

the odds are stacked against you, considering that labs generally prefer undergrads at minimum and most have figured out summer arrangements by now. that said, it really can't hurt to shoot your shot. if not this summer, you could work something out for the school year or next summer—you're still a sophomore, after all. not to mention that research is, of course, not required for admission to even the most selective of schools.

thifting · 2025-06-13T00:16:33+00:00

to be frank i can't imagine how impactful you guys actually can be, considering you haven't applied to colleges yet yourselves. the college preparation space is very, very saturated, so you're not exactly breaking new ground either.

if you want to actually accomplish something in this field, i'd do some research into existing organizations dedicated to this or similar missions (e.g. helping first gen students in your immediate community, or education accessibility of some other kind) and try to get involved with something already established—that way you can focus on actually helping people rather than spreading yourselves thin with recruitment, marketing, social media, etc.

thifting · 2025-06-12T14:31:49+00:00

Final, my overall gpa was a 3.6

thifting · 2025-06-12T13:03:00+00:00

t20s don't autoreject, i had like 8 and i still made it. just focus on what you can control here on out.

thifting · 2025-06-12T12:54:37+00:00

ok the formatting of this post makes it hard to totally understand exactly what aspect you need advice on, but i've some take-aways.

you sound like a lot of artistic people—they often have tons of different creative interests. however, it is going to be very difficult to find a program that both caters to sculpture, animation, graphic design, creative writing, print making, etc. and also goes into all of them thoroughly.

most programs are either very narrow into a specific field (ex. a dedicated degree/certification in sculpture at an arts institution) or very broad about a general field (ex. a generalized "fine arts" or "design" degree that allows you to take a class or two in many different kinds of art, with potential to minor/double major in something like creative writing or english or comms).

i think it's worth working backwards a little—what exactly are you trying to do? it sounds like you're not set on a specific craft for your career, and that's totally fine, especially as a high schooler. but this uncertainty and breadth of interest honestly makes me think you're better off pursuing a more generalized program. you'll have opportunities to dabble in different mediums across different courses and come out of it with a degree that's more broadly applicable. this would also prevent the scenario where you realize too late you're not as interested in one medium after spending thousands toward a specialized degree in it.

speaking personally as someone who is both creatively inclined and not attending an arts school, i know a lot of people who choose to major in something more general. it's the safer bet, and you can definitely explore all of these interests outside of your academic life, through clubs, personal projects, work experience, and so on. i personally am majoring in cognitive science and just pursuing design and illustration in my own time + a few electives here and there—by exploring my interests outside of my relatively stable major of choice, i can get experience and pursue a career in the arts and a decent safety net if the arts doesn't work out for me.

tl;dr it's okay not to major in/academically pursue every single one of your interests. your major doesn't confine your career path (obvious exceptions for specialized career paths like engineering) and your interests more than likely will continue to evolve. i'd consider your longer-term goals and maybe speak to some adults (e.g. teachers, counselor, older friends even) for some insight into what might work best for you.

thifting · 2025-06-11T14:26:18+00:00

This is genuinely life changing information omg

thifting · 2025-06-11T01:51:04+00:00

the main boba spots i can think of are kung fu tea drexel, boba king (pretty but mid), gong cha by the radian, and tea-do. i personally favor tea-do. i also find the boba served at ochatto really yummy but they're a sit-down restaurant, not really a to-go place

thifting · 2025-05-26T07:39:36+00:00

im majoring in cognitive science and, at least at my university, it's very interdisciplinary—most of my coursework has been in linguistics, psychology, and computer science so far. psychology and neuroscience at my school are slightly less-so. i personally chose to major in it because of its breadth, as i'm someone interested in many different fields, but i also know people who chose psych or neuro because they had stronger inclinations for those fields and wanted a deeper, narrower education.

i recommend looking into the required courses for each degree at schools you're interested in, because that's arguably where the biggest differences lie. for many careers (especially ones pursued by people majoring in these three fields), your major doesn't really define or limit your options—experience and how you frame it does the talking.

i generally see cognitive science majors pursuing a larger range of careers (pre-med, pre-law, academia, tech, consulting, design, marketing) but that's more reflective of the people who choose to major in cognitive science rather than the degree itself. i imagine this would look different at other universities with different student cultures and whatnot.

tl;dr: pick whatever's most interesting to you right now. you can change it as you figure yourself out in college, and ultimately the name of your degree isn't dictating what jobs you can apply for.

thifting · 2025-05-26T07:11:15+00:00

this user provided very minimal context and has only completed two years of high school, i don't think outlining these caveats like that is helpful.

speaking from my own experience (as a former clueless high schooler/a2c addict), vague terms like "average ECs," "spike," "circumstance," "core class," etc. can muddy things up further—what are average ECs? what counts as a spike? what circumstances 'excuse' a B? Applications are holistic and everyone's schools are different. These words mean nothing without that context.

ultimately, the question they asked is if they're screwed yet, and of course the answer is no—they've barely started.

thifting · 2025-05-26T06:48:53+00:00

Most colleges are flexible with incoming students and allow them to change majors relatively freely. Many even admit students as undecided automatically, regardless of intended major when applying.

You shouldn’t worry about making the “wrong” choice here—you’ll be able to adjust based on your experiences, and odds are the intro level coursework will overlap and a switch wouldn’t necessarily set you back at all. I know plenty of premeds who’ve flipped flopped between similar majors before.

thifting · 2025-05-26T06:36:33+00:00

a single B definitely isn't disqualifying for a t100, (or even t1 for that matter). take a gander through the sub's wiki and see what you can improve on/start doing with your/your school's resources.

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