Application Insights: Tips to Complete and Strengthen Your Application for Admission

Upload your resume as a PDF written in English. A typical resume is one to two pages in length that communicates your:

• Functional job skills
• Breadth and depth of your academic and professional experience
• Demonstrated leadership
• Experience with online learning, if any
• Technical skills or background you’d like to highlight

TIP: Focus on providing relevant information that demonstrates why you are a good fit for the program. Include details such as previous computer science or quantitative coursework, certificates earned, or online learning completed.

Take time to think through your answers to each question and carefully craft your responses. Please remember:

• The length of the personal statement should be 1,000 to 1,500 words.
• We want to hear your story to learn about your background and how it relates to your goals for the program. 
• Each question is included for a reason, so please make sure to answer all questions. 
• Succinctly communicate your answers without being overly elaborate. 
• Think of this as your written interview for the program, as no formal interview is required. 
• Your personal statement can be used as a tool to address or share anything you want the Admissions Committee to know about you that you don’t feel will be conveyed through the other application elements.

TIP: Draft your personal statement in a Word document so you can come back to it for editing and formatting purposes. Once you have a final version ready to submit, you can copy and paste the text into your application.

Upload unofficial transcripts from every university or college where you have earned academic credit. At the time of submitting your application, only unofficial transcripts are required. If admitted, official transcripts or NACES evaluation will be required, for verification of the unofficial transcripts submitted with the application. 

Please note:

• Unofficial transcripts should be in English and in PDF format.
• Documents must include all courses taken, credit hours and grades earned. 
• Diplomas are not accepted in lieu of transcripts.
• If the grading is on a scale other than 4.0, please include documentation indicating the scale. 

TIP: Although it is not required, applicants with international transcripts should strongly consider having a course by course NACES evaluation completed prior to submitting their application so it can be included in the transcript upload.

You are required to submit two letters of recommendation for your application but can include up to three. We suggest that you ask three recommenders for letters to provide a bit of a safety net in hopes of at least receiving a minimum of two before the due date. Applications that do not have two completed letters of recommendation by the deadline will be considered ‘incomplete’ and will not be eligible to be reviewed for admission.

Suggested recommenders include:

• A direct supervisor
• Someone above you in the chain of command at your organization
• Someone whom you are professionally responsible to who can provide evidence that you will be successful in the program

For those who are self-employed, the recommender could also be a client.

Please ensure your recommenders follow these guidelines when writing their letters:

• Must be written in English
• Should be on official letterhead of the writer’s organization or institution whenever possible
• Should include the writer’s signature, name and organization
• Should range from one to two full pages in length

You do not need to collect your letters of recommendation from each recommender. Once you enter your recommenders’ contact information into the application portal, Penn will automatically send each recommender an email with a unique link. They can then upload their letter using their unique link, which will attach their recommendation to your application. You can log in to your application portal at any time to see the status of the letters requested from each recommender.

TIP: Ensure your recommenders upload their letters by the application deadline. We suggest that you check in to remind your recommenders a couple of weeks before the deadline. If you have concerns about any of your recommenders submitting their letters on time, you can login to your application status page to replace them with someone else.

An English language test score from an approved testing organization is required for all applicants if English is not your first language and if you are an International applicant, a non-US citizen, or a non-US permanent resident. Test scores will need to come to Penn directly from the testing center and are valid for two years. We accept TOEFL, IELTS and Duolingo (DET) as proof of English language proficiency.

This requirement can be waived if you have completed a bachelor’s degree or master’s degree where the medium of instruction at the institution is English. The degree must be completed before matriculation into a Penn Engineering Online degree program.

TIP: Minimum scores for each organization are as follows: 📋 TOEFL: 100   📋 IELTS: 7.5   📋 DET: 135 The score must be received directly from the testing organization by the application deadline.

A GRE test score is an optional component of your application, which can be important if you feel that your application needs to be strengthened. For those who haven’t been in school for a long time or don’t have strong grades in math, a GRE score that is indicative of good performance gives the Penn admissions department a quantifiable way to assess that you are ready for rigorous quantitative work. The GRE is an optional tool and is not required. If you have a great application and you do not submit a GRE score, excluding a test score will not hurt your chances of being accepted. 

A GRE test score is often a good way for MCIT applicants to deomonstrate proof of quantitative ability. A GMAT test score is also accepted, for the MCIT Online program only. A GRE or GMAT score must be sent directly from the testing facility and must be received by the application deadline. 

TIP: Make sure you use the same name on your GRE / GMAT test as on your application to Penn. The test score should automatically sync to your application, but you can reach out to admissions if you have any concerns.

A: The personal statement is a great place to explain your past situation and what has changed to ensure you will have a different outcome in the future. You might relate your prior performance to your motivation for enrolling in the program or use these situations as an opportunity to discuss your resilience and ability to grow. The personal statement can include an explanation of previous performance, especially if it is not representative of your current abilities. 

A: Your application is reviewed holistically. A grade or score is the highest evidence of quantitative ability. Anything you think is a strength is worth noting and including in your application. If you are taking a “for credit” course and you will not have a grade before the application deadline, we suggest uploading a grade sheet or a screenshot of a test score to include with your application. If you have been pursuing online learning, even if not for a grade, it is worth including but may not be enough to prove quantitative ability. 

A: Many of the students who enter the MCIT Online program who are self-taught when it comes to their prior computer science experience. They may have completed MOOCs, bootcamps, or other informal training. While these non-credit courses can help students learn valuable skills, many students feel uncertain about how to move forward in their career without a formal degree that can offer credibility to their skillset. Others are seeking a more organized academic experience and want to learn within the structure created by a degree program. The MCIT Online program is a wonderful option for those seeking an Ivy League degree to enhance their skillset and marketability for career advancement.

A: We suggest that you address a low GPA in your personal statement and include any explanations you may have for your past performance. To demonstrate growth, you can take an additional step to show your improved abilities, such as completing the GRE or taking additional for-credit coursework in math or computing. We also recommend spending adequate time to make sure your resume and personal statement are crafted to highlight all your strengths and progress you have made since the time of your lower GPA. 

A: Online learners are often juggling a number of priorities outside of their academic pursuits, whether that be their profession, family or extracurricular involvements. Penn Engineering’s online master’s degree programs are extremely flexible, with on-demand coursework, which enables students to juggle their academic goals alongside other commitments such as military service. Coursework can be completed from anywhere. Professors provide overall structure with due dates and deadlines, but you can choose to watch lectures and complete assignments within those deadlines at whatever pace best fits your schedule. You can also switch between part-time and full-time status, enrolling in whatever number of courses fits within your bandwidth each semester. If you need to progress through your degree at a slower pace, you can take just one course at a time. The summer semester is optional and you can take up to five years to complete the program.