Applying to UPenn/Wharton - A Few Questions

Applying to College
1

<p>Hey guys. I've been reading these forums for a while now, but haven't posted much. They have served as an incredible resource for information pertaining to the college transfer process. However, there are a few questions I have been unable to find answers to.</p>

<p>I recently visited UPenn and decided I HAVE to go there. I enjoyed everything about it. </p>

<p>I'm currently a business major in the state of NY. I completed my first year at Monroe Community College, and will be completing my second at Onondaga Community College. It is my intent to apply to Wharton/UPenn Early Decision. I'm just having trouble deciding which to apply to.</p>

<p>It is my desire to pursue an undergraduate degree in Economics, and then an MBA with a focus in Finance. My plan so far is to apply to UPenn, and then apply for the MBA program at Wharton when the time comes. These are my questions thus far:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>If I decide to apply to Wharton ED instead, and I get rejected (notifcation occurs in mid-December), can I re-apply to UPenn as an Economics major regular decision?</p></li>
<li><p>During the information session/tour I attended recently, it was made very clear that the ivies are big on graduating their students with little to no debt. A lot of people say that if they determine that you can't "pay" for the education there, they may turn you down. Does "pay" mean out of pocket, with loans, or a combination of the two? My family makes good money, but currently has ~2:1 debt to income ratio, so we definately can't afford to pay out of pocket. </p></li>
<li><p>My SAT/ACT scores from high school were relatively weak compared to most who apply to ivies. This is the part I'm most worried about. When I took the SAT's in high school, I was the kid who forgot his calculator at home. I think that definately hurt me on the math. I also didn't take it that seriously because I was going through a rebellious phase, and I knew I would probably end up going to Community College anyways because of financial issues. I'm retaking the SAT's this fall. Here are my standardized test scores so far:</p></li>
</ol>

<p>SAT - 1770</p>

<p>520 Reading
640 Math
610 Writing</p>

<p>ACT (no writing) - 29 (composite)</p>

<ol>
<li> When I retake the SAT's in October, I don't think I'll have the scores soon enough to send them to UPenn by Nov 1 for ED. Should I wait for the scores and just apply RD?</li>
</ol>

<p>I didn't take things very seriously in high school. I still got a 92.3 overall GPA, but it could have been much higher. My test scores weren't too great, and that scares me. I was very heavily involved in extracurricular activites though. I accomplished quite a bit with music, so I'll definately make that part of my application stand out. </p>

<p>So far in college I've maintained above a 3.6 GPA, and I've been taken very challenging classes including Calc I, Calc II, Business Law, etc. I'm confident that my two years of community college will show that I'm a dedicated, well rounded student.</p>

<p>Are there any UPenn/Wharton students here that could answer my questions and give me an idea of my chances of getting in? I'll be applying to other schools RD if I don't get into UPenn, but I'll be really bummed if I don't get into the school of my choice. Any other advice?</p>

<p>Thanks guys.</p>

2

<p>I forgot to include that I all ready took the SAT’s twice in high school. Is it wise to retake them now that I’m in college? I know my score will improve drastically, but some schools don’t like to see students take them more than twice.</p>

3

<p>Only 15% of transfers were accepted. Your SAT scores are well below the 25%ile. A 3.6 GPA is in the bottom 13% of applicants. <a href=“http://www.upenn.edu/ir/Common%20Data%20Set/UPenn%20Common%20Data%20Set%202010-11.pdf[/url]”>http://www.upenn.edu/ir/Common%20Data%20Set/UPenn%20Common%20Data%20Set%202010-11.pdf&lt;/a&gt; You need to be a little more realistic. If your family has good income and high assets you would be expected to pay a good share of the $50+K/year for an Ivy. Have you looked at the SUNYs?</p>

4

<p>I have looked at the SUNY schools and I’m not interested in any. The best schools for business are said to be Albany, Binghamton, Genesseo, and UB. I visited all of them and didn’t feel at all like I belonged there. The schools I’m interested in:</p>

<p>UPenn
Cornell
UChicago
UMichigan
Villanova
Boston University
NYU</p>

5

<p>you won’t be able to apply ED to Upenn, because you are currently in college and are considered a transfer applicant. the deadline to apply as a transfer is some time in march</p>

<p>im not trying to discourage you, but it’s going to be very difficult to transfer to the schools you listed above with your college GPA and SAT/ACT scores. i would focus on retaking one of those tests, as well as doing really well your fall semester to raise your GPA</p>

6

<p>Yeah. I plan to raise my GPA further this fall. And I am retaking the SAT’s in October. It’s sort of a bummer, because I’ll never be satisfied with a degree from a SUNY school. I suppose if I don’t get into one of those schools for undergrad, I can always do well at another school and go there for grad, but I feel so much like I belong there that it would be frustrating having to go somewhere else. When I visit friends at SUNY schools, it seems like the only things people talk about are what bar they’re going to tonight or what happened on last night’s episode of “Jersey Shore.” Then I visit Cornell and UPenn and feel like I have more in common with students there.</p>

7

<p>I have to second the posters above. No one’s stopping you from applying to those extreme reaches, but be sure to apply to SUNYs, because most likely they will end up being your only choices other than the college you are in now. Good luck.</p>

8

<p>No one has addressed the financial side of all of these schools.</p>

<p>Besides SUNY Binghampton, most of the schools you’ve mentioned have $50,000+ expenses a year. Depending on the income of your family, if it’s a good income by most college standards you’ll be forced to take out massive loans to cover the costs (with a cosigner).</p>