Can I get into M&T?

Colleges & Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
1

<p>I'm applying to M&T with bioengineering, or second choice just bioengineering-would appreciate chances for both. </p>

<p>GPA: 4.128/4.33 Unweighted
PSAT (11th grade): 240
SAT Math Level 2: 800
SAT Biology: 790
SAT U.S. History: 800
SAT I: 2320 combined (720/760<em>) Math, (800</em>/770) CR, (760*/750) Writing</p>

<p>AP Courses/Exams: Biology 5, Calculus BC 5, English Language and Composition 5, U.S. History 5, U.S. Government and Politics 5, Comparative Government and Politics 5
Taking Chemistry, Physics C, Differential Equations, Linear Algebra (EPGY), European History, Literature and Composition, German Senior year (APs/college)</p>

<p>Extracurricular</p>

<p>Scientific Research:
• Selected for and participated in 2005 Waksman Student Scholars program at Waksman Institute at Rutgers University, involved in genome analysis of the brine shrimp Artemia Fransciscana.
• Summer 2005: Internship at Plant Genome Initiative at Rutgers University in lab of Dr. Joachim Messing, Director of Waksman Institute, comparative genomics/analysis of maize and rice genomes
• Currently working on research project involving advanced oxidation processes for onsite chemical weapon destruction under Dr. Alfredo Castro, Felician College for Siemens-Westinghouse (UPDATE:made semifinalist) and Intel Science Talent Search competitions-the results are good, and i'm writing it up right now.
• Fall 2007: Internship at Fairleigh Dickinson University with Dr. Amber Charlebois, mechanism of the 10-23 DNA enzyme. </p>

<p>Science Related Activities:
• Member of BRHS Science League Team for 2 years: Chemistry I team (grade 10) and Biology II team (grade 11)
• Member of BRHS Science Olympiad Team, qualified for state Science Olympiad tournament in Designer Genes, Vice President 2007-2008.
• Member of Science and Math Honors Societies, tutoring responsibilities.
• In-school Waksman Student Scholars Research—continue research during school year/yearly poster presentation. (Grades 9/10/11). </p>

<p>Other Activities:
• Member of Forensics (Speech and Debate) Team since 9th grade. Captain of Debate team.
o Public Forum Debate: 10th place 2005 State Tournament, 8th Place 2006 State Tournament, State Champion 2007. National Tournament Qualifier 2006, at Nationals ranked in top 30 out of 216. Harvard Invitational 2007 Octafinalist.
o Extemporaneous Speaking: 6th place at 2006 New Jersey District Tournament, 3rd place at 2007 State Tournament.
• Vice President of Model United Nations Club, member since 9th grade, selected to serve on Crisis Committee at 2006 Boston University/MIT conference.
• Member of National Honors Society and German Honors Society.
• Member of BRHS Symphony Orchestra (9-11), passed Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (London, UK) Grade 5 exam in violin and Grade 5 exam in Music Theory, private lessons since age 8.
• Member of Boy Scouts since age 6, currently Life rank, working on Eagle Scout project involving installation of bird boxes and nature trail maintenance at Hillside Intermediate School’s Outdoor Environmental Classroom</p>

<p>Community Service
• 60 Volunteer Hours at Somerset Medical Center in Patient Transportation.
• Member of Bradley Gardens Rescue Squad since 2004—working on EMT certification, on call 4 hours weekly, 36 hours every 5th weekend (rotating duty weekends). </p>

<p>Summer Programs/Courses/Jobs/Activities</p>

<p>o Summer 2005-research at Waksman Institute
o Summer 2006
o Attended National Debate Tournament
o Macroeconomics credit course at Rutgers University (Grade: A)
o Employed 3hr/day at Somerset County Tennis Camp, 15 hr/week
o Summer 2007
o Attended New Jersey Governor’s School in the Sciences at Drew University.
o Rutgers University Statistics credit course (Grade: A)
o Summer 2007- Extensive research for Intel Science Talent Search and Siemens-Westinghouse project (pesticide ozonation, explained above)</p>

<p>Awards/Honors
SIEMENS Semifinalist (will submit the paper)</p>

<p>o 3-year consecutive medalist in AATG National German Examination. Grade 10 ranked 4th, Grade 11 ranked 1st.
o Recipient of New Jersey Governor’s Award for Arts Education for State Championship in Public Forum Debate. </p>

<p>National Merit Semifinalist
AP Scholar w/Distinction</p>

2

<p>I would say you have a very good chance. You will most likely get into penn, M+T will be hard but you are very qualified good luck</p>

3

<p>you are extremely qualified. i think you should probably get in</p>

4

<p>why not a perfect gpa?</p>

5

<p>you’ve done some cool activities. explain on your app how you were a leader in them.</p>

6

<p>I don’t know what else they could want in a candidtate. However, you said that you like bioengineering. If that is a substantial part of your interests, you might want to reconsider M&T and do the Vagelos Joint Degree Program instead. It is geared more towards bioengineering and management than the M&T one</p>

7

<p>the above is not true; you cannot study bioengineering in the vagelos lsm program - only in m&t.</p>

8

<p>I must agree with tenebrous here - M&T will offer you a full Wharton degree and a full bioengineering degree. LSM offers you a degree in either Wharton or life sciences (biochemistry) and a minor in the other. </p>

<p>What I would suggest is deciding whether you like bioengineering or “genomics”. Look at the bioengineering curriculum; it may not be what you expect. It covers more macrobiology and therapeutic devices - think of it as the program that will cover artificial limbs, etc rather than drug development. You say you’re applying to bioengineering but you may find CBE (chemical and biomolecular engineering) a better fit. Deciding between CBE and a life science is another decision in itself: do you prefer research of molecules or researching ways to make lots of those molecules? I realize these are fairly specific questions, but they’re important to think about before applying to engineering programs vs. science programs.</p>

9

<p>hey ya i’m sorry tenebrousfire and mattwonder are right. Sorry if i mislead you in any way.</p>

10

<p>yea you got a hot chance of getting in. im in m+t, so… maybe ill see you next year.</p>

11

<p>Is M&T more of an engineering program or a business program-i.e. to graduates work in engineering more, or do they decide to be investment bankers and financial analysts who benefit from a technical background? I want to go into research, but my interest in M&T is more so that I have the background for entrepreneurship at some point.</p>

12

<p>M&T is both. You could do either, quite easily. In fact, there are many entrepreneurs on the alumni rolls of M&T. (Stubhub, Dropps, and Styky are recent ones in my mind). If you want a career in finance or a career in engineering, you’ve got a solid start. (Note: some fields simply aren’t represented here. Like civil or aerospace engineering)</p>

<p>That said, most Penn students go into finance. Not just the overwhelming majority of Wharton students, but also a HUGE chunk of graduates from the college and from engineering. The pay is better and the opportunities are better, quite honestly. However, if you think you want to do research or go into technology, there’s definitely encouragement for that too (faculty hate that most students go into finance). Most students don’t know what they want to do with their lives, and the prestige and pay associated with Wall St. wins them over quite easily. Personally, I’m in M&T and I plan to go into an engineering industry.</p>

13

<p>and even if you don’t get into m+t, the entrepreneurship-related opportunities are fantastic.</p>

<p>for example, there is an engineering entrepreneurship minor (which i’m doing) that is great.</p>