Chance a prospective junior for Wharton and M&T ED

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Please Chance me for Penn ED.
Thank you to however chooses to read this and possibly chance me.

Context

I am a white male in Texas attending a competitive public high school.

Family income: No Financial Aid

Major: Business & Possibly M&T Program, so chance me for either (Wharton)

Stats:

SAT: 1600 (one & only sitting)

-GPA: UW-4.0, W- 105.17

-Class Rank: 2/546

-3 years foreign language, but I learn languages primarily outside of school which will be talked but in my additional info section, i.e. I’ve been learning Mandarin, but my school offers Spanish, Latin, French, and German.

-AP: 6 + 6 senior year- Human Geo (4), World History (4), U.S. History, Statistics, Physics 1, Eng Lang

Taking Senior Year: Physics C, Calc BC, Eng Lit, Gov, Econ, Euro History

Awards:

-National Merit Commended Scholar

-AP Scholar with Distinction

-2x debate district champions and top speaker in policy debate/-Qualified for state three times in policy debate, State Quarterfinalist (highly competitive) UIL State events

-2x State Qualifier for academic & speaking events/ Regional Champion in all 3 events (highly competitive) (State hasn’t commenced yet, but we will see if I place)

-4x year A Honor Roll

Extracurriculars:

-Varsity baseball player(4 years)

-Speech and Debate President & CX Captain(4 years)

-Founder/President of Model UN(3 years)

-NHS President(2 years)

-UIL Academics; Captain of all Academic Teams(4 years)

-Academic Decathlon(3 years)*

-EFL Summer Program(1 summer)*

-Authored and published a book/paper on my research in economics & economic theory(4 years)*

-Founded a non-profit to combat income inequality by helping to fund lower income areas educational needs(3 years)* (thousands of dollars raised and hundreds of kids helped)

Additional Information Section
I am going to fill the additional information section to its limit. I have several other items I wish to talk about, as well as link my published research, foreign languages, software, businesses, etc.

Community Service/Volunteering:

-~250 hours volunteering at the Mission in my city processing donations and helping people get the things they need(4 years)

Subjectives
I haven’t written any, so I can’t truly say, but the LORs will be fine. My teachers know we well and can write on my involvement in and outside of school.

Schools
UPenn ED (Wharton)

If I get deferred or rejected, which obv I believe is a strong possibility as I am writing this thread. I will apply to a large block of other schools that are not listed, but include other reaches, targets, and safeties. (UT is auto admit for me)

1 Like
2

Overall you have an excellent chance. Your stats look fine. However I would urge you to avoid the temptation to stuff your Common App. Often putting too much information will make it harder for the reader. Imagine reading hundreds of applications per day, and then having to wade through pages of extraneous stuff.

They are looking for very specific candidates. Having a clear and consistent message is key. This needs to be conveyed in your application. Putting in too much fluff detracts from the key message.

For Wharton they are looking for smart, bright motivated students who will go on to make an impact in the business world. So your app should be focused on showing HOW you will do that.

3

Congratulations on all of your accomplishments. I would say that you stand as good a chance as anyone for an ED acceptance at Penn/Wharton. If your family is aware of the costs of attending and is able to pay full freight without taking loans while keeping on track for a financially secure retirement, AND U. Penn is your clear first choice, by all means, ED there. That will probably be your best shot for acceptance. Since admission is so competitive, however, and there are far more qualified applicants than there are spots, you definitely need to have Plan B in place.

I would continue to create a balanced list of schools to apply to and note any scholarship/honors program deadlines that are before you would hear back from U. Penn. If there are such schools/programs that you would be interested in attending if you do not get accepted to Penn, make sure you submit those applications in sufficient time that you’re in consideration for them.

Wishing you the best.

4

Congratulations on your accomplishments. It appears that you are a competitive candidate for Wharton and/or M&T. HOWEVER, it is impossible to chance anyone for such selective programs as there are simply far more well qualified applicants than there are spaces available. ED can improve your chance of admission. Still, Wharton as well as M&T should be considered reaches for any unhooked applicant.

As noted above you should create a well balanced list with reaches as well as matches and safeties (which may be UT given your high class rank).

1 Like
5

Great candidate. You have a shot - but having a shot is not the same as you’ll get in.

But you’re certainly worthy of applying to any school in America.

As for the additional info section, keep it brief and to the point. Better you don’t use it but if you have published research, it’s ok to link.

In the entirety of your app, be succinct, quantify, and be honest.

Good luck to you.

1 Like
6

Thank you. I have seen this a couple of times, from those who know much more about the college admissions process than I do. Would you recommend I link my research and then leave it at that or just briefly list other activities, or not use it at all?

7

Hyperlinks won’t work in the common app. They are not clickable. I’m not sure if Penn allows a research supplement, but if they do, thats the place to put it. Otherwise just give a high level bullets and put it in the Common App.

8

Ok. Thank you. I went to the Penn admissions site and they stated that “Most students who are admitted to Penn do not submit supplemental materials . All of the information that we feel is crucial in making an admission decision is included within our required documents.” They also said that I could submit a “brief abstract” if engaged in academic research, but not any more than that. I appreciate all of the advice.

1 Like
9

deleted

10

I had truly always intended to apply to the Wharton School. The M&T Program was also prospective and just a vague, less holistic idea. The research is peer-reviewed and published in a journal. I will plan or citing and including the abstract.
Thank you.

11

My subjective opinion is that unless research can be validated (either peer reviewed or entered in a competition etc) it may not be too valuable. The admissions committee is not competent to judge research, and they will discount what they can’t understand. Things like “I started a business that employs 3 people” have found traction for kids from our school that applied to M&T and Wharton.

12

Hi there, hopeful M&T Student here as well.

Personally, from a peer to a peer, I think your application is very strong, but then again many people who get into M&T that I know or have seen on here or through friends have equal or (unfortunately for you and me), more impressive stats. There are people who have made (profit) more than half a million in profits through their own business, to put things into context.

In terms of your ECs, on your application I think you should focus on highlighting the business aspects, I saw your non-profit as something possibly business-related.

I don’t know much about who peer-reviewed your research and where it is published but if it is published in a reputable journal I believe it would be a major point of consideration for an AO.

Overall I think your application is very strong and I am personally very impressed, even if you don’t get into M&T, you are still a very strong candidate for T20 schools. Best of luck!!

13

This topic was automatically closed 90 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.