Chance me for Huntsman program/Wharton??

Hi guys I’m a junior at high school and I really wanna go do the Huntsman program at Penn, I really love the diverse community there! Here are my stats, can you guys chance me?

Curriculum: A-Levels

Subjects: Maths, French, Spanish, Further Maths, Arabic
Grades: Probably all As

GCSEs:

Math - A*
Science (Core) - A*
Science (Additional) - A
Science (Further additional) - A
English Language - A*
English Literature - A
French - A*
Spanish - A*
Arabic - A
Economics - A
Music - A*

SAT: 2280 (superstore):
790M 750W 740CR (failed crit haha)

SAT II: 770 Math II 770 French 790 Spanish

Extracurriculars: F1 in Schools, School Language Club Founder, Deputy Head of School’s Teaching and Learning Committee, DoE Bronze, CASA Award, Grade 9 Pastoral Award, UKMT Silver Award, 2nd Place School Linguistics Olympiad, Linguistics Essay Competition Winner

Please be realistic about my chances, Penn is my dream school and I really want to be part of the Class of 2021

Hey there. I’d like to congratulate you. That is quite the impressive resumé. My cousin was enrolled in the British system so I am quite familiar with it. As far as I can tell, you have a decent set of grades. I don’t think the odd A in your GCSEs will hinder you that greatly, but you should really look to compensate in your A Levels. It doesn’t make much sense to me why you chose to take further maths, when you could have shown aptitude in English/Economics. But anyways, your grades are good.

Your SAT scores are average at best for Penn. I actually got 2300 and I’m a bit worried that it may be just past the cut-off (my brother’s counsellors discouraged him from applying ivy because of his scores. They weren’t bad, they just weren’t amazing). Now your subject scores are probably slightly under par. I’d recommend getting 790 math minimum. French is OKAY, but Spanish absolutely HAS to be an 800. I’d strongly consider retaking.

Now, this being said, I’d like to tell you, this is UPENN. Not Penn state. You’re great on paper but your ECs are weak and dont convey enough of your personality. It seems you are doing things for the sake of them. For example, what’s the connection between F1 in Schools and Languages? Honestly I can’t tell.

The fact that you’re applying to Huntsman only hinders your hopes. If you even consider applying right now, I’d at least tell you to switch to a different major where you’re more likely to be accepted. This isn’t a walk in the park. I’d suggest you apply Penn State if you’re really into that city vibe. Also perhaps UIUC might be a better fit with your stats, or somewhere like Drexel. They both have great athletic programs that you just dont see in the Ivy league so you definitely wont be bored!

May I ask, are you legacy? Even still, I think you’d be better of applying for something/somewhere else. I think your GCSEs and SAT scores really put you into that pile of uncertainty that you DEFINITELY dont want to be in.

Message me if you think you need any more help/advice! I’m actually applying soon as well, probably to The Roy and Diana Vagelos Program in Life Sciences and Management. Fingers crossed ahaha!

@IvyOrNothing
PLEASE don’t feed the OP lies. I was recently admitted into the Upenn class of 2020 and my SAT scores were definitely lower (2100). It seems like you are discouraging him from applying because you don’t want the competition? From the looks of it, he’s a competitive applicant and if he doesn’t get in, it would definitely not be because of his “average” scores. (which are actually above average). I am international and also did the British Curriculum (IGCSE and International A-levels) so his grades are excellent. I had a couple of Bs, a couple of As and 5As in my IGCSE. And A A* A in my A-levels

@BigIvyDreamzz99
I don’t usually comment on chance threads because it is improbable that I can give you a correct answer but by all means do apply. Your SAT and IGCSE were better than mine but I got in. (though I had some great ECs!)
Best of luck!
P.S. Your scores are definitely not “average”
Also my subject scores were 770 for math II and 730 for chem.
I also did the Doe Bronze and science Olympiad which definitely helped my application!

Hey

Which country are you living in?
I want to go to huntsman too and we have similar stats.

I’m in Zimbabwe, Africa and I was accepted to the school of engineering and applied sciences,
yea we do have similar stats (albeit you have better SAT scores)

@BigIvyDreamzz99, you have a strong academic record with some distinctive features (proficiency in 4 languages). But there are some things you need to consider, especially for Huntsman:

  1. Huntsman is incredibly selective, with about a 7% acceptance rate. So no one can count on getting in, and you need a range of other options. Huntsman is a dual degree program between CAS and Wharton. To which school would you apply as your backup choice if you don't get in to Hunstman?
  2. Hunstman is an international business program which requires overseas study, and requires applicants to declare a non-English target language (and which is preferably not their native language). Is English your native language, and if not, what is? You list French, Spanish, and Arabic as other languages. Which one do you intend to target if you do Hunstman. Penn requires SAT II's in your target language. I disagree with the poster above about your French and Spanish SAT II scores - they seem fine.
  3. Wharton likes math proficiency, and prefers calculus. You list "further maths" as one of your current classes. What is this? There is an IB Further Maths currciculum, which is beyond calculus BC - is this similar? If so, you have a strong background. If you are not at the level of calculus or beyond, you may be at a disadvantage. You will need a math 2 SAT II test.
  4. I see some ECs related to your language interest, but nothing that would lead me to understand why you want to focus in International Business. Right now, that's a major lack in your application as far as Hunstman/Wharton are concerned.
  5. Beyond stats and ECs, Huntsman requires a specific essay about a problem of interest in international business. That's something you will want to think about.

Right now I’d say that there are some questions about your math background, business background, and overall focus. But your academic and language background are strong. If you can address the questions and put together a strong and focused application with a coherent narrative and write a strong supplemental essay, then you have a shot, but you should not put all of your hopes on Hunstman because it is so competitive.

@ambitious96 Hey! Hope you are well. Congratulations for getting into the Class of 2020. I hope to be in your shoes this year in the class of 2021! Although my post may have come off as me trying to push aside competition, I was only speaking based on anecdotal experience. I know that everyone’s situation is different, but in the case of my brother, he was unfortunately rejected. I don’t want the same thing to happen to @BigIvyDreamzz99! I’m sure he/she has potential and will end up at a school that is just perfect, wherever that may be.

Certainly, all the best!

So I have this really cool model that actually answers this question for you at a 0.1 p-level (which is probably as close as anyone will get). Anyways, I ran your numbers through an Excel Model that I built while applying to college, I take into account past rejections and acceptances from a sample population of high school students that meets all sampling requirements. I mainly look at three things, the SAT, the GPA, and then quantify extra curricular qualifications using a spread that I find to be relatively accurate.

With that said, for Huntsman, according to my model, you have a ~24% chance of getting in ED and about a ~11% chance of getting in Regular. These are actually decent numbers, and obviously there are many other factors to consider. I say you apply ED!