<p>I'm from Canada, currently attending (in the 11th grade) one of the top schools in my province and was wondering if you wouldn't mind quickly giving my application a look and telling me what shot I have applying to UPenn ED in International Relations. </p>
<p>Thanks in advance. </p>
<p>GPA: 4.0 UW or around a 93% average (Was at around a 3.6 from grade 9-10, but has jumped up as I entered the more rigorous and therefore interesting courses of the IB program)
Class Rank: Around 5th or 6th of 85
Nationality: Asian-Canadian
SAT: 2140 (CR: 750 W: 750 M: 640)
ACT: Not taken yet, but predicted at approximately 32 or 33
SAT II's: Not taken yet (advice on which ones to take considering International Relations, would be appreciated) </p>
<p>EC's:
Philanthropic
- Won the NAIS challenge 20/20 (internationally) for 2005-2006
- Have accrued over 300 community service hours
- Helped in planning and organizing a model UN at my school for the freshman class
Debate
- Placed 2nd citywide at the beginner level (2007-2008)
- Placed 10th individually at the regional level in the Senior Open Category (2008-2009)
- Placed 5th individually at the provincial level in the Senior Open Category (2008-2009)
- Captain of the senior high debate team for two years
Model UN
- Attended the Harvard MUN (2007-2008)
- Attended Berkley MUN, won an award for outstanding research and achieved 3rd place in committee (2007-2008)
- Attended Harvard MUN and won the "best delegate" (1st place) award for my committee (2008-2009)
- Attended Berkley MUN and won one of 2 awards for outstanding research
Speech
- Selected to represent school at the NAIS (Association of Independent Schools) International speech and debate competition at Deerfield Massachusetts
- School champion of extemporaneous speaking for two years running
Sport
-Play golf competitively
Music
- Achieved Grade 6 Piano (Royal Conservatory of Music)
- Competed in two music festivals and won award of excellence at both for Piano
- Have been playing jazz guitar for 7 years (with professional instruction)
Academia
- Competed at the 2009 Alberta Science Olympics and won Silver Medal in applied chemistry event
- Won both the Science and Language awards in my Freshman year
- Won the award for English at my school in sophomore year </p>
<p>References:
- Reference letter from headmaster will be extremely shining
- Reference from teachers will be excellent
- "Other" reference from a volunteer employer at "Outward Bound" will be outstanding </p>
<p>Other:
I'm concerned that my less that lustrous transcript from both grades 9 and 10 will really hurt my application, but a common theme (and this will be in my essays), is the huge maturity many of my teachers have seen me gain in the past year. I'm enrolled in all of the most difficult courses (Full IB and 4 of 7 are the higher level) at my school, and the program has actually inspired me to work harder, thus the drastic improvement in my grades. What do you guys think? will these earlier marks hurt my chances significantly? </p>
<p>Hey, where in canada are you from?
I’m also a canadian (albertan) and got accepted. Your stats look steller (and don’t give much concern to your 9 and 10 transcripts, they’re decent enough). As long as you’re willing to talk of your growth and how that makes an excellent match for Penn (most people forget this), you’re good to go.
Are you a full IB candidate (trust me, this makes a huge difference)? If so, emphasize that, and how you’re taking the most challenging courses offered to you. Your ethnicity will put you under the majority of applications but it’ll be your ECs and your essays that make you stick out.</p>
<p>Your chances look as good as anyone else. I’m just trying to figure out what school you’re talking about. I don’t even know of any private schools in Alberta. It seems like more than any other province, their public schools are really strong.</p>
<p>I go to Strathcona Tweedsmuir School. It’s a private school of about 700 kids outside of Calgary. It’s ranked around 1st or 2nd in the province (of all the schools in Alberta) in terms of exam scores etc. </p>
<p>Yes I am in full IB. </p>
<p>Is Wharton the only undergrad school at UPenn? I wan’t to do International Relations as my major in undergrad, do I have to go to Wharton?</p>
<p>As Rudess said, Penn has four undergraduate schools, and Wharton is the most competitive out of them; Wharton is the #1-ranked undergraduate business school in the nation. So, even though you look like a very strong candidate, I can’t really say whether you have a high chance getting admitted into Wharton, because so many Wharton applicants have impressive resumes. Now, if you want to study International Relations, I think you would have to apply to the College of Arts and Sciences, which is also really selective but not as much as Wharton in general.</p>
<p>Hmm, being from Calgary, from a private school at that, might hurt your chances as well. Calgary, Vancouver, and Toronto seem to be more heavy in applicant numbers.</p>
<p>Go for the College if you’re doing IR. It isn’t worth the risk to apply to wharton. You can always take courses in wharton as a College student, but definitely apply to CAS.</p>
<p>Your SAT math scores are remarkably weak for Wharton, let alone CAS. Your chances are average at best, though perhaps your ECs/transcript will tip the scales.</p>
<p>Yeah, you definitely want CAS. That’s where I’m headed. Your chances aren’t bad, but you might want to try to bump the SAT’s up a little. By the way, what committees were you on at HMUN and Berkeley 07-08? I was at both of those conferences.</p>
<p>At HMUN I was in Ecofin and at BMUN I was in the security council. </p>
<p>And to those who have recommended I bump my math score, I think you’re probably spot on, I’m shooting for around 750 next time I write. Nerves and general anticipation really hurt all of my scores. </p>
<p>Is math as important when applying to CAS for international relations? </p>
<p>To clarify, I am not planning on applying to Wharton, only to CAS, does this distinction change my chances?</p>
<p>Oh well, I did Ecofin at Berkeley and Sochum at HMUN that year. PM me if you want a good SAT tip that might solve your problem. Trust me, it works (2350).</p>
<p>**Just to clarify my last comment, I don’t have the solution to everyone’s SAT problems (I’ve gotten a couple of PM’s from others). I have something that I think might work for ESheahan based on what he said his issues are.</p>