Chance Me for Wharton

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
1

<p>Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 800 math/800 writing/720 verbal
ACT: -
SAT II: 800MII, 800 USH
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): probably top 5%
AP (place score in parenthesis): APUSH, AP Economics, AP English, AP Calculus, AP Government, AP Lang, AP French, AP Art History, AP Chem, AP Stat
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: 6 APs
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc): FBLA Regionals Winner/ FBLA State Award
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Mu Alpha Theta (Treasurer?) FBLA (Vice President) NHS, Chess Club, Math Team, Consumer Bowl (Co-Captain), Fed Challenge Team (Co-Captain)
Job/Work Experience: Worked as a Tutor
Volunteer/Community service: 100+ hours; NHS and Mu Alpha Theta
Summer Activities: Camp at UPENN</p>

<p>State (if domestic applicant): NJ
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: large public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): No...
Reflection</p>

2

<p>Excellent scores / GPA. Also, it looks like you have some decent leadership positions. It looks like you have a decent chance, but–being an Asian from NJ–you will have ample competition.</p>

3

<p>I am gonna say no. “Asian male from a large NJ public” is just about the toughest demographic possible. And you’re “top 5%” whereas virtually all the unhooked accepts from this demographic will be valedictorians with maybe the odd salutatorian. Your ec’s are pretty thin and consist mostly of club memberships.</p>

4

<p>top 5% is just a guess tbh; my school doesn’t rank. Also, I forgot to mention that a group of people (of which I am a part) founded a charity 5k run. I’m also a year-round athlete: cross country (Fall), Track (Winter + Spring)</p>

5

<p>Your stats/EC’s freakishly sound like mine lol.</p>

6

<p>any more opinions?</p>

7

<p>I think you have a great chance. Your SAT scores are fantastic! And so is your GPA. It’s great that you have a few leadership positions for your ecs. They love to see that! Good luck!! Message me anytime and we can talk! :P</p>

8

<p>thanks! anyone else have anymore opinions as to whether I would get in (especially if I applied Early Decision)? Also, I’ve heard a lot of people say that I have a slim chance of getting in; perhaps someone can give me some advice as to what I could do to improve my chances?</p>

9

<p>academically your qualified demographically perhaps not.</p>

10

<p>As a Wharton student I can say that this is not even a close call. To tell this poster that he has a “great chance” is to do him a grave disservice. If an unhooked asian male from a large suburban NJ high school gets in to Wharton, then that individual will be mind-blowingly exceptional in all respects. I would put my money against this application with 100:1 odds(and I am generally pretty conservative with respect to risk-taking). This isn’t to say that the OP is a bad student; he seems like a great student and a very smart guy. I’m just saying that he’s in an unlucky demographic and he hasn’t matched his competition.</p>

<p>While I think you’d be better served by EDing elsewhere, you can improve your chances by writing some interesting/thoughtful essays that show why you are unlike everyone else you’re competing with. Show some original thought(and maturity, determination and a host of other good qualities) and distinguish yourself. You can also try to up your verbal score. In this demographic they are going to prefer the 2380 over the more typical asian applicant that nailed the math but not the reading.</p>

11

<p>^Wow this is just about the harshest thing I have ever read on CC. Yes this guy may be right in some regards. You are at a disadvantage being an asian from NJ. However, giving you such a low chance to get in based solely on this demographic is pure bs. In my mind you are up there with the group of highly qualified asian kids. A few SAT points and one less EC do not matter at all. Apply ED if you want to go to Penn, but yes, you are going to have to write good essays…no pressure.</p>

12

<p>@WoodrowWilsonJR Just because you’re a student at Wharton doesn’t mean your opinion is the end all be all. Yeah, I agree with superman1028, you are being a little harsh. He did a great job on the SAT, he has a 3.9 GPA (I know someone who got into wharton with a 3.4, no legacy) UNweighted. One who desires to get into the Ivy League does NOT need to have 2304980981083 outstanding, fantastic ecs on their resume. They can have a few that really show their personality. There’s no typical Wharton or Penn student, it’s all a bunch of students that are different in their own way, and portray their differences to the community. That’s what attracts them. Just because you, WoodrowWilsonJR don’t think that he can get in, it won’t change my opinion. I think that he DOES stand a good shot. Just as good as yours when you applied, because we all know you were on the other side of field at some point, too. You were just lucky enough to get in, who says he can’t be? </p>

<p>@Empirical - Good job, keep it up!</p>

13

<p>@OP: Everything looks solid! However, I’ve been told that summer camps at Penn don’t affect admissions for undergrad. Not sure but that is what is on the Penn Camps website. If that is true, you might not want to play up your Penn Summer Camp.</p>

14

<p>@ superman and upennvetgirl</p>

<p>Thanks for the encouragement. I really appreciate it! In some respects, though, WoodrowWilsonJR is right. I’ve seen many extremely highly qualified asians from NJ get rejected from Wharton ED, and at first I was baffled, but now I realize that its just how it is :frowning: Although Woodrow was being unnecessarily harsh, I’m sure his statements were made with good intentions. Nevertheless, I’ll be working on improving my application as much as I can in the short time that I do have, and regardless of the statements made, I will apply to Wharton ED. If anyone has any suggestions as to what I can do, I would really appreciate it. </p>

<p>@hardworking</p>

<p>can you elaborate on what you mean by “playing up” the Summer Camp? I realize that it has no effect on admissions.</p>

15

<p>upennvetgirl: I was never really on his side. I applied to Wharton from a top boarding school in New England. I also had strong legacy connections through my father and grandfather. They offered me Joseph Wharton Scholars(which includes an invitation to BFS) and it was not a close call, nor was it based on luck. I also got into Yale/Princeton and everywhere else I applied. If I had been in his exact same position, I almost definitely wouldn’t have gotten in.</p>

<p>Giving bad advice based on blind optimism is more destructive than honesty. The OP has a strong record, just not a strong enough record. Consider this: it’s impressive when a guy runs a 4:15 mile, but it’s nowhere near good enough to represent the US in the olympics. Zero percent chance. If a girl(someone in a different demographic) ran the same time, she might be olympic champion. My point is that the OP performed really well but did not reach the necessary standard. Telling him “you did really well! you’re in!” is unhelpful, although I will modify my last post and say that I would probably bet 20:1(5% chance) against your app rather than 100:1(1% chance).</p>

16

<p>wwjr: I never said he would definitely for sure, without a doubt, get in, I just think he has higher chances than 5%. Not blind optimism, my opinion is just as good as yours. neither of us are adcoms.</p>

17

<p>Haha, I guess we all need to be a legacy from some fancy boarding school in New England to have a “sure” chance of getting into Wharton. With that being said…</p>

<p>I think the OP has a decent chance of getting into Wharton. Of course, none of us are adcoms to know exact percentages of getting in and I believe at some point, getting in requires a little bit of luck. If it means anything to the OP, my roommate (in Wharton), comes from a similar demographic and probably slightly worse SAT scores. Don’t let anyone from this board, or in life, discourage you in any way just because of where you are from or what ethnicity you are. </p>

<p>Good luck with your application.</p>

18

<p>Hmmm… I tend to side more on the side of wwjr, but not as strongly. Academically you are a lock, no questions, so don’t worry about that, I can 99% guarantee that academics will not be a factor if you get rejected.</p>

<p>Extracurricular-wise, I would be slightly worried, not because you haven’t done anything, you have done plenty, but from what you have posted, I don’t see the depth, maybe you do have it, and if you do, you need to emphasize it to the max. Like wwjr said, so many other kids would have accomplished those things, that if you haven’t done something above and beyond in those activities, its another moot point. Adcoms do know depth when they see it, for example you put “treasurer?” when talking about NHS, already it seems like you didn’t really have a committment to that club, which isn’t a bad thing, but it doesn’t help you with admissions.</p>

<p>I say this to everyone I “chance”, you will live or die by your essay, pour your heart and your time into those things, cause it is the only real place you can make a real difference. Start now, and work till the end of October on them, you should need it. You need to show those adcoms that you are not the stereotypical applicant. </p>

<p>I did some weird number crunching a few months ago and came to the conclusion that in the early round, it could be as high as a 20% acceptance rate, others have said around 17%, for wharton that is. So essentially, your application needs to be better than five other people’s. Of course it doesn’t really work that way, but use it as motivation, beat 5 and you might get in.</p>

19

<p>@OP: I meant “playing up” by focusing your app around your Penn Summer Camp. A lot of these threads (and the Penn website) make it seem like, yea, its great you came to our summer camp and spent X amount of money, but if you make it the focus of your essays, etc. it seems a little disheartening? Realize that a majority of the Penn class never went to a summer camp there. Thus, focusing on it in an essay might not be the best thing-rather, speak to your other accomplishments!</p>

20

<p>@ TheWikiMan</p>

<p>I put (“treasurer?”) there because I was unsure whether or not I’d won the election. Turns out that I did win :smiley: I’ll remember to keep all of your advice in mind and its great to see so many whartonites responding! Any more opinions would be very appreciated.</p>