Rising Senior
Objective:
SAT I superscore (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): 2300 (770/740/800/8) only sitting
SAT II (subject, score): Math 2 - 800, Lit - 670 (am retaking)
Unweighted/Weighted GPA: 3.9 ish UW
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 5%
AP/IB (place score in parentheses): APUSH (4), AP Lang (4). AP Calc AB (5). AP Gov (5). AP Comp (5). AP Environmental (5)
Next year:
AP Calc BC
AP Euro
AP Lit
AP Econ
Awards:
AP Scholar with Distinction
National Merit Semifinalist (probably)
Recognized/profiled/interviewed by a major news organization on my thoughts about politics, the upcoming election, etc. (1 of 8 teens nationwide)
(2x) High school award in math and science - given to best student in each class
High School essay contest 1st place
Yale essay contest 1st place
Two other, smaller online essay contests - 1st place
second place in We The People state competition
High honor roll, NHS, etc.
Extracurriculars (writing related):
Writer for the Huffington Post
I've written many blogs/articles that have been published on the website.
School newspaper (co-editor in chief)
Editor for a national high school literary magazine
Contribute to my town's newspaper
Cover breaking news, op-eds, features, etc
Published in town's literary magazine
Published author of a novel
75 page fantasy novel
Published in several online anthologies
Beginning to work on another novel and short story, hopefully they'll be good enough for me to send as a supplement next fall!
Extracurriculars (non-writing related):
Several jobs and internships (see below)
Co-Founder/CEO of a real-estate photography company. Profits in the several thousands range, just started a few months ago
Class Treasurer
DECA (co-president)
President of a public speaking club
Black Belt in Karate
2nd and 3rd place in town film festival
JV Crew and JV Lacrosse
Work/volunteer/summer experience:
manager/editor/reporter at a startup financial literacy website for young adults (5 hours/week)
manager/marketer/blogger at a startup educational company (5 hours/week)
interned at a hedge fund this summer
interning for local congressman
paid private tutor (5-10 hours/week)
waiter at an inn last summer
Yale Young Global Scholars program
volunteer tutor for struggling students in middle and high school
Recommendations:
Already have 2 teachers who I know will write great recs! Plus a few other adults outside of school.
Other:
U.S. State/Territory or Country: competitive state
School Type: Very large public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket Range: No financial aid
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athelete, development): Hopefully the KWH at Penn
What do you guys think? I know Wharton likes a diverse range of interest, so maybe I could fill a spot. I’m most likely going to ED there.
To put it into perspective, a girl from my school with a 4.0 and 2240 super score got into Penn RD. I don’t get why you want to go to Wharton, though. It seems like you want to go on the writing path; comparable schools to Penn with stronger writing programs include Brown and Harvard. If you want to go into business, I’d get it. However, if you want to go into writing (I do haha) consider Brown and Harvard (although they are a little harder to get into than Penn). Applying with that many credentials in writing will give you a unique niche to fill at whichever schools you end up attending. However, I don’t really want to (and can’t really) give you exact chances because they are always nebulous when applying to Ivies. Good luck!
I’m super interested in business and writing/journalism. I want to do something in business out of a sense of practicality, but I would also be involved with the Penn writing community as much as possible. I also like Penn’s campus the most!
Thanks for your comment, and I’ll PM you about my novel!
You look like an amazing candidate - Send some examples of your writing to Kelly Writers House -as they will support the applications of great writers for admission (for all schools at Penn not just CAS) this can only help you… best of luck!
I see that your main EC’s revolve around writing and publishing. If you have read Allen Cheng’s how to get into Harvard and the Ivy League it mentions the requirements of being a specialist.
I would recommend listing your potential major as English, then if admitted to UPenn, change your major to business.
Your writing is very good if you have managed to publish it in the Huffington Post. All colleges like people who will do great things and the greatest indicator of future performance is former performance. If you list your major as English, UPenn would probably see you as a future big shot investigative journalist so they would most likely admit you.
I was considering that @ftrclgestudent, but I really like the Wharton school and I know it’s very difficult to do an internal transfer, assuming I got accepted.
You certainly have a shot so apply and see what happens. Nobody can say anything more than that. Penn accepts under 10% of its applicants and the competition is even stiffer for Wharton. Because school does not have enough room to accept all of the qualified candidates it is impossible to meaningfully chance anyone IMO.
But I agree with you – if you want Wharton then apply to Wharton as internal transfers to Wharton are incredibly difficult. And superior writing skills are great to have in the business world.
You’re an amazing candidate - the sort that would probably receive likely letters from many schools, Penn included I should think. Best of luck to you. Normally I tell people that their stats are qualified but that their essays need to be good, but with your writing credentials I expect that your essays could be some of the best in the applicant pool. The sky’s the limit, kid.
What I’m debating right now is whether my common app essay should be about writing/business, or whether I can use the essay to reveal a different side of me. But, I’m afraid that if I chose the latter, my essay would seem out of place (since I know that some people recommend using the essay to demonstrate your passion(s)). What do you all think?
Write the most comprehensive picture of yourself as possible. That’s not to say be “well rounded” - that’s the first no no. Rather, think about the person you want the committee to see on paper. Now, from how well written your essays are, they will have corroborated the writing awards and other accomplishments you listed. If there is something central and that adds new perspective and information to your application that is not mentioned elsewhere, then an essay can be an excellent way to talk about that if it’s especially important to you. If it’s a sort of tangential part of your life that you’d just be throwing in for the sake of it, then an essay about what writing means to you, how you’ve pursued it and what part it plays in your life, perhaps in connection with business in the Wharton context, could be an excellent way to add further emphasis to your app.
Follow your gut on this. There isn’t really a right answer or wrong answer, more a wiser path and a not so wise path. Only you can decide what’s best. Maybe try both essays and see which you like better. Ask some people of their opinions.
I wouldn’t want to pick anyone’s personal essay topic but in the end you want to tell something about yourself. Try starting a couple of different essays and see what direction you like best. IMO the essay absolutely does not have to re-hash your activities/accomplishments as they will be made clear elsewhere in the application.
Sounds good, @happy1 and @Senior2016M! I can use the supplemental essay to concentrate on the writing/business aspect of my application. I’m starting to write about 4-5 different essays, would you guys care to be readers in a few weeks once they are in rough draft mode?
@doorrealthe I chanced you earlier above- just wanted to add my opinion re your question about the essays.
My son was accepted to Wharton (he will be an incoming freshman). He used the common ap essay to tell a story to enable ad coms to see a different side of himself than what they saw on his resume/ transcript… he used his Why Penn essay to illustrate why he wanted to pursue business and how Penn/ Wharton would facilitate his goals…
I think the most important thing is to let ad coms see your voice and what drives you- so they get an idea of who you are as opposed to rehashing activities/accomplishments that are made clear elsewhere.
He actually has written several articles for Huff Post too, but had never thought of himself as a writer … Much to his surprise, his essays were flagged by Kelly Writers House as being really good and they invited him to join them. He is really excited about this. He and I would be willing to read your essays and give you feedback if you want to PM me!
@runswimyoga thank you! Your son and I seem very similar. Once I’m in midst of essay writing, I’ll be sure to contact you. Thanks again, I appreciate it.