Intended major: Economics or finance (hoping to then go to law school)
GPA: 3.96/4.0 unweighted 4.72/5.0 weighted
My school is extremely competitive, ranked as one of the top in the UK
Tests:
-SAT 1450, as an international I feel this is sufficient, retaking in October though
GCSEs: 2A*s, 5As, 2Bs
-A levels: AAA prediction.
-I was ill for over 50% over the academic year yet still performed outstanding in my GCSES (displays my work ethic) Please note that Upenn highly regards A level and considers them to be on par with college coursework.
ECs:
Gaelic Football (expressed strong interest to found a club for this at my chosen University), captain for my team, received recognition in news articles for my success in leading.
Volunteer as a coach for young gaelic footballers at my club
Athletics, could probably get a sports scholarship with this. Won 7 gold medals in the UK sportshall competition representing my region. Also gold in regional and National events such as 100m, 200m, 400m and high jump for consecutive years.
Student Council Member
Member of my school's Irish club, volunteer to teach them the Irish language
I focus heavily in the application on my interest in investing in a virtual portfolio and how I do a lot of independent research on business news and the economy
Part time job working as a bartender, i'm the youngest worker yet Ive assumed more responsiblity quickly, I micromanage the business and act as head of social media marketing.
Work experience: Got to attend court with one of Ireland's top criminal lawyers in one of the biggest trials in its legal system's history- A man being charged with terrorism for attending a rebel camp in Syria. I wrote an amazing application essay on this subject- on the political turmoil of Syria and connected its similarities to previous political turmoils in Ireland which my family suffered.
I won a highly coveted internship with a top tier global law firm.
Awards:
Sports Boy of the Year award from my school
School Shield for my academic success in achieving outstanding grades
Class Spirit award for my positive impact on the school.
UK Junior Maths Challenge Gold Qualification
Silver fainne for my ability to fluantly speak Irish as a secondary language
I've written 2 extremely strong essays that I have had reviewed by professionals. I've got great feedback that said they were both amazing
Really strong recommendations
I think my intetest in founding a new sporting club is a particularly strong feature that makes me a unique candidate.
My dream university is Upenn, hopefully this is enough to give me a chance of acceptance to Wharton ED.
What A levels are you taking?
(They’d expect Further Maths plus two.)
Any hope for an A*?
What subject tests have you taken?
Try to increase that SAT score.
Being international means you must do better than nationals, and being a native English speaker means you get no slack for a lowish English score.
Look at the Wharton concentrations and choose one that matches your qualification - public policy or business ethics with a college minor in Irish studies would make more sense, would paint a more coherent profile, and would be way less run off the mill than “finance” which is like 80% Wharton applicants.
Email the Track coach today, introducing yourself, your academic stats and athletic qualifications, ask if s/he still recruiting and would be interested in a Skype interview.
There’s no athletic scholarship in the Ivy league but if the coach were interested enough to support your application, it’d be a huge hook. However recruiting season started in June so it may be too late. Act immediately (be polite and respectful and do not speak about scholarships or hooks) as there may still be a spot open, you never know.
Im currently studying Economics, English Literature and Digital Technology for my A levels. Theyre recognised for having challenging modules that requires a lot of analytical essay writing. (An A in Economics qualifies me for external credit at UPenn)
I havent actually taken any SAT subject tests as they arent required. However, I got an A* in GCSE maths and A in GCSE further maths.
As for my major the 3 main concentration areas I selected for my application are :
Business Economics and Public Policy
Business Analytics
Legal Studies and Business Ethics
In my essay I mentioned pursuing a minor in International Relations due to to globalisation becoming increasingly important in our society. I was also considering American Public Policy.
Unfortunately I can’t see any minors in Irish studies, however there is a professor who offers classes in the Irish language at varying difficulty. I was considering possibly contacting her to support my application.
I’ll also look into the track and field team in more detail.
If you could provide any further feedback from this it would be much appreciated.
The fact you don’t have math at all at A Levels is likeky to kill your application - calculus is assumed from all applicants unless it’s not offered, so that level if calculus is the variable (not whether you took it). If your school offers math at A Levels and you chose not to take it, don’t apply ED to Wharton and hope for 770+ on the math2 subject test.
International relations makes sense - there’s even a minor for that, applied to business, in Wharton (a “second concentration” called GLAN.)
Have you contacted the coach yet?
That’s way more important than contacting the professor - a professor rarely has a say in admissions, a coach does.
I emailed the director of track and field earlier today, I basically enquired if there was a still a possibility of being looked at for recruitment and attached my stats and sporting achievements. I probably wont hear back until at quickest, Monday.
I agree no A level maths is a concern. I had to pick it or economics due to clashes in my classes timetable. However in my exam board A level economics is still very mathematical. Im not planning on taking any dense maths modules such as statistics at Upenn, so in my application I focused on presenting myself as more of a political/economical person rather than mathematical.
If you’re applying to Wharton, you’re supposed to have taken calculus.
How much integral/differential calculus does your Economics A-level include? You’ll have to document that in the “Additional information” box (ie., “The A-Level Economics program includes a program in applied calculus similar to Ap Calculus AB applied to economics problems”).I don’t know how they’d handle the fact Economics and Math are at the same time at your school. It must penalize a lot of students!
At Wharton, there are three or four required calculus classes, as well as a very intense statistics class that supposes you know statistics.
The first level, Math 103, is for students from lower performing schools who couldn’t take calculus, or who took calculus AB and got a 4. The “normal” entry-level class is Math 104, equivalent to Calculus 2 at most colleges, is the second level of Calculus; it covers more than Calculus BC and is taken in common by Wharton and Engineering students. You can also take Math 110, which quickly reviews integration and differentiation, moves on to series, optimization, and multivariate calculus applied to economics. Then you have Stats 101&102, which are very mathematical and suppose some basic background in statistics (what you’d have done for GCSE Math would be sufficient but you’d need to brush up on that).
Depending on concentrations, on top of that there’s also Math 140, multivariable calculus, which you can take if you got a 5 in Calculus BC and take a special placement exam given during orientation, and Math 240, which includes linear algebra and differential equations.
There are only two required calculus classes (Math 103 and 104). Math 114 is multi. Math 140 does not exist. Stat101 and Stat102 are not very mathematical, and certainly do not assume a background in statistics. Generally, math is not stressed in Wharton, and a lack of math should not completely ruin an applicant’s chances.
US schools are not so concerned about specific preparation, and you can take Calculus at UPenn. The SAT scores and the A-level and GSCE scores seem a little weak for Wharton ED though.
GCSE further maths is very similar to A level maths and is kind of seen as intro to it. The 1st paper, ‘Pure Mathematics’ did include a lot of complex integral and differential questions, while the 2nd paper was ‘mechanics and statistics’ if it really hurts my chances I could always mention how I plan on taking a calculus class at UPenn.
^ sorry, typo: 240.
Wharton’s math requirements seem low compared to math requirements in the college for Economics majors, but they’re still substantial. Ease and speed are necessary.
104 or 110 (+103 for those who didn’t score high enough on calculus AB) + stats 101-102 (where the entire GCSE intro to stats papers would be covered in a couple class period) make for 3-4 intense math classes you cannot skip. If OP planned on not taking math, it won’t be possible.
Compare to most business programs: they require just calculus 1 (including, often, a diluted “applied/business calculus” option) and one Elementary stats class. Wharton requires much more than that and won’t admit students who may not be able to handle the requirements. (No need to specify you intend to take calculus: it’s a requirement. You’ll have to take 103-110 your first year, unless you manage to self study calculus AB and pass with a 5 in May.)
114 and 240 can be required in addition to that depending on concentration but based on the concentrations mentioned, not for you.
I can 100% confirm that “level of calculus” IS very important for Wharton Admissions since the admission documents have been out for 4 days now.
So, stress your A/A* in the GCSE pure math papers, as well as the level of math they required ( list it like that: “paper 1, precalculus + intro to calculus, to prepare for A Level economics and A Level Maths; paper 2: Statistics and mechanics, also necessary for A-level Economics.” That emphasizes the fact A Level Economics is quantitative, at least for some papers.)
Should I list this information in the additional information section or my transcript that will be submitted by my school?
I’ve already used up my word count for the additional information explaining:
My illness that had me hospitalised for months, going against the school's advice to repeat the year, and insteand self-studying to get some of the best results in the year.
Explained in greater detail my duties as captain for my gaelic football team
the charity work I organise through school and at my part time job
More detail on my internship at a law firm, the meaningful work I contributed, the commerical skills I developed and the impression I gave.
Explained my passion for analysing the stock market and economy, then applying that knowledge to a virtual portfolio for trading. Furthermore how I got the chance to operate a Bloomberg and win a trading competition at a local university. I also briefly mentioned my huge interest in alumni, Elon Musk, due to his companies' positive contributions to society. Then referencing how this hobby has benefited my analytical and mathematical skills in the classroom.
Do you think theres anything I should include/exclude in this area? The activities section doesnt give much of a chance to express yourself through your ECs.