Chance Me: Wharton ED (Current HS Junior)

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I'm a junior in high school right now, beginning to narrow my list down of potential colleges. I know for sure I already want to go into business, probably entrepreneurship or marketing. I may double major or have a minor in something else, so I can do business is a specific field of study (maybe computer science).</p>

<p>My high school was rated #1 most difficult in the United States in 2012, it's a private school with very rigorous academic workloads. My school sends the grade breakdown (how many people get Bs, As, etc) for each class. I am taking classes much more advanced than the average in my grade, but I struggled to get good grades in them. Is it better to have higher grades in lower classes, or lower grades in higher classes? I hope I didn't screw myself over.</p>

<p>SAT: 680~ Reading 800~ Math 720~ Writing (2200). Numbers from practice, taking official in Oct
ACT: 29 Composite from end of sophomore year. Will retake in the winter.</p>

<p>Freshman Year: 3.6 & 3.68 (Our school doesn't offer honors for freshmen except for math and language)
Literature and Composition: B+
Ancient World: A-
Mandarin 3: A (Mandarin program is new, no honors courses to choose from)
AB Calculus (AP): A-
Biology: B+
Acting Skills: A</p>

<p>Intro to Computer Programming: B+ (Night class at Fairleigh Dickinson University for 3.00 college credits, given by a scholarship from John Hopkin's University)</p>

<p>Chemistry: A- (Summer Course)</p>

<p>Sophomore Year: 3.32 & 3.56 (I messed up this year)
American Literature: B+ (only sophomore english class, no honors available)
US History (AP): B+
Adv. Mandarin: A- (Mandarin program is new, no honors courses to choose from)
BC Calculus (AP): B+
Physics Honors (H): B</p>

<p>Junior Year (current):
World Literature:
IB History (IB):
Adv. Mandarin 2:
Multivariable Calculus (H):
Adv. Computer Science (H):
IB Physics HL (IB):</p>

<p>Extra Curriculars:</p>

<p>Varsity Swim Captain
Club Swimming outside of school (ranked #16 in NJ for 100 Fly last year)
Summer town swimming
JV Track & Field
JV Soccer</p>

<p>Model UN Policy Advisor (to-be President next year)
Stock Market Club VP (to-be President next year)</p>

<p>My Business Related Stuff:</p>

<p>Created a fashion accessory product, starting sales in a few months
Started game server hosting company in 2012, running over 2 years
Started rewards based website with ad networks for 3 years (2011-2014), shut down recently
Started over 15 small websites, including some that brought in over 1,000 UVs per day (blog on diets)
Occasionally does freelance work for SEO or design. Hired by an ad network once, and hired by a hypnotist therapist in AU
Import wholesale from China, resale on Amazon & eBay (maybe $5,000~ in sales to date, something close)
Self-learned HTML, PHP, and C#.</p>

<p>Official Work:
Camp counselor at a day camp at Gold's Gym (summer job)
Summer internship at American Express in NYC (through family connections)</p>

<p>Community Service: (Freshman year: 45 hours, Sophomore: 60 hours)
Jersey Shore Cleanup after Hurricane Sandy
English Teacher at Chinese Senior Citizens Home (1 year)
Provide and teach kids at a nearby "poorer" charter school with legos (2 years, weekly)
Been to local food pantry to sort food 3 times</p>

<p>Race: Asian American</p>

<p>Thanks for reading everything above!</p>

<p>Basically, I was a diligent student up to my sophomore year, where I focused a lot on extracurricular and social life, and my grades plummeted. I just started my junior year, and here is where I can try to fix things up to get into college (I would love to get into Wharton, realistically my parents are telling me to look at Stern).</p>

<p>Questions:</p>

<p>My GPA is probably lower than most Asian applicants, but will my extra curriculars help me make up that difference?</p>

<p>Another question is, how can I show colleges that I do so much outside of school? I can think of ways to incorporate some events into the essays, but a lot of it won't fit.</p>

<p>Does having a low GPA in high classes ruin my chances, or will it be better than having good grades in low classes?</p>

<p>What should I focus on this year (junior year) to bring myself closer to what Wharton looks for?</p>

<p>Thanks so much!</p>

2

<p>Forgot to add:
AP AB Calc: 4
AP BC Calc: 4 (AB Calc Sub-section: 5)
AP Chinese: 5
AP US History: 3 (won’t send)</p>

<p>I plan on taking AP Comp Sci, and possibly AP Physics. Any other APs I should look into? </p>

<p>Even though I’m taking IB courses, I will not be an IB candidate. I may still take the exams</p>

3

<p>Should I also send the college course transcript and the summer course to colleges?</p>

4

<p>They are both good schools!! Try to incorporate more college credits and don’t take your eye off the ball!! You will be fine. B-) </p>

5

<p>Thanks! By incorporate more college credits, does that mean send in the transcript, or take more APs?</p>

6

<p>bump! would love some more feedback</p>

7

<p>bump! thanks!</p>

8

<p>bump if anybody can do a chance</p>

9

<p>Dude. You’re Asian. Unless you’re already in the 75th percentile of SAT or ACT scores for the school you’re applying to, you better bring these scores up.</p>

10

<p>Thanks! That’s very true, Asians have very high scores I have to compete with. I aim to be near 2300+ by the end of this year (end of junior year).</p>

11

<p>Bring up your SATs. Most people who get into Wharton with your background have above the 75% percentile for Penn on standardized tests. And it is particularly important for you, considering your school does grades very differently from most other schools in the nation. High SAT subject tests and AP scores will also help with this GPA issue. </p>

<p>Your ECs seem good. Keep up with them. Remember, depth not breadth. </p>