Chance this very unconventional kid for Wharton! Thanks for your time and comments :-)

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
1

OK this is it, I am Posting this!

So I am going to apply for Wharton BBA this year!

Focus: Actuary Sciences and Finance

Origin: Pakistan (Race: South Asian)

Citizenship: US Permanent Resident

Academic Path & Achievement : This is where the deal lies. I studied in a Trust School in Pakistani educational system my whole life. It is a very low quality educational system where you just got to memorize whatever your teacher writes on the blackboard. We memorized entire essays, theories even Math Concepts. No one will ever try to explain anything or try to make you be clear enough on concepts to write the answers yourself. Just memorize it and write it off in exams.
I wasn’t just the top of my class. I was the School Topper in that system… I would score Highest Percentage scorer in entire secondary section throughout class 6 and 7.
Now as it happens, there were only two options available for me to study. I could be a doctor or an engineer. But, I didn’t want to be either of those. I wasn’t happy with the way I was being taught. I was already scoring the highest in my entire school but I still wasn’t learning any worthwhile stuff. So I took the hardest and craziest decision that a 13 year old could make.

I dropped out of school and decided to take a curriculum that I couldn’t afford. It is the A Level Cambridge affiliated matriculation system that only the richest could afford. I was the poorest. My Father had abandoned me and my mother after he tried to kill her before she could give birth to me. We lived with our grand parents and two aunts.

So the only way left for me to do was to try to take this on myself. I bought second hand cheap books and started to teach myself. From my local education to this international one, it was a huge jump. I had no reading/analytical/ or heck, even linguistic skills. I couldn’t speak a sentence of English, how was I supposed to write explanatory essays in it. I couldn’t take a lot of Advanced Courses but that is because I had to take this journey without a teacher by my side which I hope will be considered by Universities.

Grades: O Level (9,10,11th Year): | Urdu: A, English Language: A, Math: A, Economics: A, Business Studies: A, Commerce: A* |
A Level (12, 13th year): | Economics A, Business Studies: A, Math: C (3 papers in 1 day)|

Graduation date: 13 January 2016

Job/ Work Experience: I am working since I am 13, in order to finance my exam registration fees. I had to do every low paying Freelance job online. I did ghost writing, Translations. I wrote a lot of employee handbooks, product descriptions, Taglines. I worked with a firm as a CV, LinkedIn Profile and Cover Letter writer. I even wrote Masters coursework for people so I could pay my fees

Extra-curricular: As you can imagine, I was never offered them. I loved debating but there aren’t any MUNS in Pakistani Trust Schools. I spend any free time I have in learning about Security Analysis/ Investment Banking or Music Production/ Djing.
Other Activities: Heavy Family responsibilities… My family was a mess after my mother’s divorce as that stopped my aunts from getting married in our conservative society. I posed as my grand father and found them grooms through matrimonial etc. I also made my mother remarry. She happened to marry a person in US and brought me here with her last month

SAT: As per practice results: Above 1500 / 1600
SAT subjects: My finances doesn’t allow me to give those.

Income Bracket: $25000 for 3 People in family + 4th person Child support
Step Father is sole earner, no work permits for me or my mother yet

Common App Essay: I plan to write about my life’s circumstances here a bit

Wharton Essay: I Plan to write about some of my own deduced business theories and a future business plan based on those with aim of removing financial gap in society through a Social corporate responsibility accepting and Profit reinvesting banking institution that operates in a certain way, creation of an accompanying education system and use of external economies of scale etc and something about my passion of music business, as I want to use my education in more than one ways.

Counselor Recommendation: My mother will have to write it, she is a Masters in Education so she can define my methods of studying, (Extensive Book and Internet study on topic, Then Use of Past questions as guidelines of testing knowledge and writing as much as I know in answer of every question to reinforce the knowledge, and working on exam answering technique as third step). She can also share some insights on my family duties, the way she brought me up etc)

Teacher Recommendation: My Aunt. she is the one who made everything possible, she is teaching me since I am 3 year old, and she can tell them about the way I have been…

My 6/7 Grade English teacher, she practically cried the day I left school… She loved me and she is an English teacher so I am expecting something decent

Other Recommendation: My main Free Lance work provider, who was shocked when he learnt that the person doing all the corporate environment inquires was 15 years old. He knows my family situations and hardships I have been through.

State: GA

Gender: F

Age: 18 going on 19 right now :frowning:

Hooks: Umm Father was Doctor, Mother is M.ED, Step Father is high school, all from Pakistan… No one have US Education yet

Thank you so much for your time, if you read all that… I know that Universities are very unpredictable, but I just want you to look at this profile and remember that Ivies like to build a diverse class, but are competitive like hel.

And just give me your intuitive reaction…

Can I make it?

2

Your “hook” isn’t a “first generation” hook. You clearly grew up in an educated household. What’s your real GPA? What can you afford? You probably need to look beyond a school as expensive as Penn. Without your actual SATs, no one can even say if you’re viable or not.

3

Work hard on your application, and cross your fingers. No body can chance Wharton accurately, even for regular US students, let alone very unconventional kid.

4

OK First of all you need to have research the school enough to kow what you are applying for. Wharton does not offer a BBA, it offers a BS Economics.

Grades: What is your GPA?

SAT score: practice tests may not match the real thing, but assuming that those scores match up you should be in ok shape.

The family story is interesting, although there may be some confusion as to what “made you mother remarry” and all that means, if it means forcing marriage against her will as the wording implies that’s not going to be looked at very positively. You are going to have to make a sincere effort to convey what you did in the context of the culture you lived in and what your actions mean.

Your life circumstances do make a compelling common app story.

Have you looked at the essay prompt for Penn yet? The essay isn’t “What are your business plans” but “How will you explore your intellectual and academic interests at the University of Pennsylvania?” This requires you to really research and understand the school, and understanding for example what degrees each school offers would be a start.

Do you have anything to show for the thing you learned on the side? any projects etc.? Those count as extracurriculars.

You should not use your family to write your reccomendations. Your counselor should be the counselor from the school you attended, if you don’t have one then you can ask Penn Admissions if that rec is really neccesary. Do not use your aunt. Find another teacher that liked you and can write about you.

Are you technically an international applicant? If you are prepare to have to take out loans. You cannot expect financial aid and asking for financial aid might get you rejected.

What does wrote Masters coursework mean? does that mean you helped design masters level classes? if so that could be an interesting extracurricular.

Work does count as extracurricular btw.

Ultimately, you have a chance, you certainly have a compelling story, but you need to seriously polish your application and make sure that the person reading your application can immediately understand what you went through without any confusion and can understand your application and your story. Keep in mind this person is very likely not at all someone that can relate to you and yet you still need them to understand in the limited space you have. You also have to convey better that you truly understand penn and what you are applying for, and that means starting with the understanding the degree offered to understanding how the coursework is, understanding the curriculum, understanding what it means to be a part of the greater penn community (not just wharton), one university policy, resources offered, etc etc etc. all that will play into the why penn essay, and showing you get what this is about will help you significantly in your application process. Financial aid might be a deal breaker though, IDK.

Good luck!