Confused Canadian Student - Transfer to Wharton

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
1

Hey guys! Although I’ve been browsing CC for a few months, I recently decided to make an account and this is my first post - excuse me if I unknowingly break a posting rule or have improper etiquette.

I’m a Canadian high school student (grade 12) who will be attending a top Canadian business university next year. That being said, I intend to apply for a transfer to Wharton for my third year. Now, I know, one doesn’t just wake up and say, “I want to go to Wharton!” Many plan from the moment they step into high school - I haven’t been. After browsing UPenn’s transfer page, I couldn’t find all the information I wanted. Just had some questions about my situation and the steps to put together a solid application to apply for a transfer (I realize the rates are ~1%). If anyones been in a similar place as I am, please feel free to share any experiences or tips!

Insight on me:
I have wrote neither the SAT or ACT, also not an IB student but will be writing AP exams this May. Expecting a 5 on Stat, Micro, Macro, CalAB. No outstanding awards or achievements (honour roll, yes, but that’s just minor). No outstanding EC’s either - work experience as an accountant for 4 months so far is probably my most notable. Can write solid essays and will be able to get great marks in university, those two things are of no concern to me. Will work on the EC’s and get back into athletics during the summer and throughout university. Currently teaching myself Italian and Chinese.

Questions:
I believe I will still have to write the SAT/ACT, and get a high mark to have a slight chance at the most. When I do write the exams, I will be in my first year of university - does that make a difference?

When applying for a transfer, will my high school transcript play a huge role? My grades were not consistently high, but they do go up year after year (with the exception of grade 11, it shows improvement, current average is 94).

With high university and SAT/ACT marks, great work experience (about to pick up another assistant job at a bank, but plan to do more), and above average EC’s/recommendations, would I stand any chance? Is there something extra, something I’m missing, or something I’m doing wrong? Something I could be doing? Any tips or criticism is welcomed!

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Transferring is quite hard, you’ll have to have a compelling reason to transfer. What school do you plan on attending next year?

To transfer you would need the following at the very least.
1.Calc equivalent (BC score of 5 will suffice)
2.Micro and Macro Econ (AP score of 5 will suffice)
3.A GPA of at least 3.8 (internal transfers need a 3.7 iirc)
4.Solid Professor recommendations (lots of schools have large general classes which will prove to be a challenge, make sure to go to office hours)
5.Competitive ACT/SAT 33+ or 2250+

I’m not going to doubt your academic ability, but university for most prove to be much harder than high school so make sure to prioritize well.

Transferring for your junior year is much harder than as a sophomore, what’s the reason for waiting until 3rd year?