Hi all,
I have a couple of questions which are directed at current or past students of UPenn/Wharton.
I start things. From robotics teams, fundraisers, and small business ventures, my experiences have been numerous. After my sophomore year of high school, I was tired of the monotonous and unfulfilling busy work which pubic school offered. Putting my education on my back, I home schooled and built a curriculum around university classes (NCSU) and self-study.
After speaking with a current student, grandfather (class of '40 alum), and doing internet research, it looks like the principles of Wharton and UPenn aline with my own. To clarify, it appears that Wharton is more about the LEARNING, the hands-on applications, and how education applies to the real-world. Is this true? While everyone is competitive, is there an overall collaboration? Is there a sense of innovation and “anything is possible” attitude?
My follow up question is: should I apply to Wharton ED? Elsewhere I am applying for engineering and music. But, if I would sacrifice those things to attend Wharton. If I was to apply RD and be accepted, I would most likely still choose UPenn over the other schools. Would this logic be flawed?
I would say I am a relatively strong candidate. My standardized testing and GPA are not exceptional (32 ACT and 3.6/4). My course load has been quite rigorous. My EC are exceptional. From my understanding UPenn puts value on other exceptional skills, and my piano can be classified as that.
I don’t understand what you are saying. If you are applying for engineering elsewhere then why are you applying to wharton? Like what are you interested in studying and doing? Engineering and business are two very different things and while as an engineer you can easily get into the business world, as a business undergrad you cannot become an engineer. Being able to show genuinely and in detail why you are interested in business, will play a big role in your admissions decision at wharton. Also with regards to your question about competitiveness and collaboration it is true that Penn students are competitive and the degree of collaboration varies amongst undergraduate schools and majors at Penn. For example at Penn SEAS classes there is a lot of collaboration and people are a lot about the learning etc ( also there is the sense amongst students that engineering is so hard that it is a good idea to stick together and face the challenges in a collaborative manner). In CAS, the level of collaboration varies: for example pre-med courses tend to be quite cuttthroat and sort of lack collaboration but most other classes are pretty collaborative. As for Wharton. Well wharton, along with Sloan are probably the two undergrad business schools that have the strongest intellectual component to them and a focus on learning, and actual knowledge because they are part of institutions ( penn, MIT) that are strong across many disciplines, and are research and I tellectual powerhouses. That said wharton is a business school and you will also find quite a few people there who are completely anti-intellectual, super cutt-throat and non-collaborative and all they wanna do is get that high-paying, prestige job after graduation.
Interivewers do not know if an applicant is a legacy or not. We only know: your name, home address, home state, phone number, email address, hs attending, college applying to, proposed major/undecided. I don’t think I have forgotten anything. For security sake we do not get your phone number or email address until we have accepted the assignment,.
I cannot swear to it, but I cannot believe there are not a few interviewers in your home state. If not, maybe you will get a Skype or phone interview - but I am not sure of that. Last year for RD Penn had so many applicants they asked interviewers to do additional interviews by phone at a very late date in the cycle.
So they do have phone/Skype interviews but I am not sure about the process. I did some phone interviews and it was difficult. I am used to seeing body language and that can tell a bit sometimes about how genuine the applicant is. Sometimes an applicant will telegraph a falsehood or exaggeration. Hint - don’t try that. I watch for it and some of my questions are to verify my suspicions. (I am normally not a suspicious person - your body language can betray you.)
Thank you very much for clearing that up. I truly hope for an in-person interview. I am quite charismatic and I can see how that may come off in a negative (perhaps cocky, obnoxious, or exaggerative). For some reason, I am not as comfortable over the phone as I am in person.