Hi everyone! I’m a sophomore at an IB school. Wharton is my first choice school and I’ve done so much research on the program that I want to apply early decision when the time comes. However, I’ve been stressed that I’m not doing enough to make my application steller, so I was wondering if I could get some advice on what my application looks like currently. Thank you so much!
Current Goa
I’d strongly recommend that you give up the idea of a dream school and when the time comes (junior year) honestly assess your academic stats (GPA, standardized tests) and work to create a solid college list that includes reach, match, and safety schools that appear affordable (find out your parents’ budget and run the net price calculator for each school) and that you would be happy to attend. The people I see who get hurt by the college admission process are the ones who focus on one or two hyper-competitive schools and then don’t get in. Cast a wide net and recognize that (assuming no major hook) Wharton is a reach for pretty much everyone. You need to expand your horizons and recognize that there are many wonderful schools out there where you can have a great 4 year experience and get where you want to go in life.
Thank you so much! I have many other schools in mind as well such as University of Michigan since it’s about an hour from where I live. I just realized my post submitted before I was done typing so here is the rest:
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Current GPA: 4.05 (weighted)
I haven’t taken the SAT or ACT yet but my PSAT 10 score worried me which is an 1100
Freshman year grades and classes:
S1: Speech: A, Geometry: A, Theatre I: A, AP U.S History: A, Spanish I: A, Government: A, Physics: A, Honors English: A
S2: Production Teams: A, Geometry: A, Theatre I: A, AP U.S History: A, Spanish I: A, Economics: A, Physics: A, Honors English: A
Sophomore year grades and classes:
S1: Production Teams: A, Spanish II: A, Theatre II: A, Biology: A, Chemistry: A, AP World History: A, Honors English: A-, Accelerated Algebra II: A
S2: in progress but it should be all solid A’s except for English because the teacher’s grading system is more harsh.
Junior and senior year classes will be IB. My HL classes are going to be History, Spanish, and and Theatre. My SL classes are going to be Chemisty, Math, and English.
Extracurriculars
Freshman year: youth group member of my antiochian Orthodox Church, figure skating 3 times a week
Sophomore year: treasurer of Spanish club, treasurer of my youth group, figure skating independently and on a team, and employee of a froyo shop.
As for junior and senior year these will continue and I will have higher positions on the board
Special circumstances
During freshman year I lost my dad to a rare cancer called edinocarcinoma and my family is living on social security.