<p>I'm a high schooler looking at colleges. I was looking around UPenn's website and found the dual-degree program, which sounds very interesting. I was wondering if anyone could answer some questions I have about it:
1. How difficult is admission?
2. How possible is it to graduate in four years?
3. Does it kill your gpa?
4. If after a couple of semesters of going for the dual degree you decide you don't want to continue in the program because it is too demanding/won't let you gradualte on time/etc., how easy is it to revert back to a single degree program?</p>
<p>Just so you know, I would be interested in a dual degree from Wharton and the College with a major in math.</p>
<p>1) Yes, admission to dual degree programs is highly competitive. But you can apply to dual degree, and there are three things that can happen: admit to dual degree, admit to single degree but not dual degree, or reject. So you specify a back-up school for single admission.</p>
<p>2) Yes, most students graduate in 4 years, but some stay an extra semester and do it in 4.5 years.</p>
<p>3) Because it is so selective, usually only the most qualified students are admitted, and these are the students that are most likely to be able to handle the courseload. So they tend to do quite well in their courses.</p>
<p>4) It is always easier to drop stuff than add it. I’m sure if you woke up one day in dual degree and decided you wanted to drop your math major, you could walk into an office, fill out a piece of paper, and it would be done.</p>
<p>@OP: Just to add on to what sunkist7 said, I think for the coordinated dual-degree programs at least, they also look for passion and interest. Most importantly, “fit”. While that term is relative, they look for some sort of match, etc. Also, you can be successful in getting into your single-degree program. A friend of mine applied to Vagelos LSM (the dual-degree) and got rejected but got into Wharton ED (single degree) so all is well!</p>
<p>Thanks for the info, all! </p>
<p>@sunkist7, are those answers mostly true for just the coordinated dual-degree, or does the same go for a dual-degree program that you apply for at the end of your freshman year?</p>
<p>@DisneyJ</p>
<p>For the dual-degrees that you apply for at the end of freshman year, difficulty of admission depends on which school is your “base school” (i.e. which school you start out in). </p>
<p>If you start out in Wharton as a freshman, it’s relatively easy to do dual degree with the College; just have average/decent grades and you’ll be fine.</p>
<p>If you start out in the College as a freshman however, you will need a 3.7+ to be competitive for dual-degree with Wharton. However, also be aware that starting this year, admissions is also looking for difficulty of freshman courses taken as a criterion for dual-degree. </p>
<p>Hope this helps and good luck!</p>
<ol>
<li>How difficult is admission?</li>
</ol>
<p>It’s really hard. Most guys in Huntsman and M&T are all stars and would have been stars at HYP as well. </p>
<ol>
<li>How possible is it to graduate in four years?</li>
</ol>
<p>Very possible if you can use AP to skip a few intro classes, and then take 3-4 classes during a summer(although this is expensive to do). You will have a heavier load than most students, though. M&T is hardest in this respect. LSM is also very hard. Huntsman is probably the easiest load to manage. </p>
<ol>
<li>Does it kill your gpa?</li>
</ol>
<p>Sometimes, but the dual degree students are so strong that often these guys still have the top 3.8+ gpa’s. </p>
<ol>
<li>If after a couple of semesters of going for the dual degree you decide you don’t want to continue in the program because it is too demanding/won’t let you gradualte on time/etc., how easy is it to revert back to a single degree program?</li>
</ol>
<p>M&T has a pretty high attrition rate. Just a few days ago, a current M&T was complaining about all of these kids who dropped to single degree Wharton. I haven’t heard of anyone dropping Huntsman. I don’t know much about LSM.</p>