Hi, my name is Dane. I’m new to this site and I’m not sure how this all works. I made an account on CC because I am currently a freshman at a community college and want to transfer to the University of Pennsylvania after obtaining my AS in Business Administration w/ an Accounting Option. My career goal is to be an accountant, which certainly doesn’t mean I necessarily NEED an Ivy League education, I simply want one. I want to push myself to achieve and I want to be surrounded by LIKE MINDED PEOPLE WITH SIMILAR GOALS. Half the people at the community college I’m at right now don’t even want to be here. Anyway, how can I ensure that I have a good shot at getting into Upenn?
Target Penn State or Pitt or your in-state flagship (not sure you are PA res) with a good approved list of courses that transfer. Transferring from CC to UPenn probably has happened at some point, but the odds aren’t with you. I am not sure that accounting would be something that would rank high on their wish list either … maybe a desire to be an entrepeneur or a CEO or a tech degree showing some outstanding progress.
Work really hard to learn everything you didn’t learn in high school and to learn how to get As in every course (and push yourself to take hard courses that require work).
If you transfer to a state flagship for junior senior year, you will find that you will have very serious classmates. You will have a very valuable degree. If you find a real need to have an Ivy degree, consider an MBA after you work a few years or I assume there are masters in finance or accounting …
UPenn’s transfer admission information is here:
http://www.admissions.upenn.edu/apply/transfer-admission/faq
It looks like UPenn still cares about high school stuff for transfer applicants:
http://www.admissions.upenn.edu/apply/transfer-admission/checklist
I just dont think you should target one highly selective uni. You have to be prepared in general for top schools, then look at individual requirements. I don’t know why people who admit to not doing well in the past have to have such out of proportion goals before they perform. Perform first, then you are in the position to pick and choose where to apply. As you seem to recognize there are many schools that will give you a successful career in accounting.