Fwa, Chance Me! (Wharton, RD)

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
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<p>(already posted this [with no response] but I wanted to change a few things and it wouldn’t let me edit, soooo… ignore the last 'un. XD)</p>

<p>–I’d really appreciate any opinions, because I really want to get into Penn, but I’m not sure if I have a strong chance at Wharton, and I don’t want to risk not getting in at all by applying there instead of the College. And, I just got deferred at Yale, which must mean I’m missing something–I just don’t know what.</p>

<p>SAT I: 790M / 760V / 720W (2270 C)
SAT II: 800 Latin / 800 Math II / 770 Math I / 680 US Hist
ACT: 33 (don’t know if I’ll send it, though)
GPA: 4.79W / 3.99UW
Rank: School “doesn’t rank,” but I’m #1 or 2
AP Scores: Latin Lit (5), US Hist (5), English Language (5)
Current Courses AP US Gov, AP Physics, AP Calc BC, AP Stats, AP English Lit, a few electives
Grades All regular As except for BC Calc (B+, but I’ll hopefully get it up). Besides my current B+, I’ve only had two A-s in AP Lang & Latin last year, and the rest As.</p>

<p>ECs:
School Clubs
Math Team (9-12, Captain 12; 2nd place in the South Division the past two years)
Mock Trial (9-12, Captain 11+12)
Alliance for Acceptance & Understanding (10-12, Co-Pres 11+12)
Lit Mag (10-12, Secretary 11+12)
NHS (11+12)
Physics Olympics (11+12)
Tufts EPIIC (10)
Model UN (Founder & Pres–started it up this year)
AFS (10-12)
Set Crew (9+10)</p>

<p>Sports
Field Hockey (4 yrs, 2 on Varisity, League All-Star 12th Grade)
Tennis (4 yrs, all Varsity)
Basketball (played 2 yrs, managed 11+12)</p>

<p>Leadership
School Council Class Rep (10-12)
Student Council (12)
NEASC Committee (11)
Dollars for Scholars Class Rep (11+12)
Relay for Life Planning Committee (11)
Coaching the Middle School Science Olympiad Team (9-12)
Peer Ministry at my church (11+12)
Girl Scouts (K-12)</p>

<p>Awards: I won’t list all of them, but I’ve gotten most of the subject awards my school offers every year, along with awards for several of the clubs I’m a part of. Major ones, though, are the Dartmouth Book Award last year, and National Merit Scholarship Semifinalist this year.</p>

<p>Teacher Recs: Hopefully good
Guidence Rec: Very good–I read it. She talked about exactly what I needed her to talk about–how I’m not someone who spreads herself too thin, and how I’m extremely dedicated and involved in everything I do, and that the only problem I’ve ever faced is not having enough time to do everything. Plus, she brought up the fact that I’m in her office every year fighting to fit more classes in my schedule (which doesn’t work out, thanks to stupid art requirements).</p>

<p>State: MA
School: Very small public school (class of 130), but also one of the top public schools in the state (12 people got in early to NESCACs, 1 at Duke, 3 at Harvard, etc etc.) And, no one else is applying to Penn.
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Legacy: My dad, at Wharton, but I don’t think he donates too much</p>

<p>Hooks: I’m in the middle of my Gold Award project for Girl Scouts, which involves a 70+ hour initiative to help organizations in my community and school set up and learn how to maintain web sites to further their goals as organizations. I’m leading a workshop for adult and student community members interested in learning how to create web sites, creating a guide that’ll be in the library to creating sites, and helping senior citizens learn how to use computers in general.</p>

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<p>Legacy really will not count much in the RD round. All I can say is, Wharton RD tends to be competitive to the point of ridiculousness from what I've heard</p>

3

<p>So I've heard.. but does it help if my dad was at Wharton with the current dean? He didn't know him too well, but he did know a former dean relatively well..</p>

<p>I know I shouldn't go shouting out ways to cheat the system, but isn't that what everyone tries to do at this level? And, I really want to know if I'd be better off applying to the College if I want to be relatively confident in getting in..</p>

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<p>I don't think that by any means the College would provide anyone with a "sure" chance of getting in...especially since Penn so heavily emphasizes commitment in the ED round.</p>

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<p>I'm sure legacy would be of some importance in regular as well. People say "legacy doesn't help at all" but the fact is, when they see your dad went to wharton, they're not gonna be like "oooh, didn't do ED, so we gotta ignore legacy." they might not put as much a weight on legacy, but they're still gonna address the fact that you have it. and applying to either the college or wharton's your decision. I think you have a relatively good chance at wharton and a really good chance at the college. just my opinion. good luck.</p>

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<p>I know I can't say I have a sure chance at getting into any of the Ivies, but that doesn't mean I can't feel confident about getting into the College RD, particularly if I've got connections that can get me in, and have a basis for comparison--I'm stronger all-around than recent acceptees to the College RD from my school. But, yeah, to some extent, it's always a crapshoot.</p>

<p>I really wish there were statistics somewhere on legacy acceptance rates v. non-legacy acceptance rates, though. And I've mainly been basing my hope that legacy helps in both pools on the fact that you can still get a legacy interview RD and the website says that legacy will always help to some extent.</p>

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<p>yea, your obviously have a chance ....
but if you read the ED thread (which has a much higher acceptance rate), you can see how random it is (to us anyway). What are they looking for? What class are they trying to form? None of us could really answer that. Their are some amazing people on here that were deferred or rejected (and had MUCH better scores then me who was accepted).
Just present yourself in the best light and see what happens. In all honesty, these chance threads are really a waste of time.</p>

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<p>I'm new to this site, and thought I'd give a chance thread a try, but I'm starting to see that, haha. Ivies are such a crapshoot, that you never know who gets in and who doesn't. Still doesn't help me when it comes down to deciding between the College and Wharton, though.</p>