<p>Hi guys. So I'm this Indian kid in NJ. I have a 4.0 GPA and 2370 SAT and all that, and haven't taken my subject tests yet. I have service, extracurriculars, leadership positions, national award, sports, black belt, and whatnot, and I'm applying to colleges next year.
So, I was thinking. I love UPenn, but I don't like the binding idea of Early Decision. I'm also thinking of applying Single-choice Early Action to Harvard, which I really want to go to. I can't do both so I'm thinking if I don't get in to one during the early period, I'll be screwed when applying to Ivies during regular decision time. </p>
<p>Any thoughts on what I should do and my chances of getting in to either of those schools or an Ivy?</p>
<p>You should go with penn. You have a very high (above average) chance of getting in, despite coming from NJ. Aside from that, it looks to me that you’d be happier there too! </p>
<p>Sent from my SPH-M580 using CC App</p>
<p>Class rank/percentile? Estimation if unranked school?</p>
<p>If you like Penn more, then why not do ED? You should also look into Penn’s dual degree programs</p>
<p>Yeah, what would you be applying ED to at Penn? If you’re thinking, say, Wharton, prospects in finance after graduation are slightly better at Wharton than they are at Harvard. In this case, locking in Wharton early is not limiting really. Also trying to gun for a dual-degree program ED isn’t bad either as they are required to fill about half the spots ED and the pool is a lot less competitive ED so if you’re interested, ED would help out a lot. </p>
<p>If you’re thinking CAS and SEAS, you’d have to do a risk/reward analysis of each choice but I can’t do that because you haven’t listed your ECs/other academics. Right off the bat though, Indian from NJ is a tough demographic applying to Harvard. If your other stats wouldn’t place you to be a strong candidate for Harvard, I’d give Penn more though for CAS/SEAS. </p>
<p>Also, what do you want to go for? If say, pre-med, Penn isn’t the best place to go because of the difficulty of the science courses so you might want to consider things like that.</p>
<p>Thanks guys! My class rank will be #1 or #2 out of like 500 (my school doesn’t release it until senior year). I’m thinking of majoring in biology because the human body and mind are really what I’m passionate about</p>
<p>If you’re into Bio, think about EDing to this program (you can choose to only attend if you get accepted to the program):
[Life</a> Sciences and Management at the University of Pennsylvania](<a href=“Home | Penn Life Sciences & Management Program”>Home | Penn Life Sciences & Management Program)</p>
<p>it’s one of Penn’s dual-degree programs; you get a degree in bio from the College of Arts and Sciences and a degree from Wharton. It’s a great program that will hook you up with a lot of high-paying job offers right out of undergrad (think biotech consulting, finance) because of the wharton degree, but it still has the bio focus. If you’re interested, the less competition in the ED pool will significantly boost your chances and it’s worth considering.</p>
<p>^on the contrary the ED pool is actually MORE competitive hence the higher acceptance rate. The pool is more self selecting.</p>
<p>No…Penn actually professes a preference for ED kids and tries to fill ~45% to 50% of their class with EDers. For the program in particular, the program doesn’t get the HYP SCEAers and/or very well qualified applicants that would not want to commit themselves to a school during the ED round thus, because they fill about half the spots ED, the competition for the dual-degree programs at penn during ED round is notably less.</p>
<p>Since you’re into science, Penn & Harvard are both great colleges. But IMO, if you’re not super fond of the idea of ED, I would say go with Harvard. </p>
<p>Why?</p>
<p>Obviously Harvard is…well, Harvard. Since you’re going for science and not business, Penn is little < Harvard in this case. Plus you’ll have a better chance Early Action. And it’s not binding. That’s what I think. Good luck either way!</p>