Honest Evaluation - Chances for Wharton or CAS

Colleges & Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
1

<p>General: Junior Male, Mexican, from a large southern-california public school.
Rank: Definitely Top 5%, hopefully top 3% (in a class of 800)
GPA: Unweighted - 3.800 (have received As in every class except math - I take advanced math courses, though)
Curriculum: Have only taken Honors or AP courses.
SAT I: CR - 750, M - 720, W - 750 (2220 Overall - will take 2nd time in june )
SAT II: Biology E - 740, US History - 760, Math 2 - 720</p>

<p>Junior Schedule:
AP English Lang
AP Spanish Lang
AP Calc AB
AP US History
AP Physics
Student Government</p>

<p>Senior Schedule:
AP English Lit
AP Stats
AP Environmental Sci
AP Comparative Gov
Student Government
ECs:
Sport:</p>

<ul>
<li>I am a top-ranked gymnast in the nation for my age (and level 10, the highest level), and I have trained gymnastics for 10 years. Currently train 16 hours per week, hold various state champ titles, etc.</li>
<li>I am a varsity diver for my school, I train 10 hours per week in this sport, when I take a break from the gymnastics season (which never technically ends - it is a year round sport)</li>
<li>I have the All-American Award for Gymnastics</li>
</ul>

<p>Special Interests:</p>

<ul>
<li>I am the President of my school's Ecology Club - which I resurrected. It is fun, but very challenging.</li>
<li>I am the President of my school's California Scholarship Federation - this club is very difficult because it is impossible to get everyone to a single meeting (with > 50 members) and its community-service focus is difficult.</li>
<li>I am an avid music fan with knowledge from 1960s Jazz to 1980s Underground Hip-Hop to the Electronic Avant-Garde scene in NY and Europe's finest art-rock songwriters. I hope to write a music column in college encouraging students to listen to a more diverse mix of music rather than mainstream radio.</li>
<li>I have over 500 hours of school-oriented service logged in for Student Government on my campus: I am the Business Manager this year, and will most likely be elected Senior Class President next month.</li>
<li>I have competed for my school's very successful Academic Bowl team, during my Freshman and Sophomore years. I did not participate this year, but I will re-join the team (time permitting!) next year</li>
</ul>

<p>College Interests:
International Relations, Law, Business, Environmental Science</p>

<p>The question is, CAS or Wharton?</p>

<p>*Penn is my dream, and business is my biggest interest - yet I'm not 100% excited about the pre-professionalism of Wharton, and I don't want to guarantee my rejection by applying to such a selective school of Penn.</p>

2

<p>By just looking at your grades i would say you are a slight reach for Wharton because of the "have received As in every class except math" statement and wharton is probably very heavy on math....but i think your ECs are great and think your a good match.</p>

3

<p>you better get in</p>

4

<p>I think you have an excellent chance. You'd be a very good candidate without your URM status and with it you're excellent. About the two schools though...it really depends on what you want to major in. Wharton is obviously the more selective school, but I think only by like..6%, which really isn't that much consider how low both percentages are anyway. You should pick based on what you want to do. If you aren't sure you want to do business, apply to CAS, because Wharton doesn't really prepare you for anything else (except maybe law).</p>

5

<p>Your math scores are good enough, even for Wharton. Check out this year's decision threads to see how many people got in with sub-750s on math. I think leadership is what really counts.</p>

<p>If your interests are IR and business, you should probably try huntsman.</p>

6

<p>Thanks everyone for the input. In a school full of highly competitive students, you don't know how nice it is to hear supportive comments. Heck, even my Calculus teacher had a conference with me because she thought my 'B' grade showed that I was slacking off!! I assumed Penn was at least a reach - but I'm not applying to any schools more selective than Penn, so I'm allowed this one reach, right?</p>

<p>I am interested in Hunstman, but talk about SELECTIVE.</p>

7

<p>you will probably be accepted to every college you apply to. what's your top choice?</p>

8

<p>Hispanic...you have a very good chance.</p>

9

<p>padfoot, if you apply to Huntsman you have to indicate your second choice (CAS or Wharton) in case you don't get accepted for the program.
Thus, you shouldn't be worried about the selection of the program - just apply, you never know!</p>

10

<p>I just read your last post and Penn is most definitely not a reach. You would probably be accepted at Princeton, Harvard, etc. so I hope you considered these schools. And don't always listen to your college counselor, ours told my friend not to waste his money applying to Dartmouth and he was accepted.</p>

<p>Your grades and gymnastics make you an excellent candidate already but that combined with your URM status means that top colleges will be fighting over you.</p>

11

<p>can't you also get recruited for the gymanstics program?
not sure if penn even has one though and how athletic scholarships work -_-</p>

12

<p>Is "a new immigrant from an Asian country where English is not a native language" considered URM status?</p>

13

<p>I agree with addy; you do sound like you're a reach for Princeton/Harvard</p>

<p>I'm thinking you'd probably get in ED to Wharton, but then you'd never know if Harvard/Princeton would accept you. Tough choice =[</p>

14

<p>^Believe it or not, Princeton and Harvard aren't everyone's first choices.</p>

15

<p>wharton is just as hard - if not harder - to get into as harvard/princeton, judging by acceptance rates. apply where you think you will be the most happy.</p>

<p>i do think you have interesting ec's, and, if you apply early, you have a decent chance.</p>

16

<p>I didn't say he was a reach for schools such as Princeton and Harvard, nor that he should attend there over Penn. But as he has apprehensions about the pre-professionalism there and is only considering Penn from all the other ivy leagues and top LACs I'm wondering why he won't even be applying to schools like Princeton, Stanford, Yale, etc. when he is CLEARLY A MATCH. </p>

<p>Especially at Stanford, which recruits for gymnastics, has lower standards for athletes (not that it's even needed in this case), and whose new director of admissions really wants to increase diversity.</p>

<p>Eloquence- why do you think he's a reach for Princeton/Harvard?</p>

17

<p>^Wharton is not "just as hard or harder" than HYP. However...once you dip below 10% acceptance rate (HYP, Columbia College, Wharton), the crapshoot factor does kick in major.</p>

18

<p>Addy: You are completely right about Stanford. The gymnastics coach contacted me and I sent in a transcript and my SAT scores. I am sending a video of my routines in July. </p>

<p>Yet...I am not really sure if I do want to go to Stanford. Gymnastics has taken a toll on my body and I don't know if I want to keep competing. Furthermore, I REALLY REALLY want to live on the east coast for a while. </p>

<p>I can't apply ED to PENN because I am going to see if I can get some merit scholarships at other schools.</p>

<p>Right now I'm looking at: Penn (top choice), Stanford, Boston College, Boston University, Pepperdine, Haverford.</p>

<p>I hadn't really considered Princeton/Harvard, because it seemed wasteful to spend $70 on schools that are so selective. My best friend was accepted to Harvard, though, (meanwhile waitlisted at Boston College, Columbia, Brown...???) and I LOVE Boston more than I can articulate on a message board.</p>

<p>On more thing - I don't feel right about this "URM" thing. Is being Hispanic reall y that much of an advantage? It doesn't seem fair...I'm not underprivileged!</p>

19

<p>Yes it is. There was an article I read in the NYT (I think) a while back on how colleges are actively recruiting minorities more than athletes, and paying for their flight to visit the college, etc. I know how it makes people feel when they are told oh you got in b/c you are black, etc. but just ignore them. You are extremeley competitive w/out your URM status. I have a middle class Hispanic friend at Princeton who felt the same way as you did but his opinion changed after attending college. I don't exactly know why.</p>

<p>If your test scores are high, than I would bet money that you will be accepted at Harvard and Princeton. Has someone at your school told you that you are not qualified or something? Princeton gives the best financial aid out of all the schools you listed (grants not loans) but I don't know if you qualify. I think your commitment and success in gymnastics is an extremely strong ec even if you don't want to be recruited. And it's not like you don't have other interests. It will not be a waste of money- APPLY. </p>

<p>I think you need to figure out what you want in a school and do some more research on Yale, Princenton, Brown, Columbia, Amherst, etc. For example, if lack of pre-professionalism and an open curriculum is really important to you than I would say Brown is your best bet. After looking at all these schools, Penn could still end up being your top choice, just make sure you consider all options.</p>

<p>If you don't like Stanford (and since you're a sure in there anyway) and you don't want to do ED you should consider applying EA to Yale.</p>

20

<p>Wow, thanks. I wouldn't apply to Yale. I took a tour of the college and the surrounding area of New Haven just really creeped me out. I can't explain it. Maybe I will consider Princeton if it has good financial aid.</p>

<p>But anyway, even if a miracle did occur and I got into all of the schools I applied to - I'd probably pick Penn. I'm not adverse to a professional-oriented undergraduate schedule, I just thrive on the humanities. Hey, give me MANGMT 101 and PHILSPHY101 and I'll be set.</p>