How am I Doing for Wharton?

Colleges & Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
1

<p>I'm assuming I'll apply ED to Wharton.
I'm currently a rising junior at a public high school ranked 3rd in the nation. </p>

<p>Took the SAT I this June, got a 2230, (780 Writing, 11 Essay, 730 CR, 720 Math)</p>

<p>Sophomore Year Course load:
AP Calc BC (5), AP World History (5), AP Biology (5), Engineering Concepts, Nanotechnology and Materials Science, Chinese 2, Honors Word Lit</p>

<p>Expected Junior Year Course Load:
AP Physics E&M, APUSH, AP Gov, AP Stat, Georgia Tech Calculus II and III (Math 1502 and Math 2401), Chinese 3</p>

<p>Expected Senior Year Course Load:
AP Macro + Micro, AP Lang (Or maybe Lit), AP Chem, Differential Equations + Number Theory, Chinese 4</p>

<p>So far my U/W GPA: 3.99/4.0, my school doesn't rank, but I'm in the top 15 out of a class of 210. My average is a 95.4% so far, and it's been rising every semester.</p>

<p>I've just completed a five week long internship at Emory's Dept. of Chemistry, where I researched 45 hours a week under a graduate student studying Quantum Dot kinetics using a femtosecond laser, and other spectroscopic techniques. I wrote a research paper on the main study I did at Emory, and have made an Emory research poster. I'm sure if I do an interview, the adcom will be very impressed by what I did there.</p>

<p>ECs:</p>

<p>I'm in NHS, and have about 70 volunteer hours so far, most from being an assistant teacher at a language school. I'll probably end up with about 300 hrs</p>

<p>I'm planning on co-founding an FBLA chapter at my school</p>

<p>I'm involved in Science Olympiad, and will probably go to nationals next year, and have gotten many awards through it (so far only in invitationals and regionals)</p>

<p>Was first in State at the TSA's High School TEAMS competition (9th-10th division) </p>

<p>I'm South Asian, and my family's income disqualifies me for any need based aid. I will be paying for at least half of tuition/other costs for college though. How likely is it that I would get any merit aid at Wharton/UPenn, if I apply ED?</p>

<p>Also, please let me know where I can improve! Wharton's my dream school, but I'm also looking at Stern and Goizueta, as well as Duke.</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

2

<p>HalfandHalf,</p>

<p>You are a strong applicant. Remember that your stats put you in a relatively small group of high applicants (Even by the standards of the Penn pool) and it will ultimately come down to how creatively you present yourself to adcoms (e.g. you mention you are South Asian-That makes it a bit more challenging in terms of elite college admissions, so you must use your essay to present yourself in a creative, non-stereotypical way).</p>

<p>Have you considered Penn CAS? It is a strong school and you can take courses at Wharton if you’d like. Wharton is tougher to crack, but you’d need a higher SAT and intangibles must work well. But you are a strong applicant, indeed.</p>

<p>Best for the admissions process!</p>

3

<p>You should really up that SAT score in to 2300+ range if you want to have a comfortable chance (I assume math section will be easy to pull up for you). Otherwise, the EC’s and stuff look fine–just make sure to follow through with that FBLA founding. Penn doesn’t give merit aid of any sort, so hopefully that won’t be an issue. Good luck!</p>

4

<p>I’m pretty sure I should be able to pull up to a 2300, I still have two years left… Does Penn/Wharton superscore?</p>

<p>Julian, what intangibles do I need to work on?</p>

<p>I’m going to do my best to start FBLA, and am also considering attending a Youth About Business Camp at Emory, and if my team does well enough, we will move on to a nationals competition at Columbia. </p>

<p>I’ll also be trying to go to Wharton LBW, and I’ll apply to the M&TSI as well. I’ve heard that LBW is very competitive, but how competitive is M&TSI, and what are my chances into getting in both? For M&TSI, I was thinking that my Emory internship would be very beneficial. </p>

<p>Thanks again guys!</p>

5

<p>Have you gotten officially published with the Emory internship paper and do you have any leadership in your school clubs?</p>

<p>Work on the FBLA club, and also try to cultivate great recs that support your ECs. The only problem I might see is that your ECs are more spread out (with science and research) rather than depth in business. I would recommend working on your business ECs more this year and bringing that SAT score up to 2300+. Also try to improve your ranking if you can, to ensure that you’re in the top 5%, which you are pretty close to (especially if your school sends out rankings). Definitely apply ED if you are set on it and good luck!</p>

6

<p>You are on track. I would say that to improve your chances of admission, improve your GPA and make sure you are in the top 5% of your class. Continue to work hard and with passion in the ECs you enjoy. Junior year is crucial more so for your ECs than your grades. Do amazing stuff extracurricularly. Then get 2300+ with 750+ on Math and write passionate essays. Would you guys mind helping me out with this thread? <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-pennsylvania/1530114-should-i-apply-wharton-cas-ed.html#post16183198[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-pennsylvania/1530114-should-i-apply-wharton-cas-ed.html#post16183198&lt;/a&gt; I appreciate it, I need some feedback for the fall. Thanks.</p>

7

<p>So if I apply ED to Wharton, how much would that really affect the need based aid they give me?</p>

8

<p>^It doesn’t. I have no idea how that myth got started. Anyway, if it turns out you don’t like the aid they give you, you’re allowed to opt out of ED even if you get in.</p>

9

<p>You are definitely on the right track, but I really wouldn’t sweat it too much at this point. I confidently thought I had my college choices all figured out my sophomore summer too, but you’ll be pretty surprised how quickly and unexpectedly it changes. (Looking back, I never would have ever guessed my current ED/EA plans). You still have all junior year to get that SAT up even higher (although it is in a pretty good spot right now anyway), so I would just worry about that and subject tests for now. Good luck!</p>