How much will my UW GPA and Class Rank hurt me for Penn 2022?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
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Some background: I’m currently a junior in IB who has a 3.84/4.00 UW and a 4.52/5.00 W GPA, which is barely about top 5% of my class of ~560. My course rigor is at the highest level possible in my school. I’m unhooked (no legacy, URM, athlete, etc.)

Also, let’s assume I have considerably respectable EC’s and essays, and my ACT (which I’ll be retaking soon) is [hopefully] projected to be just slightly above the middle 50%, so 34-ish (That’s what I’m aiming for, I think I’ll get it. But no guarantees).

Anyways, I’d like to apply to Penn (Wharton) ED, where the average UW GPA is around ~3.9+ (I think 3.93, to be exact). How much will having a slightly lower GPA and class rank than the average (since most kids are top 1-2%) hurt me? I know my application won’t be thrown in the trash bin or anything, but is my chance hurt significantly looking alone at my GPA stats? Will I be a competitive candidate with these given stats? (I know Wharton is slightly more competitive than Nursing/SEAS/CAS). I at least want to have a good, fighting chance versus the other highly qualified applicants. Do you guys think it’s worth using my one ED single choice school as Penn? (I know they changed their policy on ED…)

Thanks! :slight_smile:

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Wharton is not a guarantee for anyone no matter how stellar your recs are. Penn looks holistically so if you have a lower gpa ideally you make up for it somewhere else in your application. Wharton students by and large are very outgoing and driven. Make that known in your essay. Also, your test scores and gpa are only a part of your application, without ECs it is impossible to make any claim about your chances. I know kids who got a 27-36 on their ACT and GPAs ranging from 3.5-4.0 uw.