I NEED Wharton!!!!

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
1

<p>Hey guys. </p>

<p>So Im a Junior in high school. </p>

<p>By the end of this year, I'll have 9 APs. Im testing on 7 this year so the two from the past year were both 5s and Im pretty confident that the 7 will be 5s also. </p>

<p>During the summer, I will be taking Calculus for Business and Calc 1 in local community college. A week after Im done with these courses, I will be taking Calc 2 and Physics with calculus (Physics C).</p>

<p>Unfortunately though, my ECs are not very impressive because I started late. I didn't discover my passion for politics and the stock market until sophomore year- in that year, the political committe was my only club. </p>

<p>Now, junior year, Im still in the political committee, im class president, SGA, and Fellowship of Christian Athletes. </p>

<p>But I know how lame those ECs sound. I know they don't sound impressive. Especially when freshmen year ECs were none, and Sophomore year only 1 club.</p>

<p>I also volunteer at Regional Chamber of Commerce and participate several times a year in the Stock Market Challenge in which I always make an average of 40% gains in about 3 months. </p>

<p>Thing is:</p>

<p>I know my ECs don't sound impressive. And the only thing that may sound good is the Stock Market Challenge, but unfortunately there isn't an official award or title for that that I can list in my app. </p>

<p>Furthermore, I can join the Young Republicans only when Im 18, and that'd be my Senior year and not now.</p>

<p>So how do I show my deep passion for both finance and politics? I really, really love both but I know I discovered them late so what should I do?</p>

<p>Anything recommendable????</p>

<p>Thank you so much!</p>

2

<p>find some other stuff you like. get involved in it. don't let a few difficulties prevent you from performing well</p>

3

<p>..but does wharton need you? OHHHH.. haha jk.</p>

4

<p>Question:</p>

<p>For the stock market challenge, do you randomly pick stocks or do you perform analysis?</p>

<p>The latter is what sets great investors apart from people who just get lucky. </p>

<p>Also, is the Challenge an official event? Are there prizes?</p>

<p>If there are, I think it would be a great EC to list on a Wharton app.</p>

5

<p>I hate to say this and I wish it wasn't so, but Young Republicans and FCA are not exactly the admissions office favorite EC's. They won't automatically disqualify you but I'm not sure that they'll be a big boost at a liberal Ivy, either (even Wall St., where a lot of Wharton people end up, leans Democrat). Wharton doesn't run its own admission office, there's only 1 for the whole U and in general I think the adcoms lean more toward Eastern PC abortion loving godless Liberal than God-fearing clean cut heartland Republican, so I'm not sure I'd play up these connections too much. I think it's a pretty safe bet that there are a lot more Hillary and Obama supporters than Bush/Cheney supporters in that office.</p>

<p>For that matter, once you get to Penn, I think you'll find that your religion and politics are also out of the mainstream - you won't be alone by any means but you sure won't be in the majority either. Have you considered whether you would be comfortable in an environment where Christian faith is not only not taken for granted (not even put up a Christmas tree and go to church on Easter type faith, no less a serious commitment) but actively rejected by perhaps 50% or more of the student body and faculty (e.g. the Jews and many of the Asians). And mentioning your support for President Bush and the Iraq war in any class will likely get you hoots of derision.</p>

<p>You haven't said anything about your grades and SATs and don't count your APs before they are hatched (not that AP's carry that much weight compared to GPA and SATs).</p>

6

<p>To Faelivrin:</p>

<p>Of course you don't randomly pick stocks! You can't make that much money just by randomly picking anything. Those kinda of gains are only achieve through very active trading. </p>

<p>Unfortunately, it's not an "official" event so that I can't just name it or anything in my app. as an award. I can name that I am involved it in but nothing more. =(</p>

<p>To Percy Skivins:</p>

<p>Omg, are you serious?!?! I had no idea. I thought that since Wharton was one of the best business schools and everything, it'd have a bunch of wealthy, ambitious people who strongly dislike the Democratic Party's lean towards more regulation in the economy. :( I thought my political affiliation would be a plus for Wharton. =(</p>

<p>Mmm... do you really think the adcoms would be so biased? Mmm... This has really worried me. Yah, I definetely wouldn't be as comfortable but Wharton is the best of the best for finance and that's what I need. I considered Hillsdale College cause it was ranked "Most Conservative" (lol) by Newsweek I think but I really wouldnt like a small college. I am also not crazy about Philly but all this is for the Business program at Wharton. I know it'll get me places. Right now, I am very poor. </p>

<p>The reason why I didn't mention SAT and GPA is because I have yet to take my SATs and because Academics is the least of my worries. Not that I am cocky or anything, but that I know I will do great in those. My GPA Unweight is 3.8 so far and weighted is more than 4.5. I get straight As in everything beginning sophomore year. </p>

<p>And I took a practice SAT (it was administered just like it, all those hours and everything) when I had only completed Alg. 1 and scored somewhere in the 600s. I know that sucks but I have had so much preparation since then, Im sure that when I take the SATs for real, it will be great. All that worries me is the ECs. :(</p>

7

<p>Penn is a very liberal school. Actually, you will find that 95% of schools north of Virginia will be liberal. You can still get in to any college of you have the capability, your political opinions won't make it that much harder. The adcoms wont reject you because of the fact your conservative</p>

<p>I don't know if you are looking for a college environment where most of the student body will be conservative or not. If you don't mind being hassled for your opinions every so often, then you would probably be fine at UPenn. But you should really think about the type of college environment you want. I personally am very liberal, but i would much prefer to go into a politically balanced school than a liberal school. It's all the type of stuff that goes into what college you choose.</p>

<p>If you are looking for a more conservative-friendly college experience, you should look into UVA, Duke, and UNC. You could also look at Northwestern, but it tends to lean a little to the left.</p>

<p>Your ECs are a little worrysome... but you still have a chance to get in if you go to a school that sends many kids to top colleges. If not, you definitely should go out for some sports team or something along those lines.</p>

8

<p>Right now, your application gives off the WASP-y, upstanding-citizen vibe, not the intellectually quirky vibe that is popular with admissions officers these days. But hey, if you carry yourself well, I'm sure that you have a shot.</p>

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<p>"so I'm not sure I'd play up these connections too much. I think it's a pretty safe bet that there are a lot more Hillary and Obama supporters than Bush/Cheney supporters in that office."</p>

<p>I disagree. Regardless of admissions officers across the world, you MUST show your true self, and a passion in just about anything is more attractive than mere passable interest in something adcoms would favor.</p>

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<p><<wasp-y, upstanding-citizen="" vibe="">>></wasp-y,></p>

<p>I sound like a WASP? lol that's funny cause Im actually:</p>

<p>Really Poor, Hispanic, Catholic. :)</p>

<p>Yah, I was thinking if I showed a passion they would be able to look into it. But now Im so worried.</p>

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<p>40% gain every 3 months?? how long have you been trading with that ROE??</p>

<p>sorry to be skeptical, but if you can maintain that rate until you apply to college, you won't need to get any awards...just listing that is impressive enough. and you probably wont have to pay for college either, if you use real money.</p>

12

<p>Hmmm...Like you, I'm hispanic, christian, conservative. Main differences are that I wouldn't join a Republican club (because - much to the anguish of my parents - I'm a Democrat). Unfortunately my parents are high income. But not astronomically so. Enough so I can qualify for $0 financial aid - but not enough in the sense that my parents are going to be in a big financial headache trying to pay for college and a high mortgage. :(</p>

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<p>they shouldn't have bought that mtv cribs style house then :P</p>

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<p>don't sweat the political activities. political leaning won't get you any boost, but come on, wharton's conservative. penn is liberal, but wharton's like a diamond in the rough.</p>

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<p>I wouldn't sweat them but I wouldn't make them the subject of my essays either. "Dick Cheney and Jesus Christ - the two men with whom I would most love to go hunting for small game " would not go over as well with the admissions office as "Barack Obama is my role model in life". Wharton may be somewhat conservative (not as conservative as you might think) but the admissions office is a very mainstream Ivy crowd and a mainstream Ivy crowd leans PC liberal. They would tell you that they don't discriminate based on politics and religion and they probably even believe that they don't but at some level they have an unconscious preference for people "like us" as all humans do.</p>

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<p>does anyone have any ideas for this kid?</p>

<p>i'm in exactly the same position as Met's. I too have an abnormal love for the market, have read dozens of books, and so far am up 50% this year =]! (but with real money, not playmoney.) By the way, 40% / 3 months is ridiculous and i too am very skeptical of that amount.</p>

<p>does anyone have any idea of how i could portray this in my application?</p>

<p>the only thing i can really think of is just the essay part :|</p>

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<p>You don't NEED business ECs. Just as long as you can show you're passionate about the industry through your essays, its enough. But still, business ECs don't hurt. Just have variety.</p>

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<p>@dfall, met: Try to convince them that you're not exactly like 95% of the kids that come out of wharton each year. It's easy to BS a love for investing - who doesn't want to get rich? Show them that you're genuinely interested in the subjects - HOW you show them that is up to you :-)</p>

19

<p>i really don't think that being a conservative is going to hurt your chances at wharton at all. wall street is conservative leaning (the ones with the most $$ benefit reaganomics+ bush tax cuts), alot of the alumni donors to schools like wharton are bigtime republican supporters. so i don't think it hurts.</p>

<p>but seriously, dude, don't be a republican.
even if it doesn't hurt college wise.... how can you like republicans. especially as a christian. they're evil, man!</p>

<p>repent.</p>