Important Questions: Wharton vs U Penn CAS (and please chance if possible)

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
1

<p>I'm a rising high school Senior (ASIAN) and was wondering if a Wharton degree is more marketable than a regular CAS degree in Economics, for example.</p>

<p>I would appreciate honest feedback. I want to go into finance/economics and work on Wall Street; getting into a good grad school alter is also a top priority</p>

<p>MY STATS:</p>

<p>I'm in the top 1 percentile of a 800 member class in a competitive NJ public high school. I will have taken 9-11 aps by the end of senior year, and have taken 5 ap exams this year, and gotten 5's.</p>

<p>SATS-2340 single, 2360 superscored</p>

<p>SAT 2s: Literature: 750, Math 2: 770, US History: 780</p>

<p>ECS: I am very interested in politics, finance, and business.</p>

<p>President of Model United Nations: Junior Year
President of Model Congress: Junior Year
President of Ping Pong: 9-12
Founder and co-President of Finance Club: 11-12</p>

<p>Involved in FBLA (regional Top 10 in the district competition)</p>

<p>Won several prizes at numerous debating contests, such as Pennsylvania Model UN, Rutgers Model UN, Philadelphia Model UN, etc, all of which feature students from all over the nation (or at least from an entire region)</p>

<p>Intensely involved in Indian Classical Music and won awards at local competitions and the Cleveland Aradhana, a national-level contest with various singing categories.</p>

<p>I am passionate about finance and have the following jobs/internships:</p>

<p>Internship at the township Business Board</p>

<p>Internship with a non-profit trade organization (HMN)-Will have my finance research published in their international journal</p>

<p>Worked as a tutor at local KUMON</p>

<p>I am looking at U Penn (CAS or Wharton-which would be better?), Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Georgetown, U Chicago, Duke, Dartmouth, Cornell, Columbia, NYU. </p>

<p>Rec's should be good/great. My essays will be unique and hopefully creative.</p>

<p>Can you apply to Wharton ED and then later, if rejected, apply to CAS RD?</p>

<p>I don't know what it takes to get in nowadays for an Asian applicant-everyone is so damn impressive with national and international qualifications-but what are my chances and how could I improve them?</p>

<p>What can I do (if anything) at this point to accentuate my app? Where should I apply Early D/ Early Action?</p>

<p>Thanks a lot for any help.</p>

2

<p>Your stats and stuff are great but ecs and work experience are a bit standard for a school like Wharton. You should see if you want to do Econ or finance. Econ is cas and finance is Wharton. You can take classes across colleges though. Look at nyu, Cornell, Columbia, etc and see which you like.</p>

3

<p>Cas does have notably higher GPA on average too so that’s something to consider for grad school admissions. I’d apply cas and then take classes across schools. It’s easier to get into as well.</p>

4

<p>If you like politics too cas would be better.</p>

5

<p>Your academics are solid, EC’s are also pretty good, but you’ll have to make your passion show with those. Overall, write some really good essays, and then hope for the best.</p>

<p>If you really want Wall Street, apply ED to Wharton, but also keep in mind that CAS kids have the same opportunities for applying to those jobs Wharton kids go after (albeit fewer CAS kids probably get the jobs), so CAS can still work.</p>

6

<p>@OP: What’s key to note is that if you apply Wharton ED and you are REJECTED, you CANNOT apply to CAS or any other school in Penn RD. It’s ED or RD, not both!</p>

7

<p>Guys, first of all thank you so much for the advice and help. It helps to see someone human give advice about the college process…it gets pretty overwhelming when you see some of the achievements some of these applicants have…</p>

<p>@Wikiman-If I take Penn CAS and then take Wharton courses (A lot), would that “make up” in a way? I’m not sure if the market views a CAS degree like Wharton</p>

<p>@Hardworking21-If I applied to CAS early, and got rejected, could I still apply to CAS regular? BTW I thought in some colleges, you’re never rejected, only accepted or deferred during ED…please correct me if I’m wrong</p>

<p>The Econ/Finance debate is just frustrating. See, I thought that either one would lead to good chances/opportunities in the finance industry (and Wall Street). I just feel like Wharton Asian applicants are absolutely ridiculous, and that I would “Waste” a potential U Penn CAS opportunity if I ED’d Wharton and got rejected.</p>

<p>Last thing-Are my ECs sufficient/competitive for Wharton caliber? I thought a national level music contest, and publication in an international journal would be enough, but could anyone clarify if these are enough/insufficient? Once again, thanks so much</p>

8

<p>You don’t look an applicant that would get straight out rejected ED to Wharton. Find a way to set yourself apart in your essays, and you’d be a strong applicant. </p>

<p>

</p>

<p>From reading a lot the last few weeks in M&I, WSO, and the IBanking thread on CC, while you will have the same opportunities as the Wharton kids, kids from Wharton are extremely strong and have top placement: think about who you’ll be competing against. </p>

<p>Also, transferring from CAS to Wharton once you’re in is supposedly very difficult but not as difficult as an external transfer. </p>

<p>And, while Wharton is arguably the best target (definitely in tier 0), there are other colleges that are top targets as well that you should consider. </p>

<p>

</p>

<p>No, once you’re rejected, you’re done. And no, it’s possible to be rejected ED. </p>

<p>

</p>

<p>I don’t believe it’s a question of whether they’re sufficient, rather how well you’d fit into Wharton’s community. </p>

<p>I’d recommend applying ED to Wharton. Good luck!</p>

9

<p>Trust me, Penn students are people too. It’s very competitive to get into Wharton, or CAS for that matter but you shouldn’t feel like you won’t get in just because you haven’t won an international competition or something. Yes some people probably do that, but it’s also about your potential in addition to what you have already done. I really think the amount this forum stresses “unique” extracurriculars is a little ridiculous. Honestly in my experience it can be underwhelming meeting many of these kids with mile long resumes. Many times they are not nearly as impressive in person as on paper. I think it’s better to do what you are passionate about than to be worried about doing things for your resume. If you just do what you want, success will eventually come and that is much more real.
I am a science major, but from my observations of friends, I can tell you that Wharton classes are a lot more applied that what you would take for an econ major. It depends on what you like. In addition to that being in the college may be good if you are interested in a wide variety of fields (although I definitely know Wharton students who have many other academic interests).
You cannot reapply to Penn if you are rejected ED.</p>

10

<p>You have a very strong record of accomplishment, and I think you will be competitive at just about any school in the country. Definitely don’t be afraid to ED to Wharton. But I encourage you to consider other factors than just post-graduation job prospects, because any top school will provide you with those. Cornell gets a lot of snow. Penn is in west Philadelphia. Yale is in New Haven. Caltech has a graduating class of 200; Cornell has a graduating class of 3,000. Schools like Duke and Georgetown will tend to be more passionate about sports than ivies. I think all of these factors are significant. I have friends who have turned down Harvard for Duke and Princeton for UChicago, even though “common knowledge” says that you should go to the “more prestigious” school. Best of luck, whatever you decide.</p>

11

<p>Ok thanks a lot for the help guys…</p>

<p>I was debating where to apply ED (I’m gonna apply ED to one school just to hopefully get some peace of mind and boost my chances at a top school). I was considering Yale, since I thought my music would fit into Yale’s drama/arts mindset. Harvard and Princeton are sports-oriented, and I don’t really believe I’d be among the top 100 Asian kids in the nation.</p>

<p>Also, if you get accpeted ED to Wharton/Penn and you tell them that their financial aid package does not suffice, you can technically back out of ED, right?</p>

<p>@WongTong-Thanks for the help. Even if I do get waitlisted at Wharton, I suppose I can improve my chances later. I’m targeting the ivies, U Chicago, and Duke, but I know that Harvard, U Penn, Princeton, and Yale have the best economics/humanities courses, so where would you suggest I apply ED or EA (if I don’t choose Wharton)?</p>

12

<p>@powerfuldog: It’s not THAT simple. You cannot just say “Not enough money for me, so sorry, bye!”. I’m sure there is some sort of process.</p>

13

<p>You can’t back out of Ed.</p>

14

<p>That’s not correct. If you are unable to afford Penn even after you have appealed your financial aid, admissions will release you and you can go on to apply to other schools. This is the only time you can back out of ED because Penn wants to encourage people to apply early even if they need a lot of financial aid. Columbia also does this. However, releasing someone from ED looks very bad for the school so they will do everything they can to help you attend, according to them it is very rare this happens.</p>

15

<p>Thanks Poeme!</p>

<p>Last thing: Given that I’m an Asian male, will my 770 sat math 2 score screw me over for Wharton? I’m considering retaking, but many people on CC say that it’s simply not worth it. Suggestions?</p>

16

<p>It really isn’t worth it. Even if you did have everything completely done and had nothing else to do, it still wouldn’t be worth it. I can understand where you’re coming: you’re probably capable of getting an 800 an feel it should be an 800 rather than a 770, but in the eyes of Wharton, it doesn’t matter because both 770 and 800 are excellent scores that show strong understanding of the material. A 770 is fine. Spend your time on essays, recs and such. </p>

<p>I’m also an Indian male, so I can see where you’re coming from, and I would have probably been tempted to retake, but it really just does not matter. Wharton isn’t going to reject you on a 30 point difference. Your scores should fall within a range, not on a certain number, and yours certainly fall within the competitive range. </p>

<p>Sent from my iPhone 4 using CC app</p>

17

<p>Given my background and stats, would it best to apply ED or EA to Princeton, Yale, U Penn, or Wharton? In other words, which school would most appreciate an academically decent (but no state/national awards like IMO or USAMO) student with arts (music interest) and awards in music and debate?</p>