<p>Ok, I know that finishing a dual degree is perfectly possible in four years. But hear me out. There are two possible outcomes for my future:
1) I get into M&T. If this happens, I can probably finish my degree in four years because a lot of requirements are waived. But getting into M&T is unlikely though. Transfering into M&T as a freshman is even more unlikely.
2) I get into SEAS (bachelor of applied science in computer science) as backup for M&T. I didn't pick Wharton as backup because I wanted to hedge my risk of rejection, and because I would've done a computer science dual degree anyway. The plan is to get my foot in the door, then I'll work my a** off freshman year to get the 3.9 GPA required to do a dual degree with Wharton finance. This is the most likely scenario for me.
The problem is, the normal dual degree program has A LOT of course requirements. Like 40 cu's for SEAS BAS + 37 cu's for Wharton = 77 cu's! I know that there is some double counting overlap, but I can't figure out what the overlap is, so I'll assume the worst.
Moreover, I want to participate in a variety of extracurriculars (Delta Sigma Pi, Delta Upsilon, Philomathean society, Penn environmental group), study abroad in France, and have my rising junior and rising senior summers free for Wall Street Bulge Bracket internships. I am planning to take Math 104 in the summer before freshman year and other courses during the rising sophomore summer.
I really don't want to pay for another year of college. My career aspiration is to work at a Bulge Bracket investment bank in the Trading division (hence finance + computer science).
So my question is, is it possible to finish a computer science BAS and Wharton finance dual degree in four years, while participating in all of the activities described above, and while taking a maximum of six courses per term?
Or should I just transfer into Wharton and keep my sanity?
I'm afraid that I won't have enough time to do everything I want to do in college, and I want to know if any Penn students have handled the aforementioned coursework and activities at the same time in four years, or am I too much of an overachiever and need to cut down on something?</p>
<p>M&T does accept freshman transfers, so you could potentially transfer to M&T after your freshman year. However, you say that you haven’t even gotten into Penn yet so I wouldn’t worry about it until you are actually accepted. People seem to think that it a significantly easier to get into SEAS than to get into Wharton but I don’t agree with this. I think that SEAS is at most only slightly easier to get into Wharton just because there is a higher acceptance rate. However, I would say from what I’ve seen at Penn that the kids in SEAS are on average some of the smartest students at Penn. It’s very self selective.</p>
<p>Yeah but transferring into M&T is hard. It’s easier to get into the normal dual degree program. And I know that SEAS isn’t easier to get into. I’m actually interested in computer science.
I’m just wondering, is it possible to have extracurriculars and internships while doing the dual degree (and sleep?)</p>
<p>My point is that you unless you have received a likely letter, which it sounds like you haven’t, its kind of silly to think about getting a dual degree when you haven’t been accepted yet. You’re putting the cart way before the horse.
Also you say it is easier to get into the dual degree program, however from what I know about people transferring into Wharton (I actually did meet a girl who is doing a dual degree with math and finance between Wharton and the college), you need to have a pretty high GPA and very few people are accepted. I don’t think it would be considerably easier to go that route than to transfer into M&T, a lot of people try to transfer into Wharton for a single degree and are unsuccessful.
It is definitely possible to take 6 credits in a semester, I know a lot of kids doing it. However you must be able to manage your time which a lot of freshmen have trouble with.</p>
<p>Yes, it is possible to dual in Wharton and Engineering and still finish in four years (I know several people who have done it), but I do hope you realize that you don’t need to major in finance to go into trading. I’m friends with several people who are starting jobs at the major investment firms with engineering degrees (computer science, chem engineering, BE) as well as College degrees (economics, history, physics, political science and PPE); these people never really took any Wharton courses either. Why kill yourself with work when it’s largely unnecessary!</p>
<p>@Poeme. Actually Penn doesn’t accept M&T transfers any more. If they do, they only accept one or two. So it is significantly more difficult.
@chrisw: I know that a lot of people get into wall street firms without a business degree, but having a Wharton finance degree would still be an advantage. In fact, the majority of wall street guys majored in finance. In this competitive field, I need every advantage I can get.</p>
<ol>
<li>Why don’t you get accepted first?</li>
<li>You can take 6 credits in a semester.</li>
<li>You need to learn something about Penn. It’s ridiculously difficult, regardless of WHAT YOUR MAJOR IS. Computer Science at Penn is no joke, and neither is Wharton. </li>
<li>You need to do some serious research. You’re telling me that you want to study abroad, and yet you’re trying to graduate in 4 years WHILE being in a dual-degree program? Seriously, this sounds more like someone who is just dream-wishing about M&T than someone who’s taken the time to research about the program. Do you even know what studying abroad does to keeping up with credits? Try to look into that first before getting too deep into wishful thinking.</li>
</ol>
<p>I have been thinking about this dual degree as well, but am hesitant because it seems to demand so much time that I won’t be able to do anything outside of class. Do any of you current students know what like the minimum number of C.U.s that are needed to get degrees in Wharton and Engineering. I know without any overlap its like in the 70s, but what about with overlap. I read somewhere that around 30% of Wharton students dual degree, so I still have some hope of being able to do it. I just want some more information about this process, haha.</p>
<p>I can’t remember what the number is off the top of my head. Definitely not in the 70s, much lower than that.</p>
<p>Will it demand time? Yes. Will it demand so much time that you can’t do anything outside of class? That depends entirely on you.</p>
<p>My son did M&T with Wharton as backup. Didn’t work for him early. We’ll see with Regular. He was going to do M&T with SEAS [Systems Eng], but a senior/post-grad engineering student we met with when visiting Penn talked him out of it. He said that Wharton requires above a 3.6 to attempt to double major and the average gpa with SEAS after first year is a 2.9. Going from Wharton to try to double major in SEAS only requires your Wharton gpa to be above a 3.2. Wharton is a lot harder to get into as a freshman than SEAS, so he took his best shot at getting into Wharton now.</p>
<p>Looking at myself as an applicant, I think I have a much better chance of getting into SEAS than Wharton. That’s why I chose SEAS instead of Wharton as backup. My SAT II’s are perfect scores in Physics, Chem, and Math. My AP’s are calculus, physics, chem, computer science, and French. On paper, I would appear more like a SEAS applicant. I don’t mind just staying in SEAS because I have an interest in engineering. And as chrisw said, you don’t need a wharton degree to work on wall street. I figured I had better odds with SEAS than wharton, I didn’t want to get wholly rejected from Penn because I don’t have many other options. The upside is that I still can take Wharton courses and possibly graduate with a wharton degree.</p>
<p>Yes you can finish a dual degree in 4 years without being in M&T. It’s not that bad at all as long as you plan out your schedule properly</p>
<p>A girl who is doing a dual degree with nursing and the college told me that she had to do around 50 credits for an uncoordinated program (Although she also submatriculated in nursing). She is finished her first degree in the four years and is now finishing the two nursing degrees. I assume with engineering and Wharton the number is probably similar since there may be more overlap between the two schools even though there are more required courses for them than the College. Now I know people who take 6, or even 7 courses in a semester which are mostly in the physical sciences, including many graduate level courses. However these people are not involved in fraternities and did not study abroad. If you want to finish in 4 years, you most likely will not be able to do either of these. Even though Delta Upsilon is considered a very chill frat, they still do have pledging which is still going on right now which has been going on since late January (I’m friends with two pledges and know several brothers).</p>
<p>Ok so fraternities and study abroad are out, which I am ok with since I don’t plan on either, especially the study abroad. What about just doing other general extracurricular activities, I am thinking about the Parli debate team and one or two other clubs, no more than 3 probably, is that doable with an uncoordinated dual degree (Wharton and Eng) in 4 years. I know it depends on the person, but a general idea would be nice. </p>
<p>Will we have an opportunity at Penn Previews to talk with an adviser about this kind of stuff?</p>
<p>Do people who get accepted to the dual degree programs automatically get likely letter? I applied for one and did not get one. Does that mean I’m automatically rejected from Vagelos?</p>
<p>Um aren’t you at the University of Waterloo?</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/business-school-mba/1054180-hbs-2-2-chances.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/business-school-mba/1054180-hbs-2-2-chances.html</a></p>