Is this the program for me?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
1

<p>hi there. i’d like to know my chances for the vagelos program and wharton (if i don’t get into vagelos).</p>

<p>GPA: 3.9 unweighted, 4.7 weighted
courseload: most rigorous possible; 10 AP’s and dual enrollment classes
Rank: none ;-)</p>

<p>SAT: 2260
ACT: 35
SAT II: 800, 800, 770
AP: 5’s on 8 exams, 4’s on 2 others</p>

<p>recognitions: national ap scholar, national olympiad semifinalist, forensics awards, columbia science honors program, AIME qualifier, merck science day scholar, nominated by my school for both a science-related governor’s school and a lesser-known humanities program and got into both, local community service recognition</p>

<p>activities: forensics, JSA, NHS, ACLU, environmental club, model congress, french club, worked as a private tutor</p>

<p>leadership:
senior year - pres of 4 clubs, vp of 1, secretary of 2 (officer in every club)
junior year - pres of 2, vp of 2, publicist of 1, founder of 1
sophomore year - pres of 1, founder of 1 (not the same one)</p>

<p>summers: state governor’s school program, college course in environmental management, four acceleration courses over the past three years to skip ahead in math and science</p>

<p>basically i want to combine my backgrounds and experiences in biology, public policy, and leadership for the vagelos program in life science and management (probably the life science track). it’s actually what made me want to apply to penn in the first place, as the program seems to fit my interests and goals so well. if i don’t get into vagelos then i’ll ask to be considered for the wharton school of business. i’ve heard they look very favorably upon leadership and initiative outside the classroom (as in moreso than other schools). how true is that and how would i compare in that respect? anyway, at wharton i would plan to major in environmental policy and management.</p>

<p>i know getting into penn (especically vagelos and wharton!) isn’t an exact science and nobody can predict exactly what my chances are, but i would appreciate some advice or anything else you have to offer anyway.</p>

<p>thanks!</p>

2

<p>cmon guys! bump.</p>

3

<p>why would you be choosing between vagelos and wharton, they're completely different programs? i don't even think you have the option to defer from vagelos to wharton; i think it defaults to the college.</p>

<p>That said you should be qualified for either program, but keep in mind that Vagelos is bar none (M&T included) the toughest program at Penn, with a very high attrition rate, so only pursue it if your very sure that's what you want to do.</p>

4

<p>i always thought huntsman was the more well-known/difficult program to get into?</p>

<p>anyway, the vagelos program is a joint-degree program between the college and wharton. for any joint degree program, if you don't get in, you can choose to be considered for one of the affiliated schools - in my case, the college or wharton, and i'm choosing wharton. yes, i'm' sure of that. it's online, on the app, and i talked to the admissions office about it.</p>

5

<p>I'm sorry, you didn't specify which Vagelos program, there are several. The Life Sciences/Management one to which I think you are referring is very new and I'm not as familiar with it; it used to be just the Molecular Sciences program which is just in the College and is essentially Biochem on steroids. The joint program I don't think is quite as rigorous as the Biochem one, but should still be intense.</p>

<p>M&T is both harder to get into than Huntsman (i think, not absolutely sure) and is categorically more difficult once enrolled in the program. The Vagelos Life Sciences and Management program sounds a bit easier than M&T, but I still don't think either really are at the level of difficulty of the Molecular Vagelos.</p>

6

<p>Actually the new LSM program is our most rigorous joint program offered (between Wharton and another school). The reason that it is not a joint degree program is because it would have automatically necessitated 5 years of study and we did not want to require that of students. </p>

<p>I would not rely on student anecdotes about which programs are harder to get into as they are all very competitive and looking for uniquely different types of students.</p>

7

<p>i personally found fisher M&T and vagelos would be comparable. i would think that an applicant to either would find that he/she could fit into either curriculum. </p>

<p>and isn't LSM the ONLY joint program, m&t is dual degree</p>

8

<p>ooh... there's more than one vagelos? ahh! the life science/management one is the joint program, right? that's what i was referring to. more specifically, the life science track.</p>

9

<p>Yes, the LSM is a joint program, though it is technically NOT a dual degree program; depending on your track, your degree will come from either the college or wharton, but it will note that you had a 'concentration' in the other school. In answer to your initial question though; yes, you seem qualified for the program.</p>