<p>I am applying ED to Penn, but I'm still deciding between Wharton and CAS. </p>
<p>The Wharton admission rates just look crazy to me: ~9% ED?! That's the lowest in the country. So my question is, with Wharton's low rate and self-selectivity, do you think it is harder to get into early than HYP or just below them/just above the other Ivies? </p>
<p>If so, I may use my ED elsewhere, as I like Dartmouth and Duke also and they are much less selective. I don't want to lose out on an Ivy in the early round because I reached too high, and then end up at my state school since RD is too competitive for the Ivies.</p>
<p>@T26E4 Penn as a whole is, Wharton or CAS. But although it sounds nice to “follow my love” I’d rather get in to another school I like, like duke or Dartmouth, than to be stuck at my state school. What I’m saying is I think I have a good chance Ed at duke/Dartmouth but probably wont get in RD. So even though Wharton is my first choice, if it’s HYP level to get into I’d rather apply to another school I like to have a chance there.</p>
<p>Wharton ED is definitely easier than HYP. Large majority of the students in Wharton now applied ED. Basically, if you think you’re borderline, ED is your only realistic chance. If I were to estimate, I’d say Wharton ED is similar, perhaps marginally easier than Dartmouth/Duke RD but that’s just speculation. Like others have said, if you really want to go there then apply as first choice, but I understand that if you don’t have much of a preference you want to optimize your ED. In your decision-making though, you can comfortably assume it’s not as tough as HYP, and that they look for slightly different things.</p>
<p>Ok that makes me feel better. I have high scores 2350+ but my class rank isn’t amazing, it’s 7/220 and usually only the top 5 at my school go Ivy (but no one applies to Penn ED). Is my class rank too low for Wharton for an unhooked kid?</p>
<p>From what I’ve researched, the general consensus here on CC is that the Wharton ED acceptance rate is ~11% and ~7% RD. These are just CCers’ estimations though. </p>
<p>Although this may change, I am in the same situation as you, and have decided that I’d rather take the 20%+ ED acceptance rate at schools like Dartmouth and Duke; therefor, I will be applying RD to Wharton as its ED/RD discrepancy isn’t tempting enough to me. But like I said, this may change once I visit those schools. </p>
<p>Also, correct me if I’m wrong, but I feel like Wharton is like Harvard in that it doesn’t care about your level of interest because its yield rate must be outstanding regardless. This logic is what’s also leading me away from applying ED as I feel like the increased percentage ED is just because of more qualified applicants (and maybe even a less drastic # applicants : available space ratio), rather than Wharton trying to protect its yield.</p>
<p>I think Penn’s tendency to show preference towards ED applicants is because Penn really wants kids that are passionate about the school, not just to protect its yield stats.</p>
<p>^ Indeed. Penn accepts slightly less than 50% of its class through ED, but still maintains an ED acceptance rate of only 25%. Further, even with one of the largest freshman class sizes in the Ivy League, the 47-48% of the class that Penn accepts through ED is quite close to the percentage of the freshman class accepted through ED at Columbia and Dartmouth, and through EA at Harvard, Yale, and Princeton.</p>
<p>And even with a sub-10% RD acceptance rate, Penn’s RD yield is close to 50%, which compares favorably to most of its peers.</p>
<p>And Wharton’s admissions yield is higher than the yield at all of Penn’s peers except Harvard.</p>
<p>@45 Percenter , what are your thoughts on Wharton’s ED selectivity compared to HYP EA? Do you think Wharton ED is just as hard to crack as Duke/Dartmouth ED, or harder? </p>
<p>Also, as an unhooked Wharton applicant, do I have to be in the top 1-2% of my class? Is top 4-5% OK?</p>
<p>^ In terms of acceptance rate, alone, I would bet that Wharton is fairly comparable to HYP EA in selectivity. If I’m remembering correctly, Princeton’s EA acceptance rate was slightly over 20% last year, and Harvard’s was slightly under. I think Yale’s was closer to 15%. Although Penn’s overall ED acceptance rate is 25%, I think that most people would agree that Wharton’s rate is probably less than that. How much less is speculative, although poster kafkareborn did some pretty impressive analysis with the publicly available data a couple of years ago (do a search for the threads he started and you should be able to find it), including some spreadsheets to which he linked showing his calculations.</p>
<p>In terms of Duke/Dartmouth ED, I suspect that Wharton ED would be a bit more selective, whereas ED selectivity for Penn’s College would be comparable to those two schools.</p>
<p>But I agree with T26E4 (I usually do) that you’re approaching ED with the wrong attitude, trying to use it to maximize your generic chances in general, rather than to take your best shot at the school that you know is your #1 choice (assuming that there is one). The ED/EA selectivity of these schools is so close, and admissions are such a crap-shoot at this level even in ED/EA, that you really should just choose the school that is your clear #1 choice, and apply there. And let the ED/EA chips fall where they may. At least that’s my advice, for what it’s worth.</p>
<p>^ That really depends on your school and the degree of difficulty of your particular courses. You can’t just make a generalization about class rank in a vacuum, and how Penn or any other top school will react to it. For example, if you go to a very competitive school with an excellent academic reputation, and you’ve challenged yourself with the most advanced courses you could, even top 10% could be sufficient to be accepted. On the other hand, if you go to a school that’s not very well known to the Admissions Office (i.e., not a lot of kids from your school apply or go to Penn or other top schools), or you haven’t taken a very rigorous schedule, even top 1% might not be sufficient.</p>
<p>The bottom line is that it’s a holistic process, and all you can do is give it your best shot, work hard on your essays, and see what happens. Beyond that, don’t obsess over top 1% vs. top 3%, or 2200 SATs vs. 2300, etc. Believe me, once you’re within a fairly broad range (e.g., the middle 50% of accepted SATs), the Admissions Offices at the top schools don’t obsess over those stats. :)</p>