I will be taking the SAT subject test (Math II, Chem) on Nov 7. I dream of attending Wharton, UPenn but I don’t know whether my SAT scores will pull me down… Will getting a good score in ACT help? Will that increase my chances? Do you guys think I can make it?
Your testing scores aren’t the only thing that matters. What are your EC’s? Gpa? Class rank? The average SAT scores for the class of 2019 is 2100-2370. That’s the middle 50%. If you end up getting a better ACT score instead then yes your chances would be better. Have you practiced for the ACT?
What is your GPA? That is important information. The average GPA for UPenn is 3.94. What are your ECs like? The average ACT score for UPenn is between 32 and 35. If you can raise your ACT score, that will really help.
@Chopinspiano @LionKing2398
We don’t have the GPA system because I am a part of the A Level system.
Class Rank: 2 out of 14
IGCSE Grades: 7A*s (above 90% in all) and an A (Hindi as Second Language)
AS Level grades (the 1st part of A-Levels) : 4As (Math, Phy, Chem, Eco - above 90% in all) and a C (English Language)
Predicted Grades: 4A*s - above 90% in all (I dropped English in the second year)
ECs:
a) School Captain - President of student council
b) Chief Editor of monthly school newsletter
c) Student editor of annual school magazine
d) Got my short story published in a book after winning the Young Writer’s Award
e) Frequent student contributor to the weekly national newspaper
f) Junior Black Belt in Taekwondo
g) Silver medalist in swimming
h) Won a nationwide vocabulary quiz contest aired on national television (grade 7)
i) Received distinction from University of New South Wales for International Computer Examinations (grade 7)
Summer Schools/Internships:
a) Internship at a research institute for bio-engineering and nanotechnology for a month as youth researcher (grade 9)
b) Internship at a social enterprise for a month
c) 3 week entrepreneurship course at Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley - selected to be a part of 50 students cohort from across the globe
Volunteer/Charity:
a) Volunteered at a physiotherapy section for senior citizens
b) Organized charity fairs in school
Thanks again!
Bump
@optimistichuman Your A level grades are really good probably top 97th percentile. What would probably hurt you chances is that you’re applying from a very competitive geographical area. I suspect Wharton receives loads of applications from india and china so the acceptance rate tends to be a lot lower for these specific countries.
However, Wharton is 22% international so this might be less of a factor. The only advise I can give you here is to raise your ACT score to a 34-35 and if your SAT score doesn’t change do not submit it. Also do you require financial aid to attend Wharton? Upenn is need aware so requiring any amount of aid could lower your chances of admission.
@Ali1302 I’m an Indian in Singapore. Here everyone takes the Singapore-Cambridge A Levels but I’ve taken the Cambridge International A-Levels. Will that make a positive difference?
I am trying hard for the ACT but because I’ve never taken it I’m a bit scared. Do you have any tips for the prep? And I thought we have to submit all scores. But since I’m taking the ACT in December, I anyways can’t submit it for ED at Wharton. It’ll be helpful for my RD schools. Also, I don’t need Financial aid. That could increase my chances right?
@optimistichuman Llittle difference, since I suspect Singapore isn’t an underrepresented country. I’ve heard of Singapore-Cambridge A levels now that is a tough curriculum similar to international A levels. Anyway, if you get straight As or the equivalent of 3 A* you’d be in the top 2-3% of applicants.
I’ve done well personally on the ACT scoring a 34. My advice is to practice, practice and practice on official exams. Also get a good grammer book for the writing section and good book that covers strategies for reading. Vocab is important too and would definitely help you in the reading section. I’m not going to recommend books but search the forum and see which books seem to work effectively for students. Good luck.
Financial aid could be a major factor for universities. I know this top liberal arts college called Wesleyan that publishes acceptance rates for international based on whether or not they require aid. Out of the 744 students that applied requesting aid only 25 were admitted, that’s a 3.36% admit rate. Now for those not requiring aid 565 students applied and 141 were admitted, that’s a 25% admit rate which is in line with the university mean admit rate. In this case applying for aid to attend a prestigious school like Wesleyan reduces your chances by 21.6%. Now Wesleyan is a rich liberal arts college with a +$800 million endowment and could afford to pay for all internationals but guess what since they’re “need aware” they can choose to be greedy in this case and take mostly full pay internationals.
I suspect Wharton would be just the same as Wesleyan when it comes to aid, it could hurt your chances and be a major factor against you. Since you don’t require aid to attend that could give you an advantage over other international applicants given that you are an overall excellent/outstanding applicant who meets their standards.
@Ali1302 Thanks a lot for all the information! I’m working hard to get 4A*s so that it can boost my chances and offset my bad SAT scores, even if just a bit. Thank you once again!