Odds? And also will Applications decline with the economy?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
1

<p>Thank you so much for your advice.</p>

<p>First off, I know in-state applications to UNC Chapel Hill are expected to skyrocket, do you guys think that Penn apps will drop/admissions rates increase by 2010, with such hard economic times for many? </p>

<p>I am planning for college, and I am wondering my chances for admittance at The Wharton School?</p>

<p>Year: Junior</p>

<p>School: A new public school in North Carolina </p>

<p>GPA: 4.0 Unweighted, 4.5 Weighted (I hope to have a 4.75 by graduation)</p>

<p>Class Rank: 25/280 (Will be in the top ten by graduation)</p>

<p>SAT: 1210/1600 in 7th Grade, 1910/2400 Sophomore year no studying. ( I should have a 2100-2200 after I study for it this year.)</p>

<p>Classes: 8 honors classes 9th-10th, This year APUSH, and AP Enviromental Science. Next year AP Calc AB and AP Calc BC Combination course, and another AP class.</p>

<p>Awards/Achievements </p>

<p>11th Grade DECA Member
11th Grade DECA Chapter President
11th Grade Pop Warner Football Coaching Assistant (300 hours community Service)
11th Grade National Honors Society Member
11th Grade County Youth Leadership Union
11th Grade BETA Club Member
11th Grade FBLA Member</p>

<p>Awards/Achievements
10th Grade DECA Vice President- Public Relations and Promotion
10th Grade National Society of High School Scholars Member
10th Grade International Club Member
10th Grade DECA State First Place Retail Merchandising
10th Grade DECA Gold Standard International Competition
10th Grade FBLA State Fourth Place Business Calculations
10th Grade American Young Ambassadors Program Finalist (Selected to go to Beijing during the Olympics, but program was canceled)
11th Grade 1st Place Retail Merchandising DECA District Competition</p>

<p>I plan to run for DECA State President this year.</p>

<p>I plan to take an intensive Chinese course this year, in China over the summer.</p>

<p>All of the rest:</p>

<p>You can probably tell I messed up my classes especially freshman year, and didn’t double up like I should have, and have realized that mistake now.</p>

<p>I feel that I have some extremely good Teacher Recommendations, as I have demonstrated my leadership capabilities and they have been noticed by many people. </p>

<p>I have a serious dedication for DECA, and plan to show it by running for state president this year. I also have a love for China after spending quite some time their over various summers, and hope to live in Hong Kong someday. This should give you an idea for my essays.</p>

<p>So what do you think are my odds at Wharton?</p>

<p>Thanks again for taking the time to help me out!!!</p>

2

<p>Well, if you are going to talk about the Chinese thing, at least be consistent. You realize they speak Cantonese in Hong Kong and Mandarin throughout the majority of China, right? So you can definitely learn Mandarin and definitely live in Hong Kong later, but learning Mandarin definitely won't help you live there (correct me if you went to a place in China where Cantonese was spoken). It is kind of like me saying that I have spent a lot of time in Chile and want to live in Brazil later (spanish/portuguese). Also, from the sound of it (I'm no admissions officer, but at least from my point of view), an "intense language study during the summer" really will not improve your chinese just because of the nature of languages and especially something like chinese. If you have been studying chinese on your own for a while it's different, but just going there for a couple weeks won't exactly make you fluent. I would study on my own if I were you and perhaps take a chinese SAT test. This would really bring some substance and show that you actually pursue your passion. You should study on your own (for example, pimsleur/rosetta stone. you can get them on torrent sites), then after your time in China over the summer take a Fall sat test. And hey, I think you guys will have score choice by then so if you do crappy on it you don't have to submit it. But it would improve your application a lot (how many non-native speakers learn a language like CHINESE mostly on their own).</p>

3

<p>Yes, the applications to private schools will decrease because fewer families will be able to afford the tuition. Your SATs should be at least 2200 if not higher for Wharton.</p>

4

<p>62n:</p>

<p>I definitely understand that in HK Cantonese is prevalent, but English is as well. I have spent a lot of time all throughout China, so I have seen it all, but HK is just special to me. Mandarin is still much more important for business. I have been taking Mandarin at my school for two years, and will continue to work on it through college, but an intensive program is very helpful for really picking up the details. I didn't think of a Rosetta Stone torrent, I'll definitely have to look into that! Thanks for the suggestions</p>

<p>Also, just curious, where are you at school? Do you have a background with Wharton by any chance?</p>

5

<p>Wayward_trojan:</p>

<p>Working on the SAT score, getting the official book soon. I think I can break a 2200, but do you have any suggestions? Thanks!</p>

6

<p>you need to chill seriously.
this years seniors havent even found out their ED yet and ur thinkign about ur chances?
u still have a whole year.
give it a rest.</p>

7

<p>hey no need to be a jerk. I need opinions on where I can improve, so I HAVE A SHOT when I do apply ED next year.</p>

8

<p>Your rank is somewhat weak. you go to a public school in north carolina. there is no public in north carolina from which 25/280 is a good rank. also I don't think wharton really likes FBLA and DECA that much. in short, you seem like a prototypical wharton reject. odds right now are slim to none, i just dont see anything that suggests an acceptance.</p>

9

<p>choklitrain, that's really harsh.</p>

<p>anyway, fullambition, when you say mandarin is much more important for business...not if you live in HK. if you live in HK, they are going to be speaking cantonese, not mandarin. my dad went to this UBS conference in switzerland that had his counterparts from all over the world, including HK, and the HK guy was learning cantonese.</p>

<p>I mean, if you like mandarin that's great, keep up with it. and while they're really two completely different languages, mandarin will probably help with the cantonese.</p>

<p>anyway, don't ask for chances until you see your winter/spring grades/SATs...who knows what may happen.</p>

10

<p>The most notable thing with your rundown is the extracurricular activities. You're a member of lots of things, but which one of those do you have responsibility?</p>

<p>As far as I can tell, DECA president and coaching your pop warner team are the only ECs that matter, because those are the only ones (that I can tell) where you had any responsibility.</p>

<p>You have a year before you apply; spend that year getting the highest GPA you can get and moving your way UP the ladder in those groups.</p>

<p>If you don't have time to be a general member in some groups because you are too busy being president in others, that's fine.</p>

11

<p>ChoklitRain:</p>

<p>I appreciate your honesty, but I really can't see the facts behind your statements.
"also I don't think Wharton really likes FBLA and DECA that much"- what do you mean by this? What is the reasoning behind this? (not trying to sound antagonistic, just wondering if you have any explanation)
My public school is ranked extremely high in NC, with numerous awards for a new school (which may still not mean much), and I should be in the top ten if not top five by senior year. (Even this is not the best, I know) </p>

<p>Scribbler91:</p>

<p>I know, it's one of my issues. I love HK, but with Cantonese I won't have any fluency. It's one of those things I am going to have to decide after college. When I say that Mandarin is more important for business, I mean in general. The area in which I will be spending the most time in will be in mainland China, but Hong Kong is a good "hub", so to speak. It may sound confusing, but it is hard to understand without knowing my whole background. Anyways Hong Kong University is one of my backup schools as well.</p>

<p>I also plan to possibly have a GPA of 4.8ish, and SAT's in the 2200+ range after studying (Hopefully!)</p>

<p>JML98:</p>

<p>I am not officer in most of the clubs I am involved in because of my dedication to the clubs and things I am. In DECA, i literally work at least until 6:00-7:00 each night and on weekends as well, spending time managing over 200 members along with in school. I am running for President of all of NC DECA this year as well, which is even a larger role. Do you think it is better for me to show I have a passion for a few things or be an officer for all clubs?</p>

<p>THANKS EVERYBODY!!!</p>

12

<p>i saw absolutely nothing in the post that suggested an acceptance. show me sick test scores, legacy, URM....and about FBLA/DECA, you can just look at results threads. a lot of people with business-related EC's get rejected. maybe because it seems like they tried to hard to do EC's that they thought would appeal to adcoms. i honestly think wharton would prefer something like football captain.</p>

13

<p>i'd say bring up the rank...if you can. i mean u have a 4.0 UW, i don't know how that translates into #25.</p>

<p>but yea the SATs definitely need a bump there...even though i'm not a wharton applicant, i'm pretty sure that they like kids who have high math scores...but don't ignore the other 2 parts of course.</p>

<p>other than that, definitely work on those essays!!!! </p>

<p>ivy leagues are no guarantees. so keep working hard and cross ur fingers. i know it's kinda too early for the latter, but still.</p>

14

<p>ChoklitRain:</p>

<p>I know i could have a high SAT score by the end of this year. I placed 1st in state in Retail Merchandising, and also plan to do so again in a different DECA event, and possibly place at the national level (Knock on wood). Also, if I win in DECA State president, that would be a huge commitment, and a ton of hard work. Also, I have seriously worked my tail off as my school's DECA President, and have increased membership almost 3-fold and raised thousands of dollars for muscular dystrophy. Also, I have American and Canadian citizenship, so I may be able to apply as an international student (I know, its a stretch, haha). I have always read that Wharton looks at the big picture, not at just test scores. What do you think would be helpful for me to do?</p>

15

<p>Don't worry about the whole Cantonese and HK situation because most people in HK are fluent in English. I, however, would focus on having Chinese as your second language if you're accepted into Wharton (unless you're already fluent in another language). </p>

<p>PS: I'm also thinking about applying to Wharton next year (:</p>

16

<p>yournamehere:</p>

<p>I know, its ridiculous that I'm 25th, I think this year will seperate the pack as I will continue to do well while the kids with inflated grades will do poorly in ap's, many kids may have a 3.9 or 4.0, but doubled up in honors courses when I didn't and easily could have =(. And I'll definitely be working on SATs. I think I had a bad one, as my math and reading are close to my equivalent when I took the SAT in 7th grade! Kinda embarrasing, right?</p>

<p>EDIT: Not quite sure how my post is above yours yournamehere, I guess we hit a time warp =D</p>

17

<p>cyuan92:</p>

<p>I love Hong Kong for that reason! So British and modern, but walk down the right road and you feel like you've gone back in time!</p>

<p>I am def. working on my Chinese, though I am only decent at it right now, with only two years experience. </p>

<p>Good Luck!</p>

18

<p>FullAmbition,
i'm sure u'll be fine. u still have one more year to go! but i have to say, don't mess around junior year. my junior year literally kicked my ass. and now i have to pay for the consequences...by having my GPA and rank lowered. :(</p>