<p>So unfortunately, this past Friday, at 5pm, I was rejected from my dream school: Wharton. I was a little shocked that I was not even deferred, considering my extensive ECs, decent/high board scores (1420 SAT/34 ACT), a good GPA (3.7 UW) at an extremely competitive private school, and great teacher/supplemental recs.</p>
<p>I own a profitable marketing company catered to the entertainment industry with many A-List clients. I'm not trying to brag, I'm just trying to make note of the fact that this is not one of those web design businesses kids run out of their rooms at home.</p>
<p>I wrote about this, and how I saw myself redefining the ailing music industry in 20 years as part of my Page 217 essay. I thought my Why Penn essay was well researched as well; I talked about meeting a Wharton professor and the various reasons why I thought Penn was the perfect fit for me.</p>
<p>Everyone at my school knows me as the "Business Kid" and many were shocked to hear I was rejected from Wharton. In another thread, I read about a student with great AP scores, GPA, SATs, etc. and who ran three businesses. He too was rejected.</p>
<p>This leads me to question whether or not Penn actually views having a business as a NEGATIVE trait. I'm wondering if Penn only wants kids who have "interests" in business (i.e. an internship at Morgan Stanley or taking economics in school), but are not actually pursuing any entrepreneurial endeavors themselves? Or is my background (white male from an affluent suburb) holding me back?</p>
<p>Either way, I feel a little disappointed by this news and hope to find another great place to attend next year.</p>
<p>What my teacher stresses is that, yes, they love businesses and they love activities and smart people, but that they are, first and foremost, a SCHOOL. That means they want quality students who are interested in Penn because they want a good EDUCATION.</p>
<p>Maybe Wharton feels that if you already run a successful business on your own, why do you need to attend their school? You needed to emphasize why you should be there, aside from prestige.</p>
<p>BTW, I had stats a bit above yours but with far less business involvement, my "Why Penn" essay was about my experience sitting in a Wharton lecture and I was deferred from M&T/Wharton.</p>
<p>And hey, keep up what you do best. With those stats, you're bound for a top school. Who knows, maybe your business will take off and you won't even need the degree.</p>
<p>Because maybe in your essay you talked too much about owning abusiness rather then why pen would be goo for you. I dont want to sound disheartening, but they do like hearing praise. Like for example, i wote my essay about my opassio nfor biology and how i attended a class and why I liked it. i talked more about the acaddemic experiance then my extra currciculars/ experiance to back it up. You know? But seeing your stats, you def. have more eperiance than me, so you will be successful</p>
<p>I think that's a great point. My "Page 217" talked about me working with fellow Wharton classmates, and how ever since graduating from Wharton, we used our education to innovate business models, etc. This was the essay that truly came from my heart.</p>
<p>As for the "Why Penn" essay, I talked about how I loved how involved the teachers are in their professions both inside and outside the classroom, how Wharton is all about academic collaboration, how Philly is a great city to pursue outside interests, and the whole campus-within-a-city feel. I thought this was well done and got good feedback. Yet, as shreyamal454 is saying, maybe I really should have focused on academics. Yes, I mentioned two courses I was interested in studying, but my explanation for wanting to take these courses was to further my business. I also touched upon my interest in Spanish and how I want to pursue another term abroad at Penn (went to Spain last year with my school for 2 months).</p>
<p>Oh well. The college process really is a fluke. My problem now is not sulking about my rejection, but rather finding a school that will be as good for me as Penn. I'm already into Umich, but am considering USC, Georgetown, NYU-Stern, Emory, Columbia (No Business), Brown (No Business), and Harvard (No Business). Any other thoughts? I was thinking about MIT but have heard most of its students are simply unhappy there.</p>
<p>Yea it really is a gamble. I dont know what to expect if ill get accepted or not. I mean I also talked about spoecifics about penn and why id take advantage of it purely because i want to learn about it. Hopefully thats good then i talked about a club i want to start and one i want to join. i talked about the city too.</p>
<p>and my optional essay was an experiance in india. I talked aboutgoing there this summer after 10 years, first time since i moved to US and what my expectations were and how it changed. it sounds cliche but it really isnt. i made it funny, used really personal anecdotes and showed howi changed. hopefully thats creative enough.</p>
<p>^^Those are some great schools you got listed there. I especially like the Georgetown and Emory picks. I think you're right about MIT. If you liked Penn, MIT would be to big a difference in terms of feel. Have you considered UVA-McIntire. I don't know much about the school as a whole, but if you're looking for business you can't get much better. And I also assume if you ended up at Harvard or Columbia you'd be studying econ, right?</p>
<p>While our daughter is currently a Freshman at Wharton and thinks it's fantastic, one of her best HS friends was rejected by Wharton but received a full ride to Babson in Boston. The school is suppose to be No 1 for Entrepreneurial studies. I believe the kids are given a real budget to start their own business early on. Given your background it might be worth looking into. You do have an awsome resume and I'm sure you will find a great match at one of those schools.</p>
<p>A lot of law schools don't like undergrads to take a lot of law courses because they want them to come in with as few preconceptions about law as possible. Maybe it is the same thing for business?</p>
<p>Your SATs are a little low. And yes, being a white or Asian male from an affluent suburb does hurt when it comes to admission here... more competition. </p>
<p>Or maybe your essays read a little douche-y. </p>
<p>Could be anything really. </p>
<p>In any case, NYU has a fantastic music business program. UCLA is great too. Know that Penn does not have a lot to offer for students interested in media & entertainment, especially as it relates to the music business, at least not yet. There are several initiatives that are coming along that will address this in the far future, but if that is your desired career path in the next 4 years, you will probably be happier somewhere else. Take comfort. </p>
<p>That said, I'm sorry you didn't get in. There are very few people like you in Wharton, and we could always use more. </p>
<p>To whoever offered the suggestion that maybe they thought "you already had business skills", that is the absolute most idiotic thing I have ever read. I feel that my IQ has decreased after reading that comment. In all honesty, I feel so bad for you because if that is the type of insight you provide, you will have a lot of problems in life.</p>
<p>To the writer of this post: To say that Wharton views owning businesses as negative is the second most moronic thing I have read on this website. Obviously it is great because they seek to foster the growth of leaders in business. Many people are much more multi faceted than you. Best of luck in life my friend.</p>
<p>The beginner of the thread is just trying to reconcile what are obviously very qualified scores and business experience with an outright rejection. And these explanations might become "idiotic" when trying to page through very competitive applications and finding exactly what Penn didn't like.</p>
<p>to seXYboy07: If you're referring to my comment, you should probably take the comment in context and try to understand it before you denounce it as idiotic. What I was saying is that owning a business, in and of itself, does not make you an awesome candidate for a school of business. Because drew1733 noticed that lots of business owners had been receiving rejections, I was wondering whether entrepreneurs had an even more critical eye upon them during admissions. Apparently, musing on these forums will decrease IQ. Sorry.</p>
<p>Wharton doesn't view owning a business as a "negative" but it certainly doesn't consider it the advantage that you (and so many others) assume.</p>
<p>Wharton is first and foremost a school and research institution. They like scientists, and they like smart kids. Going to Wharton won't teach you how to open and run a business, it will teach you how to study business, and how to model economics. At its most practical, it will teach you how to invest and play in the financial markets.</p>
<p>I don't mean to be harsh; I see all too often on hear that kids run profitable businesses and assume they'll be immediately accepted. Wharton (and business schools in general) just aren't that kind of place. They'll look at it as another EC, just like a sport or club people might have done.</p>
<p>Mattwonder, I think that's a good point. I'm not sitting here thinking that my business alone should BLOW everyone at Wharton away. Yet, I've had 3 internships since Freshman year spanning the entire summers (2 at major record labels, 1 at a publicity firm), ran my own online publication for two years, turned that into a successful music blog, and also ran this marketing firm, where I've worked from everyone from Kanye West to R&B singer Ne-Yo. I thought my passion for music business <em>might</em> have come off as interesting.</p>
<p>But that's not my ONLY ec... I have over 100 hrs. of community service (yes, I know people have 400+), am a peer mentor at my school (competitive application process to become a mentor), am part of the student government, am the president of two clubs, and a percussionist in the band. I also sent out a booklet/brochure on a new business endeavor of mine as a supplement.</p>
<p>With all these ECs, and in-the-range SAT and ACT scores, I really wasn't expecting an outright rejection. I mean it goes to show how much of a crapshoot this entire process is. I'm not trying to sit here and whine, but rather I want to learn from whatever mistakes I made in my Penn app so I do not repeat them in future applications.</p>
<p>Oh, and to seXYboy07, before you write my comment off as "moronic," you might want to sift through the decisions thread and find the student who had 15 5s on APs, 3 major companies, a stellar GPA, a 2390, and was rejected from Penn early.</p>