<p>I have a question that the upperclassmen can help me out with, but perhaps also my fellow Penn'15 ers. I recently matriculated into the CAS and am considering pursuing a Dual Degree with Wharton. I did NOT apply and decide to go to Penn CAS so I could "back door" the system into Wharton. My primary interest lies in Economics and a couple other areas of the sciences and I wanted a rounder college experience, so I didn't even apply to Wharton. </p>
<p>But there are areas of finance/business that interest me greatly, especially those that relate to public policy and government - and Wharton has a great major/program for that. If I do decide to pursue a dual-degree between the two schools, how hard would this be, coming from the CAS?</p>
<p>I've heard countless stories about how transferring requires a 3.8+ for any shot at switching into Wharton, but I wanted to know if the requirements are less stringent for kids who want to get a Dual Degree from each school. I have zero interest in fully transferring into Wharton, as I still want to study at the college. Hopefully I'll also be able to get a degree from Wharton as well. Some have told me one needs to be in the 3.6 range for a good shot at being allowed to Dual Degree with Wharton. </p>
<p>So, how difficult is the Dual Degree acceptance after a year of CAS? Is it less difficult than a full transfer? </p>
<p>Thanks,
A Penn'15-er</p>
<p>Its the same conditions as the Transfer. Thats what I found out from a friend who is successfully doing a dual degree.</p>
<p>@jengajenga117</p>
<p>Darn. I guess it really depends on the kind of high school background and training you got, but how ridiculous is it to get whatever your friend needed to be accepted into the Dual Degree program? </p>
<p>Friends of my school have done historically well at Penn, but that doesn’t necessarily have any bearing on how I’ll do.</p>
<p>But what does your friend say?</p>
<p>Thanks! All comments welcomed</p>
<p>I heard Dual Degree applicants are considered in the same pool as transfers. Also, if I remember correctly, the application process changed last year and now requires a couple essay responses in addition to the ~3.8+ GPA cutoff.</p>
<p>Dual degrees and transfers are treated the same way. They both take up limited seats in the required Wharton classes. Many people come to Penn with an interest in transferring to Wharton or adding a second major in Wharton, so it has become a very competitive process. However, getting the necessary GPA is far from impossible. It requires doing well in Math104/Econ1/Econ2(or waiving them with AP credits) and then taking 5 more soft classes for A’s.</p>
<p>^Ya he is right. If you are motivated, you can do it. But also remember, a Wharton degree is not necessarily better than Penn College Economics degree. It matters what you do with it. In addition, the recruiting method that Wharton kids use is open to all students at Penn.</p>
<p>Thanks everybody. does anyone think it risky if I take some light courses for the first year? I was def gunna take nothing too intense first semester…(econ1, hist, Writ, math 104, phil). But for second semester, Im worried that taking soft classes may throw me off for my major if I dont take enough. Is 5 courses first semester and 4-5 the second too light? </p>
<p>Thanks,
Yankees1111</p>
<p>I am doing the same but adding some kind of science instead of hist.</p>
<p>As a current Wharton sophomore who considered a second degree in the College, I should warn you that coursework wise you’ll give yourself a much harder time with a dual degree than a transfer. With the exception of specialized programs like Huntsman, M&T, and Vagelos, pursuing a dual degree means that you have to take both cores. Depending on how many of your sector requirements you can get to double count with Wharton and how much double and even triple counting you can do, you could get in with 5 classes per semester with no summer classes - but I’d call that an absolute minimum.</p>
<p>That said, after having taken a full year of courses mostly knocking out Wharton requirements and then looking at opportunities for a PSCI dual degree, I would have to take 46 classes as a best case, with all my double and triple counting, which works out to 6 classes for 3 years and 5 classes for one year. And that was quite creative double/triple counting.</p>
<p>Moral of the story: its a lot of work, and if you’re considering between transfer and a dual degree, it’s as difficult to get in either way, but a ton more work doing a dual degree if you make it.</p>
<p>I beleive now transfer/dual degree into wharton is >3.85gpa and they look at what classes you’ve taken + the math/econ 1 and 2 requirements. Unfortunately that means taking easy classes do not look good in the app cycles. I have heard that this is due to the fact recent internal transfers have not been well prepared once they are in wharton</p>