This may sound like a dumb question, but if I’m accepted to the college of arts and sciences at penn, does this mean I will still later have to apply for the mathematical economics program separately? Thanks
See this:
And see more here:
https://economics.sas.upenn.edu/undergraduate-program/mathematical-economics-major/admission-major
@cbcontrolsmylife “if I’m accepted to the college of arts and sciences at penn, does this mean I will still later have to apply for the mathematical economics program separately?”
You have to get permission for this major, but the requirements are minimal. To me it looks like they just want to be sure that you have the capability to finish the required curriculum. It does not appear to be a competitive admission process like NETS or M & T.
According to the website “To be admitted, the student must have completed ECON 1, ECON 2, MATH 104, and MATH 114. The student must have completed two Mathematics and two Economics courses at the University of Pennsylvania with a minimum combined GPA of 2.0.”
Basically, the department is telling you that, if you can’t get Cs in Econ and Calculus, you probably should not major in mathematical economics. Since you already have a 5 on BC Calculus, this should not be a problem at all.
@cbcontrolsmylife “I’m an incoming senior and wondering about my chances of getting into the economics program at penn. Am I screwed over by my class rank/GPA/being white?”
Your gpa is only a bit lower than the 3.91 average at Penn, and your class rank is just outside the top 10 percent. I think you have a solid chance of being admitted. However, I would try to improve both of those during your first quarter and semester if you can.
I think you also need to write compelling essays, and show that you know Penn and that you have good reasons why you believe it is a strong fit for you. I am not sure how strong your ECs are, because I am not familiar with all of them. I do think the Multi-variable calculus class shows the type of ability level that Penn likes to see, so I would view it as a positive. JMHO
@Much2learn thank you for the detailed reply. Because of the structure of my school’s schedule, I won’t be able to change my class rank/GPA until the end of senior year. However, I’m a strong writer and, as you stated, a compelling essay describing my struggle and subsequent improvement due to moving while in high school and reevaluating my focus towards academics may be able to sway Penn.
International applicant from Pakistan.
7 A* and 6 A grades in GCSE. 3 A and 2 B in A levels. Applying after a gap year which was primarily a result of financial constraints. Planning to give ACT. Need full financial aid. Should I apply ED.
Legacy Applicant ED to CAS! Hope to see all of you guys there!
So… hi everyone.
How many of you guys think getting suspended seriously, really badly hurts my chances of getting into CAS?
I’d say I’m the classic case of “smart kid but does dumb s**t.”
I’ll have 14 APs under my belt by the end of next year, gotten 7 5s so far. I’d say I have pretty good grades, took the most challenging courses available, have a 3.95/4.0 or 4.5/5.0 so far. 2310 SAT, 780, 800, 800 on my SATIIs. I have solid extracurriculars, maybe a little too much time spent on Netflix, but three or four things I’m really passionate about & have offices in + a bunch of other clubs and volunteer work.
But I got two days of out-of-school suspension for an altercation with another student in the beginning of my junior year. My counselor told me I should attach an essay about that incident as my additional essay on the Common App, and I think it’s a decent explanation of what I did wrong and what I learned from that experience. But I can’t exactly wipe that off my record. I did something stupid and justice was served, can’t argue with that.
Can anyone weigh in?
It is difficult to say without more specifics, but to me, if this was a fist fight, and no one was seriously hurt, then I don’t think it will really hurt your chances much.
If someone was hospitalized, or if a weapon was used, it may raise a more significant concern.
I would seek your counselor’s guidance. How your counselor addresses the issue in their reference letter, and how you address it will be important. It will be important that they tell the same story, and would be helpful to understand what the counselor’s tone will be in addressing it.
Thanks buddy! My counselor helped me through a lot of it and knows the situation very well. I’ll definitely seek out her guidance throughout the fall.
After long deliberation I think I’m officially going ED for CAS, hoping to double major in biology and english on a premed track.
Okay so I am really anxious because I want to apply ED for CAS, but my friends say my extra curriculars aren’t strong enough to get accepted…
If I have good grades but only decent extra curriculars will that make my application feel imbalanced? (I know its a bit late to do something new but I just want to know what type of EC UPENN is looking for/like)
General Profile:
Go to a pretty competitive public school
GPA: 4.92/5.0 (weighted) – no class rank
SAT: 2240 (highest composite) or 2390 (superscore)
SATII: 760 (chem) 760 (bio) 800 (math2)
AP: 4 in Chem, 5 in Bio (We can only start taking APs junior year at our school but senior year i will be taking 4 more – stat, BCCalc, physics, Latin)
EC:
- Head Track Manager all 4 years
- Lots of volunteering at day cares and elementary schools
- 2 college art courses
- won a few regional awards in art competitions
- a few clubs I did all 4 years in high school
- was a volunteer researcher at Tufts for one summer only
Just worried that nothing… stands out?
“my friends say my extra curriculars aren’t strong enough to get accepted…”
- Unless your friend is Dean Furda, do not listen. Several people told my D she would not get in and she is at Penn today. There are a lot of idiots in the world. It is true that it is not certain that you will get in, but you have a good chance.
- If you don't apply, then they will instantly be right. You will not get accepted if you don't apply.
- I hear lots of students and parents with significantly worse stats than yours who think they are a lock. It just seems that people are poor judges of their odds.
@Helbear Your ec’s are a little on the weaker side, but you should apply if you want to go. Penn is not looking for one type of ec, just that you have a passion and pursued it. Academically you are all set. Just try to sell what you have done really well, and hope all goes well. If not, well you’ll still end up in a good place.
Hello! Applying ED to CAS 
you can apply ED to Penn and EA to other schools?
My understanding is that you can, but if you get into Penn, you have to attend.
• SAT I (breakdown): 740 CR / 800 M / 790 W (Superscored)
• SAT II: 800 Math II / 790 Physics
• Unweighted GPA: 94.25/100
• Weighted GPA (if available): 100 / 100
• Rank/percentile (if available): top 10%
• AP (place score in parenthesis): Bio(4), Calc AB(5), Calc BC(5), APUSH(5), Micro(5), Lang(4),
• Senior Year Course Load: AP Macro, AP Stats, AP Physics C, AP Lit, AP Psychology,
• Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar with Distinction
Subjective:
• Extracurricular (place leadership in parenthesis):
-Young Americans for Freedom (President)
-FBLA (Secretary)
-Environmental Action Club (Treasurer)
-Science NHS (Treasurer)
-DECA
-Model UN
-Ping Pong
-Academic Team
-NHS
-Spanish NHS
-Mathletes
-Red Cross Club
-High school Soccer (9,10,12)
-High school Track (11,12)
-Played guitar for 9 years
-Black Belt candidate (7 years of work)
• Job/Work Experience: None
• Volunteer/Community service:
-Local Hospital: 230 hours
-Committee Board of Relay For Life: 40 hours
-Park Clean up:6 hours
-Library tutoring: 15 hours
-Coached brothers soccer team for two seasons
-Conducted a Blood Drive locally
• Summer Activities:
-took an EMT course
-published a medical paper in university
-interned at father’s company
• Essays: Honestly I didn’t think my supplement was that great (seemed a little cliche, but I tried to speak from the heart). Common App was good.
• Teacher Recommendation: One from Physics teacher and one from APUSH teacher. Didn’t read but should be fine, but nothing extraordinary
• Counselor Rec: will be very generic, I had three different counselors for each year in high school because of constant staff change. Doesn’t know me very well
• Additional Rec: N/A
Other
• Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
• Intended Major: Business - finance
• State (if domestic applicant): NJ
• Country (if international applicant):
• School Type: Public
• Ethnicity: Indian
• Gender: Male
• Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None
SHOULD I APPLY WHARTON ED OR USE MY ED ON NYU?
I’m applying to Wharton ED as well, so hopefully my grades, extracurricular, and 2-year internship at GlaxoSmithKline can get me in! University of Pennsylvania is probably the dream school of many individuals, so let US make this dream come true! HOORAH HOORAH, to the prospective students of UPenn’s Class of 2020!
The advantage of ED for applicants with no hooks is not as great as it looks.
PENN admits recruited athletics, URM, people with low-income, children of alumnus (employees) etc in the first round.
Unlike HYP, PENN has a wide definition of alumnus. It includes both undergraduate and graduates. It only grants alumnus advantage in the ED round. So the ED pool has large portion of children of alumnus. The admission rate for them is about 40%.
The pool of ED is always stronger than RD. People in other threads claim that the ED advantage for regular applicants is minimal.