Penn Wharton, Harvard, & MIT chancing

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hey guys, could y’all chance me for Penn Wharton, Harvard, and MIT? Currently, I plan on applying to PENN Wharton ED along with MIT EA in the fall. I hope to attend a school with solid business, economic, or entrepreneur programs. Are there any good schools you would recommend for me, especially good safety and target schools? I am still building my list and would greatly appreciate everyone’s input :))

Background info:
Latino Male
Gay
Living in a small town in the middle of nowhere (also very under-represented state in colleges)
First Generation
An independent (I live alone states away from my family as a minor)

Note 1 My school is pretty small, so not too many advanced classes are offered to students

Note 1.5 I was unable to take APs as a sophomore due to my school not offering AP classes

Advanced Junior year classes:

AP Gov
AP Computer Science
International Business at college
Conversational Spanish

Advanced Senior Year Classes (planned)

Calc BC (Through local college)
AP English Lit
AP Environmental Science
AP Stat
(Some sort of college world history)
AP Spanish

General:

Grade 11/Junior
Unweighted GPA: 4.0
Weighted GPA: 4.2
Test scores: 1300 PSAT (I’m not proud of this)
Ranked 4 out of 200
Aiming for 34 on the ACT (take my first one next week)

Note 2 I have changed schools all three years of high school, so that’s why my ec list is divided as it is.

Note 3 I took out the specific names of some of my extra-curricular because you could find my exact identity; I love y’all but not that much.

School A (Grade 9)
Business Owner: _____
Student Council: President
Debate: Varsity
DECA: Member
Community Service: Member
Local employee
Cross country: Team Captain & Varsity
Tennis: Varsity

School B (Grade 10)
Non-Profit Founder: _____
(Spanned 6 continents and impacted front-line medical workers, published in various news articles)
Student Council: Secretary
Model UN: President & Club Founder
Community Service: Club Co-Founder
Debate: President
DECA: Member
Local Shift Manager during the summers
Cross Country: Varsity
Tennis: Varsity
Squash: Varsity

School C (Grade 11)
Business Owner (Developed tech product sold in various retailers and online): _____
Non-Profit Founder: ____ (Continuation of one mentioned previously)
Interact (Community service): Executive Secretary
_____ Member: Have collectively, as a small team, raised over $500,000 for blood cancer research.
Model UN: Head of Communications
FBLA: Parliamentarian
Debate: Varsity
National Honor Society: Member
Student Council: Member
SOS: (Student support club): Member
We The People (Academic club): Member
Cross Country: Junior Varsity
Swim Team: Junior Varsity

Academic Achievements, Awards, honors memberships:

Academic Awards:

FBLA state winner in 2 events, will be attending nationals (11)
______ State Champion (11)
______ International Debate Champion for _____ (10)
______ Research Grant Award Recipient (10)
Published Article about COVID and its effect on the airline industry (10)
Future Problem Solvers State Champion (9)
DECA State Runner Up (9)

Character Awards:
____ Scholarship Recipient (10)
FCA Local Leader Award (10)
Optimist Youth of the Month (9)
Schools Best Personality Award (9)

Honors Courses & Membership:
National Honor Society Member (11)
AP Computer Science (11)
AP Government (11)
Self-taught: AP Micro & Macro (11)
College-level International Business (11)

Summer Programs Admitted to:
YYGS
LaunchX
LBW
EFL
Boys State

2

I have no idea about your chances but if you apply early decision to Penn, then you’re restricted from applying early action to other private colleges. You can apply early action to a public college though.

3

MIT early action is non-restrictive, so I’m able to apply to both. (I believe, but I could be wrong)

4

Be that as it may, Penn ED is restrictive. As I recall, their ED agreement explicitly states that applicants cannot apply early to another private college. I also called the admissions office for clarification when my daughter applied as we did not want to run afoul of the rules.

1 Like
5

OP can apply to both MIT EA and UPenn ED. UPenn at one point did contemplate restricting its ED applicants from applying to any other privates, but it backed off after criticisms and never implemented it.

6

To reinforce what @1NJParent said, Penn was briefly restrictive for the high school class of 2017, but they backed off from that. But it’s worth checking their current policy.

7

Looks like you have the right mindset. Focus on your grades and test scores and start to craft a broad list of schools that might be a fit. The one area you might want to get some guidance on is your independent status. Have you been declared as independent or emancipated from a court? Are you expecting to fund college yourself or will you have support from your family?

8

I have been declared independent by the court. My family will not be paying for my college, and I will be solely responsible for the expense. I will take out loans and expect to incur debt; I have come to terms with this. Is there anything else you think I should be doing to remain competitive in admissions for these top schools?

9

In that case, you should focus on colleges which meet all demonstrated need. Because your parents are not expected to pay for your college, I think that your EFC should be, essentially, $0. That means that you should be able to attend some colleges without having to take out loans, or with only having to take out minimal loans.

10

Someone would really need to look at your transcript to know how your 4.0 and 4.2 compares to others. Feel free to elaborate or not. What makes you different academically from the top 3? I assume you know to probably go test optional, assuming it will be offered. Do top students from your current high school go to top tier colleges?

I like your profile a lot BTW. Congratulations! Can’t answer your chance me, without knowing more.

11

Run the NPC for IU Kelley. If affordable that would be a match.

I’d also look at schools that are auto merit for your stats once you have your act score back. You don’t want to take on a lot of debt and you can only borrow a limited amount without a co-signer.

12

What you can do now? Get your test scores up, it’s great you’re trying the ACT too, figure out what one is more suited for you.

I do think you should be casting a WIDE net of schools. I don’t think it’s crazy to apply to 20-25 schools. Based on your circumstances you should be able to get application fees waived. You may want to take finances out of the equation, but you want to avoid saddling yourself with excess debt (that’s assuming you can even qualify for private loans).

I think with the right list of schools (including the ones you are targeting) you are going to have a lot of places to choose from that are a fit academically & financially. I look forward to hearing about your progress as you continue on your journey!

13

So my school situation is a bit interesting. As mentioned previously, I am currently ranked 4th in class and transferred to this school at the beginning of this year. My previous school did not let students take AP classes as a sophomore, but my current school allowed sophomores to take APUSH as a sophomore. Given this, my school counselor says that I should be 1st or 2nd in class upon graduation with my current track of advanced courses. My school does not offer too many AP’s, and, by graduation, I will have taken the majority of the APs offered. For reference, the girl graduating valedictorian at my school this year will be graduating with a 4.35 weighted GPA. (She also scored a 36 on her ACT the first time she took it). For students who want to reach the highest GPA possible, you will likely cap out at a 4.45 if you completed every AP class offered and made straight A’s. Students here do very rarely attend top-tier colleges. I’ve heard of someone that got admitted into Princeton from my school three years ago, and she is still talked about to this day. I hope this answers some of your questions, but if you have anymore please let me know! Thank you :))

14

Thank you for your advice, I really appreciate it! I will definitely check out IU Kelley per your recommendation.

15

I don’t like chance me’s since it’s like figuring out a math problem without all the variables. I will say that these schools are Hyper-competitive and all the applicants will have top scores and EC’s. You’ll be compared to others in your school, state and region. If you come from a less well-represented state you might have a better chance. Your PSAT score is low. I’d imagine if you’re SAT is comparable, you’d be in below the 25% range (maybe not). But essays, recommendations and what type of business you had, how you ran it, how much it made is important.
Also since Penn divides into concentrations that might impact how you are viewed as well.
Also, some schools will have already sent students to these programs. That can help. If not, I’d say the odds are lower. You never know. Apply and put your best foot forward.

16

I agree with your recommendation of casting a wide net of schools, it would be ideal to have multiple choices to choose from. I have looked into it, and I do believe I qualify for application fee wavers; this is amazing as applications, for me, are pretty expensive. Thank you for your input, and I look forward to letting you know what my future holds :))

17

You are correct when saying ‘Chance Me’s’ are a near impossible math problem. My state is very under-represented in college admissions; for reference, Princeton did not have a single student from my state in their class of 2024 profile… (One of two state not represented) I have yet to take an SAT, as the ACT is the only ‘accessible’ test option where I live; do you think applying test optional could be to my advantage? I know for a fact my school has not sent a student to Wharton in the past 20 years, if ever; this probably won’t play in my favor. I plan to work as hard as I can these upcoming months, and I hope to represent myself the best way possible. Thank you for your assistance!

18

Thanks for clarifying.

You are a great applicant, but it is hard to say whether your high school, unique situation and test scores (evolution of TO) will be an issue. I would get excited about good schools 1 level down and assume that is where you will end up - but apply! Good luck!

19

Thank you for your additional input. Do you think that if I were to increase my test scores, I could increase my acceptance chances? Additionally, is there anything I could have the school counselor do to paint a better picture of my school or form a better connection with these competitive schools?

20

The low representation will help A LOT. Dig in deep on that. And see where you end up with test scores. I’m of the opinion that a missing score means a low score ( but not everyone will agree and in this year of Covid, some won’t have scores due to factors beyond their control). If you are in the 50% or better, you should send your score. Honestly, if I was coming from an under-represented state I might even go down to 40%ish.
Remember you are considered based on what opportunities you have taken advantage of v. what was offered. So kids are held to different standards in that sense. If few kids take AP’s and few take college classes, the CG should spell that out. Likewise, if the area has under-funded schools or other issues that should also be included.
Boys state is really great and I’d play that up if I came from a less represented state as well. Make sure you add how your presence will add to the college class.