Obviously ED has a huge acceptance rate boost pretty much everywhere, and since everyone is applying to only one school, the general applicant pools are typically weaker than in RD. However, at the tippy-top like Harvard, the pool of applicants are stronger than RD as all the best of the best take their shot with the higher percentages, and the people who apply to Harvard on the “what if” usually do RD. I was wondering if Wharton has a similar phenomenon amongst the top business minded students, or if they are for the most part still applying to the slightly more prestigious universities as a whole, like Harvard. In short, is the ED pool overall actually stronger at Wharton (not Penn as a whole)? Obviously anything is just speculation I’d assume, but as a potential Wharton ED applicant who doesn’t necessarily stand out amongst the other business inclined applicants, I don’t want to “waste” my ED if I can better bolster my chances elsewhere. Just wondering what anyone else thought.
I have the same question
Applying ED to Wharton is not a waste. You definitely have a better chance in the ED round than RD.
@kdkhfe It is def reasonable to expect that for many tippy top students who are dead-set on business Wharton is their absolute first choice and thus many of these kids apply ED. It is also even more prevalent for ED to be flooded with applicants to Penn’s tippy top dual degree programs which routinely are the first choice over even Harvard/Stanford for many applicants. But this doesnt mean that ED is harder or even not actually easier than RD. There is a big number of tippy top business-oriented students who do not want to commit ED anywhere or who were deferred from say Harvard or Stanford during SCEA and are now applying to Wharton RD.
I do think ED def gives an advantage for Penn as a whole, including Wharton. Maybe the advantage is not as big compared to applying ED to SEAS or CAS but it is still there.
@Penn95 Thanks for the insightful response. I guess I’m just concerned that the ED pool will be diluted with FBLA award winners and the like, as there aren’t too many ways for a business minded student to stand out in terms of EC’s imo.
Business related EC are not required to get into Wharton.
@f2000sa I know, but as a rising senior who already has participated in business ec’s as that was what interested me, that doesn’t really help me out. Plus, I feel like most of the students who use their ED on Wharton would have business related ec’s as opposed to the RD round, where there may be more without them. I do agree that they aren’t necessary though, as seen by the previous ED/RD result threads.
Actually, too many lame business-related EC’s might hurt. Honestly, Wharton gets so many kids who got “DECA 2nd place business ethics” or “FBLA 3rd in nationals in accounting” or “President/Founder of Stock Market Club” on their application/resume. How will any of these kids stand out versus the hundreds of other kids who have these same exact awards, even with 4.0’s and 1500+'s and 35+'s? Now, if you’re a major, award-winning international finalist for biz competitions, that’s a different story. Just make sure you’re a likable, open-minded person who wants to make a difference in society. As a rising senior, that’s the theme of my upcoming application to these schools. If your ECs are just “President of X” but you haven’t done anything in club X, adcoms won’t have a compelling case to admit you.
Basically, think of business ECs are the “icing on the cake” - make sure you have all the other ingredients to make the main part of the “cake.” Its the applicants with just the “icing” that have a hard time getting into Wharton/Penn and other prestigious schools. Best of luck! Let those other ECs of yours shine through.
Also, speaking of wasting an ED, you really shouldn’t worry - you’ll get to apply non-binding, non-restrictive EA to other schools, since Penn’s new and changed ED policy is very liberal. Be thankful that Penn isn’t single-choice like Harvard or Stanford! If it interests you, you can check out schools like CalTech, MIT, GT, UChicago, and UMich - they’re all EA schools compatible with an ED application to Penn (if I’m wrong on this, someone please correct me.)
@aneeshs17 Appreciate all the advice! I’d like to believe I bring more than just my business related ec’s, and they will be just icing on the cake as you put it. I had heard of the ED policy change, but didn’t really realize that I could apply to some of the schools you listed. I only really knew about MIT, which is much too science oriented for me. Definitely will consider chicago and mich as well. Thanks and good luck with your applications!
@kdkhfe
Yeah, I feel you. MIT and CalTech are a bit too much science-y for me, and Chicago’s a bit too liberal-artsy. If I don’t get into Wharton, I’ll probably go for a mix of engineering/tech and biz, so probably Industrial Engineering. Hence GT, Mich, etc.
For me, I have very respectable biz EC’s, but I’m focusing more on the impact I’m creating and how I’m serving/giving back to society - I encourage you to do the same!! Adcoms really like to see kids take an initiative rather than just winning a DECA conference. Also since I’m an unhooked Asian (Indian) I’ll really have to work my ass off to sell myself. Anyways, good luck, hope we’ll keep in touch!
@aneeshs17 Good luck to you too! I’m also going to try and spin my essays to cover my social impact throughout high school and how I plan to keep giving, similar to what you plan I’m guessing. Definitely looking forward to speaking with you again!