Should I apply to Wharton or College of Arts and sciences early?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
1

Background:

  • Born and raised in South Korea.
  • Came to the US 4 years ago, will be applying as an international student.
  • Small private school.

Academics

9th
1st sem 4.23
2nd sem 4.51

10th
1st sem 4.74
2nd sem 4.91

11th
1st sem 4.78
2nd sem 5.0

Currently, my unweighted GPA is a 3.88 with a weighted GPA of 4.72. I am a top 9% student in my class. I’ve take 8 AP test so far and planning to 5 more my senior year → Comp Sci A, Macro, Gov, Stats, Lang with 3 other honors courses.

9th (APhug 3)
10th (APworld 5, AP Physics1 2, AP Psych 3 [self study]) / AP Scholar
11th (APCalcBC 4, AP Physics C Mech 4, APush 4, AP lit 3) / AP Scholar w/ Distinction

I understand my AP scores aren’t as great as others so I tried my best to show my academic capabilities in other ways.

SAT II Korean - 800
SAT II Math2 - 800
SAT II US history - 780
SAT II Physics (Might take it)
ACT - 33 (planning to retake for a 34+)

In terms of my ECs, here is a quick run down.

  • Captain of nationally ranked Debate team —> Superior Distinction from the NSDA, 2x qualifier to the Tournament of Champions, ranked as high as 50th in the nation for public forum, top 10 in CA, coach middle school and novice students (9-12)
  • CFO of my non-profit organization —> built portable libraries across the county, held a talent show to raise $7,000 to support mental health issues, working on a project with the USC's social innovation lab to develop a career kickstart initiative to end homelessness.
  • Personal basketball coach/mentor for a 6th grader with autism --> successfully trained him to earn a spot in the local basketball team (9-12)
  • Run an online business through ebay + apps to buy/sell/trade clothes and shoes --> made over $5,000 in profit.
  • High school fellow for OCA-GLA —> worked to run voter registration drives at campus + civic engagement training sessions (11)
  • International business magnet program --> Taking classes like Marketing, Entrepreneurship, Finance etc (9-12)
  • Student Engagement Association (9-12) —> closing the barrier between international / domestic students.
  • Founder of two clubs —> LaunchX (president) + Club for my non-profit (president) (10-12)
  • Student Ambassador (9-12)
  • Journalism —> layout editor, school news editor, editor in chief (9-12)
  • 4 year varsity athlete —> basketball (9), Golf (10-12)
  • NHS (11-12)
  • Yale Young Global Scholars (10th), LaunchX at MIT (11th)
  • President Volunteer service gold award, Certificate of Recognition Korean American President Chamber of Commerce, Certificate of Recognition from the City Mayor.

I’m not sure if the acceptances vary from major to major or whether or not. I want to pursue business in the future but I can also learn communications through the college of arts and sciences and go into PR and advertising. I would prefer to get into Wharton but I heard it is extremely difficult. Let me know!

2

SAT 2 in Korean will be zero help and it might cause the admissions officer to wonder why you took it at all and then sent it in. Just send the math and history.

3

Admission to Penn is exceedingly difficult (under 10% admission rate), it is more difficult for internationals (especially from over-represented countries), and Wharton is a bit more competitive. The school routinely turns down applications with perfect grades and test scores. My opinion is that if you want to study business apply to Wharton and if you want to study communications apply to the College of Arts and Sciences. Either way, it should be considered a reach school for any unhooked applicant.

And you can send it in if you want, but I agree with the above that an 800 in Korean from a native speaker will not impress anyone.