<p>I know its very competitive--nearly impossible to gain admittance to this prestigious program: ( my STATS:SAT I: 800CR 800W 690M ( may retake- worked too slow!) SATII:USHISTORY 800, CHEM and MATH II- STILL WAITING But THINK (HOPEFULLY) I DID WELL)</p>
<p>Very politically active in and out of school--have raised money and started public service programs...
I know scores grades ( number one or two in my class) and even excurr. do not necessarily mean a thing when the chances for admission are so slim for even the best...</p>
<p>But if by some lucky chance I were to be admitted, would this be a program for me? </p>
<p>I am not interested in going into business, and I love science too--I may end up going to med school. ( ultimately that is--I want to make a difference in the world, but not sure how...)
Still, the Huntsman program seems so interesting and integrated, combining international relations with business knowledge, language, etc. It might be amazing to glean from it and become someone who writes or consults on policy issues one day...or really helps to create workable economic models...or enters the discussion about the future of our government or society...( not to be too grandiose, but a guy can dream...)
But would it limit my postgrad choices? Is it too specialized? Is it too pre- professional? ( I want to learn to think critically in undergrad school.) Any expert advice from anyone who attends, has attended, etc.? Again, I know admission may be a longshot and my concerns are moot... but I am just exploring at this point.. ( rising senior).</p>
<p>It’s a fairly prestigious program. It definitely gives you a leg up in job recruiting over single degree Wharton students. It also helps you with advising, getting into honors courses, and getting research opportunities at Penn. </p>
<p>If you want to go to medical school, I do not recommend Huntsman. This is a very tough and elite program. It’s not a premed course of study and it won’t do your gpa any favors. </p>
<p>Most Huntsman students have experience overseas and are fluent in a 2nd language. It helps to choose a rarer target language(like German or Russian) over French/Spanish/Chinese. </p>
<p>You are also falling into the high school trap of thinking major=career. Majoring in business/IR doesn’t mean you will work for the United Nations or some prestigious international organization. Huntsman students are generally strong, but I’ve noticed that the people who kill it and get a 3.9+ gpa are often single degree Whartonites. In the end Huntsman people take the same consulting/finance jobs that everybody else takes. There’s nothing magic about it.</p>
<p>WW jr.</p>
<p>if you’re not interested in a business career at all I don’t think the huntsman program is for you. just because you think it’s a cool program doesn’t mean you have to apply. there are plenty of other people that are sure that this program is what they want, if you want to be a doctor and don’t want to go into business than don’t apply I would say</p>
<p>Huntsman is International STUDIES, not International RELATIONS. If you want to do IR instead of IS, apply to UPenn’s CAS (College of Arts & Sciences) which houses he International Relations major.</p>
<p>Thanks. I thought so. These answers confirm my sense of the program. I agree, International Studies would be better for me.</p>
<p>But it’s also heavily business oriented, just to let you know. So if you don’t plan to study business, it’s not the right program for you.</p>
<p>How competitive of an applicant are you? Other schools with similar (but less business-y) programs are Columbia’s SIPA, Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson, and Georgetown (I forget the name of the program). What sort of grades and ECs do you have?</p>
<p>That’s not necessarily true. Huntsman does have a bunch of business classes, but if you look at the people who are actually in the program, they run the gamut interest-wise from pretty pure business focus who want an international/language angle, to people interested in something like the foreign service, government/political work, international development, or nonprofit stuff, but want the business knowledge along with it. I recommend checking out the profiles of current students on the program’s website.</p>