<p>Some background: I want to go into business, although I don't know the specific field yet - maybe management, maybe finance, maybe business econ idk. I've basically lived my whole life looking up to Wharton as the holy grail in the field of business; but I'm kind of hesitating on EDing there now, because I love the atmosphere at MIT. Yet at the same time I know that if I RD Wharton and don't get in i'll really regret not doing ED because it would've given me a higher shot at getting in :( thoughts? feel free to ask me about my stats/whatever</p>
<p>MIT is unrestricted EA, UPenn is ED, you can apply to both, no problem. So you get in Wharton and have to go. There are worse things in life. If you don’t get in, you’ve still got your shot at MIT in the hopper.</p>
<p>If you are like most people, they are going to solve your problem for you.</p>
<p>Go ahead and summarize your stats, and financial situation. </p>
<p>Hum. MIT or Wharton. Most people considering Wharton are also considering Cambridge but not MIT. Hum. unusual. Did you happen to walk down the block to see any other schools in Boston?</p>
<p>@Mrmom I am definitely EAing to MIT, the ED is my question. I definitely agree though that if I ED Wharton and get in and have to go it’s not the end of the world or anything, but I know there’s a little part of me that will feel kind of bummed; MIT just seems like such an awesome, awesome place to be
@Fogcity Financial situation: my parents are willing to pay for any school so that’s not a problem
Testing: 2300+ SAT, 800 Math II, 800 Bio E, 750 literature
School: top 5% in school (our GPA is weird so i doubt it’d be able to tell you much) - my school is one of the top 10 in the nation, and we will probably have 15+ students applying to both MIT & UPenn; generally MIT takes 2 students, and Upenn takes 3-5 (not sure about Wharton though)
Very challenging and well rounded course load (just gonna list the APs) - Sophomore year AP Calc AB, AP Bio; Junior year AP Calc BC, AP Econ Macro + Micro, AP Lang, AP Chemistry; this year AP Lit, AP Psych, AP Stat, AP Gov, AP French, as well as Calc III + differential equations. I’ve received 5’s on all APs already taken.
Extracurriculars: I’ve participated in yearbook for all four years and am editor-in-chief this year; I’ve also done FIRST Robotics for three years and do web coding + PR (I’m webmaster) and computer aided design. Those two plus my church are very heavy time and leadership commitments for me; other than that, I’ve been on student government for three years, participated in Youth in Government (mock legislature), play piano, and play tennis. I’m submitting a photography portfolio to all my schools
I don’t have any internships or anything, but I chose to reach out to a nonprofit in the area and create a class centered on business, finance, and economics for the inner-city kids that go there for summer camp. The rest of my summers were spent volunteering (300+ hours) or going back to China with my family.
In general my strengths would be my diversity - although that could be played as a weakness as well. I’m a strong writer and have a very unique personality that I let show through (at least I hope it’s showing through!). I’ve shown initiative through creating the class camp - I was getting nowhere looking for a business that could want a high school intern so I created my own “internship” I guess haha. I’m strong in math but I haven’t taken AP Physics, which could be a disadvantage for me as far as MIT goes. I haven’t done hardcore research 
I’m not sure if this helps but I would take Course 15 (Management Science) + Course 14 (Economics) at MIT, and course 15 isn’t as popular as the pure engineering courses. Also…I’m a girl haha
@lostaccount I did in fact visit other schools in Boston. I’m not particularly inclined towards Harvard, I can get a better business education at MIT or Wharton and both schools (more so Wharton than MIT) are interdisciplinary 
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<p>I would ask about your stats/fin aid but since you’re planning on applying to MIT and Wharton, I’ll go ahead and assume they’re good enough for either. I would second @MrMom62 and say apply ED to both. Think about it this way. If you get into Wharton, you’ve gotten into the holy grail of business schools. If you don’t get in, you weren’t good enough to get in RD anyway, and you still have a better shot at MIT.</p>
<p>You can’t apply ED to both. I’m sure you mean EA and ED. </p>
<p>@merlion that makes a lot of sense - thank you! i think the college admissions process has made me more paranoid haha
@DrGoogle Yep! I only mentioned ED to Wharton in my post. I’m aware that MIT is EA, and I will EA to MIT no matter what, it’s the ED that my decision hinges on! Sorry, I should’ve made my original post more clear.</p>
<p>I think post #5 mentioned ED to both, not you. I think you should go ahead as you plan ED t Wharton. </p>
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<p>Everyone wants to go to the large school with small classes where you can be anonymous and on a first name basis with your professors that is located in a big city yet is minutes from the beach and skiing in the mountains. Unfortunately, life is about compromises and you only get to go to one undergrad school. Console yourself at Wharton that you can always go to grad school at MIT. Or vice versa. Good luck.</p>