Transfer to UPENN from a top 10 LAC

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
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Hi! I’m currently a freshman from a top 10 LAC thinking about transfering to Upenn. I want to be an economics major so I would be transfering to the school of arts and sciences. I don’t think my application even got reviewed as a freshman because of my college gpa 3.5 (I didn’t have good grades in my freshman or the beginning of my sophomore year). Upenn has always been my dream school as my both parents graduated from there. I really like the school I’m in but I am really tired of the small school and being in the middle of nowhere. I am an international student so I came to the us looking for cultural and mental diversity (if that’s a thing). Unfortunately, my school doesn’t attract many diverse students. Living in Philly would be awesome and interacting with penn students would help my growth process. Finally, penn’s resources for entrepreneurship are outstanding, which is something that I am really into.

Stats:
College gpa: 3.86 (places me in the top 10% of my class)
ACT: 31 (probably retaking it)
Solid ECs from high school and ESOL in college
Im taking lots of quantitative classes ( compsci, calculus, more calculus, accounting, and probability)

Anyways, is it worth applying or should I wait one year? (Upenn suggests to transfer as a rising sophomore but I’m not sure if my stats are good enough rn)

Thanks a lot!

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Is your college GPA 3.86 or 3.5? (Or did you mean your high school GPA was 3.86?)

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@hope469 my college gpa is 3.86, my hs gpa was 3.5

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College GPA is good especially coming from a top LAC, but as a freshman applicant, your high school grades and standardized testing will be weighted heavily. Both are weak compared to Penn’s standards. You should look to get a 33+ if you decide to retake the ACT, and even with that Penn would still be a reach but not impossible. I think you’d be a solid applicant and you might as well go for it.