<p>Hey everyone. I'll be applying to Wharton this year and I wanted to know what you guys thought of my chances for RD, or if I would need ED to have a better chance.</p>
<p>Stats:
34 ACT (36 English, 36 Math, 36 Reading, 29 Science (oops), 11 essay)
2240 SAT single sitting Math-790 CR-710 Writing-740
SATII--Math2-800 Physics--720
APs--Calc AB(5) APUSH(5) Stats(5) Macroecon(5)
Taking AP Chem, AP Calc BC, Chamber Orchestra, AP Physics C, Spanish 4, AP Lit. Total of 8 out of 9 offered at school
3.991 UW 4.386 W
Rank 2 of 230</p>
<p>ECs:
Orchestra, 7 years Private Cello Lessons 6-12 Solo & Ensemble Festival: First Division at District 8-11 so far, 3 1st divisions at state
Co section leader (10,11)
Tennis (10-12, captain 12)
Spanish Club 9-12 (Vice President 11, President 12)
NHS 11-12 (Vice President)
Class President (11th and 12th)
Student Senate (9-12)
small group bible study (11-12)
Senior Mentor
Head of Prom Committee (11)
Science Olympiad 10-12, (9th and 12th respectively in State competition in 2 events, won regionals in 3 events)
Also, Quiz Bowl and Robotics Senior year, don't know if I will bother adding though</p>
<ul>
<li>Job/Work Experience:
worked as an intern at the World Headquarters of Whirlpool Corporation during summer of junior year on a company wide innovation project.
Work approx. 6 hours a week during school year tutoring inner city kids through a literacy non profit (Head of Writing Room)
Work during the summer at Boys and Girls Club as tutor
Paid ACT tutoring for various kids</li>
<li>Volunteer/Community service:
Head Math Tutor at Boys and Girls Club ~325 hrs. through my junior year
Middle school youth group leader ~225 hrs through junior year (these two things take up most of my time)</li>
<li>Summer Activities: Working at Whirlpool/Boys and Girls Club, campaign help for local US congressman, mission trip to West Virginia for a week building houses, habitat etc.</li>
</ul>
<p>Awards:
National Merit commended (missed by one point yayyy)
AP Scholar with honor</p>
<p>Other:
From small town in SW Michigan (like 10k people). Possibly geographic diversity?
White Male</p>
<p>I’d say you definitely don’t need the boost of ED but if Wharton is your #1 go for it. With stats like those you’ll definitely be in the 75th percentile of the regular applicant pool. </p>
<p>A student like you is going to have a ton of acceptance offers to wade through I’d say unless Wharton is your guaranteed #1 don’t even bother.</p>
<p>I disagree. Having gone through the admissions process myself, it is very hard to tell who will “have enough offers to wade through” before it actually happens. Since these schools get so many applications, decisions are very arbitrary, you can have a 2400 and great grades and have done research but still not get into all or any of the top schools you applied to. I know someone like this who did very well but didn’t get into all of the schools they applied to and several more similar cases that may have done the same or worse. Occasionally there are kids who are very qualified but get in NO top schools AT ALL. On the same note, there are many instances when someone gets into one top school but not another. I know a kid who got into Yale but not Wharton, someone who got into Princeton but not Stanford, someone deferred and then rejected from Penn who got into Brown RD and of another person who got REJECTED from Penn ED, but now goes to Dartmouth. A lot of these seemingly random decisions happen because when your application is actually read by admissions, personal things like recommendations and essays come into play that are much harder to quantify. Someone can say they wrote good essays, but great essays are actually pretty rare. An outstanding essay CAN be the difference. You cannot really plan this, it almost completely depends upon innate ability to write.</p>
<p>That being said, the purpose of ED is to take some of the randomness away. Even though the standards are the same, it’s easier to accept a higher percentage of qualified applicants when less people apply. However, the numbers are lower than you would except since most recruited athletes and donors apply ED. This is also the time when legacies are given the biggest advantage. I personally think it’s a myth that ED candidates are significantly less qualified than people who applied RD. ED helps a lot in specific circumstances, like going to a competitive public high school, and many times these kids are some of the most qualified. Except for some legacies, it’s hard to tell who got in ED and who got in RD when you are here. Many of my most accomplished friends here applied ED, and many applied RD. I personally applied ED, which actually surprises a lot of people. It did however really help relieve some of the pressure from admissions since I could completely relax my second semester as a senior. </p>
<p>So I would say that if Wharton is your top choice, definitely apply early. If not you should wait until RD. But for both options, there is the possibility that you may get in or you may not get in. Just hope for the best. You will probably get in somewhere great.
Good Luck!</p>
<p>I think that you have the stats to get in and your app looks great already- i think if you apply ed you’ll get in and have the spot, if not you could easily not get in. I would apply ed- wharton is just as prestigious as any hyps and its an amazing school.</p>
In fact, the average stats (SATs, GPAs, etc.) of applicants accepted ED are virtually the same as those of applicants accepted RD.</p>
<p>Remember that the vast majority of applicants to Penn (more than 80%, according to Dean Furda) have the SAT scores and GPAs to indicate that they could succeed academically as students at Penn. What makes or breaks most Penn admissions decisions–during both ED and RD–are the recommendations, essays, ECs, etc., and NOT the basic stats.</p>
<p>As Poeme indicated, there are no guarantees at this level of college admissions.</p>
<p>anyone else have any comments? I am torn between applying ED to Wharton or applying RD and then likely choosing between Wharton (if accepted) and Notre Dame.</p>
<p>You have a very, very good chance of getting in RD. If you aren’t 100% sure about a school then DON’T apply ED. With stats like those you’ll be above average in the RD applicant pool. If Wharton IS your #1. Then apply ED and celebrate when you get in.</p>
<p>I doesn’t matter if you have “above average stats” in the RD pool, you never know what will happen. Even if you do have above average stats, with less than a 10% acceptance rate it’s not enough. I would also like to reiterate that at a certain point stats become less important to arbitrary factors like your recommendations, essays, and more specific parts of your application. Without knowing you personally, no one here can judge how you will fare that way.
I will tell you that you are similar statistically to people I know here, some of whom applied ED and some of whom applied RD. But you are also very similar to people I know who did not get in.
My point is that it’s a complete crapshoot, especially in ED and without people here knowing you personally, it is impossible to “chance” you. All we can say is that people like you have gotten in before. You should feel more than encouraged to apply and I do wish you the best of luck, but I will admit that I honestly have no idea whether you will be successful. That’s the true response.</p>
<p>I can see Poeme has never taken a Statistics class. Yes, 10% acceptance is quite prestgious but those “above average stats” are above average for those of who get in, not those of who applied…there is a huge distinction. </p>
<p>Having above average stats than those who GOT in is a very good thing; Though I do agree that all Ivies are a gamble. No one is a lock</p>
<p>Also, should I bother adding the Quiz Bowl and Robotics from Senior Year? I’m doing them cause they sound pretty fun and a lot of my friends do them and enjoy them, but would it look like I’m trying to cram in clubs to augment my app?</p>
<p>Poeme’s posts are some of the best I’ve seen regarding Ivy League (etc.) admissions. If I were the OP, I’d pay close attention to what s/he’s saying.</p>
<p>Also, don’t fixate on whether or not you should include extra ECs or not. There are 12 spots, I think, to list ECS in the CommonApp itself but you can always attach a more detailed activities resume in that “Additional Info” section at the end of the app.</p>
<p>Fixate on your essays and on articulating what makes you unique (harder than it sounds) and capable of taking full advantage of a Penn/Wharton education.</p>
<p>I know this is debated often, but the bump for ED might not be as big as it seems for all ED applicants. The admit rate for ED includes recruited athletes and legacies. I would love to know the admit rate for ED with those two categories removed.</p>