University of Pennsylvania Fall 2019 Transfer Thread

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
41

@liddy6 Did you apply to Penn in senior year of HS? That sounds like a good enough reason - just make sure it really comes out in your essays! Maybe mention the internships that you did in HS because Penn will see that you were still willing to go above and beyond to get experience in your related field. Maybe try and get some experience in business now if you can. I still think you have a strong application regardless :slight_smile:

Also, no I am not applying to Wharton. Iā€™m applying to Penn Engineering.

And on another note, @FCBarca10 mentioned this too. Getting into Wharton is the most difficult out of all of the Penn schools as a transfer. You could apply to CAS, but I believe that you arenā€™t allowed to do a dual degree program with another school? Not sure. But you certainly arenā€™t eligible for school to school transfer within Penn (E.g. If you were thinking of applying to CAS as a sophomore transfer, then transferring to Wharton Junior year) if youā€™re a transfer student. Not sure about these rules for dual degrees, but I would just apply to whichever school suits your interests and academic goals best. If thatā€™s Wharton, give it a try!! Donā€™t apply to CAS just because it may be ā€œeasier to get intoā€ - you need to make sure youā€™re happy with what you do at Penn, and if thatā€™s Wharton, go for it! :smiley:

42

Thanks a lot for the encouragement!! :slight_smile: @contenttill311

Iā€™m just worried because I got a B in Calculus which is like a core engineering subject :L I just got incredibly stressed & nervous during one of my midterms so I messed up :frowning:

43

Donā€™t overthink it, @EconCS06, you got this. Spring semester is around the corner for me. Did anyone here already start their second semester for this year?

44

@EconCS06 Yeah, that makes sense, thanks for your advice! It seems like dual degree might still be an option, but would be inconvenient/difficult at best, so weā€™ll see if my current academic advisor has anything to say about that!

@FCBarca10 Wow, yeah 42 credits is a lot. And also, I just started my spring semester (we call it winter semester here) two weeks ago!

45

Excited to learn more.

46

Hi, I am a college freshman and im applying as a sophomore transfer to Wharton. I had a 3.4 GPA, 26 ACT in hs but I have a 4.0 right now in college. Is my ACT score too low?

47

@candylover132 Hi! Iā€™m not sure, but I think the IQR of ACT scores at UPenn is 32-35ā€¦ meaning a 32 will put you in the bottom 25% and a 35 will put you in the top 25%. I donā€™t know specifics beyond that

48

@candylover132 Hey I donā€™t really know to what extent ACT scores still matter if youā€™re a transfer. Iā€™m getting different answers from different peopleā€¦ but your GPA looks good. What about ECs? Talk about how you improved in your essays and what made you perform not too well in high school but really well in college. Perhaps thatā€™re more important than ACT (I think)

What are you planning on majoring in Wharton?

49

@EconCS06 Thanks for responding! I am not really involved in too many clubs in college; I am in a tennis club where I play tennis with others twice a week and sometimes I play tournaments against other cali colleges. And I am an officer of a fundraising club at my school. I plan to major in Health Care bc my current college doesnt offer that concentration. How about you?

50

@liddy6 Yeahā€¦ Iā€™m just worried about that because my ACT is wayyy too low.

51

@candylover132 From what Iā€™ve heard, test scores donā€™t matter nearly as much as they did for freshmen, but being somewhere in their range is best. Maybe if you have the chance, retake it and try to get within their typical range? But yeah, I agree with EconCS06, your college GPA looks fantastic!

Also, I want to do a dual degree between CAS and Wharton (environmental policy and legal studies/business ethics), any suggestions on which to put down as my ā€œprimary schoolā€ on the Common App?

52

Hey everyone! Iā€™m applying as a sophomore transfer for fall 2019 as well:) Here are my stats:

Current school: top 20 private university
Race: white and Native American (Cherokee Nation)
Gender: female
Home state: Ohio
ACT: 35 composite (36M, 36S, 34E, 34R)
High school GPA: 4.936 weighted
Class rank (high school): 1/305

College GPA: 4.00 (no honors program available as freshman, but I took a very full course load with notorious premed weed-out classes)
High school ECs: competitive gymnast from 2008-2018 (stopped due to torn achilles), varsity cross country runner (HS), private viola lessons, peer tutoring, Key Club treasurer
College ECs: Figure skating club president and founder, Women in STEM club member, tutor for Varsity Tutors, nanoscience lab research job
Intended major: Materials science and engineering

Awards/honors: Junior Olympic gymnastics gold medalist, three-time Junior Olympic gymnastics silver medalist, two-time Junior Olympic gymnastics bronze medalist, US national gymnastics champion, US national gymnastics bronze medalist, fifteen-time Ohio state gymnastics champion, six-time Ohio state gymnastics silver medalist, six-time Ohio state gymnastics bronze medalist, Ohio High School Athletic Association Scholar Athlete award, valedictorian, Summa Cum Laude latin honors, University of Cincinnati Behavioral Science Award, Ohio Soybean Association Research Award, Anderson Hills Educational Foundation Scholarship, Deanā€™s list, and Phi Eta Sigma Honor Fraternity.

Hooks: Junior Olympic gold medalist and US national champion in gymnastics, had to provide for family due to long-term medical issues last fall and winter while balancing school, ECs, and applications

Reasons for transferring: my current school does not have an engineering department, emphasis on undergraduate research involvement

Best of luck to everyone applying!

53

Hi all

How does a 3.96 from Kansas State University look from having a terrible HS GPA is this a reputable enough university to show that Iā€™ve really changed since my time in HS?

Also, I want to study finance but donā€™t want to kill my odds by applying to Wharton so would CAS be a good idea? I figured I would have access to most things at Wharton just not be apart of it.

Let me know what you all think!

54

@candylover132

Try not to worry about the ACT, they honestly donā€™t care about it as much as your college GPA which is looking more than good! :slight_smile: All the best of luck to you anyways!!

55

@liddy6 Maybe put Wharton as primary and CAS as the second option? I feel like thatā€™s what I would do, because you would still have a shot at Wharton and if it doesnā€™t work then you have CAS. Either way youā€™re going to do a dual so I guess it doesnā€™t really matter, but this is what I would do personally.

56

@Haz1432 What are your degree options aside from finance at Wharton? See #40

57

@EconC S06 I was thinking about Econ in CAS and maybe try to work in a business or Stats minor but idk if thatā€™s possible.

58

@EconCS06 how do you select dual degree on the common app, or a second choice? Mine only asks for the college youā€™re applying to and then the intended major, nothing else, which has me kind of confused.

59

@Haz1432 I see, but I think it really depends on how passionate you are about finance. If you really love finance, just go for Wharton (Your GPA certainly falls in the range!) but if youā€™re happy doing Econ and Stats or Econ + Business then apply for CAS :slight_smile:

60

@liddy6 Oh I see what you mean, Iā€™m able to select another option because Iā€™m applying to DMD at SEAS. I would just say apply to whichever school you think you would focus more on??? If not just write about it in your supplemental essay perhaps. Or contact Penn directly?