I am really interested in the Huntsman program (dual major in International Relations and Business), but from the information available on the internet, it seems so competitive that I will never make it in to the program.
Would it increase my chances of acceptance into University of Pennsylvania if I apply to both Wharton and Arts and Sciences instead of Huntsman? Or should I apply to Huntsman and one of the others?
I know the acceptance rate for U of Penn is 9.9%, and for Wharton it is 13.9%… What is the acceptance rate for Arts and Sciences?
Here are my stats if they help:
My unweighted GPA: 3.90 (class rank #9, top 5%) and my weighted is 4.19 (class rank #10, top 6%), though with this semester coming to a close, I’ll likely have a 4.0 GPA unweighted and a 4.57 GPA weighted.
My ACT composite is 32 (Math 31, English 32, Reading 31, Science 34) and my writing score is 36.
I am within the top 10 HS oboists in the state of California; the height of my oboe career has been auditioning and performing in an international, collegiate wind orchestra as well as playing in paid adult ensembles in my county.
I am gay and started a Gay-Straight Alliance at my school my freshman year and was president of it. I am an Eagle Scout and a part of the Order of the Arrow (Boy Scout Honor Society); a member of many orchestras/bands in my area; participate in county, regional, and all-state honors bands; a member of California Scholarship Federation Club; received Honorable Mention (2nd place) in a county-wide Mock Trial Journalism Competition; an AP Scholar with Distinction (I have scored five 4s and one 3); and I’ve had three jobs: Worked for a summer as a paid intern for Meridian Pacific, a political consulting and public affairs company; playing piano at a church and accompanying its choir; and teaching piano lessons.
Thank you! 
Just a comment, the 13.9% acceptance that you indicated is not the acceptance rate for Wharton Undergraduate. 13.9% is the acceptance for Wharton Graduate School. The wharton undergrad has even a lower acceptance rate. Its the hardest to get in out of all Upenn faculties so its prob lower than 9.9% (the avg acceptance).
As for your question, I do not have a good answer. Nevertheless, I’d say that you should apply to Huntsman if u are up for the challenge. Many people who ik were rejected from Huntsman or other dual degrees still got into Wharton (not dual-degree). Best of luck! I’ll be applying to Upenn in 2016/2017 as well!
The 13.9% acceptance rate for Wharton is very dated, from the time when Penn’s overall acceptance rate was 15-20%+. I don’t think it is the MBA acceptance rate since this has historically been quite higher than 13.9%. But nowadays Penn’s acceptance rate is 9.4% ( not 9.9%) so the Wharton acceptance rate is most prob around 7.5-8%. The Huntsman program is super competitivenes and its acceptance ratceis most open in the 5-6% range ( no one knows for sure though). Apply to Huntsman and then put as you second choice either Wharton or CAS. Keep in mind that it is much easier to do an uncoordinated dual degree with CAS as a Wharton student than the other way around. So if you don’t get into Huntsman and put Wharton as your 2nd choice and u get into Wharton then at the end of your freshman or sophomore year you can do an uncoordinated dual degree with CAS as long as you have above a 3.0 . However if you get into CAS and then want to apply for a dual degree with Wharton you will need to have at least a 3.4 to even be considered and even then it is not certain that you ll be accepted since it is a quite competitive process. Seems a bit lopsided and it is imp but that is how it is. So if you are open to the idea of pursuing an uncoordinated dual degree between Wharton and CAS if you don’t get into Huntsman, my advice would be to put Wharton as your 2nd choice, not CAS.
Getting a few facts straight:
- You can NOT apply to both CAS and Wharton individually. The only way you can do that is by a coordinated dual degree program, in which case you identify one and only one secondary single degree choice (CAS/Wharton). So your only option here is Huntsman + W/CAS
- 13.9% is not even close to Wharton's acceptance rate. It's literally double of the real UNDEGRAD acceptance rate (approx 7%). Penn's overall is 9.4, and CAS would be around 10-12
^ The 13.9% is a very old acceptance rate for Wharton grad from the time when Penn s overall rate was 15-20%+. I think CAS nowadays in prob around 10%. 12% is kinda too high.
@Penn95 According to google, this figure is of 2013, the same year when Penn Undergrad had an overall rate of around 12. So I highly doubt that the 13.9 is a figure for Wharton UG, must be for the MBA program. Plus Penn does not release statistics for individual UG schools so google couldn’t have got that figure from anywhere.
That is weird because the Wharton MBA acceptance rate has always been in the high teen-20%+ range. In 2013 Wharton MBA acceptance rate was 21%. Also Penn actually used to publish acceptance rates by undergraduate school but it stopped doing that.
http://www.thedp.com/index.php/article/2003/04/admission_rates_drop_at_penn_ivies
In this article all four acceptance rates are reported but is is quite dated (published in 2003 for the class of 2007). So the 13.9% could be for the class of 2013 ( so published in 2009).
Disgraceful that Penn once had a double digit acceptance rate!
(sarcasm)