UPenn M&T Jerome Fisher and other Univ. Chances

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

I am a High School senior with the following stats:

Unweighted GPA: 3.79/4
Weighted GPA: 4.46/5
SAT: 1480 (3rd try) - 760M 720RW

EC’s:
Worked as tech intern over summer servicing over 1000 devices (laptops, desktops, etc.) as part of three-person team for organization.
Took 12-credit intense Spanish course (equivalent of 4 Spanish courses condensed into 8 weeks) at University of Virginia, non-credit score of 92%.
Spent summer at a youth programmers camp under Moscow State University (Russia) programming, doing projects, etc.

Bunch of filler EC’s such as Scuba diving, Sports, 5 Honors Societies, etc.

So all of this is great for my original first choice of University of Virginia, in fact it is significantly above the school’s averages. However I never really considered seriously applying anywhere better except for “for fun” until the last few weeks. Here are the places I am applying to, and would like to see my chances.

UPenn
Wharton
Wharton M&T Jerome Fisher (Dual Degree) - (new first choice)
UT Austin Petroleum Enginnering - (""“backup”"" - Petroleum is really hard to get into though)
Stanford

I know, my scores are extremely low (except for UT Austin), and I regret not taking the SAT one more time to score in 1500s.
Do I have ANY chance at Wharton? I assume M&T is EVEN harder. I will still try.
I am currently working on some personal coding projects that may help me out, such as a program I am making for SEC.gov balance sheet analyzing, and I will probably mention that in an essay, but don’t know how much that can help out if my scores are so low.

Thanks for helping me out!

Edit: I have no SAT Subject Tests (wasn’t planning on applying anywhere competitive) and my highest AP Scores are 3 4’s in Microecon, APUSH, and Calc AB.

2

M&T is one of the hardest programs to get into in any university in the country. While your profile is competitive, M&T will be a reach especially without subject tests. For UVA I think you would be accepted as well as at UT Austin.

3

Thank you. I thought the same. From what I read M&T are truly the best of the best of the best of UPenn, which is one of the best. I just wish they released scores and stats on acceptances so I could see for certain how far off I am.

If only I could go back in time and tell Sophomore me to start studying for my SAT early and AP exams :frowning:

What do you think my chances are for Wharton, or at least UPenn? Probably slim as well.

4

M&T takes only the best of the best of Penn applicants. That being said even regular Penn would be a reach for you, same thing goes for Stanford.

5

I guess my question is, is it even worth it trying to apply to Stanford, UPenn, Wharton, or M&T? Is UPenn a “reach” or is it a “no-way, wishful thinking”?

6

I mean, definitely apply. You don’t want any “what-ifs” especially if it’s just one extra essay away from removing any of that unknown. I think UPenn is a reach (as it is for everyone)…I think M&T is going to be very, very tough. Your CS electives seem to be much stronger than your business electives.

Honestly, I think you would be a better fit to the Engineering School at UPenn. Why do you want to go to Wharton?

7

I agree about the CS part. I have been really interested in CS for the last 5 years or so, learning new programming languages and making various programs, I just don’t really know if I want to do CS professionally, and what upward mobility I would have.

As for UPenn engineering, that would be great, however I think that due to University of Virginia being closer and cheaper to me I would rather go to the UVA Engineering school (I applied Early Action - fairly certain I will get in), however yet again I am unsure of what I want to major in.

Because of this I want to also apply to something that wouldn’t just be the same pure engineering, so I started looking at Business and Finance schools, as another choice. Wharton M&T attracted me the most with a mix of engineering school and an opportunity to do something “greater” through a Wharton degree, but of course my chances are slim to none.

On that note, what are any great Business schools that I may have a better chance at? I would prefer them to be reach schools. Do you know of any schools that offer something similar to M&T?

8

@Stanczyk okay, that makes sense. Although there is tons of mobility and leadership you can obtain with just a CS degree…if you have natural leadership skills, you will be able to move up the ladder in major companies without additional training in my opinion (and through receiving mentorship through some leaders in major tech companies!)

I know on the top of my head that Lehigh offers a dual business and tech program, definitely check them out. You can also just go the traditional route and double major in business and computer science. Business isn’t too time-consuming at many schools…Wharton is not one of those schools, however.

Northeastern offers a combined major in computer science and a variety of business majors (business, economics, communication) which may be an attainable option for you.

Good luck!

9

I would apply to more reasonable reaches. You don’t have much chance at Penn M&T or Stanford with no subject tests and those AP scores and ECs.