UPenn schools admission

<p>1) I'm a bit confused about applying...do you apply to UPenn as a whole, or do you apply to each school (CAS, Wharton, SEAS) independently? </p>

<p>2) My interests lie in sciences and business mainly (and a little of engineering as well), so I'm not sure what am I supposed to put down for course of study. I think probably CAS or Wharton would be the correct choice, right? Is what you put down binding?</p>

<p>3) Is there a different chance of admission depending on what course of study (i.e. school) I indicate (related to the first question)? If so, which has a better chance?</p>

<p>4) From what I've read in their viewbook, which is what initially attracted me, was that it seems you can take courses in all their schools. If this is true, then does that mean I can indicate CAS as course of study on my app right now and then potentially earn a Wharton degree instead?</p>

<p>5) Ideally, I would like to get a dual degree from CAS and Wharton. I don't really think the coordinated dual-degree/accelerated programs are the exact right fit for me. Despite this, the Huntsman, Fisher, and Vagelos Programs intrigues me. However, as I am still quite undecided about my major and career, I don't think I will apply to these. Will I be able to form my own dual-degree program?</p>

<p>6) One more thing...for majors in CAS, what do the two asterisks refer to for "Undecided (Other)**" ? </p>

<p>Sorry for so many questions. I hope anyone with even some relevant information will be able to help me with this. Comments, suggestions, and advice is, as always, welcome and appreciated. Thanks.</p>

<p>A lot of your questions are related so I'll try to answer them the best I can.</p>

<p>When you apply to Penn you pick a school, either SAS, Wharton, SEAS, or Nursing. You only apply to that school and are either admitted or rejected from that school. There are numerous joint degree programs you can apply for between two schools. They are the Huntsman Program (IR + Business), LSM (Life Science + Business), M+T (engineering + business), and the nursing/wharton one. When you apply to one of those programs you apply to the program and then you select a back up school. For example, if you are applying to M+T you indicate on your app that you are applying for the program. Then you indicate either Wharton or SEAS as your back up school incase you are rejected from the program. If you are interested in life science and business then I suggest you apply for LSM with either SAS or Wharton as a backup. If you are deadset on a double major between business and science, I'd put Wharton as your backup as it is easier to later get a dual with SAS as a Wharton student than getting a dual with Wharton as a SAS student. Different schools have different admit rates and look for different things. If you lacked leadership in high school and took a lot of math and science classes I'd say you're better off applying for SEAS than Wharton. </p>

<p>You can create your own dual degree program in any two majors in any two schools you want. If you know 100% that you want a business major I'd suggest you apply to Wharton and then pick up the dual your sophomore year. Getting a dual degree between two schools is pretty straight forward. You have the school you start with and during second semester freshman year you submit an application for a dual degree with another school. Each school has a GPA cutoff. SAS and SEAS have about a 3.0 cutoff. Wharton's last cutoff was a 3.81 and it's been going up every year. If you are interested in one of the areas that has a joint degree program though (Huntsman, LSM or M+T) I would strongly suggest trying to get into one of those for freshman admission. The programs cut out a lot of your requirements so you can avoid a 5th year. You can still transfer into M+T after freshman year, but you would need a 4.0 and I think you would have had to participate in some stuff on campus like clubs and that sort.</p>

<p>For what you're asking, I'd suggest applying for Wharton and then figuring out what your would like your second major to be later on. You'll probably never go after the dual though and just settle for a minor. </p>

<p>Hope that helped.</p>

<p>Wow thank you for such an in-depth response.</p>

<p>After what you said, I think it would be best for me to try to get into the LSM program. I would put Wharton as my back up, but I don't think I have the business extracurriculars that many Wharton applicants have. I may have classes and a background that show my interest in business and economics, but as for leadership, I think I am quite lacking (only have one leadership position in a recreational club that would probably look insignificant to colleges). My extracurriculars in general are not spectacular either. Worst of all, I have no mentionable awards. My grades, tests, and recs are on par though. Therefore, I think I may be at a disadvantage compared to other Wharton applicants. In fact, getting into UPenn may be quite a reach. Would SAS be easier to get into in this respect? But of course, I'm always hopeful =] What would be your take on my situation?</p>

<p>Does anyone have the admissions stats/rates for the individual schools for regular decision (estimated or exact)? </p>

<p>Anyone is free to comment or answer the questions as well.</p>

<p>Also, on the Penn supplement, for the courses for senior year, would Architecture be considered a non-academic class? Can I put an "other" class on "science" since I don't have a science class for this term?</p>

<p>^By non-academic, I'm pretty sure they mean classes such Study Hall, Gym, and so on.</p>

<p>If you lack leadership and such then SAS is a little easier than Wharton. Both schools really like leaders and such, but business values it more than arts and science. I always got the impression that you're better off having SAS as your backup than Wharton if you really want to go to Penn more than being in a special program or being in Wharton.</p>