<p>Anyone apply to Vagelos? Any advice from Current Vagelos students?</p>
<p>I did, and it’s probably the only option that might make me think twice about Stanford. Two degrees are better than one ;)</p>
<p>Good luck guys, from a Vagelos '15 ED student :D</p>
<p>If you got into LSM RD, please join the FB group!</p>
<p><a href=“Facebook”>Facebook;
<p>Btw, congrats on getting into the best dual degree program at Penn! lol.</p>
<p>I got in 
definitely going there.</p>
<p>Hi,</p>
<p>I am a freshman in high school and am interested in the biotechnology business. With today’s dire economic times, I also understand that it is essential to hold a degree in business as well. For this reason, I would like to know about extracurriculars that Valegos students seem to have in common or would be beneficial to the program.
Here are my current extracurriculars:
Speech and Debate
Model United Nations
Biochemistry Research at Portland State University
ScienceBowl
Premed Club
Tennis
Piano
Partnerships in Scientific Inquiry student at the Oregon Health and Science University School of Medicine
Volunteering at Hospital (Surgical Unit)</p>
<p>I feel that I have a strong foundation in biology but do not have enough cred in finance or management. I’m sure Speech and Debate builds on this, but there’s definitely more to do. Please feel free to PM me about any reccomendations you might have about helping me get into LSM.</p>
<p>You’re a freshman in HS, no worries yet so when the opportunities for business ECs come then take them. I’m assuming you have the scores, so I think it’ll go down to the essays.</p>
<p>There are a lot of things to worry about when you’re a freshman in high school. Peer pressure, passing 9th grade lit, and other random crap that only my friends and, dare I say it, colleagues, stress about. Thankfully, I am above the trivial pursuits of my peers and have decided to focus intensely on a specific and challenging end-goal for my 4 year career in high school. In conclusion, I’m simply not like other kids. Any more advice?</p>
<p>I got into Vagelos LSM this year (Class of 2016, Early Decision), and I sympathize with you. While I wasn’t set on LSM until junior year, I already knew that Penn was my top choice freshman year (and I had a list of 7 schools I planned on applying to). Of course, by soph and junior year, I made tweaks to my list, but Penn, and LSM, was always on top. So don’t feel bad/awkward about starting early—the early bird gets the worm! </p>
<p>I would say, continue doing research, and perhaps consider a supplemental recommendation letter from your research mentor (mine wrote one laying out how my personality, research, and interests directly match that of LSM). And, write a spectacular essay! The prompt is already on the LSM website (I don’t think it will change much…it hasn’t at all these past few years). The biggest parts are your course load (I assume it will be rigorous and filled with A’s), research/other extra curricular, essays and rec letters (this is KEY! This is a great way for admissions to look for fit between you and LSM/Penn), and scores (should be strong, but they don’t have to be perfect). Good luck!</p>
<p>I took my SAT in 7th grade (didn’t do to well: 1660) and am a member of the Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth as well. I’m pretty sure that my recs and essay are going to align me almost exactly to a majority of LSM students. There are few college applicants in the United States with significant extracurricular activity in Biology and Business, and I am one of them. My weighted GPA is currently a 4.14, and I probably will take the SAT and join DECA next year. Additionally, I want to know if getting my research published in a professional journal would do me any good in admissions?</p>
<p>To those interested in LSM: I think research is a great feature to have. If you can do some sort of meaningful research in biology, biochemistry, etc., that is a strong addition to your application. Having your research mentor write you a glowing recommendation letter and/or having a published research paper only furthers the strength of your application!</p>
<p>A word of caution: I do NOT recommend YOU paying for the internship. What you want is a research internship that PAYS YOU. If you get paid (ex. $2000 stipend for the 2.5 month research internship), that is a plus to your app. If YOU PAY THEM (ex. Pay $7000 to do research for a month at XYZ University), admissions can see right through that and it is not as impressive. Think of the former example (where you get $2000) as you landing a job—it is an asset to your application! The latter = not so much.</p>
<p>hardworking21, what were your stats?</p>
<p>@bsmd3454: Feel free to check through my previous posts. I posted them on the Penn Class of 2016 ED results thread.</p>
<p>What if the work load for the dual BS in Econ and BA in science is too much? Can you drop one or the other?</p>