<p>@bern700 I saw a post of yours discussing how an internship at a hedge fund or PE firm will be an eye popper on a Wharton App. I have worked at a hedge fund for the past years doing actual financial analysis, not just shuffling papers and making coffee; in addition, I'm the president of my school's stock investing club and have been a regional finalist in BPA entrepreneurship competitions, and have founded a successful small business with a friend.</p>
<p>HOWEVER, I am only in the top 15% of my class, and I'm worried that this may be too detrimental to get accepted by Wharton. Would you say the ECs are enough to balance that out? ED by the way. </p>
<p>You are on multiple threads asking basically the same question about your class rank and your chances at Wharton. As I wrote in another thread of yours, unfortunately, no one can answer this for you but yourself. You have to do research on Naviance and seek the help of your GC to see if Penn (or other tops schools) takes kids with your stats (Wharton, as you know, will be even more selective.) </p>
<p>Will being an intern at a hedge fund be enough to overcome your low relative GPA? Again, none of us know.</p>
<p>All I do know is Wharton has its pick from an elite group of students that also having amazing ec’s. Therefore, YOU have to answer two questions: 1) Is my school so rigorous that kids who are 15 percent or more away from the top get accepted at elite schools and/or 2) Are my ec’s so amazing that the admissions committee members stand up and say wow " we should definitely take this kid even if his gpa is on the lower side". You have to stop asking this question of others and answer it yourself because we honestly don’t know the answer.</p>
<p>If you have no other early schools in mind then it’s probably worth the $70 or whatever to apply to Wharton; especially if you can’t figure out the answers to the two basic questions above. This way, you’ll never end up wondering “what if?”</p>
<p>If you’re trying to decide whether to apply early to Penn CAS or Wharton, you should probably know that your gpa is on the low side for both schools but perhaps your EC’s are more appealing to Wharton. </p>
<p>Whatever you decide, I hope it works out for you.</p>
<p>Your regional admissions officer probably understands the rigor and competitiveness of your school, so I wouldn’t worry too much. Also you should check Naviance to see the stats of previously accepted students from your school! Then you can gauge where you stand in terms of objective stats. </p>