Wharton ED Chances? Advice?

Colleges & Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
1

<p>Yikes this is super long…if you just want to skim it any comments would still be awesome. Sorry… (and thanks in advance!)</p>

<p>A couple questions I have:
-How much will my upward trend of grades help?
-How much will my writing score hurt me?
-What can I do to improve my application the most? (yes, I know my grades will hurt, but there’s nothing I can do about that now)</p>

<p>Grades: </p>

<p>California Public School. Top 10% CA school, so good but nothing too great.</p>

<p>9th – 11th: 3.6 UW, 3.96 W (ranked 90/733)
10th – 11th: 3.72 UW, 4.25 W (ranked 35/733)</p>

<p>Academic Classes by semester (only 4 academics jr. year…finished 4 yrs Chinese)
9th:
A / A / B / B / B / B
A / A / A / B / B / C</p>

<p>10th:
A / A / A / B / B
A / A / A / B / B</p>

<p>11th:
A / A / A / B
A / A / A / A</p>

<p>SAT I:
-Math: 800
-Reading: 740
-Writing: 660 (680 in March)
-Total: 2200 (2220 w/ combined scores)</p>

<p>SAT IIs:
-Math IIC: 720 (retaking Oct.)
-US Hist: 700 (not retaking)</p>

<p>AP:
Soph AP: Euro (5)
Junior AP’s: Calc AB (est. 4/5); Comp (est. 4/5); US (est. 5)
Senior AP’s: Calc BC, Stats, Gov, Lit, & Psych + CC Micro & Macro Econ</p>

<p>Major ECs:</p>

<p>Work Experience:
-Worked at McDonald’s for almost a yr (will be 1 1/2 yrs when I apply…should be a manager by then); 12-16 hrs/wk during school; 25 hrs/wk summer</p>

<p>Business / Fundraising / Community Service:
-Started a small business at school (profited $200 w/ $350 initial investment)
-Ran almost single-handedly a school Bowl-A-Thon fundraiser…raised $1,000 for the school & $450 for orphanages in China…largest class fundraiser in school’s 4 yr. history; will be repeated annually
-Running large-scale (hopefully) charity golf tournament this fall
-Started a program to help non-native speakers w/ English at McDonald’s…help w/ reading & writing
-Started a program w/ family friend to send boxes of clothing, toys, etc to orphanages in China (our family adopted). Also serve as asst teacher in teaching Chinese 4 hrs every other week…I also have taken 4 yrs of Chinese (& am Caucasian)</p>

<p>Other Interests / Activities / Etc.:
-Writing a historical fiction/mystery novel (15,000 words so far…still have the summer)
-Boy Scouts (almost Eagle)
-JV CC (9/10/11); JV Track (9/10)
-Weekly religious school 9/10
-Fantasy Baseball (8 yrs): sounds like a joke but it is heavily statistically based…national competition (ranked as high as 3rd nationally out of 6,000)
-Ran statistical projections for Varsity CC (predicted 1/2 of Varsity runners in our league’s final times w/in 15 seconds 3 months in advance)
-NHS
-Freshman Mentoring Program
-Finalist in ROP Business & Management Awards Program</p>

<p>Sorry that was awfully long…thanks for your help!</p>

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<p>my advice is something im telling myself, calm down about this
you have obviously decided for yourself that this is where you want to go as evident through your multiple threads dedicated towards it. you have a shot just like everyone else who is qualified, so although it would be great to hear someone say YEAH MAN YOURE A SHOE-IN chances are its not gonna happen because its just such a crapshoot of a process, the best thing you can do is try, and prepare yourself in case it doesnt work out to your wishes</p>

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<p>yeah i know but if there's any way i can make it just a little bit less of a crapshoot than it it (through any advice that is out there) i would really appreciate it. :)</p>

<p>I know Wharton is a reach even for those w/ much better qualifications than mine. I am primarily interested in what I can do to give myself a better shot.</p>

<p>Thanks...and good luck w/ Wharton for you as well.</p>

4

<p>Your app sounds solid...make sure you nail the essays and if you can, tie them in with your interests, ec's, your life, stuff you do etc...to give connectivity and a good flow to your entire application</p>

5

<p>stambliark i didnt mean it in any bad way, im guilty of the same exact thing its tempting and encouraging to here good things, i just think you have a good chance if you can put together great essays and recs, it seems the essays really make it or break it</p>

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<p>this is like the kazillion time you have posted this...WITHOUT CHANGING ANYTHING~!!!</p>

7

<p>good chance... I bet u that I can beat you @ fantasy baseball :)</p>