<p>Wharton's been one of my top choices for a while, and I would love to go there. Since it's so selective, I know my only shot is if I apply ED. I just want to know what my chances are ED, and if there's anything I can improve on to increase my chances? The bolded parts of my post are the things that I feel hurt my chances...
Stats- GPA 94.4
SAT I: cr/m/w: 710/770/800 SAT II: mathII/bio/US: 760/730/730
APs: Bio-5, US-5, Lang-5, Micro/Macroeconomics-4s
ECs: DECA Regional President, Varsity Tennis Captain, Model UN Chair/Officer, Mock Trial Captain, NYS Business and Marketing Honors Society
Awards: Projected NMF (229 score), DECA National Finalist and 3x NYS Winner, Model UN Outstanding Delegate, National Spanish Exam Silver Medalist, Williams College Book Award, District Business Incentive Award
extra notes:
-Indian NY Resident
-Taking ACT in September
-retaking math II for 800, taking SAT II Lit</p>
<p>Thanks for reading :) I'd appreciate any opinions</p>
<p>Oh and I don’t know if this makes a difference…but this summer I’ve been doing an internship at NY Senator Chuck Schumer’s office…I don’t have a job though</p>
<p>If anyone could respond I’d appreciate it…:)</p>
<p>Your stats and scores don’t have to be PERFECT to be accepted to Wharton- I know mine weren’t. Don’t worry about perfecting your SAT II’s and the 4’s. Work on being unique and talented. Reflect on what you are going to write in your essays and show that you have a passion for business. </p>
<p>You have the scores, now work on the smaller details that can separate you from the other applicants (who are bound to have the same resume as you). </p>
<p>Yeah I’ve been focusing on my essays and the more subjective parts of my app lately, thanks for the advice. The only reason I’m retaking Math II, is that I’ve heard that most Wharton applicants have an 800 in Math II, and plus my score isn’t a very good percentile either. </p>
<p>Well I’d have to say that my scores were relatively weak compared to other Wharton candidates. What I believe separated me from the other candidates was the amount of leadership I had on my application and a GREAT interview. </p>
<p>Some say that the interview is insignificant, but a positive recommendation from a well-respected alumnae does help! My interviewer was a lawyer, so I sort of started our interview off by talking about my experiences in mock trial. The rest of the interview was more like a conversation between two friends rather than a formal interview–aim for this! I really think the success of the interview compensated for the weakness of my scores.</p>
<p>Absolutely. Applicants don’t “need” an 800. Does it strengthen your application? Yes. But at the end of the day, Wharton does not differentiate between two applicants who got an 800 and a 750. They look further than that–essays, extracurriculars, leadership, transcripts… etc. So in my opinion, your 760 makes you competitive with those who have an 800.</p>
<p>Especially for ED… essays are KEY. People spend days and days trying to get perfect scores, but they’ll only spend a few hours on their essays… Many people will have similar scores to you, but I assure you, even more people will have shtity essays… so essays are where you can really distinguish yourself from the rest of the pool. As you write/edit your essays, ask yourself this question: “can anyone else in this world write this essay?” How unique is it to you? If someone else were to read the first sentence, would they want to continue reading it or would they think, “■■■, another generic, boring essay”? </p>
<p>Sorry for the rant, but I’m serious about having good essays.</p>
<p>Thanks PennEddy and quakertastesgood for the great advice…my commonapp essay is pretty unique and I hope to do the same w/ my supplemental essays.</p>
<p>Does anyone else want to chance me or offer advice on how to improve my chances? Any opinions are appreciated…:)</p>
<p>I think your test scores are pretty solid, and it looks like you have nice ECs. Obviously just focus on that essay and write a great one. If you’re set on retaking the Math II, make sure you make your retest worth it by getting that 800. Other than that, I’m sure you’ll at least get deferred if not accepted ED.</p>
<p>our school doesn’t rank, although I know I’m at least in the top 10%. My GPA is unweighted and nearly all of my classes are APs or honors…I always thought a 94.4 correlated to a 4.0? Would the fact that our school lists numbers on transcript instead of just A or 4.0 hurt my chances?</p>
<p>You have some interesting ECs along with some work experience, which is good. A visiting rep told my school that Wharton capitalizes on class rank (which, if unreported, will hurt you in the calculation of AI), work experience, and demonstrated interest in business. Your ECs are not the generic NHS/math team/tennis team/violin batch, so that’s good, considering that are you Asian Indian. I’d like to see more work experience though.</p>
<p>Just wondering - how can you be a regional DECA president? The four regional positions are all held by graduated seniors. Also, there is no national level of competition in DECA–only international.</p>
<p>drunkofdreams I am president of my region in Upstate NY for DECA. This position is only open to students in high school currently in DECA. The four International DECA Official positions can only be held by graduated seniors, and they have to take a year off of college and everything…I’m certainly not an officer at that level. And by National, I meant International…it’s only really considered international because some Guam, Puerto Rico and some other territories are included.</p>
<p>Also you said if class rank is unreported then it will hurt your overall AI? What about school’s who don’t rank their students at all? Will this hurt their chances?</p>
<p>Runi - don’t worry about rank if your school doesn’t rank students. Schools notify colleges of their procedures in regards to grade distribution, as well as rank.</p>
<p>Regional state president…gotcha. The awards are still considered international honors on applications though. </p>
<p>Yes, all Ivies will calculate a class rank for you, using their system of ranking. Reporting deciles is better than nothing though. Even so, “Top 10%” could be anywhere from unofficial valedictorian to the bottom of the ten percent. Understand that not reporting exact rank will not directly hurt your chances though. What /will/ hurt your chances is if the Ivy-calculated CR is lower than your “real” CR at school, in which most cases it is. </p>
<p>On the other hand, if you’re truly in the bottom of the ten percent, the Ivy-calculated CR will likely (not always) be a little higher. In any case, their CR estimation will not be accurate, but in the situation where a school does not report exact rank, the college is forced to create some sort of close substituted estimation. This CR calculation is ultimately used in generating your AI.</p>
<p>Sure, as miss_murd3r points out, you shouldn’t worry too much about it because you can’t control it. However, not reporting rank will generally lower your AI. If you are really interested in knowing the process, I believe there is a book out there that thoroughly narrates the calculations–“A Is for Admission” by Michele Hernandez, I believe.</p>
<p>You have a few options if you’re concerned about rank.</p>
<ol>
<li>Call the individual schools that you want to apply to and ask what you should do in terms of your rank; report it, don’t report it, etc. Explain how your school doesn’t assign rank and that you were wondering if it will play a significant role when they are assessing you as an applicant.</li>
<li>Ask your guidance/college counselor for the run down of what they are going to send and what you should report on your common app.</li>
</ol>