Wharton WITHOUT Leadership ECs?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
1

<p>is it possible to get into Wharton without many/any leadership ECs?
I have nothing.</p>

<p>The only thing i can think up of is this one time when i helped to organize a raffle that raised money. That’s about it.</p>

2

<p>IS this true?</p>

3

<p>Forget Wharton, it is hard to get into Penn, the other Ivys, and even most of the top private colleges without any leadership. For the most competitive schools like Wharton, you should have leadership (a lot of it). It is possible to get in without leadership though, just have your parents start writing checks.</p>

4

<p>I need someone to give me some more optimistic, yet true views about this. I applied ED, have good Academics but no leadership. I get my decision in a week and need some optimistic response i.e. that even some people without leadership get in</p>

5

<p>Showing serious interest in the area that you plan to study should compensate for not being the president of the chess club.</p>

6

<p>Honestly, if you're a near perfect student and have everything on your side save leadership positions, you still have a good chance. Usually though, it's these positions that help distinguish a student and make a better candidate...</p>

<p>-The Distinguished Coot66</p>

7

<p>Venkater is being highly presumptious as usual I see.:rolleyes: If you're involved in the fine arts/music/sports, then you probably won't have the opportunity to attain a leadership position and that's OK. Leadership in an area is one indication of passion towards the field but it's one of many. Just sit back and wait to see what happens now.</p>

8

<p>I had like, very little leadership I think. Nor do I have a lot of money, nor do my parents. Then again I applied to the College before transferring to Wharton so I do not know what would have happened otherwise (I had good luck with other schools though), but I don't think any one thing will make or break you. It's just a general feeling or trend, I think. If you're a pretty much solid applicant, I doubt a lack of leadership will truly kill you off. I think focusing on essays is important -- it can set you apart from the rest. I think too many people worry about not having enough leadership positions or business-oriented extracurriculars, when in fact they simply aren't the most important aspects of your app. Sometimes leadership positions aren't even that challenging. Sometimes it's just a popularity contest and you couldn't help it. I don't think they'll hold it against you.</p>

9

<p>You do not need to be president of the class to be a leader. Being 1st chair for an instrument is leadership. Captain of your team does not only mean you are a good player, but that your teammates respect you and see you as a leader. Leadership in theater could be raising money, directing a play, etc. For finearts, my friend is the president of a club and raising money for a trip. </p>

<p>Wharton wants doers, not joiners. If you are interested in X, do more than take classes on it. Starting a club may not make you stand out, but can be part of a long list of things that shows you are passionate about X.</p>

10

<p>That's good advice. If there's anyone else that would like to comment on chances being harmed or chance of getting in without leadership, please respond now</p>

11

<p>im going to say the say thing i always do: show that you have a passion for SOMETHING! i sure as hell dont have many leadership positions at all, if any. but i definately showed that i love certain things and that i absolutely love penn through my essays and my legacy interview. i think if you did so too, penn is one school thatll look past the extra leadership EC's and say: "ok, not everyone can be a leader, and besides, you dont want a school full of leaders anyway." </p>

<p>although, i applied to SEAS, but those are my thoughts :)</p>

12

<p>pretty much, i just mentioned in my app how i played a lot of tennis. But, I didnt write about tennis in my essays.</p>

13

<p>evil<em>asian</em>dictator needs to figure out that you need to be a strong applicant to get into good colleges.</p>

14

<p>If you're from a disadvantaged background, lack of leadership might not hurt you so much, since Penn is trying to recruit low-income students.</p>

<p>But if there's anything on your application (parents' jobs/education, vacations, expensive summer programs) that indicates affluence, admissions officers will certainly expect significant leadership.</p>

15

<p>

Any evidence to back up that blanket statement?</p>

16

<p>To evil<em>asian</em>dictator:</p>

<p>Yes, there is substantial evidence to back up the fact that admissions officers expect much more from children who come from affluent families. That is a well known fact. Leadership is one of the qualities that admissions officers will look for, not the only quality. Overall, however, they are trying to create a strong, balanced class. If the rest of your application is strong enough, they may overlook this one fact. However, I would like to remind the OP that Wharton's RD admissions rate (are you applying RD?) was much lower than that of say, Harvard, Princeton, or Yale last year (because they prefer ED students). I spoke to Stetson, and he told me it was around 7%. This year, they expect it to drop to about 5%. You would have to be an extremely exceptional applicant to make Wharton, ED or RD. Still, if you want to go there, don't give up hope!</p>

17

<p>"Some really cool EC's I know that some of my friends have(online computer businesses and indpendent dance) don't have any leadership attached to them, yet they are still good EC's."</p>

<p>I would think starting your own business shows leadership. Like I said before, leadership is more than being President of a bs EC. Starting your own company shows many characteristics of a leader, and I would classify it as leadership. </p>

<p>Also, doesn't Penn want its admits to be popular?</p>