What are my chances of getting into Wharton Undergrad or Harvard Business School?

Can I get into UPenn or Harvard with an 86 (Semester 1 Exam) and 84 (Semester 2 Exam) on my transcript for Credit By Exams that I took in the summer of 8th grade to get the credit for geometry? All of the rest of my grades are 97 and above for actual classes that I take and they are all highest level available at my school, but those two grades look really bad on my transcript and I am worried I won’t get into UPenn or Harvard because of that.Do you think I can still get in?

Your chances at Harvard Business School for undergrad are 0%. Your chances at Wharton will be around average (7-8%).

thank you but why would my chance be 0%

Because Harvard Business School is a graduate school. You need an undergraduate degree and a few years of post-grad work experience before applying.

In terms of Wharton, nobody can chance you. You are a freshman with no standardized test scores. Ask again in 2 years.

If you do not get into the college of your choice, it will not be because of your credit-by-exam scores.

thnx, I am just really worried about how it shows those two test grades on my transcript. I was told by my counselor that they would not affect my gpa but I didn’t know they would be on my transcript. None of my other grades are lower than a 97. Would Ivy Leagues reject me because of those two test grades?

And could i request my counselor to remove those scores from my transcript? Is he allowed to do that?

No. See the last sentence of my answer above.

You could ask. Whether he can/will is predicated upon the policy of the school.

Okay, thank you so much. I will ask him about it tomorrow and hopefully he can do so.

Both schools have a 5% acceptance rate. Your chances are based on dumb luck, not stats, simply because you have a 95% chance of getting turned down. Don’t put your hopes and dreams on something like that. It’s just a bachelors degree! Instead, focus on getting into a good school and getting good internship opportunities.

Nobody can predict your chances at this point, but the idea that admissions to top schools are purely based on “dumb luck” is just silly. Not everybody with top grades, scores and ECs get into top colleges, but if you look at the student body of those schools it’s immediately obvious they didn’t get there by a lucky draw out of a hat. There are parts of the process that are unpredictable, but admissions is not just based on luck. Keep up the good grades, get top test scores, pursue ECs that are meaningful to you and pursue them to extraordinary lengths and you’ll have a shot at some top colleges.

So I think you are really asking what does it take to get into Wharton’s undergraduate business program and or Harvard Business School for my MBA. I would say the best answer to this question is to look at those respective websites where they spell out what they are looking for in candidates. The more research you do, the better you can shape your credentials to meet your aspirations. Nothing wrong with reaching or dreaming large.

And when application time comes around in a couple of years i suggest to review each university’s website so that you will know what the school is all about.

A few comments:

  1. You should do basic research on your own before coming to CC. As others have noted, Harvard does not have an undergraduate business school.
  2. It is too early in the process to know if your will be competitive for top tier colleges. Come back when you are a junior and have standardized test scores.
  3. Recognize that grades are one part of the application. The rest of the application including EC activities, essays, recommendations etc. must also be exemplary to have a shot at the top colleges.
  4. In general it is impossible to chance for a school like Wharton. With well under a 10% acceptance rate, Wharton and other top tier colleges do not have space to accept all of the very well qualified applicants.

Thanks guys