What are my chances on UPenn?

Male
White
public high school - average ranked
4.2772 GPA
Rank : 37 / 280
no alumni relation to Upenn, Virginia resident.

9th Grade: AP World History
10th Grade: AP Government, AP European History
11th Grade: AP US History, AP Psychology, AP Statistics, IB French HL 11, APES, AP English 11, AP Micro, AP Macro

FBLA: 2nd in Virginia [Business Law], went to nationals ; president of my school’s chapter.

  • I’m in a youth leadership organization for my county.

AP Scholar

Interested in going to Wharton Business School

Have not taken SAT or ACT yet, so.

Wharton is super duper competitive, as I’m sure you know. Your GPA and rigor seem very good, but your rank is a bit low. Are you a junior? You say you have not taken the SAT/ACT yet. Also, your EC’s are a bit weak. So I would say your chances are probably average.

Yes I’m a junior. And I’m not taking offense to my ECs, but how are they weak? Tbh I put them together pretty quicklly I’m going to be earning an entrepreneurship certificate from MIT, I’ll be participating in the Wharton investment challenge, and I strong investment portfolio, along with participating in track and rowing. Thanks so much. How do you think these ECs might boost my chances? Compared to other people in my class, my rigor is probably among the highest. On my transcript, do you think Upenn will look at the fact that my middle school GPA is really low, but in high school my gpa in 9th was 4.2 and in 10th grade it was 4.55?

@wormholes

Oh sorry I only saw the FBLA thing. I guess your ECs are decent; it’s just that a lot of the applicants will have done an insane amount of stuff you know? But you still have a good chance. I’m fairly certain UPenn won’t look at middle school grades, and they’ll definitely see that you had an increasing GPA over the years. A large part of your chances will also depend on your SAT/ACT. Are you planning to take one of those soon?

You’ll need to have a strong showing on your standardized test scores, particularly math. Consider taking the SAT II Math as well.

What do you mean by an entrepreneurship certificate from MIT? Did you attend MIT Launch? Or are you talking about a school club?

Your class rank will be a major obstacle, imo. Wharton is one of the most selective programs in the country and they get some of top performers from both the US and overseas. There 36 kids ahead of you in your local HS let alone the nation. Work on getting your gpa up this year and early next. Good luck!

@Multiverse7 MIT Launch, yes. Thank y’all so much, helped a alot!

@wormholes Yes, I plan on taking both SAT and ACT next year. Thank you!

@J_Turbz5 which session of you if I may ask. I am a MIT Launch alum too.

Agree, you’ll be compared to others at your school seeking admission, it’s not fair, but thems are the rules. Recommend developing your leadership roles and seek out opps that allow you to make a difference in your community. Knock your standardized tests out of the park! Good Luck!