Yale SCEA or Wharton ED (Not a Chance Thread)

College Search & Selection
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<p>Hello, I'm currently torn between applying for Yale SCEA and Wharton ED. For the sake of this, let's say that I'm a competitive applicant at both schools (That may or may not be true, but that's not the point).</p>

<p>For the last year or so, I was 100% sure that I wanted to apply to Yale SCEA. My grandfather went there, as did many generations before him, so I have legacy. In fact, I am related to Henry F. English (his house is now the undergraduate admissions office). I'm not saying that will help my chances, but it is a fun fact of sorts. Anyhow, I know, if I were to get into this college, it would be fantastic for me, and I would definitely love to attend.</p>

<p>This summer, I visited both schools (among others), and I instantly fell in love with UPenn as I took the tour. Not only is the campus amazing, but Wharton specifically appeals to me. Being the best business school in the country (I guess that's arguable), it would be an honor to attend. During the last couple of years, I have looked into a career as an actuary, and as of now, that it was I want to do when I grow up. Wharton has the actuarial science concentration, and that, along with Statistics, is extremely appealing to me. I would like to note that my visit to Yale was extremely pleasant as well, but it did not induce the feeling in me that UPenn did.</p>

<p>So now i'm stuck between the two schools. Yale. I feel like exploiting my legacy would be great (not sure if it would help me too much though), and I almost feel pressured since many generations of my family attended. It's not the bad kind of pressure though, I do really like the school, despite it being a little pretentious (but then again, aren't they all?). I feel like getting accepted to Yale would be one of the greatest feelings ever, especially getting to know around Christmas time. I am also a minority, just something to note.</p>

<p>However, I feel like Wharton is the place for me. I ultimately felt that if I were to get into Yale SCEA and get into Wharton RD, I would choose Wharton. However, the RD acceptance rate for Wharton is extremely low (7 percent?), and I feel it would be a great advantage to apply ED. Does anyone know how much the acceptance rates differ (ED vs. RD)? Another thing is, if I were to get into Wharton ED, I would have to drop all my other applications (am I right about that?), and I feel that it may leave me wondering "what if?" for Yale. Also, I do not like the feeling of being forced to go somewhere, even though I am 95% sure Wharton is the place for me.</p>

<p>Another slightly related question for anyone who knows. If one is to apply and get accepted into UPenn CAS, can they get involved in programs like the actuarial science program at Wharton?</p>

<p>Wow, this is getting long. I'm gonna stop it here. But I really do need some advice, it would be greatly appreciated. Any feedback is greatly appreciated, and thank you in advance.</p>

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<p>“I ultimately felt that if I were to get into Yale SCEA and get into Wharton RD, I would choose Wharton”</p>

<p>This is the salient point. Go and ED UPenn (unless fin aid is an issue).</p>

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<p>Ahh. I wish UPenn were EA. I just don’t like the thought of being forced to go somewhere and not knowing what would happen with other colleges.</p>

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<p>At this point, you don’t seem to be 100% for UPenn. There’s still that lingering feeling for Yale. You only just recently “fell in love” with UPenn, so there may actually be a stronger attachment to Yale, but you just don’t realize it yet.</p>

<p>If you can get into Yale SCEA (which arguably hurts your chances), you have an excellent shot at Wharton RD. I say you do Yale SCEA because Yale is Yale, you don’t want to “waste” your legacy, and you presumably have great chances at both schools.</p>

<p>I recently made a similar decision - Columbia ED over Yale SCEA. Columbia is definitely my 100% first choice and I, unfortunately, do not have that legacy edge at Yale (as minimal as it may be).</p>

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<p>This is where I’d take a true look at how competitive you really are.</p>

<p>If we agree that the 2 are equally hard to get into and you really do have legacy at Yale (check, legacy means a parent only at many top schools), you have a big leg up there. More than twice the chance of an average applicant if that big legacy sticker is on your folder.</p>

<p>So if by competitive you mean top 6%, a 2200, president of 3 in school clubs and you’re from the mid Atlantic, I’d go for Yale if you’re a real legacy.</p>

<p>If by competitive you mean val from New Mexico with a 2380 and national level ECs, go with the one that moves you.</p>

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<p>@Mandu
That may be true. I guess I’ll give it some more time. But let’s say I don’t get into either. That will leave me thinking “Wow, if I applied ED Wharton I could have gotten in” but I guess that type of thing happens all the time to many applicants.</p>

<p>@Redroses Well, I should have about 2200 SAT (once taken in October, currently a little over 2100). I have the URM hook, so idk how that changes things in your view. I’m not extremely competitive, but I do believe I could get into either school.</p>

<p>Thanks to both of you though. Guess I got some thinking to do.</p>

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<p>A multi generationl URM legacy at Yale is rare as a hen’s tooth. Was English a minority or are you multi racial?</p>

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<p>Multi-racial. It’s from my dad’s side.</p>

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<p>I’d take the Yale SCEA. If Wharton’s RD acceptance rate of 7% is even vaguely true, it’s hard to envision that the ED rate for Wharton would be higher than 15%; as a future actuary I hope you’d agree with me that without exceptional scores (3.9+/2300+ - I just don’t think you can assume that 2100-2200 gets it done.) your shot at Wharton is pretty slim. Combining those long odds with your less than full commitment to the idea of “giving up” Yale makes me question pursuing the Wharton option.</p>

<p>Actuaries don’t need business degrees, they need Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science knowledge. You get one chance to exploit your legacy, I suggest doing it at Yale. Major in one of the three disciplines I mention, get a good job, work for a few years and then apply to Wharton for grad school.</p>

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<p>A URM with high SAT scores is “as rare as a hen’s tooth,” to use Redroses’ expression.</p>

<p>If you are truly “in love” with Wharton, then apply there ED.</p>

<p>It sounds like you want to apply SCEA to Yale, to be admitted, just to feel good about yourself, whereas you actually want to go to Wharton.</p>

<p>“I just don’t think you can assume that 2100-2200 gets it done…”</p>

<p>Assuming OP is black, his 2200 would place him in the 99+ percentile of all black test-takers.</p>

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<p>Leaving aside the whole issue of competitiveness, NEVER apply ED unless you’re 100% sure you know exactly where you want to go. “I want to have my cake and eat it too” situations rarely end well.</p>

<p>Apply to Yale SCEA, then apply to UPenn RD. If you can get into Yale EA, you’ll have a shot at UPenn.</p>

<p>On an unrelated note, one of my friends applied to UPenn ED last year, was deferred and got in RD. Her stats were good but not outstanding, and her mid-year report actually showed a decline in GPA. I believe she was admitted entirely because of her strong desire to attend, which was evident in her essays and correspondence with the admissions office. I don’t know what conclusions you can draw from this, if any, but I guess it goes to show that the RD round at UPenn is not THAT intimidating if it sometimes rewards genuine interest over outstanding stats.</p>

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<p>To answer your question regarding compatibility of UPenn CAS and Wharton actuarial science concentration, the short answer is yes, but only to a very limited extent. According to the link below, only 4 courses at most can be taken towards credit from other schools within the University if you enrolled in CAS.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.college.upenn.edu/majors/credits.php[/url]”>http://www.college.upenn.edu/majors/credits.php&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Assuming the OP is a person, his 2200 would place him in the 99 percentile of ALL test-takers. ;)</p>

<p><a href=“College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools”>College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools;

<p>Barely, though. But only 1% of test-takers get 2200+. Once you get to 2280, I guess that’s when you get into the “99+” percentile, whatever that means…Only 6700 students in the entire nation got 2280 or above in 2006 - that’s about 20% of the number of students that applied to Harvard last year.</p>

<p>More people get a 1170 (that’s about 390 on each section) than a 2280. Not saying you should compare yourself to the average high school student when you’re applying to Yale, but a bit of perspective never hurts.</p>

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<p>Bingo …</p>

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<p>To the people debating about OP’s stats… just an observation but Wharton has been known to not place as much emphasis on numbers in its applicants, they seem to favor the really well rounded kids (as in, 2150/3.9 class prez athlete getting in over 2380/4.0 math whiz). Yale and Penn CAS are much more predictable in terms of accepting kids with the highest numbers. </p>

<p>I would go with Yale SCEA just because with the OP’s self description, such a legacy is too good to pass up. In fact, they’d probably have really good chances at any top school.</p>

<p>Becoming an actuary really is about passing the exams, not the prestige of the school that awarded your degrees, and a strong math background can be built in a lot of places. I’d say Penn is stronger than Yale in math and engineering however.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the advice guys, it’s all been really helpful. I’ll guess i’ll just think about it some more. With everything that’s been said, I’m leaning back towards Yale. I’ve been changing from school to school in my mind over the past week or so though, so we’ll see.</p>

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<p>It doesn’t matter that he’s a person to us; to them, he’s just another number, an amazing investment.</p>

<p>I’m giving advice from their perspective. And since their perspective is all that matters in the end…</p>

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<p>hey, I’m having the opposite thought process. I really really really like Yale but want to use ED edge with UPenn’s CAS. It’s a big choice. Hopefully we’ll both go for what we like although at this pt im still siding with Penn</p>

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<p>/thread closed</p>

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<p>Apply to Wharton if that’s where you really want to go. Family legacy shouldn’t influence your decision…</p>