confused between Penn nd Cornell(engineering)

anuj44 · 03-31-2007, 02:00 PM

well, aftr being depressed bout rejection frm MIT and waitlists frm caltech nd stanford, i am beginnin 2 accept it..
neway..iv been accepted at Penn nd Cornell fr engineering..
my plan isnt 2 study purely engineering..id like 2 take some courses in finance or sumthin also..if possible..
cornell is supp. 2 b very gud in engineering..
Penn is good 2 nd has the advantage of wharton..
im very confused..
i wud also like 2 no frm current Penn students about the chances 2 transfer 2 the Jerome Fisher program aftr a year..
btw i also gt in2 carnegie mellon..so if sum1 feels CMU is better thn pls temme y..
thanks

tenebrousfire · 03-31-2007, 02:27 PM

it's very difficult to get into m&t because the only criteria / evaluation is gpa (meaning nothing else matters), and you'll find it's tough to keep such a high gpa as they want (3.8+)

a good number of students in penn engineering do the economics track within electrical + systems engineering, which allows them to take a lot of finance and accounting courses...

see the list here: http://www.ese.upenn.edu/ugrad/sys-c...tions.html#eco

the better question is what your career plans are: penn attracts more non-traditional, pre-professional engineering students (pre-med, pre-law, pre-business) than just pure engineers, due to the broad range of interdisciplinary options, while cornell has a better pure engineering program.

anuj44 · 03-31-2007, 02:36 PM

my plans certainly arent pure engineering..i want 2 take advantage of the interdisciplinary programs..
bt ..although hard..is it guaranteed tht if u gt 3.8 GPA..u r admitted into M&T?
thr r only 5 seats..how many ppl try nd transfer every yr?
nd is the selection done by choosing 5 ppl with highest GPA's thn or is thr ne othr criteria also(i think thr r essays also rite?)

JohnnyK · 03-31-2007, 04:15 PM

You don't need to be in M&T to be dual degree with Wharton...heck you don't even need to be in Wharton to take Wharton classes. It's "One University" policy.

anuj44 · 03-31-2007, 05:02 PM

i know tht but i cn take very few classes in wharton if im nt doin dual degree(wich is 2 tough 2 do) or M&T rite? plus the name Wharton doesnt show up newer in my degree or stuff..

tenebrousfire · 03-31-2007, 09:07 PM

the gpa required for transfer changes every year, and may increase depending on the caliber of the students applying for transfer each year.

and the selection is done solely on the basis of gpa, even though essays are indeed required.

anuj44 · 04-01-2007, 04:50 AM

U sure? how do you know this? why would they ask for essays if they did not use them? maybe its just coincidence that the ppl with highest GPA got in2 the program..maybe its not always like that?

tenebrousfire · 04-01-2007, 12:03 PM

the primary source would be the wharton internal transfer site:

http://undergrad.wharton.upenn.edu/d..._transfers.cfm

12. How are applications evaluated?

* Applying for Internal Transfer or Dual Degree is a competitive process. Our decisions are based strictly on the applicant’s cumulative GPA, the completion of prerequisites, and availability of seats. We accept as many students as we have seats for. Students are accepted in descending GPA order. No additional factors are considered.

so as you can see, the essays are a formality.

also m&t and internal transfer / dual degree applicants are evaluated together in one pool, as has been discussed elsewhere on these forums.

anuj44 · 04-01-2007, 02:14 PM

just read the whole thing..thanks a lot for all your help..one last question(sorry to bug you so much)
i saw the application ..nd it hs things like extracurricular activities nd stuff..
bt if gpa is the only factor..thn even if u hav a high gpa bt hav done no extra curriculars nd all..it still guarantees u a place on M&T or for dual degree??

tenebrousfire · 04-01-2007, 02:33 PM

possibly, yes, but you should be able to put in the effort to keep the high gpa and still have fun if you are motivated enough - everyone has some level of involvement in extracurricular activities.

anuj44 · 04-01-2007, 03:23 PM

oh yeah..i will..i know thr r a lotta activities at Penn..99% im gonna join Penn..
thanks a lot fr ur help..wats ur name? we mite meet at Penn! nd wt r u studyin?

1 last question occured(sorry again)..last question for a few days at least!
approximately how many ppl (frm engg. and wharton) are interested in transferring 2 the jerome fisher program each yr?

thanks again..

tenebrousfire · 04-01-2007, 03:38 PM

that number i don't personally know, and i don't believe anyone would release (at least officially from the university); a guess would perhaps be 40-50? not really sure...

anuj44 · 04-01-2007, 03:46 PM

hmm..tough competition..whts ur name tho..nd wt u studying?

tenebrousfire · 04-01-2007, 05:34 PM

find me on facebook =p

i make a practice of not disclosing personally identifiable information on more public places (like forums)

but i can say that i'm an sophomore in the bioengineering department.