Hi,
Long time reader, first time poster.
Basically i toured upenn and fell in love with it this weekend, but i cannot i decide if i should apply to wharton or CAS. I know i will be applying ED no matter what, and will most likely apply to the Huntsman because, well, I might as well. Basically I know i want to do something along the lines of business, so wharton is the obvious choice in that regards. But I cannot decide which school to apply to because 1) i am afraid of being rejected by wharton (as most are) 2) i am also interested in political science/economics.
p.s. my school is not well-respected by most Ivies (yay for living in the south), although several students have gone on to Upenn, most recently our valedictorian (setting the bar high)
Here are my facts:
white
male
no legacy
Testing:
ACT: 32
SAT: 2220 (700 math-760 writing-760 RC)
SAT US History subject test-760, SAT English Literature Subject Test-760
AP Gov-5
AP US-5
AP Euro-5
Ap Language-4
Taking 3 AP's Senior Year
Academics:
3.98 GPA weighted, 3.75 unweighted
School does not rank, but i would be top 10% if they did
Relatively Rigorous Schedule (lacking in science/math AP's, but extremely strong in the humanities)
4 years of Chinese Study (I view this as a big plus, to quote my teacher "hard to come by white boys who speak chinese")
Extracurriculars:
Lacrosse: 4 year Letterman, Captain
Peer Leadership (Big Deal at my school)
Member of Senior Theology Forum (select senior discussion group, very competitive)
Habitat 4 Humanity: 2 year member of steering committee, Current President.
Key Club: 4 year Officer, Current President. Headed several service projects, including created my schools AIDs Awareness Week Project.
Also Member of: Chinese Club, Business Club, Jewish Club
Play 2 instruments: Cello (10 years, member of HS orchestra 1 year, play in friend's band) and Guitar (2 years)
Will be attending Brown Poly Sci Summer camp, also play summer travel lacrosse
Work Experience:
2 years working at Jewish Summer Day camp
4 years working as Teaching Aide at Temple Religious School
Reflections:
SAT score should go up (taking twice more), GPA could be stronger but grades have improved steadily since freshmen year. Essays should be good (i fancy myself a very good writer) and Rec's very strong. I think my EC's are my strongest attribute, very "rounded" and focused on leadership and commitment as opposed to "laundry list" that i so often see on this site
Worried about: My GPA, relative lack of Business experience (will work on this), Lack of hard math classes in schedule (currently deciding between AP stat and AP calc AB)
So should I go for wharton or stick with CAS and possibly transfer in?
Last edited by NervousJewishBoy; 05-29-2011 at 03:35 PM.
thanks for the reply. I guess part of my question is that i feel that my application would be better served in CAS thanks to its emphasis on the humanities and relative lack in business experience. That being said, i find myself much more interested in Wharton after having spoken to several students. and i have basically no interest in engineering nor do i have a lot of sciences in my schedule, so SEAS isnt really in the equation i guess
I don't think you're anywhere close to getting into Wharton. You haven't even taken the Math Level 2 subject test and you got a 700 on SAT math. Wharton recommends the math level 2, and most of my friends from Wharton(including the URM's and athletes) have 800 on both SAT math and math level 2. Also, a 3.75 UW gpa in high school is pretty poor unless you went to a well recognized prep.
You don't need perfect math scores, I had a 750 on my reasoning math, and a 790 on level 2, while those are good, they are not 800's, so don't get too caught up with that, and there are many people who didn't get those kinds of scores and still got in. But you do have to take the math level 2 test.
You have to take calculus AB to apply to Wharton also. Yeah, the GPA should be your biggest concern, but you said you would be in the top 10% so maybe not. Your EC's do seem fine, so just make sure you emphasize them in a positive and meaningful way, communicating your true commitment.
Its probably come down to your essays, so make sure you slave over those.
You don't seem very math oriented, so you probably wouldn't be a good fit for either Wharton or SEAS, you seem like a much better fit for CAS. With that said, I think you should apply to CAS.
I think that you should ignore what everyone says and go with your gut. I was in your same position last year, with scores below yours, and grappled with the CAS PPE major vs. Wharton, and went for Wharton because that was and is my dream. I think that my passion showed through in my application because it paid off for me despite my lower test scores and lack of business experience.
At the end of your high school/college application experience, like anything, it is best to have no regrets. If you apply to CAS ED and get in, you will always wonder what would've happened had you gone for Wharton--don't be that person, whatever that may mean for you. If you don't get into Wharton, don't feel bad because thousands of super qualified applicants get rejected every year, and everything happens for a reason. There's always grad school, which many argue is more important than where you get your BA, and other undergraduate institutions that you would thrive at and love.
Good luck with your decision--at the end of the day, staying true to your wants and goals is what's most important.
