<p>I’m a current M&T freshman.</p>
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<li><p>If you’re not good with math or science, you won’t get in. So be sure to do well in your math and science classes. Moreover, everyone is pretty well-versed in science and economics and finance. You’ll have students with strong focuses on the M (quote from one of my friends - “I’m so passionate about finance, I’d get a Ph.D in the field!”) and students with strong focuses on the T (a bunch of kids run their own tech start-ups). However, everyone knows about both fields and is quite adept in them. I personally am geared more toward the T side, but hell, I interned at a hedge fund last summer, and I’ve been reading the WSJ for a few years.</p></li>
<li><p>Be unique! I didn’t do any science or business extracurriculars in high school, but I was able to explain why I was interested in studying the two fields in college. However, I am probably the only student in M&T history to have attended a magnet arts high school. I think my desired switch of fields from an arts high school to a business / engineering university really made me stand out in the application pool.</p></li>
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<p>Don’t worry so much about the general clubs like NHS and Key Club. Those things are sort of staples that are expected to be seen on your list of extracurriculars, but they’re totally meaningless since everyone does them. If NHS is your main activity, you’d better have a darn good reason for it being up there. My main activities were coaching Little League baseball, composing / performing music, self-pedagogy, and tutoring students in all subjects.</p>
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<li><p>It can’t hurt to do some business or science stuff, though. One of my close M&T friends in my class interned at IBM for three summers; another did some comp sci research work for a couple of years; another took finance courses at his local university while in high school; another was an FBLA champion.</p></li>
<li><p>M&Ts are academic powerhouses. The program doesn’t accept students who can’t handle doing two rigorous degrees at once. Curiously, M&Ts also immerse themselves in extracurriculars. If you can demonstrate your ability to balance a full slate of academics with strong extracurriculars in high school, that’s a plus for your application to M&T.</p></li>
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<p>I’m not saying to kill yourself with work. I took 11 APs as a senior in HS, and my friends - even those in M&T - think I’m absolutely insane for doing so. But you shouldn’t be slacking. If you can’t handle a full slate of APs/IBs in high school, why should Penn think that you can handle the Wharton/engineering dual degree?</p>