How to Get Into UPenn

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXkQWDa42QI

When most people hear Wharton, the words “pre-professional, cutthroat, competitive and money” may come to mind. You might have even seen memes of Wharton students handing out their resumes at parties. 

But there’s a lot you might not know about this place at glance, like the fact that UPenn was America’s first university!  

Today we’re discussing one of the most highly requested colleges in this series. That’s right, How to Get Into UPenn. First, let’s begin with that tricky Thank-You question. After that, I pinky promise guys we’ll talk about Wharton, and then the College of Arts and Sciences! We’ll even take a look at a successful UPenn essay, so stay tuned for that! 

Thank U, Next

Around 2-3 years ago, UPenn made a radical change and introduced this twister of an essay question. Personally I think it’s hard. Like really really hard. They want you to 

Write a short thank-you note to someone you have not yet thanked and would like to acknowledge. 

I think the reason they introduced this prompt was to differentiate between which applicants are real and which ones are fake, if you catch my drift. 

There are so many things to unpack with this prompt, such as who to thank and what tone of writing to use. But I’ll let you in on a secret: UPenn isn’t trying to trick you, nor do they want to read a sob story. 

Here at ElevatEd, we recommend choosing someone unexpected, like a custodian who inspired you to speak up more or your elderly neighbor who played Sudoku with you on rainy Saturday afternoons. 

The 3 questions to answer here ranked in order of importance are: 

1. What did they do for you?

2. What did you do in return? 

3. How did spending time with them help you grow and improve as a person? 

This letter is just as much about you as it is about them. Spend half of the word count baking in your personal values and skills, such as your humility or growth, into the essay. If you got way better at Sudoku and that pushed you to create a puzzle competition at your school, for sure mention that! Or if the custodian has now inspired you to be a steward of the school garden or cafeteria, definitely jot that down. 

By the way friends, don’t forget to like and subscribe. We’ll be editing tons of essays for free later this year, so be sure to keep an eye out so you don’t miss that opportunity! 

Wharton

Now onto the part you all have been waiting for: Wharton. 

Here’s the main question they asked last year: Wharton prepares its students to make an impact by applying business methods and economic theory to real-world problems, including economic, political, and social issues.  Please reflect on a current issue of importance to you and share how you hope a Wharton education would help you to explore it.  

This is basically a “Why us?” question where you need to apply your business knowledge to address a real world problem.

To begin, Ipd pick one social or economic issue you’re most interested in. Ideally one you’ve already worked on in the past, but want to continue doing so throughout college. This could range from hazardous factory conditions to faltering literacy rates in your own county.

The topic doesn’t matter so much as your own unfair advantage. What do I mean by that? Well, use tools that no one else can claim – reference your unique skill set or knowledge while discussing your innovative, business solutions. 

And finally, make sure to tie it back to Wharton by briefly mentioning 2-3 applicable courses or programs!

I know that was a lot, so let me break it down for you with an example essay: 

When my 6:35 AM alarm rings, I consider the Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility before slapping the snooze button — will my nine minutes of fragmented slumber garner more utility than the alternative (a cup of freshly brewed coffee)? In debate rounds, I’ve found that the root cause of political and social problems can be found by delving into interest rates, quantitative easing, or volatility indices. 

Love the sass that comes with that question about coffee. A little bit of punctuation really goes such a long way. This student also did a phenomenal job showcasing their unique knowledge by mentioning those 3 economic terms at the end- tremendous. 

However, only after working with Congressman DeSaulnier did I realize the far-sweeping effects of economic legislation. One of my most memorable projects — preparing a brief scrutinizing the social, political, and economic effects of H.R. 4674 (the College Affordability Act) — showed that even minor decreases to college tuition tackled cyclical poverty through education, with the resulting butterfly effect benefitting millions. I was hooked. 

This paragraph right here is where champions are made. Taking that theoretical knowledge and working with an authority figure to make their community a better place? Yes yes yes!!!

The Business Economics and Public Policy concentration at the Wharton School offers the perfect opportunity to intertwine those passions. I appreciate Wharton’s holistic approach to teaching the global economy: courses like Nations, Politics, and Markets cover the big picture of the international markets, while Housing Markets dissects the minutiae of a single industry, isolating areas that need improvement. I also look forward to courses like Professor Eisenhower’s Communication and the Presidency — effective communication is still the bridge that turns effective ideas into tangible social change.

Classic final paragraph about how the student will take these ideas and apply them to their future. Notice that he didn’t just mention Wharton courses, but also threw in a political science one too! 

Wharton folks, I hope you’re happy. Now onto the UPenn College of Arts and Sciences. Let’s take a look at their main essay question from last year and talk about how to tackle it.

The flexible structure of The College of Arts and Sciences’ curriculum is designed to inspire exploration, foster connections, and help you create a path of study through general education courses and a major. What are you curious about and how would you take advantage of opportunities in the arts and sciences? (150-200 words)

The keywords I want to highlight are Exploration, Connection and Curiosity. Again, you 1000% have to do your research. Reference courses, professors, programs, fellowships and more! 

Let’s pretend you’re someone who’s really into psychology, specifically UI/UX design. Specifically, you’re curious about the intersection of computing and the arts. Therefore, you choose Digital Media Design as a major, and reference courses such as Interactive Computer Graphics and Internet Web Systems. 

You decide to also talk about 3-D Computer Modeling, and how you hope to explore how the minutiae of animating the facial features of characters can help customers develop more trust towards consumer brands. Then you end your supplemental essay by sharing some new startup ideas you want to explore with Wharton’s Innovation & Design Club and Penn Spark, both of which support up-and-coming designers and entrepreneurs like yourself. 

It’s crazy that I have to mention this, but be sure to write about stuff that can only be found at UPenn. Your job is to create a bulletproof case as to why you and UPenn are a perfect marriage. 

Don’t just praise UPenn for its community and courses — chances are, they’ve heard it thousands of times. Tell them what you can offer, and how you hope to leverage those courses to build something in service of the world! 

Best,

Kevin Zhen