college_help: Really Confused About Applying

Miss Capricious (

miss_capricious) wrote in

college_help,
@ 2008-07-16 23:05:00

Really Confused About Applying

Hey, I am going to be a high school senior come fall, and I'm starting on my applications early. I have the idea that I would like to major in finance or something else business related, so I'm looking at undergrad business programs. There is, however, (at least to my knowledge) not that many good undergrad business programs, so I'm willing to branch out in terms of majors.

I've been fed incredibly confusing and contradictory things about colleges to the point where I don't know what type of schools I should shoot for with my stats. I know I'm EDing U Penn (Wharton) and also applying to Carnegie Mellon, USC, Emory, and UTexas (Honors Business), and MIT, none of those are safety schools.

My questions are essentially...(1) with these stats, what are some "safety" schools that I can expect to get into (with or without a business program)? (2) And what chance do I have of getting into the colleges I listed above? (3) Also, I have a lack of business experience or participation in business related clubs and organizations; will that hurt my chances?

SAT I- 2330, V-730, M-800, W-800
SAT II: Math 2- 800, US History- 720
(I plan to take Physics in October and possibly Lit)
Unweighted GPA- 3.98
Class Rank: I currently don't know my most updated class rank, but with my school's weighted GPA system, I have been between 4th and 10th out of a total class size of roughly 1200 over the last few years.
AP scores thus far:
Human Geo- 5, World History- 4, English Language- 4, Spanish Language- 4, US History- 4, BC Calculus- 5, Art History- 3
(I plan on taking AP: Stats, Euro History, MacroEcon, Gov, English Lit, Spanish Lit, Physics B my senior year.)
Awards:
National Spanish Exam Bronze Award, I'm assuming some kind of PSAT recognition (my score was 232), various school-level awards for cross-country and track, regional awards for cross-country, trac
ExtraCurrics:
Things I Have Done Through HS (4 years):
National Forensic League (Debate)- nothing outside of regional success (Debate Council Officer), Varsity Cross-Country (Captain), Varsity Track and Field, Varsity Cheer (Co-Captain), National Honor Society
Other Things:
Student Voices panelist for a local newspaper, Juror for Teen Court, Model UN, political forum club that a friend and I co-founded, Darfur fundraising (selling and designing T-shirts)

I'm sorry for listing out everything; it's probably annoying, but I felt that doing so would give me the most accurate answers of what schools I do have a chance at. Thank you so much in advance for any suggestions. =D

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	theycallherheat 2008-07-17 05:23 am UTC (link)
	You would get into Boston University's business program no problem. (Reply to this)(Thread)

	miss_capricious 2008-07-17 07:10 pm UTC (link)
	Thanks for the suggestion. =D (Reply to this)(Parent)

loitered
2008-07-17 05:27 am UTC (link)

Your stats are amazing. I understand how seniors can get anxious. Yes, schools like MIT and UPenn are NOT safeties but I believe that you are very competitive for those schools and the other ones you listed. However, I think that USC is a safety for you. It is not difficult to get into this school even if you have like an 1800. Your stats are above what is average for USC admittees. Also, with the business question, most colleges don't care if you did anything related to your declared major as an incoming freshman. They just want to know that you're focused on a certain field and that your activities match up with it. Stop stressing! A lot of people would kill for your amazing stats.

For business undergrad schools, why don't you take a look at this list?
http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/07/undergrad/

I don't know if you have considered UC Berkeley, the school I attend, but we have a great undergrad business. It's the best college if you want to live in the Bay Area in CA after college too. But then again I don't know what kind of locations you're interested in for college.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

miss_capricious
2008-07-17 07:09 pm UTC (link)

Thanks! I'll try to stop stressing haha. (Easier said than done.)

Thank you for the link; I'll definitely check it out.

I have considered UC Berkeley, but my parents aren't really willing to pay out-of-state tuition for public schools (they will be for name brand schools though >.<). And locations don't really matter to me for college. But it's really cool that you attend Berkeley! Awesome school. =D

(Reply to this)(Parent)

imaginaryhorses
2008-07-17 05:27 am UTC (link)

First of all, wow, those are great stats. You've definitely got a shot anywhere on your list- none of them are safeties, except UTexas (not the honors program, but the university itself), but the only ones that are really reach schools for you would be Penn and MIT, which are reaches for anyone who didn't cure cancer.

As far as safety schools go, I know of a couple here in the Northeast- Bentley College and Bryant University. They'd definitely be safeties for you, and have a very good reputation locally, even though they're not so well-known nationwide. The downside is that they pretty much focus exclusively on business, so if you're not totally sold on business or were looking to take numerous courses in other subjects, it might be hard to do that. (They're also smaller than most of the colleges on your list- about 4,000 students apiece- but you have quite a range of sizes listed, so I'm assuming size isn't a major factor for you.)

(Reply to this)(Thread)

miss_capricious
2008-07-17 07:07 pm UTC (link)

Thank you!

I'm pretty much sold on business for undergrad, so I'd have no problems with applying to schools like that. And size definitely doesn't matter that much to me. =D There is one problem I forgot to address in my post. My parents are willing to pay for name-brand schools like the Ivies, Stanford, MIT, etc., but they're not that willing to pay for smaller, lesser-known private schools or out-of-state public schools (like Emory or Carnegie Mellon)...so I'd have to get scholarships or adequate financial aid. But thanks for the suggestions!

(Reply to this)(Parent)

	huntersblade 2008-07-17 05:50 am UTC (link)
	I think that you definitely have a chance at UPenn and MIT. But at those types of schools (at least with MIT) it ultimately comes down to what makes you stand out as an applicant, such as an amazing essay, circumstance in your life, or something extraordinary you have done. But, if you didn't get into at least one of the schools you listed, I would be really surprised. (Reply to this)(Thread)

	miss_capricious 2008-07-17 07:04 pm UTC (link)
	Thank you! I'll try to make my essays spectacular haha. (Reply to this)(Parent)

findswterdreamz
2008-07-17 07:18 am UTC (link)

I know Wharton Business school is incredibly competitive. I'm going to UPenn next fall, and they hardly let anyone double major in business if you weren't accepted to the school, but put it on your list of reach schools! The experience thing might disqualify you from some of your reach schools like MIT or Penn, but seriously, your SAT I and SAT II scores are practically perfect that if you didn't apply for the business school at either, your chances of getting in are extremely high. I got a 33 on my ACT and a 2100 on my SAT, and even with my okay A/Bs in high school, I got in to Penn. Haha.

I can almost promise you that you'll get into any university within the ranks of 15+ (if you've looked up the university rankings), but it does depend on the programs.

Last year, I applied to 15 universities, Texas A&M and Michigan State being my backups. I thought I was underqualified for everything, such as my grades, scores, activities, etc. I applied under the computer science major, and I didn't even dare put Boston University (ranked around 50) on my net schools list. But in the end, I got accepted to all of them minus Cornell (bah, I accidentally wrote Vanderbilt in that admit essay...). The point is, you're probably a LOT more qualified than you think you are. Anyways, I hope this helped and I didn't ramble too much. :)

(Reply to this)(Thread)

miss_capricious
2008-07-17 07:04 pm UTC (link)

Congratulations! It's awesome that you're going to UPenn (and that you got into so many schools; I'm jealous! haha).

Yeah, I'm really worried about my lack of experience in business. As I said above in the post, I design and sell t-shirts, the proceeds of which I send to ngo's that help Darfur; in order to do this, I often negotiate with t-shirt companies and etc. for deals and such. A friend told me that I could probably spin this somehow into my resume as a business-related EC. But I don't know. >.<

I do look up the university rankings haha. I didn't put this up in the post because I forgot, but the problem is...my parents are willing to pay for name-brand schools (i.e. Ivies, Stanford, MIT, etc.)...for schools like Emory or Carnegie Mellon or a lot of the other smaller private schools or out-of-state public schools, they're less likely to.

But thanks for the advice! It definitely helps. =D

(Reply to this)(Parent)

taza_rota
2008-07-17 01:49 pm UTC (link)

first of all, if you're having problems finding undergrad business programs, don't fret. you can major in economics almost anywhere, and that will give you a good background for business. you also don't need to even make it your first major. i have friends who were english and history majors with econ minors and are now working in finance and making a shitload of money - the companies really liked that they were so well-rounded, and part of that was the fact that they didn't major in econ or business.

penn and mit are reaches, no question. your grades and scores are solid, but the thing is, most people who apply to those schools have near-perfect grades and test scores. the problem here lies in your extracurriculars - yes, you've done a lot, but unfortunately, a list like that isn't going to make you stand out at a school like penn or mit. i know that's hard to hear because you've probably put an insane amount of time into your ECs, but there it is. seriously, people who get into those schools are CRAZY with their ECs. and, of course, you haven't told us everything about you - maybe you'll have a kickass essay or incredible recommendations, and that could certainly put you over the line. anyway, you definitely have a good shot (especially ED); i just wouldn't get my hopes up.

things will be a little easier for you at USC, emory, carnegie mellon, and certainly at UT. i don't see any reason why you wouldn't be accepted to those schools with your stats. those definitely go into the "match" category, unless you're from texas, in which case UT is a safety for sure. for more safeties, the hated us news rankings can actually be really helpful - check out schools in the top tier but not, say, in the top 20. like 30-50 range. they'll be very solid schools, but i wouldn't imagine you having any problem getting into any of them.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

miss_capricious
2008-07-17 06:58 pm UTC (link)

Thanks for the advice!

I'm pretty certain that I'd like to work in the corporate world, and I generally hear that business (grad) schools like it if you have work experience (i.e., you've worked a few years after undergrad). So I thought the most efficient way to break into the finance industry following undergrad would be to major in something finance or business related. (Tell me if I'm wrong because some of my sources are definitely not accurate haha.) So while I wouldn't mind majoring in economics, I'm a little hesitant to major in history or English.

I definitely don't expect to get into MIT or UPenn; to be perfectly honest, I know I look okay on paper (solid grades, etc.), and I know I'm competitive enough not for the admissions officers to immediately throw me out of the competition. But I definitely don't think I stand out from everyone else who's applying.

I actually am from Texas! Based off of the top 10% rule, I can definitely get in...it's just their honors business program that I'm worried about. Thanks! I do check out US News, but I'll go back and see if there are other schools I might think about applying to. =D

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

amaterasu_no_ki
2008-07-17 11:59 pm UTC (link)

You're not necessarily wrong. But it is definitely possible to get into business or finance with a major in economics or even something else. I majored in psychology and I was being recruited by management consulting firms, and I know several people from my undergraduate college with majors in English, sociology, and other business-unrelated fields who are now working in securities and finance at places like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.

I wouldn't worry about your ECs. There is the idea going around that you have to do thirty kazillion things to get into college (and you definitely did a lot!) and while you probably won't be hugely distinctive simply based on your activities, the important thing is HOW you present them. Not every student can save a busload of children or cure cancer or raise $30,000 for Darfur in one week, and they don't expect you to do that. They're looking for intelligent but normal students, not superhumans.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	miss_capricious 2008-07-18 03:02 am UTC (link)
	Haha okay I'll try not to worry about my ECs, and I'll think about majoring in non-business related fields if I don't find a good undergrad business program that I like and can get into. Thank you! (Reply to this)(Parent)

quirks
2008-07-17 07:00 pm UTC (link)

Wow! Your stats are far more impressive than mine were, and I got into MIT, Carnegie Mellon, and USC, so I think you should get into most of the schools on your list.

Also, let me know if you have any specific questions about USC, because I love to talk about my school. All the business students I know seem to enjoy it there; they say their classes consist of a lot of practical things, a lot of projects and presentations and so forth.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

miss_capricious
2008-07-17 07:13 pm UTC (link)

Thanks! And congratulations on getting into so many good schools!

I do have a specific question about USC haha. A friend of mine who's also going to USC this fall tells me that they guarantee at least half tuition scholarships for National Merit Finalists (I'm not trying to be too arrogant or confident, but my counselors have assured me that my PSAT score is definitely high enough to Merit, and that I'm most likely going to be a Finalist).
Is this half-scholarship for only those who apply early?

And USC's business program sounds great. =D Thanks for helping!

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

quirks
2008-07-17 07:29 pm UTC (link)

Your friend is right, all National Merit Finalists (which yes, you'll definitely end up being!) get at least a Presidential scholarship, which is half tuition. I believe you're guaranteed to get this scholarship even if you don't apply by the scholarship deadline in December, but I recommend that you do apply by then anyway, because you have a good chance at getting an interview for a Trustee scholarship (full tuition).

Also, a sidenote if you're applying for financial aid: if you don't feel you got enough, it's worth a try to call the schools (or have your parents do this) and bargain with them -- I got another $15,000 off from Carnegie Mellon after telling them I needed more money to consider attending, which really surprised me!! :D

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	miss_capricious 2008-07-18 03:01 am UTC (link)
	Oh wow, I'll definitely remember to bargain with schools then. Thanks! (Reply to this)(Parent)

amaterasu_no_ki
2008-07-17 11:45 pm UTC (link)

If you really pass all those AP exams, at a 3-credit school you could get 42 credit hours -- that's a year and a half! Your SAT scores are awesome and your GPA is great. Honestly, I think that Emory and U Texas could be match schools.

Where do you live? Apply to your public university (your state's flagship) as a safety, and search through US News & World Report's list of top national universities and liberal arts colleges. I think the majority of the second tier schools would be safeties or matchy-safeties for you. Good luck, but you won't need it -- relax, you've worked hard and it will pay off richly!

(As a side note, those second-tier universities/colleges will be rich with merit aid for someone with your stats.)

(Reply to this)(Thread)

	miss_capricious 2008-07-18 03:00 am UTC (link)
	I'm from Texas actually, so I'll definitely apply to UT. Thank you so much for the advice!! (Reply to this)(Parent)

	chicamala21 2008-07-18 01:03 am UTC (link)
	I don't know if this is helpful at all (I'm a science major, so business goes right over my head) but the former dean at Wharton is the new dean of the business school at UMiami and is supposedly really changing it around for the better according to my friend. (Reply to this)(Thread)

	miss_capricious 2008-07-18 03:01 am UTC (link)
	Oh, I didn't know that. I'll definitely look into UMiami then. Thanks for telling me! =D (Reply to this)(Parent)

	shes_n0_beauty 2008-07-28 04:34 pm UTC (link)
	You could get into Tulane with those stats and they have an awesome business school, go visit you'll fall in love! (Reply to this)(Thread)

	miss_capricious 2008-07-28 05:19 pm UTC (link)
	Thanks for the suggestion! =D (Reply to this)(Parent)

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