Am I HYP/ Top Tier Material? (Econ Major)

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hi there! I’m a current senior applying as an economics/ business major to some of the top schools in the nation. I have pretty solid SAT scores and GPA but my ethnicity (being an Asian male) seems to work against me at these schools. I applied to Columbia ED and was rejected last week, so I am kind of doubtful whether some of these schools are even realistic options at this point. Any advice or feedback is much appreciated!

Target Schools (in no particular order):
Amherst, Brown, UC Berkeley, UCLA, Carnegie Mellon, Dartmouth, Duke, Emory, Harvard, Penn, Princeton, Stanford, USC, Vanderbilt, WashU Stl, Williams, Yale, Notre Dame, Rice, NYU

(I know it’s extremely long and most of these are truly top-tier but I need help narrowing it down and deciding which ones are realistic options. Also looking for more mid-tier schools to fall back on.)

Statistics:
SAT I: 2330 (single sitting- 770 R, 760M, 800W)
SAT II: Math 2- 800, Literature- 740
GPA: 3.97 unweighted (challenging private HS)
Rank: none (school doesn’t rank)
AP: took 12 APs, passed all with mostly 5s (average score of about 4.4)

Major Awards:
National Merit Semifinalist
National AP Scholar

Extracurriculars/ Work Experience:
Paid technical job at engineering company- 9, 10, 11
Paid marketing job at local startup- 12
Marketing guest writer for large business sites- 12
National Honor Society- 10, 11 (VP), 12
Investment Club (co-founder, VP)- 10, 11, 12
USTA regionally ranked tennis player (not good enough to be recruited)- 9, 10, 11, 12
Red Cross Club- 10, 11, 12

Essays:
Generally strong personal statement, I am a good writer and picked a rather unique topic

Recommendations:
My teachers know me well and both like me, I also have an additional rec from my boss at work (very very positive)

General comments: I aspire to become an entrepreneur so I prefer mid-large, more urban schools with strong alumni networks. I plan to study either economics or business for undergraduate. I’d appreciate any advice regarding where to apply and what to expect! Thank you!

2

Your academics are fine, but your ECs are very nondescript, and you are coming from a terrible demographic group (possibly even worse, depending on your geographic location). Your application needs to present a strong and compelling narrative about who you are and what makes you stand out from all the other qualified applicants.

Take a look at this thread:

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/admissions-hindsight-lessons-learned/1790144-what-did-i-do-wrong-p1.html

I would read it through and think about how you “packaged” yourself to your EA/ED school, and what you might do differently. You can’t change 17+ years, but how you present yourself can make a huge difference.

3

You need a couple of safety schools.

4

Agreed with @TomSrOfBoston . You have great scores but for your specific major there might be better schools then HYP for what you are looking for. For example, University of Michigan has a top tier program for Economics. Though not considered top tier as a whole, it is still a very selective school.

Try this out. UCB is on it at number five so I’d still give that one a look.

http://www.collegechoice.net/rankings/best-bachelors-degree-programs-in-economics/

5

Yes, you are a good candidate for these schools - that, of course, doesn’t mean you are going to get into half of them, of course.

6

Also, you’d probably get a lot of scholarship money to go to a lot of them.

7

@TomSrOfBoston @cbow17 I wholeheartedly agree on needing more safety and match schools. I forgot to mention I have already applied and been admitted to ASU (Arizona State). Any other potential schools you might suggest?

@cbow17 I’m not sure I understand-- I doubt any of the aforementioned schools would offer me scholarship money (merit-based)?

8

@collegemaster32 What do you mean? Obviously as an asian male attempting to attend HYP you look normal, even below the norm. However at schools like UVA and UMich which are still pretty selective, you might stand out more and for that they might give you a lot more merit than say Princeton. Regardless, UMich and UVA are both considered better schools for Economics, higher than many of the schools on your list, which was what I was trying to articulate. I meant that it might be a lot more practical to go to a good Econ school that would offer you scholarship money rather than an Ivy that won’t. But I understand, it’s the illustriousness of the school you’re looking for.

9

Among the Calif schools you may get some scholarships (USC or even UCLA/UCB, though nothing significant moneywise at UCs).

10

@cbow17 Thanks for the clarification. I see what you mean-- it’s not necessarily that I’m looking for illustriousness in terms of prestige, but also networking and potential opportunities, as an aspiring entrepreneur. As an out of state applicant, would I really be eligible or likely to receive merit scholarships from UMich, UVA?

11

@collegemaster32 Yes, with your scores, I’d say so. Their averages, even for OOS, are closer to 2150. Scores are a huge factor when determining merit scholarship money.