<p>am applying from a state university located in the heart of appalachia
sat's: 780v/690m/760w
sat ii's: 760 lit.; 690 math 1
GPA: 3.87
- 2 B's first semester freshman year
- otherwise straight A's; the vast majority of my classes (9/10) have been jr. & sr. level</p>
<p>EC's/awards:
- eagle scout
- played sports in high school
- won the regional undergrad literature competition (less than 10% of submitted papers were selected for consideration, and all of my competitors were seniors presenting their theses -- specified this on my app.) both my freshman and sophomore years
- have worked as an intern at a law firm for the last 17 months (20hrs/wk)
- ap scholar with distinction/other generic awards
- am conducting independent economic research on (what is, in my opinion) a fascinating & original topic, and realistically hope to have my findings published by the end of the semester</p>
<p>recommendations:
SHOULD BE SPECTACULAR, but who knows --
prof 1: took 4 sr. level english classes from him; did not get below a 100% in any of them, and he read literally every essay/test that I submitted to the class (he did it anonymously, but it started to make me uncomfortable)
prof 2: took a sr. level econ class from him my freshman year, and he emailed me to tell me that my test was "the best [he's] had in a good long while.. not too bad for a freshman!"</p>
<p>what will, I think, hurt me (how much?):
- I am applying as an econ major, but I got a B in calc 1 my freshman year.
- have taken no math classes since then (:/)
- I ran into prof 2 the day chicago and brown's applications were due and mentioned transferring. he looked surprised. received an email from him an hour and a half later telling me that he'd forgotten to write my rec., but that it was done. don't know if a "great recommendation" can be written in an hour and a half.
- essays were almost all good (maybe 1 or 2 were "great"), but a couple were only "pretty good" -- or, not as good as they could have been.</p>
<p>also, haha:
- my mom went to duke
- my uncle went to upenn
- I have some sort of legacy at all of these schools, but they are all sorta.. like.. great-uncles.</p>
<p>how risky do you think it is to apply as an econ major? my strengths seem to point to history/english, but my interests are in economics.</p>
<p>What is your current major?
Are you currently a freshman or sophomore?
What school do you go to? (It would help with us chancing you)
What are the names of the senior year courses you took?</p>
<p>Also, just wondering, what was the senior level economics course you took? Most core upper economics courses require integrals and partial derivatives, which you need at least calculus 2 or 3.</p>
<p>I am going to chance you based on your objective stats.
690 Math I is low. 12% (2009) of test takers get an 800 on Math II.
B in the only math class you’ve taken (which was Calculus I) is not too good.
SAT scores are good.
HS Eagle scout will help.</p>
<p>Overall, I’d say your biggest weakness are your math scores/grades and lack of college math classes. And that is very important for economics.</p>
<p>I’m applying to some of the colleges you’ve mentioned, so I’ll chance you on those, since I’ve researched them. Also, legacies at Penn only apply to parents and grandparents.</p>
<p>UChicago Econ: Probably not
Penn: CAS Econ, maybe
NYU Stern: Best chance out of the schools you mentioned</p>
<p>Like I said, the lack of math is really hurting you. I think you should apply as an English/history major. Your scores, courses, and recommendations will make you very competitive in that category.</p>
<p>You go to App State?</p>
<p>I agree with the above poster. You’d be much more competitive as an English/history major. But I’ll chance you as an Econ major:</p>
<p>Stern: very good chance
Others: meh</p>
<p>Not Kentucky, but a school of that size and caliber I am told. A little bit smaller.</p>
<p>I am majoring in history, English and economics and will probably pick up a minor in math if I stay at my current school. I avoided math classes not out of any aversion to math (I really enjoy the subject), but to weight my schedule so that the bulk of my math/econ would come in my junior and senior years (to help for grad school).</p>
<p>Also, this is why I was able to take senior level econ courses, and is also what my “why transfer” essay is about:
hs gpa –
freshman and sophomore years: 4.0
junior and senior years: 2.0
I basically dropped out (attended classes but did not study or do homework) and began studying on my own. read everything under the sun, including econ textbooks and literary criticisms and everything. took a ridiculous amount of AP tests, many of which were self-studies or might as well have been (got a D in AP Bio and a 4 on the AP test), and entered college as a second semester junior. idk why or what happened to me, but I went from wanting to go to Yale (my grandpa went to yale. my family has a weird history with “elite” schools. I was the first male not to go to exeter in generations, for example) to completely apathetic.</p>
<p>Anyway, I was able to take a senior level econ course during my freshman year because I approached the professor (the dean at the time) and told him that I was interested in the course and would do well if he allowed me to take it. I ended the course with a 105%, which is more or less representative of the grades I receive here – one of the many reasons that I want to transfer. He is one of the professors who wrote a recommendation for me.</p>
<p>I would love to go to Chicago (possibly more than any other school), but I already submitted my application. Would it do any good to call in and specify that I would like to major in economics, but that my first priority is getting in – and that I’d be happier majoring in English at Chicago than economics+ at my current school.</p>
<p>Well, the UChicago supplement didn’t even ask what our intended major was, so I don’t see a point calling the about that.</p>
<p>What about Brown?</p>
<p>And for Stern – I haven’t met all of the requirements, although I will (obviously) specify in the ‘Additional Info’ why I have not and when I will (ie, this summer). Will this affect my chances?</p>
<p>I agree with a lot of what’s been said already. Your scores in math are really too low for these schools. I think the only one you can really count for is NYU Stern. For the others, I don’t know what you should do. I’m not sure if I would suggest applying as a potential major when you have no interest in that field but, with your resume, I would not apply as an econ potential major. </p>
<p>Sent from my DROID PRO using CC App</p>
<p>how do you edit posts? haha</p>