Are my chances better for NYU Stern or NYU CAS?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

I am a Senior in High School who is applying to NYU EDII, but I am conflicted about which school to apply to. I want to take the business route and apply to Stern, but I am worried my application will not be good enough for a spot. But after visiting and doing research on the school, I know NYU is the college for me. In order to have a better chance at attending NYU, I am thinking of applying to CAS and majoring in economics, and maybe trying to transfer to Stern after Freshman year. Here are my stats:

GPA: 3.62 (Counselor said to put unweighted on Common App)
(First two years screwed me but managed a 4.20 Junior year with increased difficulty of classes)
(I also transferred schools February of Freshman year, and my public school grades, all A’s, are not included in GPA)
Course Load: AP Euro, AP US History, AP Lang and Comp, AP Environmental Science
(I know I should have taken more but the only others offered were in sciences and I was not interested in those)
Class Rank: My school does not have class rank
ACT Composite: 32
ACT English: 35
ACT Math:27
ACT Reading: 34
ACT Science: 33
(Hoping to raise math to at least a 32 and bring composite up to a 34)
Extra Curricular: Paid Job at a Pizza Restaurant (20 Hours a Week), Varsity Soccer, Club Soccer, Co-Head of FBLA, Co-Head of Culinary Club, Student Council position first semester of junior year (hoping to have another second semester of this year), Food Committee (Small group of students and teachers that plan the meals in our dining hall), Part of the Committee that plans Environmental Week, Interned at an Innovation Lab last summer, Working on starting my first business (Not sure if I should add this), I am thinking about starting and Investment Club at my school, and I am part of the re-election committee for two local judges.
Essay: Writing about my work and how making pizzas helped me understand my purpose in life.

I go to a small private school and while my transcript does not say so, all of my classes are supposed to be considered honors classes due to the difficulty of the school. My counselor says colleges will know this, but I am afraid it will just look as if I am just taking easy classes.

Should I apply CAS and try to transfer to Stern later or should I take the chance of applying directly to Stern?

2

If Stern is your choice, then apply to Stern ED. Because of the difference in selectivity for admissions, I would assume transferring to Stern is really difficult, so I wouldn’t bank on that.
Your counselor is right. Colleges will know as the counselor sends in a school report, detailing all the classes at the school. Don’t worry about that.

Keep in mind NYU is expensive with no aid.

3

@rdeng2614 I thought that Stern was right for me because I want to go into business (Entrepreneurship), but now I realize that Stern is more focused towards Finance. Also I have been hearing terrible things about the students at Stern. Now I realize that I do not necessarily need to go to Stern if all I am interested in is Entrepreneurship, but then again I am not sure if just going to CAS would be worth all the money. But I really really like the school, so I am conflicted.