Hello! I am currently a senior from India. I will be giving my SAT in December. My academics makes me distinguished and my extracurriculars which includes excelling in various Psychology and Economics events, fests and competitions, tutoring, debating and journalism. I am going to apply to 3-4 top tier schools and the rest will be safety with acceptance rates of around 25-30%. Due to a paucity of savings, I will only apply to 8-9 colleges. My top tier school choices include Princeton, Upenn and Columbia. I want to add another school to this list. Which of the above would best fit my needs?
Honestly, I am a very adaptable person. I can adjust to any environment. Rural or urban settings seems to make little to no difference to me. I enjoy all settings alike. No preference for one over the other.
The main concern is job. I really have no plans of settling in US. I love India. I just want to go to the States for the purpose of education and savings. The thing is I would want to stay here in the USA for my OPT period so that I could repay my student loans. Also, I wouldnt want to settle in America but atleast work for a company for one H1-b round only (no renewal), as I wish to save some money, go back to India and open a school for underpreviliged kids. So the only concern is job. Which of the above universities has a more distinguished alumni network that could atleast get me in the job market for my OPT, if not H1-b? Most companies want permanent employees and do not want to hire the international students on OPT. I hear UCHICAGO alumni are not very supportive and you dont really get a job straight after getting your undergrad.
Also, I would be majoring in Economics or Public Policy. Economics and finance field more likely.
UChicago is the world’s super power in economics. 29 Nobel winners including this year. Their economic department just got a 125 million grant. Chicago Booth Business school is top three in the US. You would be very lucky indeed to get in. No comparison with the other two schools. Not same universe in economics or as institutions. UChicago is one of the world ‘s top ten univerisities. Brown and Dartmouth are barely known outside the US.
Look at the acceptance rates for regular decision between UChicago vs Dartmouth/Brown. You have a three to four time better change of getting into the two Ivies in the RD round vs UChicago.
@LolToAll If you are interested in a career in finance/business straight out of undergrad, Dartmouth is the clear winner of the three. Its tradition of sending undergrads to top wall street positions and its undergraduate alumni network on wall street and business in general is the strongest of these three. Also the Dartmouth alumni network is notoriously close-knit. Plus dartmouth is the most pre-professional of the three which seems like is closest to what you want.
As an international, your chances of getting into finance/business in the US during or out of undergrad are close to impossible, let alone getting paid well. Most of the opportunities will be in Asia for such students.
@fivesages Not true, if you are good enough to land a job at top-tier investment banks, consulting firms etc you will not have an issue with sponsorship. top banks and consulting firms are very willing to sponsor international students from top undergraduate schools, and do not discriminate against international applicants from top target schools. Many of my international friends at Penn classmates did that. Asia recruiting is also a big thing at the top target US schools so OP wouldn’t have an issue with that.
@Chrchill you are spreading so many inaccuracies, it is crazy. Chicago undergrad does not have the presence and tradition on wall street and business on the east coast that Dartmouth and other ivies have. Anyone at any elite firm on the east coast knows that. Everyone also knows that the loyalty within the Dartmouth alumni network is notorious. Plus it looks like it fits the op the best since he/she appears to be very pre-professionally oriented, and Dartmouth is definitely that.
Saying the Trott program at Chicago (what is this?) is somehow only rivaled by Wharton, is beyond ridiculous. Wharton is only rivaled by Harvard for business recruiting and there is a least a bunch of other schools afterwards until we get to Chicago. the bunch includes all the other ivies which are bigger target schools for these types of jobs. Econ department strength does not have much to do with being a top target school for wall street jobs out of undergrad.
@Penn95 I assume you understand that H1-Bs are a lottery these days, even if the top investment banks and management consulting firms are ready to hire international students. With respect to OPTs, I am interested in learning about recruiting at these firms.
@Penn95 your information seems very credible. I am pre-professionally oriented but not really the type who would specialize in Business and professional schools. For instance, I would not be looking forward to apply for Wharton because I know I am not passionate or driven enough to study at a business school. I am very enthusiastic about Economics and Statistics, but I don’t think a professional school like Wharton would be a good fit for me.
Do you have any idea about how Brown is when it comes to working after undergrad? Brown seems really intriguing because of the Open Curriculum, as opposed to Columbia and UChicago’s core. (I do not intend to say that core is mundane) This would give me some freedom to pursue a few courses in Psychology.
@fivesages I totally understand. It is only fair to have job reserved for the country’s residents. However, I do feel that if, through some miracle I make it at a reputable place, I could surely work for my OPT, if not being sponsored for H1-b. I would be totally cool with that.
You’d be fortunate to be admitted to any of those three. They’re all good. However, …
Schools with 25-30% admit rates really aren’t safeties, especially for an international student with high need (although some of them might be good admission & FA match/target schools.) “Full need” private schools with admit rates in that range will be need-aware for international admissions. Some public schools with admit rates in that range don’t offer FA to internationals. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Need-blind_admission
Do you have a true admission and financial safety in your own (or some other) country?
If not, for safeties in the USA, I suggest you consider schools that offer automatic full ride scholarships for students with qualifying stats. http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/
For any school that interests you, check its website (or its Common Data Set, section H6) to be sure their merit scholarships are available to international students.
@Penn95 not engaging with you anymore. You are a fanatic Uchicago hater. No credibility. And you are completely ignorant. Look up Uchicago careers in business trott program.
@tk21769 I dont really have a high need. My fanily could easily give 25-40k $ a year. I would still require loan to cover the rest of $30k or something. I feel my stats qualify me for some good schools. Also, I have wholeheartedly engaged in activities that matter and have won recognition in them (National and state)
If I do not get admitted to the safeties then I have the top notch colleges in my country. I really do not wish to settle for less so applying to other colleges (with acceptance rates more than 30%) would not make sense if I can study at the best colleges in my country.
UChicago has a EA, EDI and EDII options. So if it ends up being your second choice, you can apply ED to your top choice and then if not admitted, apply EDII to Chicago. The best way to do this is to apply EA to Chicago (non-binding) and then switch it to EDII if you get bad news from your other choice. You should also expand your search since the schools you site are very hard to get into. If you want to consider a liberal arts college, look at Middlebury which has an excellent all-undergraduate economics program.