so, im a junior and I have been depressed at my grades and comparing it to any chance of ogin to my dream school. I want to major in economics or finance (I want a job on wall street)
my gpa is an 86 unweighted(i had an under the table part-time job during my sophmore year)
my ecs are: manager of two varsity teams at my high school
president of a club whos focus is the finance climate
manger of 2 music festivals tha happened in our school
Co-vice president of Muslim club
Completed SIS Leadership program 2 times
Attended susquenna wall street event 2 times
can i get into uchicago or any other school known for economcs
Can you get into U of Chicago, odds are no, they only accept about 10% and I may be being kind with that number, but that means 90% can not get in, there are a ton of very good schools with Econ dept. What state do you live in? You can be successful and work on Wall Street if you want by going to a state school, no doubt about it.
I live in Brooklyn and go to one of the elite schools in ny. Im also thinking about American university and applying for early decision (80% applicants get in ), but I dont know what wall street think of au. My plan is to get out nyc.
Wall Street finance jobs are literally ONE out of of thousands of career paths you could do with a business degree. If these jobs were that great, these companies wouldn’t have to recruit so much. These are jobs with notoriously high turnover. College students have been known go go into $100,000 or more in debt to chase these jobs…and find out the hard way that it’s a poor fit.
Also, the average college student changes their major three times. As you mature, you find hidden passions, and that’s what should drive your career path.
My cousin graduated from Drexel Lebow business school in finance with quite a few job offers including ones on Wall Street. You don’t have to just go to uber selective schools to get hired in NYC. You do have to do well in college and any internships/co-ops once there.
Agree with the above statement. You do not need to attend a selective college to attain good jobs in finance in NYC. However, some less-selective schools are a lot better for NYC finance jobs than others. Fordham and SUNY-Baruch comes to mind. Villanova, Lehigh, Northeastern, and Boston College are also great and possibly achievable. IU Kelley is very very good and I believe could be the best option for you. However, you may have to appeal admissions to get in.
As for UChicago, they accept almost no one who does not apply Early Decision of EDII. However, UChicago is one of the most difficult schools in the US, and if you want a good job, you have to be able to get atleast a solid GPA. So, you may decide UChicago is not for you. .
@coolguy40, yes, I understand what idea you are going for, and you are absolutely correct. At the moment, I shouldn’t be “exactly too sure” about what my career would be after collge, but to have an idea.
@MistySteel27, Instead of being closed minded, I should be more open minded to where I apply. Say I got into an Ivy League, but eventually ended up doing poorly in my classes, that would obviously lower my chances of getting a job on Wall Street or possibly any job.
@tchit87, The schools you have mentioned above are oustanding as well-for a degree in Finance/Economics. I have one more semester remaining until my junior year of high school is completed, which I am taking full advantage of (trying to improve my GPA). Looking at your suggestions and doing personal research, I am considering doing ED for Leigh University and my intended major would be Finance.
If you apply ED just be sure that: 1) Lehigh is your absolute top choice (if you get in you will have no regrets) and 2) Lehigh appears affordable (run net price calculator) and your family has no need to compare financial offers between schools.
I recommend you get your hands on a good college guide book (ex. Fiske, Princeton Review) and start reading up on different colleges. If your HS has Naviance that is a good tool as well. If you are at an elite NYC school your guidance counselors should have a good sense of what colleges students with your academic profile have gotten into in the past.
I would strongly recommend not applying ED to a university that is not your absolute dream school. I, myself, applied EDII to NYU Stern and was accepted but ended up turning it down because I received another unexpected offer that was better for me. Honestly, there are so many schools that you initially may have thought was not for you but end up loving what it has to offer.
I do not think applying ED to a university helps as much as you think. If you fully demonstrate interest to a college, the chances are you will receive a similar outcome to if you applied ED. I applied to eight safety/low-target schools and thought that none of them would be what I wanted out of college, but as I looked into each one, I found that I liked them more and more and could see myself there. Even at the school I eventually ended up at, UT Austin (in Business Honors w/ a scholarship), I only saw pictures and the class profile that did not appeal me. It was only when I talked to students and visited campus that I truly felt like it was the right program for me.
I would strongly recommend finding a large list of business/econ schools that would be best for your aspirations on the street. These are usually called “target” or “semi-target” schools and you can find them on forums like Wall Street Oasis. I’ll get you started with a list: SMU, Fordham, IU, PennState, SUNY-Baruch, Brigham Young as well as the more selective, well-known colleges. Do your research on each school and narrow down the list. Then decide if ED is really the right choice (forgoing the possibility of attending any other university).
Im assuming this is the same highschool I went to (or the sister one with the business casual uniforms). So within NYC your highschool name might give you a boost. I was told by the admissions officer who accepted me that I would have likely been rejected from Hunter (1.6 gpa, 1400 sat) had it not been for my schools name recognition.
If you REALLY want to work on wall street (I’ve changed my major three times now, what I was dead set on in highschool is nothing like my current major) Baruch is a pretty reasonable school for your credentials.
If you like the idea of going international other countries have well known business schools like Schulich Business at York University, uMelbourne, etc.
My cousin works in finance (went to Baruch) and many of his co-workers are from prestigious US schools, but plenty went to average universities, and quite a lot went to international institutions.
I think you should make sure you have a range of schools to which you apply, whether or not you do ED anywhere. Make sure you can afford all of them (run the net priced calculators on their sites). Make sure they have what you want. Pick a number of schools with high acceptance rates. Also, there are some threads here that might be called A+ schools for B students that might give you more ideas. And an 86 can be a high grade depending on what type of courses you are taking. My friend’s daughter didn’t have the highest GPA and got into Middlebury because she was taking as many dual (college) credit and AP courses as she could. Her SAT score was good but not great. She is also a great writer and had many other strengths that are not just GPA and SAT score. Different schools want different things.
If your family is well off, that can help. At least I think that full pay students have an advantage in many schools.
I think you can get into many great schools but as for UChicago, most people do not get in there so you can put in some reach apps to schools like that but make sure you have a good match and target schools. Does your school have Naviance or other onilne program to help you figure out where you might apply?
@happy1, I agree with the fact that I should get a college guide book. I will be the first member in my family to attend college, so I’m tackling this situation myslef. Schools are currently closed, so my guidence councelor and potential college councelor are hardly in touch with me.
Did you attend Lehigh? If so, how was the academic and social climate of LehighU
@autumnshowers, Many of my friends (who are currently seniors) amplified the fact that universities/colleges think of my school as “very challenging”. I am going to hold that as an advantage, and hopefully it will turn out to be true.
I was also thinking about Baruch, mostly becuase of it’s Accelerator Program. Many of the students who graduated from my high school and eventually ended up going there, emphasized on the apparent lack of social life on campus, which is a disadvantage for me. For my college experience, I desire a balance of academically rigorous classes and an enjoyable social life.
@happy1, As soon as my guidence councelor handed over the access code for Naviance, (during the second semester of my sophmore year), I haven’t been able to go a day without visiting it’s website, (this may be an exaggeration). Whenever, I find a new school to put on my list, the first thing I do is go to Naviance
Kudos to you for being the first one in your family to attend college. Here are a few more suggestions…
– Be honest with yourself about where you academics stand and choose reach, match, and safety schools accordingly.
– Talk to your parents. See how much they can contribute to your college annually. Run net price calculators to see what schools appear affordable. See if your parents have any other restrictions on your college (ex. geographic etc.).
–Recognize that there are tons of amazing colleges and universities out there. Don’t fixate on one or two "dream schools. Too many people fixate on a few reach schools and then are disappointed with their choices in the end. Spend the time and energy to find those match and safety schools you love and that appear affordable.
–Don’t count on getting a wall street job right out of college. You may have to start somewhere else. Take one step and a time and good things will come.
I’m no admissions officer, but I like the advice OP is getting from the other posters. Do well in college and land good internships, you’ll get there. The real difference between a mid tier college (like Fordham) and an upper tier (like Yale) is that as long as you do OK at Yale, you’ll have a chance at Wall Street. If you knock it out of the park at a school like Fordham, which is known for sending alum to Wall Street, you’ll be QUITE fine.
Based on your stats and what your school sounds like, Fordham is a good match. Lehigh I could see. SMU match, and so on.
Apply to Cuny Baruch Macaulay - indeed, there’s no campus (a “vertical campus”, is… One tall building) and no campus life. However it’d likely be an affordable safety.
Colgate, Middlebury, Williams are also paths to Wall Street.
Lehigh is work hard/play hard. Lots of intense academic competition, lots of drinking, but definite balance, especially compared to CUNY colleges and commuter campuses.
@uniquespice889 Is it a specialized high school? If so, use the time right now to focus on building up your ECs and passion projects. Not only this but, academic achievement is more than just grades. Writing up a research paper, taking college classes, winning awards in an academic field, etc. can also boost your chances. Personally I am not well rounded at all. Coming from a primarily STEM-focused school, being skewed towards the humanities & social sciences is especially difficult. Nonetheless, I’ve tried to show that though I’m average, in terms of STEM, I’m one of the best writers in the country (through national/state awards, dual enrollment, research on linguistics etc.)