Chance a hopeful finance bro

Chance Me / Match Me!
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Demographics
US domestic
California
Small Private HS
Asian Male

Intended Major(s)
Business/Finance/Econ

3.99ish, B+ one semester
4.45 cum. (estimated)

Don’t know rank yet, but definitely top 5/150ish

  • ACT/SAT Scores:
    1500: 740 Eng, 760 Math without studying (I think I could squeeze out a 1540 with some prep)

Coursework
Junior Year:
AP Compsci
AP Calc AB
AP US History
AP Biology
AP Language and Comp.

Senior Year (What I plan on taking)
AP Gov & Econ
AP Literature
AP Statistics
AP Calc BC
AP Spanish 4

Awards
NHS President
AP Scholar w/ Distinction (predicted)
Superintendents Award (maintained above 4.0 gpa)

Extracurriculars
Founder and President of Business and Finance Club, led to becoming the largest student-run club in the school

Writer and Contributor for a nonprofit writing organization on the bleeding edge of Web3

Intern Consultant at a Tech Sales Company, have worked to improved numerous systems

Co-founder, lead artist, and associate programmer on an NFT Project donating a large section of profits to environmental groups

Theatre and CompSci Club One Year

Numerous Personal Coding/Crypto/Art Projects

Volunteer Work:
300+ Hours Overall
Volunteered in the Engineering Division at an esteemed LAC over an entire summer
Most of the rest is service at my church

Essays/LORs/Other
I consider myself a decent writer, and have an interesting-ish story to tell/niche.

Cost Constraints / Budget
No exact budget, but the cheaper the better.

Schools
Note: I probably won’t apply to all of these, and don’t know whether/where to ED.

  • Safety: Indiana University, UCSD, UCSB
  • Likely: Villanova
  • Match: Boston College, Emory University, University of Florida
  • Reach: UCLA, UC Berkeley, Middlebury, Williams, Amherst, Claremont McKenna, Georgetown, Notre Dame, UVA, UMich, Vanderbilt, CMU

My list probably seems eclectic, these schools were chosen for their solid placement in investment banking. I have taken into account “fit” and believe I would do fine in any of them. In addition, it is reach heavy because I’m hoping out of eleven I could get into at least one. Thanks!

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UCSD and UCSB are not close to being Safeties. They should be be in the Target/Reach category. Plenty of UC GPA capped weighted 4.2+ applicants that were waitlisted or denied. I suggest you look into applying to UC Riverside and SDSU for safer schools. Also look into your local Cal state as a definite safety unless it is impacted.

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IU Kelley is a great safety to have. Emory and UF are reaches. Villanova a match. (and agree with gumbymom on UCSD, UCSB.)

I encourage you to cull your list…this is a top heavy list which will require many essays, likely too many to do top notch essays on all.

There are also such different types of schools on the list…large to small, different vibes, some with at-risk business school admission like UVA. The more disparate the schools the more difficulty you will have demonstrating fit.

Lastly, I would really drill down to the differences between a finance/business major and econ…these are not similar, not interchangeable. The more research you do the more your preferences will become clear, and the better you will be able to articulate fit in your essays.

Good luck.

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Hi, Mwfan. As I said, I understand how eclectic my list is, but to be frank, I wouldn’t mind how large or small my school is. As for Business/Finance/Econ, my number one choice would be Finance, however many schools only offer the business major. Econ is for the few that offer neither. My interest lies between all three, however. Thanks!

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Hello, I believe I may have misunderstood the “safety” term. From what I have seen at my school, recent applicants with stats lower than mine have consistently been admitted to these schools, including in this past difficult admissions cycle. However, I agree it should probably be bumped up a bit as it’s definitely not a guarantee.

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BC business is probably a reach. UF is taking a lot of heat for putting some business classes online. Schools like UVA without direct admit to their business school fell off my son’s list.

Fordham Gabelli would make a nice match.

Maybe WUSTL or Duke and Chicago for Econ.

Good luck.

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You might want to check out Drexel. They place many finance bros and have co-ops to get great experience. You might get some nice merit ad well. You should have a the financial conversation with your parents and run some net price calculators with them and figure out a budget. Cheaper is better isn’t really a strategy when you’re looking for schools across the country. Hunting for merit is a different search than need based.

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We need a budget. Have your family run the Net Price Calculator at Williams or Amherst and then at one of the UCs or at UVA to get both a generous private school perspective as well as a public school perspective on what they think your family can pay. Have your family look at those numbers. Is your family able and willing to pay that price? If so, schools that meet full need will work. If your family is not willing and able to pay that price, then you’re looking for a lower sticker price or merit aid. What is the price that your family is willing and able to pay for each year?

This is my very fallible guess as to what your chances might be at the colleges on your list. Would you be happy to attend every single one of these institutions? If not, take them off the list. If you wouldn’t be thrilled to be attending IU Kelley your first year, then you definitely need to add some likelier admittances.

Guaranteed (100%)

  • IU Kelley

Extremely Likely (80-99%)

Likely (60-79%)

Toss-Up (40-59%)

Possible (20-39%)

  • UC San Diego (31%)
  • UC Santa Barbara (30%)
  • Villanova
  • Boston College
  • U. of Florida
  • U. of Virginia
  • U. of Michigan

Less Likely (less than 20%)

  • Emory
  • UCLA
  • UC – Berkeley
  • Middlebury
  • Williams
  • Amherst
  • Claremont McKenna
  • Georgetown
  • Notre Dame
  • Vanderbilt
  • Carnegie Mellon
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Hello. Yes, we have ran the calculator on most of them, and can afford most of them. I’m completely fine with attending Indiana assuming I am rejected from every other school, however, I believe (or at least hope) there is a low possibility I will find myself in that situation. By the way, are your percentages general or based on my stats? What do you think my chances are that I receive at least 1-3 “less likely” acceptances? Thanks!

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If there are schools that do not offer merit aid where the NPC calculator came up with a number that is not affordable (as you mentioned MOST were affordable), then I would remove those schools from contention.

With respect to the percentages, they are based on admit percentages, but influenced by your stats. You may well get into other schools on your list other than IU. But the odds are against you. For the schools in the “less likely” category, the stats of the rejected applicants are essentially the same as the stats of those who are accepted. Go look at the threads for each of those less likely and possible colleges where people are announcing their results. You will see people at each of those schools with stats higher than yours who were rejected or waitlisted.

There is definitely a chance you will be accepted, but it would be foolhardy to think that you’re going to beat the odds simply because you’re you. Almost all of the applicants who are applying having very strong GPAs, test scores, and extracurriculars. There are simply too many qualified students for too few spots. The vast majority of the excellent students who apply to these schools are going to receive rejections or waitlists (and waitlists usually have very little movement…one should essentially consider it a rejection and then a supremely unexpected surprise if one gets off of a waitlist).

Thus, if you would like to have options come the spring of your senior year as to where you attend, I strongly recommend that you add more schools in the likelier categories. You might have other options besides IU, but with this current list, the odds are against you.

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Using this list of Best Colleges for Finance which seems to be where you greatest interest lies, here are some likelier options to consider. Additionally, you’re likely to get get some good merit aid at a number of these.

Guaranteed (100%)

  • Arizona State

Extremely Likely (80-99%)

  • Elon (NC)
  • Penn State

Likely (60-79%)

  • Santa Clara (CA)
  • Bentley (MA)
  • Fairfield (CT)
  • Baruch (NY)
  • Ohio State
  • Rutgers (NJ)
  • U. of Illinois – Urbana-Champaign
  • U. of Minnesota

Toss-Up (40-59%)

  • Lehigh (PA )
  • Fordham (NY)
  • Southern Methodist (TX)
  • George Washington (D.C.)
  • U. of Georgia
  • U. of Washington
  • U. of Wisconsin

Possible (20-39%)

Less Likely (less than 20%)

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Very useful link for others as well

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If IB or high finance is your ultimate goal, then you’ll need to consider “target” schools. These are schools where the big banks do on campus recruiting. The list of targets varies from one bank to another but in general includes the ivy league + other top schools. Some smaller boutiques and regional banks will recruit at local targets. For example Rice and Vanderbilt are targets for regional banks, but not the NYC banks.

Even within target schools, there is a pecking order. Wharton and Harvard do the best. Even at schools like Columbia which is a solid target in the heart of NYC, not every student is able to find an IB position.

The big banks are also now shifting away from the traditional target model to look at a wider array of candidates. So they programs for URMs/LGBTQ/Military candidates. They also place emphasis on networking and coffee chats. This means that you can theoretically go to any college, and as long as you work hard, you can land an IB job.

So based on this, the only target college I see on your list is UC Berkley. And perhaps UMich (as long as its Ross). The others are considered “semi-targets”, which is a terrible name. There is nothing wrong with a semi-target, but just means you have to put in more legwork to get an internship/job. You can find this information out by going to each of the investment banks and look for upcoming on campus events. This will tell you which colleges they are recruiting from.

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