<p>HELP PLEASEEEEE!!! I need your unbiased opionion on my son's chance at getting admitted to NYU Stern and UPenn Wharton. This may resolve conflict of our differing views/attitudes on his safety schools.</p>
<p>Here is his Stat:</p>
<p>Asian male from New Jersey public school
SAT I: 2310 (740CR/800M/770W)
SAT II: 800 Math IIC/770 Chem/770 Math IC/750 Writing
GPA: 3.9 unweighted, 4.59 weighted
RANK: top 2% in class of 440
Course Rigor: 8APs + 10 Honors
National Merit Semi Finalist
National Honor Society
ECs: weak (2 sports, FBLA, astrophysics, ... nothing spectacular)
Leadership: NONE!!!!
Community Service: 500+ hours showing commitment and consistency</p>
<p>I know the lack of leadership experience and weak ECs will hurt him, but how much? Will he be able to make it up by his strength in areas of academics?</p>
<p>i'm still new here, but my first reaction was that he should be able to get into nyu stern, although i think that upenn is a reach. then again, it is for most people, so just pray i suppose, good luck</p>
<p>I say he might have a shot at Penn CAS...but Wharton places a premium on ECs and leadership activities. I wouldn't give him a good chance at Wharton.</p>
<p>Thanks for those who reply to my post. He knows Wharton is a long shot and does not have his hope high. But what do you think his chance is for Stern? He's not seriously pursuing scholarship or honor program opportunity at his safety school (Smeal at Penn State) because he thinks he WILL get into Stern. I may be paranoid, but I think he may be overly confident. Please, I need advice ...</p>
<p>Wharton is unlikely but is also very random, and your son is qualified so it is worth a try.</p>
<p>I think he will get into NYU Stern but I think you also have a right to be cautious. He should definitely pursue the Honor opportunities at Penn State, unless he has other schools that are less selective that he plans to apply to (or applied to).</p>
<p>His ECs aren't necessarily weak; a lot of it is what he is able to make out of them in his essays, which I think are much more important than the list itself. 500 hours of volunteering is substantial, but its significancce is contingent upon the actual value gleaned from it.</p>
<p>Is NYU really stingy about its finaid/scholarship offer compared to other schools? Why is that? Very curious. Does anyone mind sharing his/her actual experience?</p>
<p>From comments so far, his chance at Penn is slim, which I agree. So how optimistic should he be towards getting accepted at NYU? Anybody else want to comment on that?</p>
<p>Princeton Review rankings put the NYU Financial Aid package as the #1 lowest among all 341 colleges in their "Best Colleges" book.</p>
<p>Current tuition for NYU Stern is $32,500 plus Room and Board is estimated at $11,000 or so, plus other expenses (books, day-to-day around NYC) is estimated at about $6,500--so the cost to attend NYU for four years is a minimum of $200,000. </p>
<p>Without any financial aid, that will be tough for most families to cover. And since you are unlikely to get financial help from the school, (and FAFSA aid only covers around $15K a year maximum) your son or daughter should look for a school that offers a better financial aid package.</p>
<p>(The only exception to this might be if you already live locally and can cut out the apartment/housing costs)</p>