Background: Middle class Indian male from mid sized California City
Objective: Want to apply as a business undergrad and then study law for a graduate degree.
CT/SAT/SAT II: 1480
UW/W GPA and Rank: 3.35 UW/3.81 W
Coursework:
Sophomore Year:AP Euro (3)
Junior Year: Stats(4) and APES (4)
Senior Year: AP Gov/Micro, AP Calc AB, AP Seminar
Awards: 2 California regional debate undefeated awards
2 Debate Invitational top 8’s
Went to VEX robotics world tournament 2 years in a row
Won VEX robotics state championship 2 years in a row
Many DECA regional awards (1’st and 2’nd place for start up business plan)
Second Place at county wide science fair
Autodest Certified User
Extracurriculars:
Youth board member for county’s office of education
Captain/Vice President of school’s award winning debate team
Co-Founded non profit business that has raised 10,000 dollars to date
Juror at local youth court
Advocacy Director for DECA Chapter
Lead Builder and Communications officer for aformentioned robotics team 2 years in a row
Interned with district’s assemblywoman
Schools: Please leave any good or “big name” schools that I could get into. I was thinking of UC’s, but can be anything really!
L
I think you have a good chance at UC Santa Cruz, Riverside and Merced, and fair chance at Irvine and possibly Davis. You have to check if you need/can apply to Business Schools at UC as a freshman. Perhaps consider Pepperdine University as well.
The following is copied from one of @Gumbymom’s comments, to give you an idea about where you stand for the UCs:
"2018 Freshman admit rates for UC GPA of 3.40-3.79 capped weighted and not major specific:
UCB: 1%
UCLA: 2%
UCSD: 7%
UCSB: 8%
UCI: 7%
UCD: 14%
UCSC: 33%
UCR: 49%
UCM: 82%
2019 UC capped weighted GPA averages; 25th - 75th percentiles for SAT totals:
UCB: 4.23; 1340-1540
UCLA: 4.25; 1330-1550
UCSD: 4.23; 1300-1520
UCSB: 4.16; 1280-1520
UCI: 4.13; 1250-1510
UCD: 4.13; 1230-1490
UCSC: 3.96; 1200-1450
UCR: 3.90; 1130-1400
UCM: 3.73; 1020-1290"
Thank you! What do you think my chance is for NYU?
Chances at nyu would be a reach solely from gpa
NYU Stern is even more competitive than NYU overall. You have a solid record and impressive EC’s, but your GPA and course rigor aren’t through the roof, and your test scores are good in a neutral way - a 1480 won’t keep you out of top schools if the rest of your credentials are great, but it won’t offset any other weaknesses either, and your grades are a weakness for reach schools like NYU Stern.
Maybe look at schools that have strong debate programs and would particularly value your strength in this area? Brandeis seems like it could be a good fit - strong business, good place for pre-law, tons of opportunities in the Boston area, and what’s not to like about a school whose debate team is called the Brandeis Academic Debate and Speech Society = BADASS. Based purely on stats, it’s a high match, but I think your strong EC’s would be likely to tilt the decision in the right direction.
UC-wise, the business school at Riverside could be a great option.
The University of Denver Daniels School of Business could be one to look at. Your EC record could make you a candidate for the Pioneer Leadership cohort program, and the debate team offers scholarships to recruit strong debaters.
U of Utah’s Eccles School of Business can be a great UC alternative (affordable and accessible for CA students), and UofU’s debate program is a well-established program that’s been placing in the top 10 nationally. The pre-law learning community program, combined with a business major (9 different options) might be a great fit for you. https://leap.utah.edu/program-options/pre-law.php
Only 3 UC’s have an undergrad “Business School”, UC Berkeley, UC Irvine and UC Riverside.
UCB’s Business school is not a direct admit for a Freshman, you apply after Sophomore year and is highly competitive. UCB as a Freshman admit would be a High Reach.
UCI’s Business school is a direct admit as a Freshman but also highly competitive so another Reach.
UCR’s Business school is not direct admit for Freshman. Incoming freshman and sophomore students register for pre-business under the College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (CHASS). Once the breadth requirements and prerequisites are completed, an application to Business is submitted at the end of the sophomore year. Upon acceptance, students become business administration majors in the School of Business.
Some other California schools to look at for Business are San Diego State, Cal state Fullerton, Chapman, Loyola Marymount, Santa Clara and University of San Diego. Your GPA will be a stumbling block for the top schools.
URochester? I think they’d appreciate your ECs. Test scores are okay and gpa could be in range depending on your school, rank, rigor, etc.