<p>Hi all, I'm considering applying either to UPenn Wharton Early decision or Columbia SEAS early decision. My goal in life is to work as an investment banker. No...I don't really want the money, but I love the atmosphere of working on wallstreet. Wharton is obviously the best place for banking. But I go to Columbia every saturday for SHP and I've felt in love with its Operations Research: Financial Engineering program. Here are my stats and please give me some advice!!!
SAT: 2400 (first try; single sitting)
SAT II's (havent taken any yet)
Rank: 4/350 in a pretty competitive public school in New Jersey
GPA weighted: 4.6
GPA unweighted: 4.0
AP's: not listing but many (heard AP's dont matter for admissions)
EC's: President of Math club and very dedicated, math league perfect scores. Robotics Team programmer, builder, and scout. Won several state awards. And other misc. clubs with semi-involvement in community service. Columbia SHP 2 year participant(fairly selective I guess). Founder of school service business that provides study guides and tutoring service for students (designed and developed a pretty professional website that allows for discussions and purchase of guides). Earned some money from that so far (not alot of course!)
Awards: national Bio Contest second prize. A possible National Institutes of Health summer internship this summer(pi emailed me back saying he loved me). National Merit Semifinalist (yeah, pretty common). Some service awards. AIME qualifier. Overall not much i guess.
But I think my turning point would DEFINITELY be my essay. My essay, which I'm almost finished on, will be very unique and probably depict me as a unique and respectable character. I won't say the details but I will say that the essay will have more weight than my 2400 and will be the tipping point for me.
Teacher recs: possibly one from Chem teacher who likes me, and one from English teacher who said to me that "you are the best student I've had in 21 years of teaching."
And I'm an asian male from New Jersey
Which one will be a better fit and which one would I have a shot of getting in? I really want to get in so I dont have to apply to 15 school for RD Thanks so much guys.</p>
<p>wow, you have some impressive stats. granted these schools are extremely selective and sometimes can be a crap shoot, but you have as good of a shot as anybody… and if you love the program at columbia, dont completely rule it out!
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1114972-chance-tulane-university-please.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1114972-chance-tulane-university-please.html</a></p>
<p>^Thank yo very much!!! Best of luck for Tulane!! Anyone else please???</p>
<p>Wow, you do have some impressive stats. I believe that with great recommendations and a great essay which you probably have done, you’ll undoubtedly get into the college of your choice.</p>
<p>I agree, your stats are impressive.
If your essay is as good as you claim, you have a great shot at either school.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Solid chances, although if you want to go into banking, Harvard/Wharton/Princeton are slightly stronger targets for recruiting than Columbia. Princeton’s ORFE program is very good</p>
<p>Isn’t it a little early to start writing essays?</p>
<p>^ Would you rather write your essays now and be (somewhat) stress-free in the fall, or struggle to write your essays last minute?</p>
<p>Thank you everyone who has helped!!! I’ve been pretty depressed lately after I got the 2400; because after I frequented the recent decision threads, like everyone had a gazillion ec’s. I moved to my current high school, which is pretty mediocre, a year ago and knew no one, so i obviously have little leadership positions. But I’ve made the most out of my opportunities so far. I kinda regret not doing forensics or FBLA this year because one I had Columbia SHP, two I could have definitely won some awards like on the national level. Anyway, I am happy right now with what I have and I will not view college as the sole concern of my life because its more enjoyable that way.</p>
<p>Your stats look as good as can be, and your EC’s are pretty stellar considering your moving situation. You have a solid chance at both of those schools, but they will probably both require two SAT II scores. Both schools are amazing and it really comes down to which one you want to go to. Big companies will definitely go to Wharton to recruit students for jobs, but you can easily make connections on Wall Street going to Columbia. You really can’t go wrong. Visit Penn, and see how you like the atmosphere. Like you said, don’t take it too seriously - life isn’t all about college. Good luck!</p>
<p>Your school is considered somewhat competitive? I never considered it as such, but I don’t think it matters much anyway.</p>
<p>Your stats are solid, and as long as your moving situation is explained, your ECs will be on par with other applicants’. SHP might give you an advantage at Columbia, not because you participated in it, but because of what you’ve learned about the college through your experience there. It might even be better that you didn’t participate in FBLA or forensics because a. notable awards aren’t achieved as easily as you assume, b. you seem to be really happy with SHP for what you can learn, and not for any awards you might earn, and c. admissions officers are skeptical when they see applicants start joining clubs their junior year. I obviously can’t judge your essay, but if you want to send it to me, I can critique it.</p>
<p>You’re already a solid candidate. Don’t worry about your ECs too much because there isn’t anything more you can do besides continue with what you already have. As for which school, that’s really up to you. Good luck!</p>
<p>Continue to pursue excellence in all that you do. You are a solid applicant, though I’m skeptical about your essay portraying you as “very unique” (there’s no such thing; you’re either unique or not at all).</p>
<p>^Thanks guys. And penguin, yeah, my high school isn’t that good but is like top 50 in NJ, so it’s decent. And we’ve had quite a few people go into ivies each year. So far I know like 3 Yalies, 1 Harvard, and a gazillion Cornellians, Dukies, Northwesterners, ect.</p>
<p>Good stats, but at that level, it’s all a crapshoot. Also, being Asian and from NJ could be detrimental. But good luck!</p>
<p>IF you essay and LOR’s are as amazing as you say, with a 4.0 UW and perfect SAT you are essentially a shoe-in everywhere (as much as anyone can be in such a random process).</p>
<p>Again assuming your non-quantifiable portions are as great as you suggest the only thing left is to ace a few sub tests in June or October and you can probably handpick which programs you consider. If you love the Columbia one, go for it. If your unsure Wharton/Harvard/Princeton/Stanford are all equally good (truthfully better) options for finance.</p>
<p>If I were you I’d apply to Columbia, its just as competitive as Wharton and you can get in ED. So you can enjoy your senior year. Best of luck!</p>
<p>Pretty sure you’ll get into Wharton. Your stats, ECs, recs look really good.
Good luck!</p>
<p>Your resume looks great. What about SAT subject tests?What type of voluntary work did you do? That counts a lot for
princeton and Princeton financial engineering prgram is pretty good. Why do you say APs are not important for admissions? Just out of curiosity how many APs did you do and what was your score?</p>
<p>You mentioned Columbia SHP in your EC? how tough is the entrance exam and how did you prepare for it?</p>