Hey guys, I’m looking to apply either ED2 to either BU or to Northeastern, can you please chance me for each school and let me know which you think I have a better shot of getting into.
Demographics;
White male at an all boys Catholic school.
85-100K family income.
First generation and lived abroad but US born - my first language was also a foreign language.
GPA: 3.8 (School only does weighted)
Rigor: 6 AP’s, 7 Honors, 4 Accelerated Courses
Intended Major: Management with a co-major in sustainable business.
EC’s (where I think I shine):
Own and operate an online business which did $48,000 in sales this past year.
Landscaping company that made over $10,000 last winter.
Starting a SAAS (software-as-a-service) company.
Starting a non-profit to help the homeless in my county (right outside of NYC) find housing and jobs.
Parliamentarian of my school NHS chapter.
President of the Mandarin-Chinese Club
Lead a weekly peer-guidance session with 10 freshmen.
Went on a service trip to Peru.
Essays:
Common App Personal: 9/10 very solid worked on it for months and got a lot of help on it. Talks about my experience moving abroad and how that changed my family situation.
Supplementals: 9/10 also very good received a lot of help working on them and spent a lot of time on them.
LOR’s:
AP Stats Teacher: 9/10 went to Tulane and a very smart dude who writes very well but also has had a great relationship with me since Freshman year.
Mandarin Teacher: 8/10 knows me very well and cares for me a lot I’ve had her all 4 years. Her english might be a bit worse, but the meaning and depth of personality are there.
Schools Applied To:
NYU Stern ED1: Rejected
Babson EA: Deferred
Villanova EA
UMiami EA
UMich EA
Binghamton EA
IU Bloomington EA
What other schools should I do and do I have a better ED2 shot at BU or NEU?
Calculate your unweighted GPA yourself, core courses only on a 4 pt scale where As=4, Bs=3, and so on. Core courses = Eng, Math, SS, FL, and Sci.
I can’t chance you, but I assume you applied to IU Kelley? If so, you meet the direct admit criteria…as long as your transcript says 3.8 w GPA, not 3.78 for example. Is IU affordable?
If so, and if you are happy to go to IU Kelley, then I wouldn’t recommend more apps.
Like I said, I can’t chance you, especially without an unweighted GPA. Is it 2.9? 3.2? 3.6? It makes a huge difference. Beyond that, I can’t see most of your app.
You have other apps out. Agree you need to figure your unweighted. But if it were, say a 3.4,your entire list short of Binghamton and IU would be heavy reaches. So a school like a Denver or Elon would be a better choice than the two you mentioned. Or Cincinnati if interested in co OPs. You did Babson…how about Bentley? But again you need to check affordability.
You don’t have to ED anywhere. But if you do you need to ensure the school is affordable. If IU is affordable, then many others will be as IU is over $50k.
IU is a safety, because they take weighted GPA as long as it’s on the transcript. OP’s 3.8 wGPA and 33 ACT meet Kelley’s direct admit criteria, so OP is guaranteed admission. The other schools you suggest aren’t nearly as good as Kelley, as long as Op would be happy attending Kelley.
I recommend NEU over BU for business. However, a 3.8 WGPA will be tough to gain admission, even under ED2. Are you in the top quarter of your class? My kid applied to IU Kelley and had a 3.79 WGPA and 1330 SAT and didn’t get into Kelley but got into IU.
You seem to like urban schools so IU may not be the best fit because Bloomington is an isolated, small college town. What about Fordham Gabelli for ED2 (assuming finances work)? That too would be a long shot with a 3.8 WGPA. However, Fordham has a low yield so ED2 might give a strong boost.
And last year my son with a 4.0, 1550 SAT, NMF, 7APs was deferred EA from Northeastern and then waitlisted. He was also “postponed” at Michigan but then accepted RD. He also was accepted at Cornell and Duke. Difference from you is that he’s an engineer. But, Northeastern is an interesting one these days - super hard to predict. I’m not sure I’d use an ED2 on Northeastern.
My other son, still in HS, is very interested in an urban location and has been looking at the University of Minnesota. It’s up and coming and while ranked 19th for undergraduate business on USNews (I know - rankings stink but still), some of it’s programs are even higher.
Do you have any insight into why you might have been deferred at Babson? Do they yield protect? If not, I would probably change the focus away from NEU or BU. Both are usually tougher admits than Babson.
You have great evidence for business, but I am also curious about your GPA.
Have you considered UVM Grossman School of Business? Your interest in sustainability would make it a good match. It’s not in a major metro area, but there’s plenty to do in Burlington. They give pretty decent merit and what they refer to as an “out of state grant” (need based) to oos kids as well.
Edited to add tgat I wouldn’t consider Bloomington “isolated”. It’s pretty much the quintessential college town, and if you get into Kelly it’s an amazing B school.
It’s pretty late in the game for Pitt, but it would check a lot of your boxes. The business program isn’t ranked as highly as IU, but my daughter chose it over Kelley because she liked the smaller size and urban setting. She is only one semester in, but so far, so good!
That’s a big leap to make. They (Babson) have a 22% admit rate. Your stats are very good but not world beating. You have the entrepreneurial part but academically you are not through the roof for Babson. They might do yield protection - but I don’t think you can/should assume that.
Someone like you will likely get turned down unfortunately. Too many strong applicants.
You certainly have a strong background for your proposed major. Your strong ACT score will also help give you a boost, as a 3.8 weighted GPA usually would not be overly competitive for most of the schools you’re considering. If you’re in the top 15% of your class, then that helps, because it shows that there is not grade inflation going on at your school. All of that being said, however, I’m uncertain how many acceptances you will have on your list, besides IU and maybe Binghamton.
I would not ED2 at a school that you have not visited. Have you visited BU and NEU? Also, has your family been running the Net Price Calulator at all of these schools? That will be important to see if they’re financially feasible for you (though I realize you said that IU would be).
Personally, I’d advise at looking at schools where your ACT score is going to grab attention, because that will help to compensate for your GPA (there are a number of schools where very few students have below a 3.5 GPA weighted, and most of the schools on your list are above that). Not only might your score get you admission into a good program, but it might also bring about some extra merit money, as USNWR cares much more about test scores than it does GPAs (which then influences the priorities of many college admissions departments). That extra merit money might also bring special opportunities for you with respect to special access to grant money, meeting special campus visitors, etc.
So, which schools would I suggest you taking a look at?
Bentley (MA): A great name in business and offers a degree in sustainability studies, suiting your interests well.
Creighton (NE): There’s lots of business in Omaha, and it also offers a sustainability major in addition to its array of business offerings.
Xavier (OH): Lots of big businesses in Cincinnati, and they also offer a sustainability major in addition to its various business majors.
I’d also take a good look at:
Butler (IN)
DePaul (IL)
Drexel (PA ): Particularly if you like the co-op feature of Northeastern
Duquesne (PA )
Fairfield (CT)
John Carroll (OH)
Lehigh (PA )
Loyola Chicago (IL)
Marquette (WI)
Saint Joseph’s (St. Joe’s) (PA )
Suffolk (MA)
U. of Cincinnati (OH): Particularly if you like the co-op feature of Northeastern
U. of St. Thomas (MN)
There are some very good schools that’d be interested in having you, as some of the midwestern schools get looked over a bit simply due to their location.
thank you for the list! i’ve visited both NEU and BU and I like both but BU seems more realistic in my opinion because, despite their lower ED acceptance rate (around 30% vs NEU’s 52%), they have a lower GPA standard which will allow me to get my foot in the door and show my personality, test scores, and ec’s.
Our daughter was just accepted ED to Bentley. Super impressive school with incredible career services. Most of the students we met already had jobs lined up before graduation - companies like Blackrock, Oracle, Fidelity etc. I would definitely consider adding Bentley to your list. Good luck.
University of Rochester seems like a perfect match for what you’re interested in. In addition to Business, they offer 5 different majors related to the environment and a minor in sustainability. With their open curriculum, students are encouraged to double major and triple majors are not unheard of. You can really put together the combination that works best for you. You should have no difficulty gaining admission there, so it’s a good match, and it’s a fabulous school with too faculty and great resources.