Hi am a junior in high school. Please chance me for the following colleges. I want to study finance.
GPA: 3.78/4 UW and 4.14 W
SAT: 1470/1600 (740 M and 730 CR) Also will take ACT and see what I can get next September.
SAT 2: 800 Math 2 (will take U.S history and hoping for 720+)
EC activities: Numerous awards for Italian, Two internships will have been completed by the time I apply at a business related place. Lots of community service, clubs and leadership positions.
Race: White
Gender: Male
Financial Aid: Don’t need any
I think your chances are decent for most of these, you may have difficulty with ND, CMU, UVA (if OOS - could say the same for UCLA), Middlebury, and Northwestern, but you’re in the ballpark.
As an aside, this is an interesting mix. All fairly large schools. Lots of state schools, and then randomly thrown in, Middlebury - a small elite LAC.
Middlebury and the like will come down to whether they believe you will attend or not. If you are serious you must visit and interview with a regional alumnus. Middlebury does not interview on campus. BTW, they look for unique talents, so if you are fluent in Italian that could catch their eye.
We were there in early October for the second time and it is quite lovely.
If you were my kid I would take the OOS off the list and add more schools like Middlebury. The risk/reward is much better.
Like I said if you don’t plan to visit and don’t interview with NY alumnus, your application is a long shot. Figure about 150 out of that class of 500 - 600 is preselected but still counted in the acceptance rate and the applicants are a consistently high quality bunch.
Colgate probably has the most business minded graduates but the Econ programs are very strong in the others as well. Hamilton, Bowdoin, Bates, Colby, Lehigh, Williams, Wesleyan. all good, really good. I stuck Lehigh in though not technically an LAC. My son will major in Econ this coming year, double hopefully in Math or English.
What is misleading with these schools is the overall acceptance rate. The rate is much lower when you adjust for recruits, legacy and URM students. The relative impact is quite large when the class size is only about 500. An overall acceptance rate of 20% could drop to 15% or lower for an unhooked student. The northeastern LACs have large sports programs.
Clairmont may just be because of the location and that many of the applications are not viable. I dont see anything in the test stats to suggest it is more difficult than the others for a qualified candidate.
Again, demonstrated interest is key for these schools. You can see Colgate and Hamilton on the same trip and likewise Bowdoin, Bates and Colby on another trip. They are very close to each other. They all conduct interviews.
Washington & Lee is another. If you want a conservative school that one is a great choice.
I think Claremont’s stats are misleading. With 35% of students in varsity sports, their numbers are not representative of what is needed to gain admission for an unhooked applicant.
Claremont is very very small in a highly populated area with few choices like it. I suspect a good portion of the applications are low outliers.
The stats for students attending Claremont are the average or just below the eastern schools.
So, there are probably several reasons why the acceptance rate is low. Pitzer’s students have stats well below many of the eastern schools but a lower acceptance rate. Same reasons.
@SternBusiness Personally, I don’t see any value? Will you visit? Will you interview? Would admissions believe a guy from NJ or NY has a high probability of attending if accepted?
Given the many excellent, equal and better, choices you have in the Northeast where you can simply drive to visit, what is the attraction? The weather is one, I realize.
6 hour flight, 2 hour lead time plus 1.5 hours from LAX without delays or traffic. Is it realistic?
@BatesParent2019 I guess thats true that they would not take me seriously. I think I may try for Hamilton, since a bunch of kids have gotten in with my states. Possibly Middlebury if I do an interview though. In your opinion, which is better for business and prestige: Colgate or Hamilton?
Re:#5 - CMC is quite selective, but your stats are within range for them. You didn’t elaborate on your ECs in original post, and CMC is known for placing a great deal of emphasis on “leadership.” My son was at the low end of their typical range (lower stats than yours), but his college adviser recommended it as a reach for him last year owing to his strong leadership ECs in areas that CMC specializes in (e.g. Student Council, Model UN, JSA, et al). He did not get in, but you shouldn’t put it out of reach if you do have strong leadership ECs.