The schools I’m applying to: Wharton (UPenn), Stern (NYU), Columbia, Ross (UMich), Tepper (Carnegie Mellon), & Stanford.
Goals: Trying to be an ibanker
Should I try to apply to more schools? Do you think I could get in to any one of these schools? Are there better schools for I-banking? Should my age be a concern?
Stats:
Age: 16
Awesome Letter of Recs from Professors
Time in College: Almost 2 semesters
Attending to CCs at the same time
Cum. College GPA: 4.0
Total Units Completed in College: 45 units
List of College Course Work:
General Introductory Psyc 3.00
Principles of Macroeconomics 3.00
Freshman Composition 4.00
Analytic Geom & Calc I 4.00
Elementary Spanish 5.00
Fund/Small Group Communic 3.00
Principles of Microeconomics 3.00
Critical/Argumentative Wrt 3.00
Analytic Geom & Calc II 4.00
Intro to Philosophy 3.00
Elementary Spanish II 5.00
Basic Training & Physical Cond 1.00
Restorative Yoga 1.00
Swimming, Novice 1.00
Circuit Weight Training,Int/Ad 2.00
College Credit from HS: 3 units
SAT: 1850
HS: Graduated in 10th grade by taking an exit exam.
HS GPA: 3.1
Extra Curricular Activities:
- Volunteered in an after school tutoring program in HS for a year where I spent at least 5 hours a week tutoring students.
- Volunteered for this tutoring program where I taught students Arabic as well as helping them with their HW. I did this for 3 years straight, 12 hours a week.
- Volunteered in a college event last semester where I modeled for this International Culture Event. I dressed up as would a chief of an indigenous tribe in Mexico.
- Volunteered in a college event this semester where I gave a lecture on Jiro Dreams of Sushi.
Work Experience:
- For the past year, I have managed an after school tutoring program. I supervise tutors who teach students. I also cold call potential clients as to expand the program. I spend 20 hours per week.
With your SAT (even as a transfer student in college), you will not be competitive at Stanford, Wharton, or Columbia. That doesn’t mean you don’t have a chance of getting in, they will all just be high reaches for you. If you can retake your SAT and score a 2200+ and get some finance related extracurriculars under your belt (internships/externships locally) you will stand a better chance. Some schools that may be more obtainable to you (that are IB targets) are NorthWestern, USC, Cornell, and Georgetown; however, these are all still reaches.
@IBProspect123 Thanks for replying. I feel like the SAT is my weakest link on my application too 
As for the other schools, do you think I have a fair shot?
Your age and GPA are also limiting your chances.
@“aunt bea” How so? I know my age is, but my College GPA is a 4.0 tho
I’m not familiar with the transfer rates at the other universities, so unfortunately I cannot give you any more insight. However, I do know NYU Stern is very tough to transfer into, most transfer students go into a different program.
@IBProspect123 I heard that too, but I feel like Stern is one of my strong schools. The only problem with Stern is that it’s really expensive and I don’t know if I can afford it.
@Wannabeibanker I am a prospective transfer student too, and I am just finishing up my second semester of my sophomore year. I decided to stay local because of the high cost of attendance at out-of-state universities. However, I am now prepared to take on 50-100k in debt if it means I will be getting a degree from an IB target school. If you can land a job at a BB in IB or S&A, you will be able to pay back the student loans in a matter of 1-2 years. The potential difference in salary versus cost of attendance is astronomical, so it’s in the best interest to pursue a university that can assist you on your career path. Only if you are determined and hard working though. It would really suck to transfer and not be able to land a job. A lot of people on this forum will try to talk you out of taking on any debt at all, but they are not always familiar with high finance and the weight these firms place on target schools.
@IBProspect123 I totally agree with what your saying. But, I’d probably have a debt of 180K by the time I graduate if I get no financial aid. Hopefully I can pay it off.
With a debt of 50k-100k you will be not be paying that in two years if it is in the higher range (and even longer for 180k). A BB IB analyst makes $120-130K with bonusnand after tax well… Id say around $70-80k. Add to the living expense of NYC(rent) you’ll have around $50k saved tops per year. So… Paying that off in 1-2 years sounds far fetched. On top of that, you probably will have to go to an MBA? And guess what thats not cheap either.
But back to the point, your HS GPA and test scores are weak for these colleges. Also even though a 4.0 from a college is good lets not forget that you attend a community college. Most transfer applicants come from “peer” institutions (upenn -> columbia, vise versa). Although it doesnt hurt to apply, your chances of wharton,columbia, (and especially) stanford are slim to none. Add more colleges to your pool
@thecoolboy1234 What about the other schools I’m applying to?
Well I suppose compared to Wharton Stern or Ross seems “easier” however these schools probably have around less than 5% acceptance rates also. I believe NYU transfer rate hovers around the 15-20% area. That means Stern is going to be way lower than that and it seems like a stretch. As for Ross I have no idea but I do understand it is one of the strongest departments at U Mich.
@thecoolboy1234 Hopefully, I get in somewhere. But, I’m still stuck on my personal statement ;( Any advice?