College Suggestions (Business and Mathematics)

College Search & Selection
1

Hello CC! I just finished up my sophomore year of HS and was wondering if I could get some feedback on potential colleges that I should look at. I will be traveling a bit this summer so I will have the opportunity to tour some schools.

I intend to major in Financial Engineering or pursue both rigorous mathematics and finance.

ACT (breakdown): 32 on a practice exam (going to study and strive for a 34+) 30E 30R 33M 35S
SAT II: Most likely taking Math 2 and physics
Unweighted GPA: 99.125
Weighted GPA: around a 103.5 (Wont know until grades for the year are finalized)
Rank: Most likely finishing the year within the top 3 of my class of 650
AP: waiting on AP Stats
Junior Year Course Load: APUSH2, Business Administration, AP Calculus BC, AP English, AP Physics 1, Honors French 4, Digital Photography
Awards: DECA (1st in the state overall for my event) and FBLA (3rd in the state overall for my event), a bunch of other smaller awards

Extracurriculars: A lot, but I focus mainly on DECA and FBLA. I am the VP of FBLA for my school and I am on the exec board of both clubs. I’ve also made it to the national competition for both
I also participate in clubs such as Math League, the Community Service Club, Peer Outreach, etc.
Job/Work Experience: Cashier and Soccer Referee, also working on running two startups
Volunteer/Community service: Around 150 hr
Summer Activities: MIT Launch this year, hoping for PROMYS, SUMaC, or related math camps next year.

Other: I’ve taken 3 community college courses (Stats, Precalc, and Trig) and I will max out on my school’s math courses this year. I am also self studying linear algebra and want to learn some number theory.

Current College List

Reaches: Harvard, UPenn, MIT, Princeton, Columbia, Stanford, Cambridge
High Matches; CMU, UCB, UChicago
Matches: UCLA, USC, NYU, Babson, Rutgers?
Safeties: Rutgers?

Please let me know what you think! Thank you!

2

I move UChicago to Reach category (especially it’s Business school is very comparative).

With an ACT score of 32, I move UCLA and USC to high matches, unless you secure 34+ .

3

Thanks for the advice! Does anyone have any other suggestions?

4

What’s your budget and home state (CA?) ?

5

And if it’s NJ, can you afford 200k+ for a UC undergrad?

USC and UCLA should be high matches/low reaches even if you get a 34.

6

Chicago does not offer an undergraduate degree in Financial Engineering or Finance. The closest thing to Finance offered at Chicago is Economics. An Economics and Mathematics double major from Chicago would be great.

Also, if you apply to Stern, it is more of a high match than match, as are UCLA and USC.

Finally, Cal and Chicago are reaches, regardless of your academic credentials.

Your list is fairly good, but you also leave out a lot of excellent options.

  1. Brown. It does not offer Financial Engineering or Finance, but it has a strong Economics department and is very good in Applied Mathematics
  2. Dartmouth. Again, no Financial Engineering or Finance, but awesome Liberal Arts education. A double major in Economics and Mathematics from Dartmouth would serve you well, no matter what career/graduate school path you choose to follow.
  3. Duke. Same as Dartmouth.
  4. Michigan-Ann Arbor. Strong undergraduate business program with strong ties to the financial industry. Excellent undergraduate mathematics curriculum.
  5. Northwestern. Like Chicago, Dartmouth or Duke, Northwestern does not offer Financial Engineering or Finance, but its Economics department is outstanding. Northwestern also offers excellent programs for students interested in Mathematics and Economics ( check out their MMSS program) as well as a one year certificate program from Kellogg, Northwestern's elite MBA program.
7

For Northwestern, besides what Alexandre already mentioned, check out also their highly ranked industrial and management sciences department. Some professors there have research in financial engineering.

Although Northwestern doesn’t offer an undergrad degree in financial engineering, it does have FE/FE-related courses available to undergrads:
http://www.fe.mccormick.northwestern.edu/courses.html

If you take those undergrad courses, you have as much training in FE as you would in any FE degree program.

8

Thank you for all of the help everyone! Does anyone have any advice on my matches and safety? Should I add more or should I keep a couple that I’d be happy with and focus on my apps to reach schools? Thank you!

9

Would you be happy attending Rutgers? If not, then it should not be your safety. Perhaps a school with non-binding EA such as Fordham or Tulane would be a good safety. You can try UMichagan and see if you get a pre-admit to Ross. You might look into Lehigh or Villanova, SUNY Binghamton as well.

10

@QuVntt - read the 4th sticky in this Search and Selection section on “Before you ask…”. Someone asked your home state and budget and you haven’t answered. That is minimal information needed.

11

Perhaps I’m mistaken, but isn’t UCLA business only a graduate school? Therefore eliminating the possibility of finance

12

@happy1, Tulane is a match, not a safety. Acceptance rate this year is in the mid-20s and ACT range is 30-33. The class rank should get the OP over the top, but only if s/he shows interest.

13

@NJDad68 I believe that I suggested (or I meant to) that Tulane would be a safety if the OP applied and was accepted non-binding EA. I always encourage applying non-binding EA because if an acceptance at a desired school is in hand by December, there is no need to apply to schools that are further down the OP’s list. And with an ACT of 32 which is well in range for Tulane, a very high GPA and class rank, and a nice list of achievements/ECs, IMO the OP would have a strong chance of being accepted if he/she demonstrates interest in the school.

14

@wayneandgarth Sorry about that, my home state is NJ and I do not really have a budget

15

Stanford does not have an undergraduate business school. No finance or financial engineering. However, check out the Management Science & Engineering or Mathematical and Computational Science undergraduate degrees.

@QuVntt - you have confirmed with your parents that they are willing and able to pay for any undergraduate school where you are accepted?

16

@Hoggirl Yes I have. However, it would be nice to apply to some schools were I have the potential to get scholarships/a full ride.

17

Also, @QuVntt - meant to say to check out The Art of Problem Solving for some of your math interests if you have not heard of them. They have online classes as well as other resources.

Schools in the south such as Alabama and Ole Miss often offer generous merit money to OOS students with string stats.