Confusing Situation = Confusing Chances

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hey everybody! I'm in serious need of help right now. My school put me in an experimental program my freshman year, which put freshman into AP classes, and put them in more advanced classes. Only the top 10% of my class was accepted into the program, and unfortunately I was one of them. The program really messed up my sophomore year because I decided to drop out of it because I'm a more STEM focused person, not a humanities person (which the program was more tailored too). On top of the school messing up my sophomore schedule, I suffered several deaths that year affected my mental health resulting in a TERRIBLE GPA, which is severely dropping my GPA. I do have a letter from my guidance counselor explaining my sophomore year, but I don't know if schools will even pay attention to it. I'm a senior year now and I have a very strong interest in both Finance, and Neuroscience. I know these are the two subjects I want to study, and wish to double major in them if I can. If not, I'm willing to major in Finance and minor in Neuroscience, or something similar to it like Cognitive Science. Please give me some insight, I will greatly appreciate any response thank you!</p>

<p>Colleges looking at:</p>

<p>Wake Forest University
Bentley University
Lehigh University
Northeastern University
Northwestern University
Fordham University
University of Delaware
Bucknell University
Babson College
University of Rochester
Muhlenberg College
SUNY-- Binghamton
Rutgers-- New Brunswick (NJ Resident)
The College of New Jersey (NJ Resident)
(Any colleges I should apply to?)</p>

<p>Credentials:</p>

<p>SAT: 2040/1420 Only took it once
GPA: 3.1UW 3.3W
Class Rigor: 4 AP's (Currently taking another 4), Honors 7, Italian 2&3
AP's: AP Java, AP Art History, AP Biology, AP US History
Senior Load: AP Calculus BC, AP Macroeconomics, AP Psychology, AP Statistics, Physics, Business Law, English 4
Awards: Nothing special:
A letter from the superintendent for excellence in stage managing
Raising over $40,000 for our town in the Relay
My team raised over $3,000</p>

<p>EC's:
Peer Leader (11, 12)
Peer Mediator (11, 12)
Student Council Class Representative (9, 10, 11)
Relay For Life Food Committee/Team Co-Captain (11)
School Musical Stage Manager (11)
Medical Careers Club Representative (9, 10)
Varsity Tennis (9, 10, 11, 12)
Actor in 4 different plays</p>

<p>Ethnicity: White Male
Residency: NJ
Income: [70,000-90,000]</p>

<p>Volunteer: Over 200 hours
Working with special needs kids in various activities such as cooking and swimming (130+)
Tutoring High Schoolers in Math and Science (30+)
Sukkah Building (20+)
Various community services e.g. soup kitchen, cleaning the Jersey Shore, etc. (40+)</p>

<p>Work:
Teaching Assistant/Shadow for a child with autism
Child Care (Babysitter) with a speciality for kids with special needs</p>

<p>Any advice on applying to college, or about any colleges (even if not on the list) would be wonderful! Thank you so much!</p>

2

<p>retake your SAT, it’s almost guaranteed that the second time you’ll have 2100-2150 :slight_smile:
You want universities that are holistic so that your GPA is seen in context.
I’d drop Bentley, Babson, and Udel from your list. Bentley and Babson wouldn’t be good for neuroscience.
TCNJ is a safety for you because they prioritize test scores over GPA and you’re in the top 10-15% of admitted applicants for these.
Northwestern is pretty much out of reach, and U Rochester your next highest reach although it sounds like the best fit for you.
I’d add a couple more colleges that are in the match/reach category.
How about Dickinson, for example? Baruch (if you can handle the less-than-traditional college experience)? Colgate?</p>

3

<p>I would take the SAT’s again, but as of right now the days the SAT’s are available that are before the deadline of applications I can’t do because I will be out-of-town :confused:
I have talked to a Bentley admission officer and as of right now, I have put Bentley as a safety school. Also, I’ve been looking at Dickinson, Colgate, and Brandeis, but the only thing holding me back from them is that they don’t have a Finance major, or an Accounting one either. They have Economics, but I don’t know how similar Finance and Economics are. I have looked at Baruch, but I really would like to have a traditional college experience.
But thank you very much for your insight! Do you know any other colleges or universities that have a holistic approach?</p>

4

<p>Very few students major in Finance at the undergrad level. Typically they do Economics or Econometrics, along with a strong quantitative program, typically a math minor or even a math major.
Also, look at internship and “domestic off campus study” opportunities. The ACM’s program in Chicago is very good, for example.
Can you take the ACT? It’s not on the same date as the SAT. You’d have to prep though, it’s a different test with more sections.</p>