<p>Hi. I am a rising senior (class of 2015) trying to create my college list. I am a white male from NY. My SAT score is 2240 (770 M, 760 CR, 710 W) and my ACT score is 34 composite. I am most likely going to submit both scores. I do not need financial aid (wouldn't qualify) but merit aid would be nice. I have a 98 GPA unweighted (I believe this would be a 4.0) in the hardest possible schedule available at my school. My extracurriculars are decent but are not standout by any means. </p>
<p>The colleges currently on my list are</p>
<p>schools with undergrad business (would apply finance)</p>
<p>Upenn Wharton (most likely Early Decision)
Wash U Olin
NYU Stern
Cornell AEM
Michigan (would apply for Ross pre-admit)
Georgetown McDonough
Boston University
Indiana Kelly
SUNY Binghamton</p>
<p>schools don't have undergrad business (would apply economics)</p>
<p>Duke
Northwestern
Vanderbilt
Brown
Emory
Virginia
*I know both Emory and Virginia have undergrad business schools but you cannot directly out of high school to them as far as I know</p>
<p>I know it would be impossible to chance me for all of these schools but I was wondering if my list was well-balanced and if anyone had any suggestions for schools I could add or schools I could eliminate. Thanks for the help.</p>
<p>Maybe add Tulane and/or Fordham/Gabelli for good merit aid packages. I know that Tulane has non-binding Early Action; I think that Fordham might, also. They both offer free applications.</p>
<p>Erin’s Dad, my parents are prepared to pay sticker price for OOS public schools as long as they are competitive schools that will get me a good job after graduation. Should I keep the OOS Publics on the list then?</p>
<p>You have a very good and balanced list If you want more choices you could consider Boston College (Carroll) and Villanova and if you are looking for merit aid I agree that Fordham (Gabelli) and Tulane are good choices and both do have non binding EA.</p>
<p>If you need to cut down your list, consider if you prefer finance in a business school or economics in a liberal arts curriculum. They are different courses of study. In a business school you will take a business core of classes like accounting, business law, management, marketing etc. which you won’t have in a liberal arts curriculum. I’m not saying one path is better or worse, but they are different so fi you have a preference, you can take that into account in coming up with your final list.</p>
<p>And to answer your question above, if you parents are willing and able to pay OOS rates, there is no reason to take OOS publics off your list.</p>
<p>@happy1 Thank you for your feedback. I have thought about what course of study I would like better but I still haven’t really decided. I think I will apply to both types of schools and hopefully reach a decision based on where I get accepted. </p>
<p>UW-Madison and UM-Twin Cities are both strong in Econ at the undergrad level. You have plenty of reaches and high matches in your list – these two are excellent and are probably matches for you, IMO. (And both are more respected than IU overall, though IU is a good school in its own right)</p>
<p>Wisconsin, of course, kicks Minnesota’s tail in terms of social scene and school spirit. ;-)</p>
<p>Thank you at @prezbucky I was considering applying to Wisconsin before your comment actually. The reason I chose Indiana to put on my list is because my standardized test scores qualify me for automatic entry into the business school and honors program and I thought I would have a better chance of merit money from Indiana than from Wisconsin. </p>
<p>Merit at an OOS flagship is less likely, even with your scores. Flagships generally look at OOS students as if they’re cash cows. This is less true of some southern flagships like Alabama and UMiss (both? automatic tuition for you) and to a lesser extent Georgia and South Carolina. On the other hand, I like your chances at your listed schools because you’re a full pay. You only need one or two safeties.</p>