Hey, I’m from India and a high school senior. I’m just a little confused about what colleges to exactly apply.
Talking about my skills, I’m a web developer and have also sold an app to Microsoft at the age of 13. I’ve been writing in a national tech magazine since past 2-3 years. I’ve been Microsoft Student Partner and also a gold medalist state level taekwondo player and a cyclist as a hobby. I’ve also written 2 research papers which are yet to be published (expected to publish within a month or two in IEEE and Journal of Engineering Design). Teachers will write a glowing letter of recommendation and will ask the editor of that magazine too (expecting a 10/10 letter from him).
My SAT is in the 1400-1500s range. SATII are in 700s and expecting 100+ in TOEFL (yet to be taken).
So, coming to the main point, I don’t really know that to what safe side colleges I should be applying. I have, of course, chosen the top 20 colleges (Ivies, MIT and similar) but I understand that there’s no guarantee to get into them. That’s why I’m looking for colleges in which I can be at least somewhat sure to get in. BTW, do you think I’ll be able to get into those top 20s? (I’ve not blindly chosen the top 20, I’ve made sure they fit for me).
I’m looking forward to take computer science and I’ll prefer college that offers Finance too over just a college with Computer science. (I know I can’t take both of them, but I want to have a choice to switch to Finance because I’m in between both of them right now).
I won’t apply for financial aid (unless need-blind & I understand that it will cost >$400,000/4 year).
First, 4 years of college will not cost >$400,000. While costs have risen dramatically, its not quite at that level yet. The most expensive schools are currently about $70k/yr.
Next, you don’t say what you want in a school other than it offer CS as a major and possibly finance. Its impossible for anyone to make recommendations when you have not given any criteria.
You have said all the top 20 fit you. Its hard to understand how that can be. There are all different schools. Some are very large, some are small. Some are in cities, some are in rural areas. Some have highly structured cores, some have open curriculum. Some are very focused on tech and other aren’t. How can you say they all fit? The only thing they have in common is their high rating and that doesn’t indicate fit. You need to focus your search more and then when you have decided what you really want in a school come back and people can help you.
Firstly, you may want to evaluate your source for what constitutes a “top 20” school in the U.S. Many international students seem to rely on a 1/2 fraction of USNWR. If you were to look at a source such as “The 50 Smartest Colleges in America” (Business Insider), in contrast, the arrangement would appear different.
Secondly, there’s no reason why your financial need would change depending on whether a college has a need-blind admissions policy. So applying for aid at some schools and not others based on this factor would seem to indicate a failure to recognize the principle behind certain colleges’ generous need-based policies.
@me29034 oh, I should have elaborated a bit on that. I haven’t really chosen all the top 20s, it just happens that the colleges on my list (without considering their rank) fall mostly in the top 20-25 bracket. My criteria is very straight forward, a college that offers Computer Science, the location and size doesn’t really matter to me. And yes, a college that also offers finance is preferred because I may switch to Finance.
And I’ve taken $400,000 in the worst possible scenario.
@merc81 I was talking in general. I understand every agency has a unique list but you can still see that there are colleges that are, on-average, on top in every list. And I can manage that amount but a little bit of financial aid would be great.
My criteria for colleges is: Must offer Computer Science, colleges that also offers Finance will be preferred. That’s it.
If you can afford $400k, you will not qualify for any need based financial aid.
If your only criteria is that the school offers majors in CS and finance, then almost every college in the country will work for you. There are thousands. You need to be able to narrow it down more.
Your college list may arise as a factor of the weighted value you place on your combination of academic interests. A number of highly rated schools (e.g., Harvard) do not offer undergraduate concentrations in finance or in business in general. (Individual courses in topics such as international finance and financial economics will, however, be available through the economics departments at a range of colleges.)
For schools that could be excellent for both computer science and financial economics, but which would be outside the top 20 that you have already researched, look into URochester, NYU, UMichigan and UC-Berkeley.
@me29034 hmm, I would love to clarify a lot more on my financial background, but for this thread, please just digest this that I’ll apply for aid if it is Need blind otherwise I won’t.
@merc81 Thank you for your suggestions. One more thing, am I right to assume that I will need to study Finance if I want to make it to Stock marketing? (I don’t have any formal education in finance, economics & similar from past 2 years).
If I really need to narrow down my search, I would say that I will prefer highly rated colleges + urban setting + research oriented + diverse community. (except the first one, all are not really important).
@MYOS1634 Thank you for the recommendations. Let me know if you have any more and some more filters here ^.
@newjerseygirl98 Urban setting & size really doesn’t matters. Must offer computer science and if it offers Finance, then that’s just great! (optional).
Your possible career trajectory could include financial or securities analysis. For undergraduate preparation for these fields you would benefit from 1) courses in economics (including finance-specific topics) 2) courses in math and, ideally, 3) a school that emphasizes writing across its curriculum. You would not need to major in finance nor necessarily attend a school that offers finance as a major.
Cornell, though not urban, would be another school to consider should you not already have it on your short list.
@merc81 UCB & Cornell are already on my list and since you’ve recommended them, I’m now more confident to apply to them.
About my career trajectory, even I’m not sure where I’ll be in 10 years. This is probably due to being good in 2-3 fields that I totally love (haha, not bragging ).
Do you have more safe side schools to recommend? Not offering “finance” is okay and must not be a reason to discard a college. I’ll also look into URochester and UMichigan.
Thanks a lot for your help tho. May I know what do you do?
Carnegie Mellon suits your stated criteria really well. “Safe side” wouldn’t, unfortunately, be an accepted description for the admissions patterns of this highly selective school, but technically it is safer than some.
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