High SAT, low GPA - Which business schools should I be looking at?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I didn't want this to become anything like a formal "chance me" thread, but I'm trying to figure out which schools and level of schools would be realistic options for me, when I apply next year.</p>

<p>I'm currently a junior at a large public high school in SC with 1700 students.
Honestly, the majority of the students here don't go on to any form of college, let alone a very prestigious school.</p>

<p>I'd like to go to a somewhat prestigious school that is ranked highly in my future major, finance (with a small possibility of economics), and is somewhat close to a big city, but not having this wouldn't be a deal breaker,</p>

<p>I have an UW GPA of ~3.59, which is a bit low, but I'm hoping my rank will make up for it.
SC Weighted GPA of 4.54, although this is irrelevant at almost all OOS schools.</p>

<p>Class rank of ~11/300 so top 4%.</p>

<p>Superscored SAT score of 2220. (690 CR, 770 M, 760 W)</p>

<p>I'm an IB Diploma candidate taking the most challenging course load in my school.
After this year, I'll be an AP Scholar with Honor (Most likely, possibly with Distinction).
I've taken AP Language (3) and AP Human Geography (4) already.
I've participated in a variety of clubs, many of which with leadership positions.</p>

<p>This year, I'm taking:
IB Math SL 2
IB English HL
AP Psychology
APUSH
IB Spanish SL 1
IB Chemistry SL 2
IB Theory of Knowledge
(also AP Chem and AP Lit exams in addition to these)</p>

<p>Next year, I'll take:
IB History of the Americas
IB Spanish SL 2
IB Psychology HL
IB English HL
AP Statistics (possibly AP Calc AB or AP Macroecon instead.)</p>

<p>How will colleges perceive the low GPA, despite the very rigorous course load and high SAT (even though my school isn't inherently challenging)? </p>

<p>So, which schools are realistic choices for me (safeties, matches, and reaches)?
What level schools should I be focused on?</p>

2

<p>I think with your class rank your GPA shouldn’t hurt you too much</p>

<p>Penn-Wharton (Reach)
Georgetown-McDonough (Low Reach)
UVA-McIntire (Reach)
UNC-Kenan Flagler (Reach)
Michigan-Ross (Reach)
Boston College-CSOM (Match)
NYU-Stern (High Match)
MIT-Sloan (Reach)
Lehigh (Match)
UT-McCombs (High Match if OOS)
Indiana-Kelly (Low Match/Safety)</p>

3

<p>*I have an UW GPA of ~3.59, which is a bit low, but I’m hoping my rank will make up for it.
SC Weighted GPA of 4.54, although this is irrelevant at almost all OOS schools.</p>

<p>Class rank of ~11/300 so top 4%.</p>

<p>Superscored SAT score of 2220. (690 CR, 770 M, 760 W)*</p>

<p>Very good scores, but the W score doesn’t mean a whole lot to most schools. You have a 1460 M+CR which is still very good. You could get some merit money from some mid-tier schools as safeties.</p>

<p>Your GPA might hurt you at “prestigious” schools. Are you sure that’s your rank? Is it based on your weighted GPA? </p>

<p>What is your financial situation? How much will your parents pay each year? do you have an non-custodial parent? If so, will that parent pay a fair share? </p>

<p>NYU-Stern would be very expensive and you wouldn’t likely get the aid you might want. </p>

<p>Your financial situation could affect where you should apply. IF your parents will pay all costs for any school, then your list will be different than if you’re low income or if you have an unaffordable EFC. </p>

<p>For instance, Indiana Kelley is a highly ranked B-school and you would get some merit, but if your parents won’t pay the remaining costs (probably about $30k per year), then it wouldn’t be affordable. </p>

<p>UMich Ross won’t likely give you any merit based aid, and can’t be depended on for need-based aid as an OOS student, so again, how much your family will pay makes a difference.</p>

<p>That said, apply to as many reaches/matches that you want, but be sure to have a couple of financial safeties in your pocket (that you LIKE and would attend) if money is an issue. For a school to be a financial safety you have to be CERTAIN that you have all costs covered by assured merit, assured grants, and/or family contribution.</p>

4

<p>My rank right now is 12/315ish students, and although it factors in grades for the mid-point of the year, it is not official and will be subject to change by the end of this year. Realistically, I’ll be ranked between 10-12 of 300 students, at the end of the year. The rankings are based off of weighted GPA and my school has no way of calculating UW, so there would not be an UW ranking scale for colleges to look at.</p>

<p>I have a single mom, making around $55,000/yr and I have a younger brother. She could probably pay around $10,000 per year, and my grandparents set up a fund that should reach $20,000 to $25,000 by the time I graduate. I would almost definitely need to choose a school that offers some form of financial aid or merit scholarships, although I wouldn’t be completely dependent on those.</p>

<p>I have a few financial safeties in mind. In-state schools such as Clemson University and University of South Carolina would surely be financial safeties. I could realistically attend either of those schools for close to nothing. </p>

<p>Both Clemson and USC would cost around $20k per year for tuition, housing, and all other expenses. I qualify for an instate scholarship, the Palmetto Fellows Scholarship that will give me $6,700 as a freshman and $7,500 for the other three years. Bringing the cost of both schools down to around $12,000, I’m fairly sure I could be able to get some form of merit scholarships from one of the schools. It would most likely cost less than $5k per year to attend either Clemson or USC, a cost that could easily be covered by the fund my grandparents set up.</p>

<p>University of Alabama is another option.
[Out-of-State</a> Scholarships - Undergraduate Scholarships - The University of Alabama](<a href=“http://scholarships.ua.edu/types/out_of_state.html]Out-of-State”>http://scholarships.ua.edu/types/out_of_state.html)
I would qualify as a Presidential Scholar and be awarded full tuition for 4 years. I’d still have to pay other costs, but $10k per year is manageable.</p>

<p>Another option would be to apply to schools that meet full need.
[Universities</a> That Claim to Meet Full Financial Need - US News and World Report](<a href=“http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2013/02/11/universities-that-claim-to-meet-full-financial-need]Universities”>http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2013/02/11/universities-that-claim-to-meet-full-financial-need)
As seen on this list, a few schools will meet full need. I’m interested in a few schools on this list that have good business programs including Boston College, Emory, Georgetown, UVa, UNCCH.</p>

<p>If I were to be accepted to one of those schools, all my family would have to be would be our estimated financial contribution which wouldn’t be excessive. The cost of attending a school like this would definitely be reasonable and manageable, I would think.</p>

<p>Also, I would much rather go to a prestigious, highly ranked school for finance than any of my safety schools. I would like to go into investment banking following college, and in order to obtain a job in IB, you really need to attend a top 15 or 20 business school to even be considered as an applicant.</p>

<p>I realize that a school like Clemson or Alabama are surely good colleges, but they really wouldn’t place me in the career path I’d like to be on.</p>

<p>I need to find a median between cost and prestige of a school. The question is, would I be qualified to attend one of these top schools? Where should I apply besides these?</p>

5

<p>I think you are qualified for the top schools.</p>

<p>I retract the NYU and all the Public schools (except UVA and UNC: They meet OOS need) that I posted.</p>

6

<p>Right now, I have a few schools in mind that I will probably apply to. I hope I have a good combination of safeties, matches, and reaches. I don’t want to be too heavily weighted towards one end (too many safeties or too many reaches).</p>

<p>They’re also roughly organized into what I think my chances of getting in are.</p>

<p>University of South Carolina (almost free)
Clemson University (almost free)
Fordham (pretty good school, not too sure about financial aid)
Lehigh (pretty good school, not too sure about financial aid)
Wake Forest (pretty good school, not too sure about financial aid)
Villanova (pretty good school, not too sure about financial aid)
Boston College (Meets full need, very good school, near Boston, probably my top choice.)
University of Virginia (good school, meets full need)
University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill (good school, meets full need)
Carnegie Mellon (good school, pretty stingy for aid, but doesn’t care as much about GPA as many top schools)
University of Southern California (who doesn’t love that California weather?)
Emory (good school, meets full need)
NYU (expensive, but one of the best schools for finance I have a good chance of getting into. Stern is at the level of the Ivies, in prestige and placement, without putting too much focus on having a near perfect GPA for admission, allowing for other factors to make up for it, like a high SAT.)</p>

7

<p>I have a single mom, making around $55,000/yr and I have a younger brother. She could probably pay around $10,000 per year, and my grandparents set up a fund that should reach $20,000 to $25,000 by the time I graduate. I would almost definitely need to choose a school that offers some form of financial aid or merit scholarships, although I wouldn’t be completely dependent on those.</p>

<p>What about your dad? Is he alive? If so, then the schools that give the best aid will want his financial info as well. Would he contribute? </p>

<p>At least with Alabama and Clemson, you know that you have financial safeties. </p>

<p>NYU won’t likely be affordable unless you retest and get near-perfect scores and get a great FA pkg. NYU’s best aid is based on both high scores and need. </p>

<p>What is your career goal?</p>

8

<p>Yes, he lives nearby. My parents are just divorced. He may be able to contribute a small amount (less than two or three thousand). </p>

<p>My career goal would be working as an investment banker in a fairly good investment firm somewhere like NYC, Boston, Charlotte, or a similar city </p>

<p>In order to go into investment banking, I’ll need to attend the best possible school I can. Graduating with a good GPA from a top 20 or top 15 school is almost a requirement to go into investment banking. </p>

<p>So what range and level of schools do you think I should be realistically aiming for?</p>

9

<p>You might also want to apply to MIT - Sloan.</p>