How much does my personal story help me? Please read!

Applying to College
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100% of applicants to these colleges believe they possess the qualities BC and Penn look for.

You sure have managed to do an awful lot while compressing four years of high school into one year, self-studying for all those APs, investing in stocks, and being involved with all your extracurriculars. And now you’re going to spend a very productive year before applying, trying to improve your already excellent ACT score and needlessly prepping for the SAT. Guess what? That is not going to impress any college.

Not only that, but you’re going to have a serious credibility issue with all top colleges. If we don’t believe it, why would admissions officers at these schools?

Meanwhile, you’re trying to justify to a bunch of strangers on the internet why you’re a great candidate for top schools. It’s not us you need to convince. And I’m skeptical that this is a legitimate post, so I’ll wish you luck and be on my way.

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It’s great to be passionate about a topic, but you do realize you’ll have to be open to studying things you aren’t passionate about, right? In any case, your app will have to show that you have these traits. That means being able to offer concrete examples. It’s not enough to want to be a leader. You have to lead. Look for ways to stretch now, before apps go out.

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"From the BC website “We seek students who are bright, curious, passionate, and engaged. As a Jesuit university, Boston College emphasizes liberal arts education, character development, and the cultivation of leaders. Our mission is to graduate men and women who know how to think, make decisions, communicate, and act with integrity.”

I would say that I am bright, curious, passionate, and engaged."

And once again, you miss the message.

“Boston College emphasizes liberal arts education”: You’ve followed an extreme pre-professional path, something very different from what BC is selling. You might want to look up an in-depth definition of what liberal arts education means. Ponder it for at least a half hour or so. Understand why what you’re bringing to the table differs from the foundation BC is looking for.

“Character development” = what you’ve short-changed by fast-forwarding through three years of high school

“Cultivation of leaders” - Think about the word “cultivation”. It implies that it takes time. It requires mindfulness. Ponder that for a while. They are not looking for “born leaders” or “determined leaders”, much less burning ambition. They are looking for developing and blooming leaders; they want see and feel that evidence of growth, evolution.

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“If we don’t believe it, why would admissions.”

Right. It’s, “Show, not just tell.” What makes readers see it?

Good you looked at the mission statement. But that’s only the tip of it. And Penn means something with, “applying their knowledge in “service to society” to our community, the city of Philadelphia, and the wider world.”

Right now, you can’t show the sort of vision, energy, and activation they expect.

And you’re still arguing with us. Not productive.

It’s not for us to be pulled into translating for you. This is your process. If you can’t find the energy to spend time learning about targets, the patience to pull pieces together, the analytical skills to view this rationally, you’re not going to sell yourself.

Be able.
Quit trying to race through this.

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I think your application would be best suited if there is supplemental essays and if so, those essays should focus on your other non finance interests. Community, volunteer work, your music band. Something that rounds you out and shows consistency.

Btw, my cousin goes to nyu stern, and it is amazing for finance, business. If you havethe money to go there, apply early decision, and go for it. Good luck!

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@lookingforward

“What “personal qualities” are you showing? You raced through school, got a job and invested. Colleges can wonder if you plan to race through their programs.”

Could not agree more! Quality education is not just the collection of a label. It is the personal growth of an individual which influences their individual and societal perspective. Schools that see themselves that way are not going to jump at an application with a one dimensional focus on self enrichment.

Ask yourself what the basic definition of Economics actually is. Remember that Economics is the Queen of the Social Science with a much larger role to play than basic accounting. How do you define the distribution of goods and services?

Why should a resource rich University spend its wealth on you?

127

Yes, I agree with this point of view. Maturity is the main issue.

128

I only read the first page of the posts so I don’t know whether I am repeating things that others had stated.
I am very impressed by your achievement. I am just a parent of a high school senior and I know it is not easy to do what you have done. Bravo.
Would that make you stand out? I don’t know. You are obviously not the typical high school students, some AOs might embrace you, others might not.
What concerns me the most, is whether you will find a place that will meet your level of ambition and intelligence. You might find many colleges to not be challenge enough, tho it might not deter you as you seem to be quite sure of what you want in life and how to get there.
You might be the Warren Buffett of gen z. (Even though I found his life to be rather boring, but hey I am not living it so what do I know ?)
Good luck!

129

@Hippobirdy 18 Is a completely arbitrary milestone and I will end up going to college before I reach that arbitrary age.

130

I read the first few pages and skipped the rest, so apologies if somebody else hit this point:

OP, let’s skip all the shoulda/woulda/coulda’s & get straight to the practicalities of achieving your goals. You want to go into finance / investment banking. The usual path is to get ok internships after 1st and 2nd year (with smaller, regional operations), and then go for an internship at one of the big finance operations the summer after Junior year. These are very competitive to get- but if you get it and do a good job you are likely to finish the summer with a job offer for the following June in your pocket

The challenge for you will be getting there, as getting good internships when you are under 18 is unlikely (unless you have a family friend or relation in the field that will help). It is not impossible to get the Junior summer internship without previous internships- but it is harder, as most of the other students applying will have them. A strong school is also important- IB is a really prestige-driven sector. You really want a reasonably top school (think Bucknell / Vandy and up, public or private, with a bias towards NE schools), and truly, the fancier the name the better.

The one thing that you have said on this thread (at least, what I have read of it) that you need to rethink is “NOTHING about me will change the night I turn 18. NOTHING.”

If you are being literal- that at midnight on your 18th birthday you won’t turn into a pumpkin- of course that is true. But for your sake, I hope that a LOT changes for you between now and 18, and 21 and 25. Biologically, your brain is changing faster in these years than at any time since you were a toddler. Life stage-wise, you are moving out of kid-dom and into emerging adult land. If you-as-you aren’t changing in the midst of all that something is wrong.

131

@collegemom3717 You completely misunderstood my point. Many point to 18 as a magical age where you become an adult. I am saying that turning 18 isn’t going to change who I am.

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@Homeschooler14 I’m sure @collegemom3717 meant to say “of course that ISN’T true”. She is saying that from your age today (16) to the age of 18 and beyond, you are going to experience a LOT of things that will change not just you in terms of maturity, but also perspective wise, decision making, and the like.

You are you, but you might have a much different perspective than the one you have now. From my experience, that is the same, even as I applied when I was 17 to colleges during my HS, I had a completely false and naive perspective of college, what it was, and where I see myself next Fall.

Between then and the time I was set on taking a gap year, I realized many more things tended to come together as I waited and spent more time not just focussing on “stats, grades, how do I look?”. As I waited, my U.S. Permanent Residency came (giving me a much wider scope of affordability - of course, you can’t relate as affordability is no issue on your end and that’s okay), and through Questbridge and my past experience, my essays and my outlook towards colleges have dramatically changed for the better.

My point is, whatever you do, you do, and we can’t stop you. It’s your choice and your life, but listen to advice - remember, advice is advice. Advice is really what you make of it.

You have your post answered, and if you’d like to actually have us help you better, let us know what you think instead of crossing out our words and suggestions the moment they hit your optic nerve. Then, give us suggestions. What do you have in mind? What are your plans? What do you see yourself doing in 5 years? What do you HOPE TO GET OUT OF the college experience?

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@Homeschooler14, I think YOU are missing the point. While 18 is an arbitrary number, neuroscience isn’t the least bit arbitrary. Your brain development is on hyperdrive between now and 25-ish. Neuroscience may not care when you precisely turn 18, but dollars to donuts you will be a different version of yourself then. Most likely in a way that makes you see things as less black and white as you do now. That’s what frontal lobe development does to an adolescent.

Which, by the way, is some of the cool stuff some high school science courses teach.

And further by the way, colleges are interested in seeing in their students AND employers want to see, too. Straight up brain development is the secret sauce, and only comes with time.

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@Homeschooler14 Are you absolutely sure that you want to go into finance? I’m saying this because when I was 16, I was ABSOLUTELY sure that I was going to be a plastic surgeon, nothing was going to change my mind. When I was 17, I finally accepted the fact that blood isn’t my thing and that if I was ever a plastic surgeon, I would throw up before picking up a scalpel. Now I’m sure that I want to do computer science. Maybe that will change in the future.

I would recommend doing a gap year. If your parents are willing to spend the money and let you go off on your own for a couple weeks, maybe something like this (https://www.projects-abroad.org/projects/volunteer-conservation-work-himalayas-nepal/) will work - you could go to different countries each month. You might also consider getting a full-time job to have your own money.

I do believe that you got through four years of high school in one year. I know for sure that I spend about half of my AP Econ class reading on my Kindle when the teacher is explaining directions for the third time. But still, you ARE 16. Nothing will change the night you turn 18, but things will definitely gradually change.

135

The posts clarifying my point are correct: I was agreeing that the stroke of a clock doesn’t magically change a person, but those years do- or should! - see a lot of change in a person.

136

My D graduated #1 in her HS class and there is absolutely no way she could have completed HS in one year. No possible way. Zero.

Taking AP physics, AP chemistry, AP Spanish, AP Lit, AP bio, AP calc, AP US, etc etc…all within one year …is not possible…even for those who started taking HS classes while in middle school. Furthermore…even if she didn’t take AP level classes…it still couldn’t be done. The fact that you did suggests a significant lack of rigor…unless there is more to the story. Something is way off here.

Elite schools are not searching for kids who can race through school and get high grades and scores. Elite schools (and others) are looking for students who want to learn for the sake of learning. They are looking for intellectual curiosity…not just the race to the finish line. They are looking for maturity, for students who are interested in relationships. They want students who will add to campus life and beyond…through the arts, through volunteering, leadership in clubs, etc. This takes patience, perseverance, maturity, etc.

I am not convinced this is real, but if it is…I suggest a gap year or two. Spend some time in underrepresented communities…you can tutor, help develop and coach a sports team, etc. You would be stunned to learn what students do in HS in addition to earning top grades…they cook for local establishments (some end up on TV), raise enormous amounts of money for charities, start clubs that make it to the national level, etc…

Stop and smell the roses. You are young and inexperienced. Take some time to help others. And if you don’t like the answers…don’t ask the questions.

137

You may want to research the homeschool laws in the states where your target schools are located. That means researching state regs, not just individual college rules. Schools in states like NY (Fordham, Columbia, NYU, Cornell…), whose homeschoolers are expected to complete 4 years of high school in 4 years and are required to take yearly standardized tests as well as the SAT/ACT, aren’t likely to be impressed by your record. In order for NYS colleges (public or private) to confer a degree they have to have proof that the student completed the substantial equivalent of a 4 year high school education. And online degrees aren’t recognized. So choose your targets wisely.

138

OP or anyone…Do you know of any students who went away to college at 15-16 and fared well?

The admin of my kids’ private school suggested we push older S ahead in math or possibly skip grades all together. I resisted grade skipping. Why? I knew a couple of kids who went away to college at 15-16 and it was a bit mistake. One wound up having a nervous breakdown and dropped out until he was much older. Ultimately, we just decided to push him ahead in math. Aside from being smart, he is a normal kid.

There is a big difference between being able to handle college academically vs socially. Plenty of kids could handle the academics. But can you take being ignored for a few years? Who wants to hang out with a 15-16 year old?

When I was talking to a colleague about my son and our decision, he told me it was the best thing we could have done. He went to Duke at 15 for chemical engineering and said it was a big mistake. He was completely miserable the first 3 years because nobody wanted to be with him. Once he hit 18, he said it got better. Just something to consider

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Nor is going up against a group of posters with more understanding. Some very good adult posts here.

But yes, the thread is going in circles.

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Thank you to everyone who spent time writing responses here. I will apply and we’ll just see what happens.