HS freshman set on T20s + planning on majoring in finance

hey CC team,

I’m a high school freshman based in the Bay Area, and I’ve only recently started focusing on colleges and my path to them. My plan right now is to major in finance, with a minor in engineering or something similar. My main questions concern what I should be doing right now to prepare for a potential future in the t20s, crossing fingers for an Ivy League.

Specifically, I’m worried about extracurriculars. I’m currently taking 5 honors courses (the max I can be taking) with a 1st semester weighted GPA of 4.53. In the future, my main plans are to found a DECA chapter at my school, start a nonprofit that gets videogames and consoles to underprivileged kids/kids with cancer, be captain of varsity tennis (my tennis team kind of sucks, so it shouldn’t be too hard if I work hard enough), and potentially be president of my speech and debate team. However, if these plans fall through, what could be a good spike for my college applications?

Do things you like to do.

Chances of getting into Ivys is low no matter what you do.

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Hmmm. This certainly seems like a noble cause, but also one that makes me question if your post is legit. Along with taking five AP classes as a freshman, wanting to establish a DECA chapter and be captain of the tennis team, I am sure your hands will be full.

A better spike would be to cure cancer. Failing that, do things that truly interest you and be involved in those things in meaningful ways that have a tangible impact. Those things don’t have to be spiky. They should be things you’re actually interested in.

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My suggestion…don’t. The more you obsess about prestige, the more disingenuous you come across. Think about it this way. If your motive WASN’T getting into Wharton, would you REALLY be doing this nonprofit thing to give game consoles to underprivileged kids? I highly doubt it.

The laundry list of ECs is how kids fall into the trap of toxic perfectionism. Those kinds of demands would challenge most emotionally mature adults. For a teenager, it’s a mental breakdown waiting to happen. My suggestion would be to stay balanced and to just be yourself. Your mental health comes first. There are abundant job opportunities for talented college graduates without having to put yourself through unreasonable demands.

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A couple of thoughts…

  1. You need to open your mind to schools other than the Ivies…and even T20. Even students with perfect stats get denied admission because the acceptance rates are so very low.

  2. Not sure you can “minor in engineering”. You will need to check this.

  3. You need to be very authentic in your ECs…not building a list because you think it will impress college adcoms. If you do what you love, that will shine through. If you do things to stack ECs to impress adcoms…that also will show.

  4. You are fortunate to live in CA where there are a ton of well regarded public universities. Look at those too.

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The cross section of finance and engineering is Industrial Engineering/ORIE.

Minoring in engineering isn’t typically possible because of all the graduation requirements. You could possibly do the reverse where you major in engineering and minor in a business/finance.

At this point, forget about getting into “top” schools. Work hard in your courses, do the ECs you enjoy, and then create a well balanced list junior year.

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I think that you should google “Applying sideways, MIT” (or follow the pointer below), and read the blog that it takes you to. It describes pretty much exactly what I did to get accepted to MIT, and what some other family members have done to get accepted to highly ranked universities.

The main point is that I did nothing at all for the purpose of getting accepted to MIT. My wife did nothing to get accepted to an Ivy League graduate program. My older daughter did nothing to get accepted to a “top 5” DVM program. Instead, we each did what was right for us, whatever that was. What I did to get into MIT was completely different from what some others have done to get into top schools, but it was right for me.

If you are the sort of student who will do well at a highly ranked university, then “what is right for you” will include taking at least some tough classes and doing very well in them. It will include participating in some activities and doing well in them also, and will include treating people fairly. You also should have some humility while you are doing very well in whatever you are doing. Certainly if you make it to MIT or Harvard or Stanford then these schools have a way to teach a student a bit of humility (for example, if you are the #1 or #2 student in your high school, then you can expect to be only average the day that you show up on campus). You should understand that “leadership” means listening and making an activity better for everyone who participates in that activity. Leadership is not about doing things your way.

A good “spike” for applying to top universities is to live your life well, and to do whatever you do well. Also find some time to have a bit of fun along the way.

Someone else talked about “ORIE”. The “OR” part is Operations Research, which is what I got my master’s degree in. It is pretty much applied mathematical methods for solving problems. At least in my opinion it is both great fun and a great way to make a living. Doing well in math in high school is a good start in this direction. Doing well in math includes making sure that you have a solid foundation and that you understand the concepts. It does not require jumping way ahead.

I agree with all of this. You have a lot of time to figure this out. Keep and open mind and keep ahead in your class work and you should do well.

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The number one factor for college admissions will be your academics…grades and rigor.

I echo the posters who have said do what appeals to you in terms of your ECs. If starting a DECA chapter is appealing, do it (your school doesn’t already have one?). If playing tennis is appealing, do it (are you playing this season?)

As far as starting a non-profit goes…are you sure there isn’t a similar non-profit that already exists that you could start volunteering for? You aren’t going to get more college admission ‘points’ by starting a non-profit. None of the ECs on your list will be a hook.

I wouldn’t necessarily be thinking about a college list right now. Ultimately you will be looking for a college that fits you well. Reaches are easy to find, but spend time finding more attainable schools that fit and are affordable. You will also need to speak with your parents about what your budget for college is, this is critical to building a good list.

When you get to the point of list building/researching, you will find out that not all 8 Ivy league schools will fit you. How could they when some of the schools are so very different, aside from being in the same athletic conference? Most Ivy league schools don’t have a finance major either.

Continue doing well in HS and make sure to enjoy it as much as possible. Good luck.

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OP, obviously your plans and interests might change between now and matriculation, but take a look at Lehigh’s Integrated Business and Engineering (IBE) Honors program for one possible option for someone with your interests (I realize Lehigh is not a T20). Here: B.S., Integrated Business and Engineering | P.C. Rossin College of Engineering & Applied Science.

Good luck!

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As a future finance student you can practice your thinking and skills by asking your parents for their budget and running some Net Price Calculators on college websites to see if you are eligible for need based aid.

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And you can study industrial engineering at colleges that are not super-selective: Program: Industrial Engineering, B.S. - CSU East Bay - Acalog ACMS™