I really want to go to NYU STERN, but should I apply to CAS?!?!

I’m in love with the New York City setting, and the fact that Stern is one of the best business schools in the country is also super attractive. I really want to be in business in the future, and NYU has been my dream since the beginning. The thing is, my AP Exams are super disappointing, and I have a C in AP Bio. AND so, I’ve been wondering if I should just apply for CAS and hope to transfer into Stern my sophomore year. Thoughts?

Rank: 4 out of 900 (if I get straight As next semester, I will be rank 2)
GPA (w) [9-11]: 4.55
GPA (w) [10-11]: 4.62
GPA (uw) [9-11]: 3.83
GPA (uw) [10-11]: 3.77
Race: Vietnamese
Gender: Male
Planned Concentration: Marketing
State: California
Languages Known: English, Vietnamese, Spanish

Grades: (1st Semester/2nd Semester)

Freshman Year:
English Honors I: A/A
Algebra 2/Trig: A/A
Accelerated Biology: A/A
Spanish 2: A/A
Advanced Music Honors: A/A

Sophomore Year:
English Honors II: A/A
Precalculus Honors: A/A
Chemistry: A/A
Spanish 3: A/A
AP European History: A/A
Advanced Music Honors: A/A

Junior Year:
AP English Language: A/A
AP Calculus BC: B/B
AP Biology: B/C
AP Spanish 4: B/A
AP US History: A/A
Advanced Music Honors: A/A

Summer College Courses:
Microeconomics: A
Intro to Sociology: A

Senior Year Courseload:
AP English Literature
AP Statistics
AP Physics C: Mechanics
AP Environmental Science
AP Computer Science
AP Macroeconomics/AP Government
Advanced Music Honors
Calculus II (Dual Enrollment 2nd Semester)
Elementary French I (Dual Enrollment 2nd Semester)

SAT Score: 2180 (will likely not submit)
Critical Reading: 630
Mathematics: 750
Writing: 800
ACT: 31 (32 on each section except 26 in science) WILL RETAKE
SAT Math Level 2: 780 (Will aim for 800 in retake)
SAT US History: 780
SAT Biology E: 760

Extracurriculars/Volunteer Work:
Asian Culture Festival Contest Team (10th grade - ongoing)

  • Director (12th) - deals a lot with Finance, Marketing, Sponsorship, Publicity, will have opportunities for talk shows
  • Volunteer Coordinator (11th)
  • Event Lead (10th)
    Asian Culture Festival Marketing Team (11th)
  • Social Media Team Member
  • Translation Team Member
    Marching Band (9th grade - ongoing)
  • Saxophone Section Leader (12th)
  • Division Champions for first 2 years, and 2nd place last year
    School Concert Wind Ensemble (9th grade - ongoing)
  • Principal Oboist (10th grade - ongoing)
  • Soloist (10th grade - ongoing)
    District Honor Band (11th)
  • Second Chair Oboist
  • Soloist
    Asian Culture Club (11th grade - ongoing)
  • President, Founder (11th grade - ongoing)
  • Currently raising funds for schools in Cambodia
    Vietnamese Student Union (9th grade - ongoing)
  • President (12th)
  • Activities Chair (11th)
  • Currently raising funds for wells in Vietnam
    Film Festival (11th - ongoing)
  • Public Relations (11th)
  • Had the opportunity to interview a film producer
    Cancer Research Foundation (10th - ongoing)
  • Starting Internship soon - learn skills like grant-writing, communications
    National Honor Society (11th grade - ongoing)
    Freshman Tour Guide (Summer after 10th, Summer after 11th)
    Vietnamese School Teacher Aide (11th - ongoing)
    Vietnamese School Flag Ceremony Performer (9th - ongoing)
    Assistant Basketball Coach for Recreational Center for Children (summer after 10th)

Awards:
Highest Prestige Award for Instrumental Music - Nominee
Asian Culture Festival - Certificate of Appreciation
Vietnamese School - 3rd Place of Graduating Class (9th grade)

Hook: I’m also first generation.

I just got in Stern and you definitely have the grades, awards, etc to take a shot at it. I’m not sure if transferring to Stern is easy, since I’ve heard it has a very low transfer acceptance rate.