My son is a HS senior, Stern is his top choice program and he is considering applying ED for fall 2021. I’m concerned that if not accepted to Stern ED he would not be able to apply/enroll in CAS Econ.
Stats: ACT 33, 4.35 GPA, 16th in class of 400, national level debate. Still working to get subject matter tests done. What are your thoughts on his chances at stern and is it worth it to go ED? He is also interested at BU, Amherst, Vassar, UCLA, and Brown as a reach.
You are correct that if he is rejected ED he cannot apply RD for the same year.
Chances are higher for ED but Stern is a reach for everyone (overall admit rate 7-8%, haven’t seen a split in ED vs RD rates). No one can be totally confident with admit rates like that. If Stern is his number one choice however he should apply ED, it will be his best chance. Put it this way, his chances at CAS RD are unlikely to be better than Stern ED.
UCLA may be a reach too (you need to look at UC capped weighted gpa), as well as Amherst. I presume he has some matches and a couple of safeties on his list? Vassar is the only school on that list with an acceptance rate over 20%.
Thank you. Do you think chances for CAS Econ ED are notably higher? Transfer to Stern seems very rare, but CAS Econ seems like a solid program.
CAS doesn’t admit by major as a freshman so it will be overall CAS admission statistics, which are also in single digits. So overall CAS is a better chance than Stern, but probably not much. But that’s just based on overall admit numbers. Your son’s ECs, essays etc will all be very important in differentiating him from thousands of other excellent applicants. If he wants to go to Stern specifically rather than just NYU, he should apply to Stern imo rather than trying to game numbers when so much else about his application matters.
What is his unweighted GPA by the way?
Thanks for the perspective.
UW GPA is 3.97.
Ok, so gpa and class rank are strong, ACT for Stern admits is kind of average as I understand, so a lot will come down to extra curriculars and essays imo. I would definitely go for the ED bump as best chance here in your/his shoes. Good luck!
Appreciate you taking the time!
It is important that your S understand that economics and and undergraduate b-school are very different paths. A number of schools on your son’s list do not have undergraduate b-schools.
Economics is a liberal arts course of study and gets very theoretical at the upper levels. In contrast if he goes to an undergraduate business school your S will take a business core with introductory classes in subjects such as accounting, finance, IT, marketing etc. and then he will major in one of those disciplines.
I’m not saying that one path is better than the other, but they are different. I would strongly recommend that your S take the time to look at the coursework (can be found online) for both undergrad b-school student and an economics major, see if one path is preferable, and apply accordingly.
Update. Our son was able to retake the ACT and now has a 34 superstore. He was waitlisted at Stern and accepted to Fordham Gabelli LC with a scholarship. He is now considering ED at WashU. I’m advocating sticking with RD at washu so he can see how he does at other RD schools including UCs, BU, Hamilton, and a couple other reaches.
Appreciate thoughts in WashU ED2 vs RD.
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