Hi, I’m a second semester sophomore and I’ve just started looking into colleges for economics and NYU’s Stern School of Business really appeals to me. I was wondering what I should do to get a head start in the application process. I currently have a 4.0 UW GPA (two A minuses, rest are A’s and A pluses, 4.9 W), a 31 ACT (took it only once Freshman year, will definitely take a couple more times), and have about 75 volunteering hours. I also have taken mostly honors classes, with two AP’s (one freshman, one sophomore), and am involved in music, business competitions, and trivia competitions. I have a few other EC’s as well. I don’t have many hooks. Does anyone know what I can do to prepare myself for the admissions process? I just want to start early so I don’t freak myself out.
Just keep doing well in school and with your standardized tests. You can also work on making meaningful relationships with teachers so they’ll write you great recommendation letters, continue with the extracurriculars that are meaningful to you, and possibly try to find a business internship as Stern particularly likes applicants that have business experience.
Try to keep that straight A average. Get the ACT up to 33+. ENJOY your extracurriculars, whatever they may be. This joy and enthusiasm will shine in your essays. NYU prizes excellent writing, including Stern.
Avoid piling on generic “business” internships just to pad the resume. You need to stand out for Stern. Entering class is typically around 600; they got about 11,000 applications a couple of years ago. No idea how many they get annually these days, but surely the number has increased (just like every other top college).