<p>Son is showing some interest in stock market investing and finance. Please recommend reach colleges with good programs in Mathematics and Economics for my son. </p>
<p>Spring Semester Junior Year grades with (end of year AP scores or SAT Subject test score):</p>
<p>B (SAT Math II 750), Pre AP PreCalc,
B (AP score 4), AP Chemistry,
B (AP score 5), AP Biology,
B (AP score 5), AP English Language,<br>
A (AP score 5), AP US History
A (AP test not offered), AP Computer Science II,
A Pre AP Physics.</p>
<p>Standardized test scores:</p>
<p>PSAT / NMSQT: CR 74, W 76, M 69
SAT Subject Math II: 750
SAT Reasoning: To be taken in Oct
SAT Physics subject test: To be taken in November</p>
<p>GPA: weighted 4.04 (A is worth 5 for AP and Honors, 4 for Academic classes)</p>
<p>Class rank: Top 25 percentile. Attends a competitive high school: 4 kids to Stanford, 2 to Harvard and 2 to MIT this year. Top 10 NMSF producer in the State of TX. </p>
<p>Awards: Likely National Merit semifinalist. National Merit Hispanic Scholar</p>
<p>ECs: Top player of his sport at high school and president of club. Has some community service and URM mentoring experience.</p>
<p>Why does your son specifically believe that he needs to add any “reach” institutions to his list? Or, is your question really about which institutions offer the majors he’s looking for, and you don’t particularly care whether or not he has the academic record that makes him a shoo-in?</p>
<p>The type of HS your son is attending usually has expert advice available in the guidance office. That should be his first stop. It’s likely that someone is lurking around there in August. Have him pick up the phone, and find out who is in. </p>
<p>Lastly, well actually firstly, have you sat down with him and whoever else will be helping to pay for his education, and had The Big Money Talk? Until he knows for certain what your family can pay, whether or not you believe that student debt is OK, and how you feel about him working during the summers/school year, he will not have any criteria for selecting his safeties, or for evaluating aid packages come April.</p>
<p>If his interest is stocks, investing and finance, he should look at attending school close to a major market: New York (Columbia, NYU); Chicago (UChicago); Philadelphia (UPenn); Boston (Harvard, MIT) or San Francisco (Stanford).</p>
<p>Remember that these are Reach schools for even “perfect” candidates. Your son has solid test scores, but marginal grades for these reaches (although the hook helps). You also don’t metion any activities outside of the classroom.</p>
<p>I would second happymom’s recommendation to have him call his high school to get their perspectives. It sounds like you have a great resource there and should take advantage of it.</p>
<p>Thanks, yes we have had that big talk. Northeastern and TX A&M are his safeties.These schools pay full tuition scholarships for National Hispanic and National Merit. A&M has an engineering program that is ranked in the top 20 in the country. So he may double major there. UT Austin (with a top 10 engineering and business program) is also on his radar.</p>
<p>Love, love, love it when the parents and kids are clear about the money! What a blessing for your son! TAMU is a terrific place to have as an in-state safety. If all else goes wrong, he will still end up at a fantastic institution!</p>
<p>Not necessarily a reach, but highly regarded for economics and math, and not that expensive for out of state: University of Minnesota - Twin Cities.</p>
<p>It is probably roughly comparable to University of Texas - Austin in those subjects, but a few thousand dollars more expensive per year. But Austin may be very hard to get into for a student not in the top 8% or very close to that.</p>
<p>However, Texas A&M with NM is a much better bargain if his main interest is engineering. With such a good school as the safety, the application list need not be that large.</p>
<p>Good math and econ programs are available at many, it not most, highly regarded schools, so it would help to have a better idea of what other criteria he (and you) have:</p>
<p>1) Geographic (any limits re distance from home, part of the country, climate, etc…)
2) Urban/suburban/small town, large State vs. medium privates vs. liberal arts colleges
3) Must haves or deal-breakers (religious, single-sex, frats, big sports, etc…)</p>
<p>Since many kids change their majors/interests, it good to be at a school that only excels in the areas that he’s currently interested in, but also offers the kind of environment that will optimize his experience academically and socially even if he changes focus.</p>