<p>I'm interested in finance/economics and I'm trying to gather information on schools I should consider safety schools. I plan on applying to Penn (Wharton), Brown, and Columbia as reach schools. I will also be applying to UConn (in-state) and Bentley as match/low match schools. For safeties I'm not really sure. Can I consider UConn a safety due to the fact that I'm in-state? Can anyone give me some other safety schools that have quality finance/economics programs?
Thanks</p>
<p>Here are my pertinent stats after completing Junior Year:
2130 SAT (660 CR, 670 M, 800 W) one sitting
4.3 weighted GPA (school only calculates weighted)
Varsity Cross Country, Indoor/Outdoor Track runner since freshman year
Class President since freshman year
Will be National Honors Society Vice President
Part of an engineering club since freshman year
Part of a leadership/volunteer club since freshman year
Other minor EC's and volunteer work</p>
<p>Will you need financial aid? That will be an important consideration in determining which schools are safeties. Your GPA is very competitive, but the Math SAT might be a little low for Wharton. Columbia and Brown do not have undergraduate Finance/Business majors. I would say that UConn is probably a safety for you, unless they have separate admissions criteria for an undergraduate Business school. You would have to research that on your own. Otherwise, Temple would be a safety, and you are probably eligible for a decent scholarship. American might be a low-match or safe school for you. Pace would certainly be an academic safety, if you want opportunities in the NYC financial district. They are expensive, but you might qualify for a fairly generous scholarship through their Honors program. </p>
<p>Consider that a lot of schools don’t consider the writing on the SAT. When you remove that, your CR+M score is very low, just keep that in mind. UConn would probably be a safety if you are in state. </p>
<p>Yes, financial aid will be very important. That’s what is great about the ivies for me. Given my parents income, the financial aid calculators for those schools tell me they will be about the same price as UConn in state. I know the math SAT is very low for Wharton and I will be taking Calc BC next year as well as the Math II subject Test so I’ll have to see how I do on that regard. Either way I know my chances for Wharton in particular are very slim but it’s worth a shot. Brown and Columbia both have excellent economics programs which I am interested. Actually, even at Wharton I would graduate with a BS in Economics (albeit with a concentration in Finance as well), so them not having a finance/business major isn’t a deal breaker. UConn’s business program shows it has a 75th percentile SAT score as 1930. Thanks for mentioning Temple and Pace in particular. The opportunities of NYC are definitely appealing. Thanks </p>
<p><a href=“https://spike.wharton.upenn.edu/ugrprogram/academics/curriculum/index.cfm”>https://spike.wharton.upenn.edu/ugrprogram/academics/curriculum/index.cfm</a> indicates that the BS in economics at Penn Wharton is much more of a business major than a (liberal arts) economics major (like the BA in economics at Penn Arts and Sciences). So even though the title is “economics”, you can consider it an undergraduate business major.</p>
<p>It is true that many students major in economics as a substitute for business, and some economics departments at schools without undergraduate business majors offer business-type electives, but it is not exactly the same.</p>
<p>The ivies are probably out of reach. They’re not going to show too much interest in a student with a 1330 CR+M, even with your nice ECs, unless you had a hook like athlete/legacy/etc. </p>
<p>If you have an unweighted GPA, that would help us.</p>
<p>For a school to be a safety, your admission has to be a lock, its affordability must be a lock, it has your major(s), and you absolutely would go there if it was the best you could do. Some schools cannot be safeties because they require you to demonstrate your interest, many others because your family cannot afford them.</p>
<p>So we really need to know what your family can afford. To find them out, ask them to run the net price calculators on each college’s website. They’ll need to provide information about their finances, and they may balk at showing you this info. Tell them you don’t want to find out in April that you cannot afford to go to any of your favorite schools.</p>
<p>Thanks for the economics input @ucbalumnus. I agree Wharton Economics is much more business oriented. I’m just stating I have an interest in the field as a whole and the programs offered at other universities are viable options.</p>
<p>Yeah ivies are a stretch but who knows. I personally don’t feel comfortable disclosing financial information but I would just like to get a basis of solid academic safeties that I can investigate. I will then take a look at the net price calculator of those schools and see what I can come up with. Thanks</p>