Should I apply to NYU?

Colleges and Universities A-Z New York University
1

I’m not looking here to see if I’ll get in or not; I only want to know where it’s worth my time to apply here and do I have a decent shot at getting in.

GPA - 3.6 UW; 3.71 W

Average grade percent average - 93

Class rank - Top 20% in a class size of 700+

I have taken and will take 13 AP classes

AP English Lang: 4
AP Human: 4
AP US History: 5
AP World History: 5
AP Computer Science
AP Physics 1
AP Literature
AP Biology
AP Calculus AB
AP Microeconomics
AP Comparative Government
AP US Government
AP Macroeconomics

SAT:
First time - Math: 610; R/W: 630
Second time - Math: 640; R/W: 610

  • Took my last SAT in August. Scores come out on September 18th. I’m very optimistic about achieving a better score since the first two times don’t reflect my full capabilities.

ECs:

President of Model United Nations (debate, political club)

  • Won honorable mention for best delegate and two awards for best position paper at regional competitions
  • Attended SUSMUN conference as well
  • 3 years

Science Olympiad

  • Won third place in hydrogeology for the Rockdale Magnet School regionals.
  • 3 years.

Beta Club

  • Volunteer club with admission based upon GPA. I helped my school with setting up for games.

Work

  • Helped out on weekend for several hours at my dad’s convenience store/gas station and stocked shelves throughout high school
  • Sales Associate at Kohl’s currently. Work 3 days a week

Marjaan Basketball Tournament

  • Volunteered to help my cousin, co-founder, set up and run a basketball tournament each year to help Muslim youth of Atlanta play competitive basketball at Emory University’s gym. Kept score and set up games.

Aspirations:
Double major in finance and accounting, work in consulting/investment banking/management for at least a decade in NYC and eventually go into politics.

Other things you should know about me:

My parents are immigrants from Bangladesh with a high school diploma from there. My mom is now a stay-at-home mom and my dad is a small business owner. Combined household income is ~100k. I’m the first in my family to attend college, so my parents have always made school a big deal for me. The few cousins that I have that have went to college went to in-state schools, so I’ve always had the drive to carve my own path and be different from my family and hopefully make them proud.

I know my stats aren’t quite “elite school material”, but I do have the motivation and the drive to be the best that I can be, whether that is taking the most AP classes and doing well on the exams or devoting a lot of my free time to ECs. My GPA and scores may be a little lower than I had hoped for, but my rigorous curriculum, AP scores, and ECs make up for it. The question is: Should I still apply to NYU?

2

Can you/your family afford NYU? NYU is notoriously stingy in its FA. Not being able to afford a school is the same as a rejection.

3

Yeah, I’ve heard NYU’s financial aid is pretty terrible. I’ve discussed if with my family and they agreed that the job opportunities in NYC will make up for the expensive investment we’ll be putting in since Wall Street often recruits from NYU. Even if I do get accepted, I probably won’t go just to save my family the burden, but I like having options on the table.

Costs aside, do you think I have a good shot at NYU?

4

You need higher math scores for Stern (which is what it sounds you want).
Also run the NPC on Fordham, Lafayette, Dickinson,
If you can withstand the fact it’s clearly Catholic (single sex dorms, “visitation hours” for men/women, crosses on walls), run the NPC on Notre Dame as you’d have a definite diversity hook there and their placement for finance is among the best in the country?
Definitely keep UGA, Agnes Scott, Spelman, and Emory-Oxford on your list.

5

Even if your parents think NYU is worth the investment, you need to be able to afford the investment and pay for at least 4 years to reap the return. Make sure wherever you go it is affordable for 4 years. Don’t think that you can figure this out year by year.

6

I’m applying to UGA and Emory, but do you actually think I have a shot at Emory? I would actually prefer Emory over NYU because it’s cheaper and it’s close to home since I live in Atlanta.

7

Emory would be a high reach too.

8

Apply both to Emory and Emory-Oxford.
Also apply to Spelman and Agnes Scott.