I’m only a freshman in high school but my dream school is NYU Stern. I was wondering what extracurriculars they look for/if mine are any good.
Here are my current ones, please be honest and tell me how they are.
1.) Investment club… won 1st place in investing competition out of 100+ people. Planning on being leader senior year.
2.) A Capella… I love music soooo much; we practice 4-5 hours a week and have awesome gigs. For example we performed live at a charity event featuring really well known broadway/tony winner x2 singer Sutton Foster. May be leader senior year.
3.)Trumpet… Again love music, leader in trumpet section
4.) Chorus… leader in Tenor section and solo a lot.
5.) Entrepreneurship Club… We talk to really cool, interesting people who are extremely successful entrepreneurs and we learn how to make ideas reality. I really enjoy this. Planning on being leader senior year
6.) Creative writing/poems… Really love poetry and writing in general. My English teacher has told me on multiple occasions how I’m a gifted poet who is surely going to go places in life, (she’s amazing may get her to write a rec senior year)
7.) School Newspaper… Planning on being editor in chief or at least co-editor in chief senior year. I love writing!
Possible ecs: Should I do these or not worth the time?
1.) Jazz band, while I like trumpet, idk if this is worth the time.
2.) Chamber choir, I’d enjoy doing this more than jazz band since I like singing more than trumpet, but would this look silly for a business school?
3.) Track and Field and/or Cross Country… While I’m not the biggest sports person, I’m considering joining the track and field team and/or Cross Country team as I love running. Would this look good if I do it for 4 years since it shows consistency and also is a sport… many Stern kids lack those so would this make me look better?
4.) MUN… Not entirely interested in this but if it really helps get into a school like Stern I’d definitely give it a shot.
5.) FBLA… I hear a lot about this on people trying to get into Stern… not entirely sure how to get into this but if someone could explain it a bit I’d love to hear about it/how it helps getting into the school.
6.) Creating own business… Considering starting a music rental business. I could combine my passion for music while showing I am a capable business leader, I heard about someone else on CC forums doing this and it caught my eye.
7.) Other… What else looks really good for Stern? I hear a lot of people starting their own non profits or companies and I definitely would love to do this but I just don’t know how/what to do. Is starting your own company necessary for a school like Stern?
I want to congratulate you on your already amazing list of ECs. I was admitted to Stern this year’s round of RD (still undecided). I had no business related ECs. In fact, I had a poor list of only 4 ECs. Regardless, I was nonetheless admitted with an almost-full-ride financial aid package.
This leads me to believe that Stern Undergrad is very numbers-centric. Thought this example is just myself and may not apply to the broad admitted Stern class.
@Ghentsphenze would you mind sharing your overall GPA / sat? Just wondering if to be admitted into a school like Stern I would have to take Calculus sophomore year or something. I’m in a really rigorous private school and have a 3.7 GPA atm. Also huge congrats to you for getting into Stern, hopefully someday I’ll be in your same position xD
Best of luck with the rest of your college process and thanks for the input.
I think it’s best to take the hardest math courses your school offers, also, the Math Level 2 is either strongly recommended or required for Stern (you can check their website). I had a 3.7 GPA with a strong upward trend, a 2350 SAT, 800 Math 2, 790 Chem, 770 Physics, and 750 USH. Good luck!
@Ghentsphenze Well, while I am in the honors track of math at my school, my math track would put me at taking pre-calc junior year unless sophomore year I take honors alg 2+ trig and honors pre-calc. Would it be worth doing that? Keep in mind because my school is an extremely rigorous private school, it may not be considered awful for me to be a bit behind on the math track. But I could definitely think about taking pre calc in addition to taking algebra 2 + trig next year. Let me know if you think that’s worth it.
Now that I think about it, I could substitute it for modern world history next year. I am taking world history freshman year which is mandatory but next year’s history class “modern world” is optional so maybe it would be better if I take the two math classes?
Individual classes aren’t going to have too big of an impact over GPA and course rigor. Try to have fun during your high school years, if you can do good on the math level 2, it’ll reassure the admission committee you can do your math stuffs for stern. Why else would they strongly recommend it otherwise?
@Rez654 I just wanted to offer the little insight that I can. I had very similar passions and interests in school and was recently accepted regular decision to Stern (still undecided though). My GPA and SAT were average for Stern with a 2150 and a 3.7. I did however do a lot of the extracurriculars you’re interested in. Band (trombone), track and field/cross country, and entrepreneurial ventures. I’m sure the combination of these things plus the others you have listed will show you are a well rounded student but also know that, like someone else noted, Stern is very numbers based. Your Math and Reading score on the SAT are going to be very important and of course it would be helpful to take the highest math courses available to you. If your school offers B.C. Calc I would suggest to be most competitive that you take A.B. Calculus your junior year and B.C. your senior year. Precalc is a very large joke and does little to prepare you for calculus, if your school allows it I would suggest you don’t even take it as long as you have a good grasp of Trig after you take it. Also if you are good at trumpet your band director will likely want you to be in the marching band and coming from someone who did both cross country and marching band at the same time, I would suggest you pick one. Best of luck!
Thank you so much @turnuptuesday ! I will definitely think about skipping pre calc or if not allowed taking it over the summer. Congrats on your acceptance to Stern, hopefully someday I’ll be in your same position!
Does anyone know how useful DECA and FBLA are? I’ve heard lots of people applying to Stern have these ecs and idk what they are/how to get involved with it. Can someone explan it and if it’s worth getting into if my dream school is Stern?
Nice list of EC’s so far. I was admitted to Stern ED1 this year. You still have a lot of time, so try and start a couple businesses or at least have some ideas for the next 3 years. Stern really looks at business experience and drive in addition to your traditional grades and testing scores. I only had two AP’s to my name when I applied to Stern and still managed to get in (had a high 35 ACT score but a low 3.65 GPA). I did however have a lot of business related EC’s. My recommendation would be to intern over the summer at a business that interests you. Maybe also start a business of your own over the course of your high school career. Get good grades (which is a given), take challenging courses (you don’t necessarily have to overload on AP’s, but do try to push yourself and challenge yourself), study for the ACT or SAT and do really well, and you will have a great shot at Stern. I had heard that this year Stern only accepted around 10% of applicants and will probably decrease each year, but like I said, you are already on the right path and just need to keep working hard.
Great advice @NYUFan101 and congrats on your acceptance! You mentioned you have started your own businesses, I have now idea how to start a business, I’ve researched it a bit and like I said I want to create my own music rental business or something related to music; maybe give underprivileged children instruments or teach them how to play, etc. How would I start this as a freshman?
Also how do you find internships?
I understand I probably sound extremely naive, but I just don’t know how/where to find these kinds of opportunities. Thanks again for all the great suggestions it helps a ton!
Both my brother and I were admitted to Stern RD. A high standardized test score will help a lot when it comes to admissions. My UW GPA was around a 3.8 when I applied (with like 9 B’s) but I had an SAT score of 2320.
When it comes to NYU, do things you enjoy doing while pursuing those things to a great extent. While you’re at it though, definitely sprinkle some business/finance/economics related EC’s and awards too. I was VP of the Econ club at my high school, and did the SIFMA Stock Market Game (ranked 6th and 1st in state). Besides that though, I was a part of Academic Decathlon and FBLA.
If your school doesn’t have an FBLA chapter, I recommend starting one. Depending on your state (basically if you’re not California or New York) it’ll be relatively easy to make it to the state and national level, stack up your resume with awards, and potentially gain high ranking leadership positions as well at the section, state, regional, or even national levels.
I can’t tell you how useful the awards are, but I know that they definitely do not hurt, considering almost every competitive event is related to a business topic.
Also: I was actually prevented from skipping a math level twice in my high school career, and ended up with a CP precalc class my junior year, while taking AP Stats senior year. I’m guessing you don’t have to worry too much about Calculus, but definitely try to learn it if you have the opportunity to (I self-studied and took the AP test instead of taking the class).
As for internships, they’re not necessary, but see if any of your connections (including parents) can hook you up. Otherwise, ask friends or just cold call/email around to see if anyone needs help over the summer or something with their business. If all else fails, find a way to found a startup.