<p>I am currently a NJ junior and need some help deciding where i should apply.
My dream has always been to go to NYU (cliche i know but bear with me).
Currently i am torn between Stern and CAS: on one hand Stern would be a dream come true as it is one of the best business schools in the country. I would apply to Stern without hesitation if my GPA wasn't so bad, but sadly i misused my freshman year.
I wouldn't mind going to CAS, but i would have to change my major and profession completely. from finace/marketing to either pre-med or biology.</p>
<p>Here are my stats:</p>
<p>1st generation URM (puerto rican)
income <10000
GPA: 3.7 weighted
3.5 UW
SAT: no idea (took January SAT's, but it says that i filled my form incorrectly so i still have to take the torture of the unknown)
EC:
Track & Cross-country all year-round through my 3 years of high school (except sophomore)
FBLA (2 years)
Robotics (1 year)
Red Cross (2 years)
About 200 hours of community service in a local thrift store (plan to triple that by next year)</p>
<p>Hook: URM, low income, first generation. (idk if this counts but i am planning to write my essay on how scoliosis and polands syndrome changed my life)
Essay: i will probably talk about how my father left my family during my freshman year and how it affected me.</p>
<p>All replies are welcomed, but for the love of god don't just say i have a good chance tell me WHY.</p>
<p>Well first of all, don’t change your major just because you can’t get into a specific school. Only apply to CAS if you ACTUALLY want to pre-med/biology because going from finance/marketing to that is a pretty stark contrast. Even though NYU is your dream school imagine that you’d get 4 years of fun but then you realize that you don’t like your profession and are miserable for many years to come. That’s not good. </p>
<p>Try applying ED to Stern IF THAT’S WHAT YOU REALLY WANT. Definitely explain your personal situation to try and increase your chances. You’ll also get boosted b/c you have minority status. Also, try and increase the GPA/SAT scores. You have a full semester or two to increase your chances. Right not you’re probably on the outside looking in, but just continue to increase your GPA/SAT and keep active in your extracurriculars. You might have a shot at Stern, especially if you ED.</p>
<p>Apply to Stern. I’m be completely frank, diversity here is absolutely nil (regarding Stern, all parents getting ready to reply with how their son/daughter LOVES NYU because it’s so diverse, calm down). <4% African-American, <12% Hispanic-American. Speaking as one of the above, it’s pretty pathetic. Your stats/extracurriculars could potentially get you in all other things equal, add in your hooks and I see absolutely no reason you wouldn’t get in.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that financial aid at this school is absolutely miserable, but if anyone were to qualify for a max package it’d probably be you. Do you know if you’re eligible for a Pell Grant? If you can find that out and you are, you ought to be golden. Acceptance + aid, you have a solid shot.</p>
<p>For the short-term future:
Definitely apply, and make up your mind where you’d like to be. Don’t base your application on where you think you can get in easiest, go where the curriculum best marries your interests and aspirations. You have a <em>great</em> chance of acceptance in both CAS and Stern.
Raise your GPA as much as you can this year before you have to apply. This is a given. Make whatever sacrifices you have to, get a 3.9 or 4.0. Do it. Your high school transcript will show an upward trend and that’s what the admissions committee will be looking for.
Study for and retake the SATs. As long as you take it no more than three times, they’ll pull your best subsection scores and give you the best overall score of all your test dates, i.e. CR from 1st try, Math from 3rd try, and Writing from 2nd try if those are your best.
PM me if you want to talk more. I don’t know why but I feel really invested in your success, your story is very similar to mine and I can see how your mind’s working as you get ready to apply.</p>
<p>@fireman144: yea i do realize there is a world of difference between pre-med and Stern, i guess i have some soul-searching to do. But right now i am definitely leaning more towards Stern because honestly a life in finance seems more exiting/interesting than being a doctor. </p>
<p>@hellodocks: lol i thought that the rumors about stern being asian/white dominated were exaggerations. I don’t really know a lot about the Pell Grant, but when i was going through the Hispanic scholarship fund i saw the name mentioned a couple times. It would be great to get a some sort if scholarship/grant, but isn’t competition for these intense? Concerning my GPA i checked my semester GPA and it was a 4.1, i am confident that i can pull off a 4.3 or higher. But it feel it still wouldn’t be enough.</p>
<p>sorry guys i forgot to put my schedule last time</p>
<p>Freshman year:
honors geometry C
honors english A
french1 B
honors freshman world history C (biggest disappointment of my life)
honors physical science: A
guitar/piano: A</p>
<p>sophomore year:
humanities( english and history grades are the same): A
honors biology: B
marketing: A
academic algebra 2: B
french 2: A</p>
<p>Junior year:
AP Lang: A
AP World: A
AP Macro: A
Honors Chemistry: A
Honors Spanish 4: B ( i know i know i’m spanish so how could i get a B? right)
Academic precalc: A</p>
<p>Senior year expected schedule:
AP Bio
AP Lit
AP US 2
AP Micro
AP Calc (maybe)
AP Spanish
AP statistics (maybe if schedule doesn’t conflict)</p>
<p>Well even if Stern is your dream school, you could do an Econ. major at both CAS and Stern and personally I think NYU CAS is better than no NYU. So judging by your GPA, I’d say go for econ. at CAS. Just my two cents though.</p>
<p>And with econ. at CAS you could still go into finance and business thus not changing your entire future and goals
and post your SAT scores as soon as possible because without them its hard to give you a definite answer.</p>
<p>You should also take note that there IS a difference between CAS econ and Stern econ. I was going to take justgrow’s approach during the early stages of my app, but I realized that I’d be majoring in the wrong type of econ. So in the end I decided to choose Stern. Also, you can double major across schools (like CAS) if you’re accepted to Stern. But if you’re in CAS, you can’t have a 2nd major in Stern. This way if I’m accepted I can major in both business econ and a science.</p>
<p>Do economics in either school… I think it is wrong for someone to say CAS is “wrong economics” though, if you want to go into Investment Banking maybe, but a potential student who is thinking medical school, should, (hopefully) not be a mercenary looking for money in a career ( as opposed to wanting to add value to society) the two don’t really mix ( unless you are only interested in making money- not a altruistic path to communicate to an acceptance committee btw)</p>
<p>Many High School students do not often realize there are many paths in medical and business fields. ( especially those who are insulated from this information due to family/economic/social circumstances)</p>
<p>I would suggest @tolspeare, that you investigate pharmacoeconomics, medical ethics and health policy careers and learn how these areas can combine your interest in both Econ/Medicine areas and be used and a great hook to explain to admission committees how you are looking to study Econ from that perspective, and then take the minimum med school pre-reqs ( 2 courses in Bio, 2 Physics, 2 Chem, 2 Organic Chem - that’s all that med schools require) </p>
<p>Ad coms love it when a HS student can articulate a unique interest so early, it shows maturity and thoughtful consideration other than ( I want to get a good job/be rich/ successful/valuable member of society) It is very simplistic to merely want to be a doctor, Investment Banker, fireman, policeman etc.</p>
