Suggest some schools to me!

College Search & Selection
1

Hello! I have no idea which schools I should look at. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. My stats/info are here:

State: New Jersey
School Type: Public LAC, Public High School (VERY competitive, one of the most notable public high schools in my state).
Major: Business Administration w/ Concentration of Finance (Business school has AACSB accreditation)
Year: Second Semester Sophomore
College GPA: 3.95
Ethnicity: White; Jewish
Sex: Male

I am a commuting student, and to be honest, this school is just not for me. I am just not getting the college experience I was expecting because of the lack of extracurriculars and people (6,000 students, and it is sort of a "commuters college). I am thinking I need a bigger school. Plus, I am desperate to leave the state of NJ. I just am at my breaking point between seeing my friends having amazing times at their schools, meanwhile, I am home every night miserable doing homework like I am still in high school. Anyways, aside from this school, I was accepted to NYU, Fordham, University of Miami, The College of New Jersey, and University of Delaware. (I was accepted to all 6 of the schools I applied to.) I had received a $10,000 scholarship to my current school, as well as a Pell Grant which all-in-all covers my entire tuition, so in a sense, I got a full ride. (My father is retired, hence why I qualify for a Pell Grant).

High School Cumulative GPA: 3.9 or 3.875… Somewhere in this ballpark.
ACT: 30 (superscore) (35 E, 29 M, 30 R, 25 S, 30 W)

High School Courses:

Freshman - Honors World History, Biology, Algebra I, Physical Education/Health, Drawing, Honors English I, French II
Sophomore - Honors French III, Honors US History I, Algebra II with Trig, Physical Education/Health, Financial Literacy (Online), Honors English II, Geometry, Chemistry
Junior - Pre-Calculus, Physics, AP English Language, Entrepreneurship, Physical Education/Health, Honors French IV, Honors US History II
Senior - AP Economics (Online), AP English Literature, Calculus, Physical Education/Health, AP Statistics, AP French, AP World History

Extracurriculars/Awards/etc during High School (I know not a lot of emphasis is on this since I am a Sophomore in college now):

  • ~50 Volunteer Hours (Tutoring, Campaigning for Local Political Candidates, etc.) -A part of the drawing club during my freshman year -Joined a soccer league outside my school (sort of recreational): Member since Kindergarten to Sophomore Year -Student at a nearby drawing school (Third Grade-Sophomore Year) (Would have still been enrolled but it shut down) -Member of my state's Teenage Republican club (I volunteer/intern without pay for local candidates; this past year I worked with the Republican mayor and council candidates on their campaign - WE WON!) -Member of DECA -Counselor of a camp (run by my school) for children with special needs -National Honor Society -French National Honor Society (President) -Founder/President of Republican Club at my School -Own my own eBay Business (Still do presently) -Honor Roll (Large Number of Times) -Teach French on Wednesdays after-school with my French teacher to elementary school children in town. -AP Scholar with Honor

Also completed 3 Mooc Courses.

  1. Crafting an Effective Writer: Tools of the Trade (Taught by professors from Mt. San Jacinto College)
  2. Teaching Character and Creating Positive Classrooms (Taught by professors from Relay Graduate School of Education)
  3. New Venture Finance: Startup Funding for Entrepreneurs (Taught by professors from University of Maryland, College Park) (Completed class with distinction).

College Schedule (so-far)

Freshman Year
Fall Semester:
(Each class = 4 credits)
First Year Seminar Class (Success in Business Major) - A (Level 100)
History (College does not accept AP credits) - A (Level 100)
Macro (College does not accept AP credits) - A- (Level 100)
Math with Applications (Half probability, Half calculus) - A (Level 100)

Spring Semester:
(Each class = 4 credits)
Business Law I - A- (Level 200)
Social Issues - A (Level 100)
Management Statistics - A (Level 200)
Astronomy (Science gen-ed) - A (Level 100)

Sophomore Year
Fall Semester:
Financial Accounting - A (Level 200)
Fundamentals of Information Tech. - A (Level 200)
Microeconomics - A (Level 100)
Principles of Marketing - A (Level 200)

Spring Semester:
Managerial Accounting (Level 200)
Corporate Finance I (Level 300)
Readings in the Humanities (Gen-ed) (Level 200)
International Economics (International requirement for my school’s business school; can take level 100 or 200 course, but challenging myself with Level 300).

Extracurriculars/Awards/etc during College
-I am a member of the “Alpha Lambda Delta Honors Society” since I achieved Dean’s List during my first semester as a college student.
-Also, from March 2017 to August 2017, I interned in my college’s budget office as a Budget Analyst Intern. This position was offered to me by a professor of mine (really liked my work ethic and what not).
-Dean’s List (Every semester so far)

Also, during my Freshman year, I volunteered for Donald J. Trump’s campaign. I traveled to Trump Tower and made a number of phone calls at the phone bank (as well as from home). Additionally, prior to his campaign, I made phone calls/volunteered for Carly Fiorina’s campaign. Her campaign was during high school, though. (Not sure if I should include Trump on my applications because of the political climate).

My college essay was phenomenal, I must say. I would try to send it in to the school’s I apply to as an “extra statement.” It talks about a number of health diagnoses I had/still have, and how I managed through high school and how it affected me… And I would mention how it still effects me to this day.

That’s me. So, what school would I have a good shot at? I would prefer schools with some rigor… and perhaps selective? I am thinking USC, but I am not 100%. I just would appreciate if someone could help me put together a list… warm areas would be nice, but it is not MUST. :stuck_out_tongue:

Thanks!

2

By the way, I am a transfer. Sorry if that is not clear from top posting.

Not sure why this posting was moved from the transfers section.

3

Did you run the Net Price Calculator for USC?
USC is REALLY expensive, like $72k per year.
Transfers get very limited aid.
Your Pell Grant would barely make a dent in the Cost of Attendance.

Something else to consider: If you were to apply to public OOS schools, you would not qualify for state funding because most of those schools are paid for by state residents.

Look at your financial ability while checking out the NPCs for the schools you want to consider.

4

@“aunt bea” I do not think that NPCs are not very accurate for transfers. However, I did do it for USC, and it would cost be around ~$23k, which is feasible for myself.

Furthermore, if you were to look at the most USC transfer thread, USC was rather generous to a number of students.

5

Our experience regarding my former students aid has been the opposite.

6

@“aunt bea” That’s fine, but I am just basing it off what I saw on the forum. :slight_smile:

7

What about the 5 schools that already accepted you (NYU, Fordham, University of Miami, The College of New Jersey, and University of Delaware)? Are you no longer interested in any of those?

8

Correct. The only school on that list I would consider going to on that list is UM.

9

Congrats on your hard work and success! You should be in a good position to transfer with a 3.95 GPA. The more time you’ve spent in college, the less schools look at your high school transcript and test scores. Your ACT would be on the low side for the schools below, but won’t count much, and, anyway, is just dragged down by the science score, which is not important for you.

William and Mary would be a good choice, though it would probably be too expensive for you as an OOS student. The same with UVA. I think you’d have a good chance for merit aid at Case Western, which is actually in a nice area of Cleveland (an underrated city), though very cold. All three have very good business schools, and UVA’s is one of the top ones. I’d say the same about Ross at the University of Michigan and Duke. You don’t want to pay too much, obviously, but if you are going to a top business school, and are confident in your work ethic, it might be worth taking out some loans. I’d advise differently if you were considering studying something less remunerative.

Santa Clara University might be a possibility if you are thinking of CA. It is right in Silicon Valley; weather is fantastic and so are the intern opportunities.

Certainly reapplying to the University of Miami seems like a good option. Good luck!

10

@aznboi4981 Little tough to tell how much $$ you can expect your retired parent to kick in. If you’re a person whose Jewish faith is particularly meaningful to you, some schools with strong B-schools and a sizable Jewish community on campus would be UMich, Emory U, UC Berkeley, and UCLA (business econ, not a BBA degree at UCLA). Not sure about transferring to UM, UCB, Emory, etc., as some of those schools require you to apply to their b-schools during soph year.

I’m still trying to figure out why a white male from NJ has a handle of “aznboi,” but that’s a different topic.

11

If interested in the CA schools, check deadlines. They tend to be early, and I know USC has an early deadline for merit aid for fall applicants.

12

Thank you all for your help so far!!

A prominent Jewish community is not necessary, but it would be nice!

13

You said you were still considering UM… if you can afford it, I think you’d have a blast there. Strong national reputation and you’ll get yourself out of New Jersey. It would really be a great change of pace which it sounds like you want/need

14

The only thing that is dissuading me from UM is the party school aspect.

Like, I understand that the party scene is prevalent on almost every college campus; however, its prominence at UM kind of puts me off.

15

We visited Michigan about a year and a half ago (spending two full days there, one wandering around the local area) and saw the business school, though that was not of particular interest. My impression was that the party school thing would maybe be less of an issue there than at other schools. Most upperclassmen live in houses and apartments in the neighborhoods around the campus. It’s a fairly urban campus, actually two primary campuses (one engineering) a short distance from one another. Ross is sort on the edge of one of the campuses.

Things seemed very spread out. There are a couple of main streets with great restaurants and bars, but I don’t think it’s a situation where you have an isolated campus where the main social life is centered in the frats and sororities, and it’s hard to have a fun time or feel included without being at them.

Especially for you, coming in as a junior, presumably at Ross, you would not be living in a freshman dorm, and probably not even in campus housing. So you can make your own social life, and there are some good places to go right around campus.

Maybe a Michigan person can confirm or cast doubt on my observations. I think they are solid though.