Suggestions for schools based on stats, and chances are schools that I'm looking at?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I posted this on the chances thread, but I think I might get quite a bit of help here. I feel like I'm depending to much on my school's rep and my ACT scores to get in, so I'm not really sure what I should do.</p>

<p>So it seems like so far my list is mainly high matches and reaches, so I was hoping maybe you guys would have some suggestions.</p>

<p>So here are my stats for the most part</p>

<p>Asian male from NJ
Difficult Public School (consistently ranked in top 10 public schools in NJ, every year ~5-8% go to ivy league schools)
Income: 200k+ (will this help me anywhere? my guidance counselor said at most places no, but is that entirely true?)</p>

<p>SAT: 610 CR 730 M 750 W (my total score went up 240 from Oct 06 to May 07, will that look fishy?)
SAT2: 740 Math 2, 560 Bio, 640 Chem
ACT: 33 (32 E, 34 M, 31 R, 35 S, 30 E/W, 9 Essay)
GPA: 4.2 (W)/4.3 (my school does GPA wierdly, an A in a regular class is a 4.3, but in an AP or Honors class is a 5.0, then they go down .3-.4 each step, so like an A- is a 4.0 i regular and a 4.7 in AP/Honors)
Rank: School does deciles on weighted GPA, I'm in the 2nd one, but ranking wise I'm towards the top of the range of that decile, so I'd say 10-15%</p>

<p>Course Load:
9th Grade (hardest): H English, H Alg2/Trig, H Physical Science, French 3
10th Grade (hardest): AP Bio (3 on exam), H Intro to Analysis, H US History, H English, French 4
11th Grade (difficult, but not most difficult): AP Chem (4 on exam), AP Calc AB (5 on exam), H English, US History 2, French 5
12th Grade (one of most difficult): AP Calc BC, AP Physics C, AP French Language, AP English Lit; I wanted to do either AP Stat or AP World, but neither fit in my schedule so I took Sociology and Intro to Econ, will that look bad?</p>

<p>Class Size: 252
School Size: 1053</p>

<p>ECs (I know they're lacking, any ideas on anything I could do other than more community service?)
Viola: 4 years
Piano: 12 years
Orchestra: 3 years
Teaching Piano: 2 years
Babysitting
NJ Math League: 4 years
Book Club: 4 years
Volunteering: mainly at Susan G Koman, but I suppose it might look good since I'm a guy?</p>

<p>So yeah, that looks like it. If there is anything that I seemed to have missed
just say so and I'll try to get it. Most likely I'll be submitting my ACT scores.</p>

<p>I'm planning on majoring in either business or economics (business over econ unless business isn't offered)</p>

<p>U of Chicago (EA)
NYU (Stern)
USC
BU
Brown
Rutgers</p>

<p>So that's pretty much all I have right now. Rutgers is still a toss up if I apply since it doesn't appeal to me, but since I'm in-state I've heard I should have a really good shot. But other than BU, the rest are high matches or reaches, so any suggestions? And how would you rank those for me? For the most part I want to be in a city as well.</p>

<p>Oh, I forgot to mention photography in EC's, but I'm not sure if it's worthwhile since I'm not planning on sending a portfolio since I'm not planning on majoring in any sort of art, but would it be worthwhile to send one if I can get one together?</p>

<p>And I don't know if this will affect anything, but my sister goes to USC. Also, my family are British citizens (Permanent American Residents), but are in the process of applying for American citizenship. Also, only my dad went to college (in Hong Kong) and my parents moved to the US when I was 3. Not sure if that will affect anything. I've also done a fair amount of travelling in Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America.</p>

<p>And if I was to send in my ACT and SAT scores, would they look at both, or just the one that they considered higher?</p>

2

<p>Econ is not really an alternative to a business major, and especially not the way econ is taught at Chicago. Econ majors at Chicago are, like a Russian lit major, a comp sci major, a linguistics major, or a history major, academics first and professionals second. Unless you appreciate the academic side of business as well as the practical side, I don't know if you'll find what you want there.</p>

<p>I would suggest looking at more business business schools, or schools that have business schools as well as econ options-- Carnegie Mellon, UMaryland, UT-Austin, Indiana U, etc. etc. etc.</p>

3

<p>Thanks for the clarification on that unalove and I'll definitely take that into consideration. I didn't actually realize that, but I thought econ would allow me to broaden my college search since it'd allow me to look into LACs and smaller schools without a business program. But I'll definitely take that into consideration.</p>

<p>And thanks for the suggestions, I actually was considering UMaryland as a possibly safety, but it didn't seem like the right place for me when I visited. But thanks for the ideas, and I'll definitely do more research into them!</p>

4

<p>Anyone else?</p>

5

<p>I'll expand on unalove's comments about econ a bit. Econ is a much broader major than business, and will prepare you for more options after finishing the undergraduate degree. If there is any chance you might be interested in law school, or graduate school other than MBA, you should go with econ. Undergraduate business usually requires less math than an econ major, and fewer social science classes. You are correct that considering studying economics rather than business will give you many more options in choosing among colleges.</p>

<p>If you are pretty sure a particular field of business is really what you want, you might do what some of my husband's econ students do, and double major in econ and a sub-field of business, for example, accounting, assuming you do end up at a univ. with a business school.</p>

<p>Take a look at the 4-yr course requirements for a business major before you choose a business program. My nephew is currently pursuing a business undergrad. degree and I cannot believe how narrow the curriculum is at this point (junior year). He doesn't mind it at all, because he finds his specialty interesting, but other students would prefer a broader education. Just make sure your choice is based on knowledge of the curriculum.</p>

6

<p>Yeah, that could be a good idea, major in econ and then do like a minor in a specific part of business, I'll definitely have to consider that if I get into a business school.</p>

<p>And I didn't realize that the requirements were so strict. So I'll have to do more research into that I suppose. Thanks for the information midmo.</p>