<p>Not sure if this should be in the "Chances" forum but I think this one is more appropriate.</p>
<p>I'm an international student (Canada) looking to transfer to a top American private school for my junior year. As most of you probably know, investment banking is incredibly competitive and if you don't go to a target school, your chances of getting an offer from a big firm are slim.
Unsurprisingly, these target schools are also extremely competitive.</p>
<p>As of right now, I'm set on applying to six schools: Harvard, Stanford, UPenn (Wharton), NYU, Columbia, McGill.</p>
<p>I realize that all of these schools have extremely low acceptance rates (~5%), and that being accepted as a transfer student is even more difficult than being accepted as a freshman.</p>
<p>Realistically, what are my chances at being accepted into any one of these schools? I know that the chances for anyone are low and that a fair amount of luck is needed, but it is also true that some applicants have better chances than others. Am I better off not applying to some of these schools? Are there any other target schools for investment banking that are safer?</p>
<p>Also, is there anything that I can do to improve my application to make me more competitive?</p>
<p>TL;DR: Chance me for Harvard, Stanford, UPenn, NYU, Columbia, McGill</p>
<p>My Stats:</p>
<p>High school
French Immersion
GPA: ~3.8-3.9 (Canadian schools don't give letter grades but for the majority of my classes I had <90%)
Rank: within top 10 of class of ~300
Heavy course load in all years</p>
<p>Testing
SAT I: 2390
SAT IIs: Haven't taken yet but will in January (anticipating ~800)</p>
<p>ECs
Captain of Rugby team - 4 years
Football team - 4 years
Some other sports + some volunteering + a couple of clubs
Numerous part time jobs
(Not great ECs but I'd argue that sports tend to take up more time than clubs do)</p>
<p>College
Currently in my second year at a fairly large public university
B.comm honours
GPA: 4.0 (We have A+s too but I assume they will just turn into As)
Top 4%
27 credit hours first year
30 credit hours 2nd year
Taking many upper level calculus and economics courses</p>
<p>ECs:
Member of a few student groups
Office internship with large company (summer)</p>
<p>Awards:
Around 10,000 dollars worth of scholarships
Dean's Honours list</p>
<p>Rec letters:
I'm expecting one strong LOR from one of my profs, and an average one from another</p>
<p>Other
White
Native American (enough that it's recognized by the government)</p>
<p>Sorry for being vague, I'm just trying not to give out too much personal information.
While I have high grades and a high SAT score, I'm worried that most of the other applicants will as well. For top schools it seems that GPA and SAT scores do not distinguish an applicant but are instead seen as necessary requirements.
I realize that I would probably have to forfeit many of my college credits as some may not transfer</p>
<p>Thanks in advance.</p>