Washington University in St. Louis or Emory???

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I am a high school senior in a very competitive school in California. I am American-Asian (Indian) and moved to America at the age of 8. </p>

<p>Academics:
My gpa is about 4.0 Weighted (and about 3.5 uw- a little on the low side)
I only took the SAT's once and received a 2260:
Math- 800
CR- 670
Writing- 790
Total- 2260</p>

<p>I have taken and am taking many honors/AP courses.</p>

<p>EC's:
Co-founded and was VP of the chess club in freshman year and am President this year.
3 years of Spanish club
Played two years of tennis for the school team.
I have played chess competitively since sixth grade and have received many awards. Some of them include:
1st place K-8 in NorCal 8th grade
Tied for 11th in World Open in 2006 and for 14th in 2007 in Philadelphia, PA.
I am currently ranked among the top 50 players for my age in the country.</p>

<p>Community Service and Work Experience:
Last summer, I when I visited India, I volunteered in an orphanage for a week, teaching children and playing with them. I also donated food, clothes, and toys, as well as as $200 of my chess earnings from tournaments.I lived with the kids there for a week and helped teach the children, play with them, and spend quality time with them. It was one of the most enriching experiences of my life (about 120 hours). I'm also writing my essay about this.</p>

<p>Helped teach kids in summer school in 2005. (80 hours)
Have taught chess (as a part-time job)
Currently have a job as a tutor at "Mathnasium." (10 hours a week)
Active volunteer in my local community for the city (40-50 hours).</p>

<p>I want to pursue a degree in either finance or business. I have basically come to the conclusion that I will not get into Wharton (UPenn) or Sloan (MIT), even Early Decision. So now I am debating whether to apply ED to WUSTL or Emory. Both have great programs, both are great atmospheres for me. Any thoughts or advice? What are my chances for each of them? </p>

<p>Thanks a lot! I really appreciate the time and help.</p>

2

<p>buuump plz</p>

3

<p>Hello, H.N. </p>

<p>As a chess player myself (a mere 1900 rated player), I know who you are (at least I think so--so excuse me if I am mistaken), and am surprised at your modesty in not also mentioning that you are a former US chess champion (2005). Of course, coming in 11th in the World Open Chess event was probably the tougher accomplishment.</p>

<p>As far as getting into the finance programs at either WUSTL or Emory, I'd say you have a pretty good chance at both programs, but your chances are probably slightly better at Emory.</p>

<p>The interesting thing about both schools is that both are keen to have people who apply attend their school (they both care a lot about "yield"--meaning, whoever they accept will definitely go there and not to another school where they are accepted). For this reason, I would suggest you apply to only these two elite schools, and then the other schools you apply to should be ranked slightly lower in stature (not a difficult thing to do). By doing this, these schools will both consider you to be fairly likely to attend their schools. Emory is more likely to accept you outright, whereas WUSTL is highly likely to reject you, but then offer you a spot off their "waitlist". </p>

<p>To get into these programs, I would definitely mention your international travel associated with your chess "career" to this point, as well as the overseas volunteer work which you have managed to fit into the chess-playing schedule, and the fact that you moved to the US at the age of 8. I'm also hoping you have done well in the few courses which you were taking at the University of British Columbia (this is in your resume, though not mentioned in your post above)--and can put that on the application as well. </p>

<p>Just a note here;--it is easier to transfer into Emory than WUSTL by far--so if you are thinking of finishing two years at UBC and then transferring this is also possible--but if you do that, then be real careful about which classes you take, since Emory has very specific rules about exactly what classes to take, how many units you need to have (exactly 63, I believe is required--no more, no less) and they have to be in very specific courses.</p>

<p>Emory is the slightly higher ranked business program (via US News and World Report), although it has slipped from 4th to 12th lately, while WUSTL is ranked about 15th and has stayed there consistently. Plus WUSTL and Emory are ranked almost equivalent in the overall rankings of USNW's national universities (both around 15th to 19th).</p>

<p>Emory will require an interview--which WUSTL does not--so be prepared to travel to Atlanta for that (or preferably, do it ahead of time to show your interest when you apply). </p>

<p>Also, be aware that the programs differ a bit. Emory is more focused on strategic management and not on the specific separate areas (like finance, accounting, marketing, entrepreneurship, etc.) whereas WUSTL is exactly the opposite. So if you are interested in getting into finance only, then WUSTL would be for you more than Emory. My own view is that in today's environment, a strategic focus is probably less likely to get you the job right out of school, but more likely to get you ahead in business over the longer-term.</p>

<p>Good luck--and write back if you need more info--and I'll tell you what I know, although it might be a bit limited since neither I nor my son has attended either school (my son's in the business program at Indiana University). </p>

<p>P.S. I have a friend whose son is currently a freshman in the business school at Emory, so if you want I can probably put you in contact with them. I also had a friend whose daughter is a sophomore at WUSTL, although I'm not sure if I still have their email contact information, but I'll look for it if you need a contact there as well.</p>

4

<p>Hello Calcruzer,</p>

<p>Thanks a lot for all of the great information and advice. Just out of curiosity, who do you think I am? Also, I have no clue what you meant by the University of British Columbia. I have never attended the school. Anyway, your advice really did help quite a bit. I also learned some new things. I will keep in touch. Also, I am glad to know you are a chess player as well. </p>

<p>Talk to you soon,</p>

<p>--Sreekar.</p>

5

<p>to the OP: hope you know that at Wash U, you are admitted directly into Olin, while at Emory, it is only a two year program? (Goizueta is not a freshman admit school).....</p>

6

<p>Yes I do know that Rodney. That's one of Wash U's pros, it focuses more on your major.</p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

7

<p>Well, I used the initials H.N. for a reason--but perhaps you are not Hikaru. He's 20 and finished tied for 10-19th at the World Open in 2006 and used to live in northern California, so that seemed the most likely candidate. Plus, he said on his website that he was interested in taking finance classes. And while his name is Japanese, his stepfather is from India.</p>

<p>Open</a> Section</p>

<p>[url=<a href="http://www.hikarunakamura.com/main/%5DWelcome"&gt;http://www.hikarunakamura.com/main/]Welcome&lt;/a> to HikaruNakamura.com <img src="See%20the%20answer%20to%20question%20#2%20from%20Francis%20Haro%20on%20this%20site%20and%20the%20answer%20to%20question%20#1%20from%20Howard%20Goldowsky" alt="/url"></p>

<p>I picked up the University of British Columbia comment since on H.N's website (listed above), it said he's been living in Vancouver lately--and on Wikipedia (often incorrect, but still a somewhat reliable source), it said that he had been taking classes at the University there.</p>

<p>If you are one of the other 9 people on that World Open list, I don't know which one--Chanda, Ganguly, Izoria, Shulman, Shabalov, and Yusupov are all 24 or older and while Chanda or Ganguly are possibilities, but that would mean you finished high school quite late or else finished a few years back (possible but it seemed unlikely you were one of them), Lars Hansen is from Denmark, Jiri Stocek is from the Czech Republic, Alexander Moiseenko is from the Ukraine. That kind of narrows it down, doesn't it? </p>

<p>Oh, and thanks to Rodney for pointing out that Emory's business program starts in the junior year. Of course, this is why I was saying that going two years to a different school and transferring in would be an option for Emory (but not for WUSTL).</p>

<p>Anyway, whoever you are is not the important thing here--it's the info on the colleges and your chances that are the key topic. (although being a former US Chess Champion would help you in terms of ECs to put on the application)</p>

8

<p>After doing some research, I see Hikaru moved here with his family at the age of 2. You said you moved here at the age of 8--so obviously, you are not Hikaru--meaning you are either Chanda or Ganguly, since Izoria lives in Soviet Georgia, Yusupov and Shabalov are both over 35 years old, and Shulman already has an MBA in Finance from the University of Texas at Dallas.</p>

<p>Have to get back to my real job now--until later.</p>

9

<p>WOW! You actually thought I was Hikaru Nakamura? I am not even close, age wise or chess-wise. He is over 20 years old now, is the second highest rated player in the country for any age, and plays chess for a living. And I assure you I am not anyone else you have mentioned. They are all elite chess players and I am a "mere 1900" player. Also, I said I was among the top 50 players of my age (16). Ok I realize now what my mistake was. I forgot to write what section I participated under in the World Open. My bad. Truly sorry. I played in the B class in 2006 and A class in 2007. I am Sreekar Jasthi, about 5-10 years yonger than the people you have mentioned and about 500-800 rating points lower. </p>

<p>Sorry for the identity confusion. So do I still have a chance at Emory or WUSTL ED?</p>