***Wharton Top Choice, Other Options in North East??***

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I'm currently a junior from Connecticut. I ultimately want to work in the finance industry and plan on applying to Wharton ED this fall. I'm also looking at Stern (NYU), Carroll (BC), and UConn School of Business. What other schools should I consider applying to in the North East? Chances of getting in to the schools on my list so far? Is it worth it to look at getting an economics degree from say a Columbia with a concentration in finance? Please help!
Stats:
AP Human Geography (got a 5), AP U.S. History, AP Chemistry, AP Calc BC, AP Spanish, AP English Literature
Gender: M
Location: Connecticut
College Class Year: 2019
High School: Public
High School Type: rarely sends grads to top schools
Will apply for financial aid: Yes</p>

<p>Academics:</p>

<p>GPA - Unweighted: none
GPA - Weighted: 4.27
Class Rank: top 5%
Class Size: 220</p>

<p>Scores:</p>

<p>SAT I Math: 670
SAT I Critical Reading: 660
SAT I Writing: 800
SAT I Total: 2130
ACT: 30 (27 English, 30 Math, 33 Reading, 30 Science, 10 on the essay)</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:</p>

<p>Significant Extracurriculars: Competed in TEAMS(Tests for Engineering Aptitude, Math, and Science) Freshman-present
Member of PAL (my school's Peer Advocate League) since Sophomore Year
Started a Chess Club at school Sophomore Year
National Honors Society Junior-present </p>

<p>Leadership positions: Class President Freshman-Senior Year
Cross Country, Indoor track, and Outdoor Track team Captain
National Honors Society Vice President
Connecticut American Legion Boys State Alumnus </p>

<p>Athletic Status - list sport and your level: JV Soccer Freshman and Sophomore year
Varsity Cross Country Junior-present
Varsity Indoor Track Freshman-present
Varsity Outdoor track Freshman-present
I am a top 40 mile runner in the state</p>

<p>Volunteer/Service Work: Soccer Referee Freshman-present
Volunteered at numerous soup kitchens, road races, Barnes and Noble book drives, tutoring sessions, blood drives, parks and recreations fundraisers, etc.</p>

<p>Honors and Awards: Academic Excellence in Spanish Freshman and Sophomore year
Academic Excellence in French Sophomore year
Club Soccer Referee of the Year Sophomore year
Academic Excellence in U.S. History Junior year</p>

<p>Note: I thought I wanted to be an engineer until about December. That is why I have involvement in the engineering competition and no business clubs. I plan to join DECA this fall. </p>

2

<p>You’re unlikely for Wharton. I’ll be honest. Your stats are a bit low for their applicant pool, and you have nothing distinctive to stand out. What are you looking for in a school, other than prestige? What’s your budget?</p>

3

<p>What is your time in the mile?
The Ivy’s heavily recruit top distance runners for xc/track. You may be attractive to an ivy for your running abilities.
However, you need to improve on your test scores.</p>

4

<p>I appreciate your honesty as I realize Wharton is a looooong shot but why not? I do have more unique aspects but did not post for the purpose of remaining anonymous. I’m looking for a school with an active student body but nothing over-the-top. I love sports and want to continue playing them in college so a school with club sports would be ideal. Academically, I want to learn as much about the finance industry and business as possible. I’d also like a high probability of getting a job after college so recruiting potential is important. </p>

5

<p>I run in the mid 4:30’s for the mile and budget is not really a concern. Just trying to get some more options.</p>

6

<p>And your budget?</p>

7

<p>A school like Wharton is pretty much a reach for everyone. Carroll & Stern - high match, if you get your SAT scores up your chances will probably be better. UConn - low match. I think CMU has a good business school, and is about as competitive as BC and NYU</p>

8

<p>Yeah I’ve heard about Tepper at CMU, going to have to look into it more. Thanks!</p>

9

<p>I wouldn’t recommend CMU.
If you want the finance industry, you want close to NYC or Philly to Boston corridor.
Your mile time isn’t fast enough for Ivy. You would need to be sub 4:25 or perhaps sub 4:20.</p>

10

<p>Thank you, that insight about the NYC, Philly, Boston area is helpful! Figured as much with the mile time</p>

11

<p>Northeastern d’amore mckim could be a good option with your stats. Boston University is also strong in finance. both should be a match- high match at your stats and are in good urban environments. </p>

12

<p>Thank You!</p>

13

<p>For Wharton (and to a certain extent, Stern), you want your math score to be as close to 800 as possible.
For finance: Notre Dame, Colgate, Bowdoin, Williams, Amherst, Indiana-Kelley, Georgetown… are all recruited. Indiana-Kelley is the only one that would be a match though, ND a reachable reach.
(You have to consider a reach any school with admission rates of 30% and below).</p>

14

<p>I would disagree on Tepper. It has outstanding job placement and is worth considering:</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.cmu.edu/career/salaries-and-destinations/2013-survey/pdfs-one-pagers/BA%20PostGrad%202013.pdf”>http://www.cmu.edu/career/salaries-and-destinations/2013-survey/pdfs-one-pagers/BA%20PostGrad%202013.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>The major New York financial institutions and companies will come on campus to recruit.</p>

15

<p>Math scores of 670/30 are a little low for the most elite undergraduate business schools. I’d be inclined to look at conventional liberal arts colleges, where you can take Economics, Statistics, etc., with an eye toward MBA programs and a financial career. They are likelier to perk up at those Reading and Writing scores. Lehigh is pretty good in Business, and you seem to fit their statistical range. Fordham’s Gabelli School of Business is also very strong. </p>

16

<p>Thank you for that perspective woogzmama. I just wonder if an Economics degree from a liberal arts college will be as competitive as a degree from a business school in terms of admission into an MBA program. Your thoughts? </p>

17

<p>Still haven’t heard anything about your budget. Whole bunch of quarter million dollar schools being mentioned.</p>

18

<p>May 22
I run in the mid 4:30’s for the mile and budget is not really a concern. Just trying to get some more options. </p>

19

<p>The “finance industry” is everywhere. Wall Street and NYC for sure, but there are major finance/investment/banking centers all over the country. Then there are the large companies in every other industry that hire finance people. You will be recruited and employable with a finance degree from any good school. Sorry to expand your search area.</p>

<p>I know you say budget is not really a concern, but more experienced posters here have seen this happen all the time. Kids often misjudge their parents’ finances, and parents are often unaware of the actual costs. Do yourself a favor and have the talk with your parents. Ask if they have a quarter million socked away for you, or if they can handle $60k per year after taxes. Make sure you’re all on the same page before digging into your search.</p>

20

<p>In fact, an Economics degree (with math) will be considered more competitive than a business degree from a business school. The more selective the MBA program, the more frequent that is. Outside Top20 business schools, you’re better off with an Economics degree. Wharton is essentially like a LAC and a business school rolled into one, just like Harvery Mudd is a LAC and an engineering school, which is why they rank so high. If prestige matters, any top 20- 25 LAC will serve you well. In addition to the usual suspects, Davidson, Bowdoin, Colgate, and McKenna are all excellent for economics. I believe that Lafayette, Occidental, Macalester, are also quite good. IN terms of universities, Emory, Fordham and GWU would be good picks for you.
No matter what you major in, though, an accredited MBA is a professional program so you need at least 3 years of work experience (exception: HBS: 2 years minimum but in excellent positions) and your work experience will matter more than your college career or its “brand” name. In addition, you can get that great job from any university where students are reasonably driven (any university or LAC in the top 100, plus top 20-30 regional universities inluding Honors Colleges would work) and where you can take advantage of every opportunity offered, study abroad and internships in particular, not just top 20 universities/LACs. Ultimately, what matters most is what YOU do in college. (You can google “how my daughter made the most out of college” for a real-life example).
If you choose a business major, I agree Finance is a good choice (it’s one of the most rigorous business majors).
^I agree with Chardo above: run the NPCs on a few of the schools mentioned above (Wharton, Stern, Indiana Kelley, McKenna, Bowdoin, for instance…) and bring the results to your parents. They may well have the money but are they willing to spend it all on your education? Will they pay more for some schools, less for others? How do they expect you to contribute? etc. Better know now than have a bad surprise Spring of Senior year. Get a real number. If it’s what you thought it’d be, excellent. If not, adjust your search.</p>