Demographics
US citizen
MA
Public feeder school
asian male
legacy to northeastern (think they don’t consider tho)
Intended Major(s)
Finance except for Upenn which I applied as computer engineering for
GPA, Rank, and Test Scores
4.7/6.0 weighted (HS is known to be hard and overall has slightly lower gpas)
No class rank
1500 super score
Coursework
Most rigorous courses offered
AP: CS A, CS P, AB, Macro, Micro, APES, Stats
Awards
- science fair 2nd in regionals, project is patent pending (wasn’t able to compete in states cuz partner got sick)
- startup bootcamp - 4th place (not as recognizable as LaunchX but somewhat relevant)
- another startup bootcamp that I got 5k in funding from - 1st place (not as recognizable as LaunchX but somewhat relevant)
Extracurriculars (bit vague - sry abt that)
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50/3500 top semifinal teams in the world and 2 time state champion for cybersecurity comp and president of club at school
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helpdesk intern at school
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play a niche sport for my hs and we have attended 3 national level events with team for it: team ranking is T-25 in country, individual ranking is 15th place in New England for a specific boat
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have a payed job where I teach this sport^
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501c3 non profit that does some niche tech volunteering stuff (kinda vague but we have a 3 branches in 3 different states in the US and 50 members)
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manufacturing business for a hobby of mine with 5 figure revenue
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intern at big Fin tech data company
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club president for a few clubs
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robotics co-captain (qualified for worlds and a bunch of other awards)
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paid job where I teach kids how to code
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one of the co founders for a discord where I give crypto trading callouts: 10,000 members and $6000 in revenue
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marketing internship at startup that helps kids get recruited for sports where I worked directly with CEO(helped try and add recruitment for the niche sport I play)
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started a robotics team in addition to the one I am on and raised $7000 for them to get started
Essays/LORs/Other
Econ teacher: 8.5/10
CS teacher: 7/10
Schools (anywhere I don’t apply finance/business it is because I think I don’t have a good shot at it)
ED:
Upenn for computer engineering
EA:
Indiana University Bloomington B-school (Kelley)
Villanova University B-school
Umass Amherst B-school
Tulane University B-school
UIUC B-school
Northeastern B-school
RD:
University of Michigan econ
Carnegie Mellon University B-school
Emory University B-school
Tulane University B-school
Bentley University finance major
UNC B-school
University of Notre Dame B-school
Boston College B-school
NYU econ
What is your unweighted GPA, core courses only? If your school doesn’t calculate that, do so on your own.
Looks like you missed EA deadlines for Tulane and UNC? Note UNC is not direct admit to Kenan Flagler. I might not even apply to Tulane RD, they accepted only about 100 students in RD last year.
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Do you have an unweighted? 4.76 weighted out of 6 is hard to tell.
Give yourself a 4 for an A, 3 for a B, etc. Take out classes that aren’t core.
You say low GPA - I need to understand unweighted.
Thanks
PS - if you want to study finance, why would you go for computer engineering? Yes, Wharton, I get it.
But id rather you study what you want, even at U of Wyoming, then something you don’t.
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Yes!
No point in slogging through CE at UPenn if you don’t enjoy it and it’s not what you want to do. Don’t assume you’ll easily get an investment banking or management consulting job just because you graduate from UPenn.
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I only decided that I was going to apply as a finance major in sr. year of hs so computer engineering is something I am still very interested to study. With a degree from Upenn I think I open more doors to VC funding if I chose to start my own business. Upenn also offers a lot of business courses and minors to engineering students. Even if I applied as a business major I would still try and minor in something computer engineering related so its not like I’m just picking a random major.
I usually have like 3 B’s, 2 A’s and a C for all years of hs.
except for sophomore year so I don’t have an upward curve.
That sounds very weak for grades. Needs to be mostly A’s, a B or 2, and no C’s. Extracurriculars are very engaged and strong and strong SAT but doesn’t feel like enough for UPenn. The others in the list for EA should be about 33% chance like IU, UMass but Tulane, Northeastern may be tough and not sure if sailing is a benefit at those schools. UMich also difficult since out of state and same for Emory and Carnegie Mellon. Good Luck.
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When you say public feeder school - is it an elite public school?
I don’t see you getting into Penn with 3 Bs, 2As and a C.
IU - if your weighted is 3.8, you’ll get direct admit.
For others on your list - given 3 Bs, 2As, and a C - I’d say unlikely to Nova…UMASS - ugh - no.
Tulane - definitely not - UIUC possiby and Neastern no.
You have Tulane in both ED and RD.
Michigan, CMU, Emory, Tulane, UNC, UND, BC, NYU - no
Bentley - maybe.
You need to calculate an unweighted GPA. 3 Bs (9), 2 As (8) and a C (2) is like a 3.16.
I’m guessing that’s not correct - but if it is, then even Bentley is out and you really need to lessen your list.
You say your school is a feeder school. Here’s my advice:
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Learn your #s - what’s your unweighted GPA on a 4 point scale. Your school should have.
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Talk to your GC - find out where kids with your profile are getting in.
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Without knowing more than you provided, I’d be looking at schools like URI, U Maine, UMASS Boston…then the schools you are listing.
But I have a feeling we don’t have the entire picture.
Good luck.
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Tulane EA deadline is 11/15. ED was yesterday. EDII is also an option with a 1/13 deadline. RD is just about impossible.
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Take all your core course grades, on 4 point scale, and calculate your uwGPA. Like tsbna showed you above. Core courses are Eng, Sci, Soc Studies, Math, FL.
I have to believe a “feeder school” would have some college advising strength. If so, I hope the OP is leveraging it, but there is a lot of schools that seem misplaced on this list given the grades we’re looking at.
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I think that your current list, with the grades you mention, has a significant risk of you being shut out in the spring or of only receiving one or two admittances. As @Metawampe mentioned, though, you hopefully have good college advising services at your school and are consulting with them about likely outcomes based upon your particular school. Make sure that you would be happy to attend any school on your list, otherwise it doesn’t belong on there.
If I was drawing up a list of schools for you to consider, these are the ones I would put on it (based on observations of your current list). You will notice some commonalities, with Bentley, IU, and U. Mass on both of our lists. I think there is a range of likelihoods of acceptance here, with harder and easier admits both represented.
- Bentley (MA)
- DePaul (IL)
- Fairfield (CT)
- Fordham (NY)
- George Washington (D.C.)
- Indiana
- Loyola Chicago (IL)
- Manhattan (NY)
- Temple (PA )
- U. of Connecticut
- U. of Delaware
- U. of Massachusetts – Amherst
- U. of North Carolina – Charlotte
You may also find this link helpful: Business Programs for "B" Students – College Transitions
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A weak GPA and a strong SAT can be a red flag: it indicates the student is capable but has not applied himself in his classes.
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Strongly echoing the suggestion to seek your GC’s advice. One of my children graduated from an “elite public feeder school” in MA & the guidance counselor gave spot on advice and also knew the ins and outs at every school. Ask to meet with the head of counseling if you’re unsure about your own GC’s competence for some reason. You GC should also definitely know your unweighted GPA if you ask for it.
Also, Naviance is your friend. My child’s HS kept its Naviance system up to date and it also went back about 10 years.
Naviance can tell you exactly where students with your stats from your HS have gotten in over the years. It will compare you to those students (as well as to other students from MA) and measure your likelihood of getting in. It will also show you how many kids from your own class have applied ED (and RD) to each of your schools so you can better gauge your competition.
Good luck!
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I would worry about that 7/10 LOR. My daughter got to see her admissions file, and the AO’s put a lot of emphasis on her LORs (although she had objective accomplishments). Is it possible for you to get a LOR from someone else that would be stronger? It is more important that the letter be strong than that it be from a teacher in the area you’re applying to. Ideally you want both letters to strengthen your application.
So that looks like 3.16…
That implies lower than 3.16…
Calculating your unweighted GPA should be a simple math problem.
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I have 3 of those schools on my list and for bently I am in the average 50% GPA range of accepted students from my school.
What’s your budget? Is your family comfortable being full pay? Or will you be seeking financial aid?