Hmm… my nationality is China and I grow up in China But my father is European so I’m mixed-blood. I’m in grade 11 and wants to know more about college application. I’d like to major in Business/Finance?Economics. What’s will be your recommendation base on the following information? How should I choose reach schools/match schools/safety schools? Any kind of advice will be helpful.
*I do not have a U.S. citizenship.
GPA: it’s quite different in China(not sure what is WEIGHT/UNWEIGHT) but mine is generally 3.9/4 (95+/100 here）And that is comparatively the best GPA one can get in Chinese schools.
Test Scores:
SAT 1510 730+780 [essay 6 6 6 ]
TOEFL 115( R 29 L 29 S 27 W 30)
Subject tests 800 in math 2 and 800 in physics
ECs: hmmm…again things are quite different here… honestly haven’t got any experience (even chances) to do what most of you have posted. But I did manage to organize a soccer league at regional level which involves 10 local high schools.
A member of Model Unities Nation Club
A member of Students’s Union.
Awards:
First prize at an English speech contest(province level, which equals state level)
Second-place at an English debate(regional level)
Reference letter:
English teacher: An excellent one. She knows me well and understands the hardship of dealing with Chinese education system and college application at the same time.
Mathematics teacher: An excellent one.
Hmm…generally that’s all I’ve got so far, I know what I have here might seem poor but I’ll do my best to make improvements:-)
If you can pay full tuition, there will be many schools that would be happy to have you. Would you prefer schools with lots of Chinese students, or does that matter? Do you know what part of the US you would like to study in? East Coast, West Coast?
Tuition will not be a problem. I don’t I’ll prefer schools with lots of Chinese students since few of them have positive influence. As for the location…it doesn’t really matter which part of the US it is, but I’ll prefer big cities and more secure areas.
I think your academics is pretty strong and enough to try to apply for some top schools. I think you’d really need to compare yourself with other international applicants - especially from your country. The admission officers will likely know/understand that it’s harder to have as much time for EC’s where you’re from.
NYU seems like a good school for you to apply for business; Has a good amount of international students tho. Same with Berkeley with chinese students. I’d say UMichigan has less chinese students and their Ross school of business is pretty good - Indiana (kelley) same deal as UMich.
Reach would be Wharton - UPenn.
You can also try uchicago, not too many Chinese but a reach. UVA will not be in a big city but a good business/ economics school. Stanford, mit and Harvard will be high reaches. Wake forest is not in big city, few Chinese but good business school. USCal in a bad area of LA with good business school.
Thanks for your tips! They are very helpful and give me a lot of confidence. Maybe I should try applying to better schools than I previously expected Honestly, I think Columbia University really attracts me. It’s a school in NY city with high reputation, and considering that my major is likely to be Business I might be able to have more opportunities of interships there. Anyhow, what do u think will make me more likely to be accepted by that school? What will impress the Admission office? On what aspects should I work to make improvements(noticing that I only have few months left).
Columbia is in a bad part of NYC and has a LOT of Chinese.
NYU Stern is in a pretty good part of NYC with a lot of Chinese in NYU in general… You can try.
EducationUSA is a not-for-profit organization. The counselors pride themselves on providing accurate, unbiased information about educational opportunities in the US. They have a lot of experience helping students like you find good places to study here.
University of Wisconsin-Madison and University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) have good business schools, are in medium-sized cities, and are relatively safe.
As far as I know, Columbia does not offer a business major, @BestGenjiEver.
@artloversplus : I’m wondering on what basis you are saying that Columbia is in a bad part of NYC? New York in general registers as being among the safest big cities in the world, as well as the safest in the U.S.:
Also, the OP had also mentioned Economics. Most top schools do not offer business major in UG, instead, they have Economics major which in most cases, better than a business major.
@artloversplus : The anecdotal source you posted indicates that Harlem tends to be safe and inviting in at least several of its major sections. However, Columbia’s location places it in the Morningside Heights neighborhood, on the opposite side of a park from Harlem.
Thank you for your information!! @merc81 Yeah I know about that, but Finance/Economics also seem to work for me. As you’ve mentioned @artloversplus , NYU seems to be a good choice as well, then how should I make my decision? CU or NYU? Also, I’m planning to apply to Columbia University in ED round. Does NYU have ED II? It seems that it’s very difficult to get accepted in RD as an international student. In the end… is CU in a good part or not [-( Which university is more likely to have more opportunities for internships.
If I’m rejected I guess UMich(Ann arbor ) also seems to be a great choice.
As for the matter of Chinese students/International students, if they are able to get into university like CU, I believe they must have certain aspects worth learning from. The Chinese students that I’m not willing to get along with are those who manage to get into UCs but don’t spend time studying at all(instead they go to bars/clubs and do drugs).
@BestGenjiEver : I’ve cycled the area around Columbia without issue or concern.
However, since you appear to have edited your preferences, you may want to clarify whether you would rather attend school in a big city environment or perhaps a smaller-town setting.
@merc81 Uhh I see.
Well, what I actually I care about is the opportunities for internships or job opportunities after graduation. I think big cities will be a better choice in terms of that right?
But schools in relatively “remote” area like University of Ohio Columbus doesn’t seems to attract me, even if its faculty appears to be quite strong according to the ranking Mid-size cities are acceptable.(UMich I guess?) Big cities work as well.
Your universe of potential choices will actually be pretty large, and may not need to be limited by the proximity to a particular city, in that some more remote colleges do offer term-length programs with internships in major financial centers like New York.
For the study of economics itself, these analyses can offer you some guidance:
Ohio University in Athens is remote. Ohio State University in Columbus isn’t remote, and Columbus isn’t that small. (Well, maybe if you’re from Shanghai or Beijing it’s small.) Plus, Columbus has a pretty good job market. I think the bigger issue is getting a work visa after you graduate.
Also, I’m familiar with both the USC and Columbia campuses. I wouldn’t avoid either of them due to concerns about safety. The areas used to be bad, but they’ve improved a lot over the years. It’s just that it takes a long time for reputations to change.
Universities that have highly-regarded undergraduate business programs and are located in/near large cities:
East
MIT (Boston)
Boston College (Boston)
Northeastern (Boston)
Boston U (Boston)
NYU (NYC)
Fordham (NYC)
UPenn (Philadelphia)
Villanova (Philadelphia)
Carnegie Mellon (Pittsburgh)
Georgetown (Washington DC)
University of Maryland (Washington DC suburbs)
Emory (Atlanta)
University of Richmond (Richmond, VA)
UMiami (Miami, FL)
Midwest/Rocky Mts.
Washington University in St. Louis (St. Louis, MO)
University of Minnesota (Minneapolis-St.Paul)
University of Denver (Denver, CO)
West
UC Berkeley (SF/Oakland)
University of Southern California (Los Angeles)
University of Washington (Seattle)
Honestly, I think Columbia University really attracts me. It’s a school in NY city with high reputation, and considering that my major is likely to be Business I might be able to have more opportunities of interships there. Anyhow, what do u think will make me more likely to be accepted by that school? What will impress the Admission office? On what aspects should I work to make improvements(noticing that I only have few months left).
Mid-size cities are acceptable.(UMich I guess?) Big cities work as well.