which colleges to apply too? *I will chance back*

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I plan on going into investment banking after undergrad with like 10% chance i might switch and go into law. So im going to major in econ (if i change my mind and go into law) or finance. Im currently looking at nyu stern, uchicago, duke and ut (mccombs-instate). I need help deciding which i should apply ed or ea, other college suggestions are helpful as well. Thank you in advance! Personality wise, im very outgoing and dont really care about having the "college experience", i just want to set my life up so to make it easy as possible to get a good job after graduation cuz i can have fun and be creative in the ****tiest of circumstances.
MY STATS</p>

<p>Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 710R 680W 700M
ACT: Comp-32 Math-34 English-33 Reading-32 Science-29(science held me down cuz i took too long on a question, i usually get 34-35's on practice, so imma retake in sept)
SAT II: 760 MathII, 800-us history 730-lit
Unweighted GPA: 3.8, weighted-4.18 :(
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 88/1080 (going to go up on next transcript)
AP (place score in parenthesis): i already took 9 aps, 7 5's and 2 4's, 6 more senior year
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: Most Rigorous- 6aps + debate
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): commended psat, some debate awards, some ap scholar probs D:</p>

<p>Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): nhs, math club (maybe leadership next year?), master juror at teen court, debate
Job/Work Experience: getting job senior year
Volunteer/Community service: volunteered at political campaign (during ap exams fml), local resale shop 30 hours over summer, local clinic every summer 40 hours, tutored english to backward castes in india at uncles school, nhs hours
Summer Activities: above + wrote working papers on econ, job shadowed a lawyer
Essays: havent started
Teacher Recommendation: ok
Counselor Rec:
Additional Rec:
Interview: None
Other
State: Tejas
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian (indian)
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: high
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): came from india when i was 7</p>

2

<p>No need to chance me back; I’m a mom. Well, you are going to get into UT if you stay in the top 10%, right? You might as well apply to Chicago EA. If you are able to commit without worrying about FA packages, and you like one of the other schools best, you might as well apply ED as it would give you an admissions advantage. Write a compelling essay, preferably about tutoring in the school in India. Good luck!</p>

3

<p>I would suggest applying to Michigan. Get in as an econ major, and enter Ross your sophomore year. Its a much better banking feeder than UT, and you’ll probably be accepted. Probably the best feeder you have a solid chance of getting into - the Ivies, Duke, and the like which are huge feeders might be tough.</p>

4

<p>The problem with ut is that mccombs only accepts like top 3.7% and the remaining 25% of admissions is pretty tough. My problem with umich is that I hate having to worry about admissions to Ross and doing the college process all over again. I had the impression stern will get me to ibanking cuz it’s finance program is amazing. Also I’m going to write about eventually going back to India and try to help ppl with my knowledge of finance in a non-profit and connecting that with my Econ paper and volunteering.</p>

5

<p>Bump anyone else have anything to say?</p>

6

<p>I’d still apply to Michigan. Even if you never get into Ross finance recruiting for econ/math/engineering majors from Michigan is excellent. Its a hidden feeder. At my first job in NYC it was all Ivies, Duke, Stanford, MIT, Williams, and Michigan.</p>

7

<p>You can apply for pre-admit to Ross when you apply to Michigan. You don’t start Ross classes freshman year, but you’re guaranteed a spot sophomore year as long as you meet some guidelines.</p>

8

<p>Ok so if u didnt get into pre-admit, will u still be considered for undergrad? Also am i a viable candidate for stern rd do i have to do ed?</p>

9

<p>If you don’t get into Ross pre-admit, you can still apply Freshman year.</p>

10

<p>Okay. First off, this kid wants to go into investment banking (I could only wonder why since that’s usually a 2 year stint…so I assume exit opps).</p>

<p>If that’s the case, then business school doesn’t matter, what matters is undergrad (because people do their 2 year stint and go to the buy-side or they go to business school).</p>

<p>If that’s the case, then you probably want to land into a bulge bracket firm (JP Morgan, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, <insert the=“” other=“” 5=“” bulge=“” brackets=“” that=“” have=“” gone=“” down=“” hill=“” because=“” of=“” financial=“” crisis=“”>).</insert></p>

<p>If that’s the case, you want to land a good school in the EAST coast. That’s because schools like Stanford, etc. while good, usually don’t have as many people on the street (that’s because they are more of a venture capital/west coast/start up culture).</p>

<p>So what schools in the East Coast recruit for investment banking? The key here is IB, because sure people recruit at schools like stern but it isn’t necessarily for Investment Banking (sometimes it’s sales and trading, sometimes operations, etc.).</p>

<p>So the two big places are the obvious ones: Harvard and Wharton. Surprisingly, other ivy leagues (including for some firms princeton) is not a target school. Yet there are firms that are really solid semi-targets or that are under the radar target schools. These usually developed because of successful undergraduate investment clubs and a strong alumni network.</p>

<p>So where to look out of that? Well, first off, you shouldn’t go to a school because if has an undergraduate business program. More and more that’s becoming less attractive to employers (Albeit the Harvard and Wharton) because it’s such the norm. Firms are looking at liberal arts degrees, engineers, and economic majors. That’s because those people can be creative and are smart in a different kind of way. Even Harvard doesn’t have an undergraduate business program (people to economics).</p>

<p>So now for the schools (given your test scores, the schools I am mentioning are all reaches. Even with your stats, Stern is a reach…schools are just more competitive now a days). Goldman actually doesn’t have as many ivy kids as you would think:</p>

<p>Stern, Harvard, Wharton are obvious.</p>

<p>Yet here are some not so obvious:</p>

<p>Yale - Really good for economics that you open doors. Good chunk are seen at JPM, MS, etc. (the top tiers)</p>

<p>Columbia - Good representation on the street. Individuals tend to know their stuff and they offer great finance programs (birth of value investing). I think Columbia is a great choice for people who want to really learn finance really well. And the alumni network that live in close proximity to the city is always a nice boot.</p>

<p>Vanderbilt - Surprisingly, there are a lot of Vandy kids on the street. But I don’t find many of them at the top tier investment banks (GS, JPM, CS, MS). Still, that can get your foot in the door. </p>

<p>U of Chicago - Good school yet most, like Vandy, are not necessarily at the top tier investment banks (obvious exceptions, but that’s just what I have observed). Their business program is great (Booth) but that’s what the banks recruit from. It’s relatively less for the undergrads yet that connection can provide some chances for kids (Which I think where the exceptions for those who land at the top tier investment banks).</p>

<p>Tufts - Surprisingly, this school is getting a lot of momentum from the street. Their undergraduate investment club has done a lot for them (despite the school not having a B-school). Goldman Sachs recruits in Investment Banking for their NYC office (they pay to come to campus). You also see JPM (Jamie Dimon is a Tufts alum). Strong alumni network has helped with that.</p>

<p>Lehigh - You will find them have a good chunk but MOST are at Boutique firms and not Bulge Brackets.</p>

<p>So those are some schools to check out. Business week ran a story on undergraduate investment clubs several years back. Included are some of the schools mentioned above (yet some are like for women in business…there are like 5 schools profiled):</p>

<p>[Big</a> Execs on Campus](<a href=“Bloomberg - Are you a robot?”>Bloomberg - Are you a robot?)</p>

<p>Best of luck!</p>

11

<p>U got it, i was looking at ibanking because of the exit oppurtunities and according to us bureau of labor statistics the industry is growing above average. And i am planning to do a double major in finance or econ if possible and if not a minor in econ, so there would be some liberal arts education. And i was browsing stern rd threads and i saw ppl with worse stats than me get in, so i honestly think i am ok candidate. I can guarantee u my act superscore will go up to 33 because that 29 on science was an anomly to months of practice testing.</p>

12

<p>It depends what you want to do for your exit ops. Do you want to go to a hedge fund or run your own fund? Or do you want to go into private equity? If you want to do PE, you should do banking. If you want to do the former, I recommend doing research (either at BB or at a buy-side shop like Fidelity. I think Fidelity is like the only shop that offers that for undergrads…the rest you have to do a two year stint). Research is better because you have to know everything bankers know (M&A, LBO’s, etc.) but you also do more creative thinking. Plus if you are at a BB or top school, you already make the connections/networking. Meaning that once you get into an interview, you probably will come out on top because you are smarter.</p>

<p>If you want to do PE, go to Investment Banking. Though I know some people that went to places like Bain after undergraduate (yet they only take like 6 interns per year. Just like Fidelity takes like 6 interns per year).</p>

<p>Again, you will have to have internships prior to that. Because most of these gigs are given as a rising senior in college.</p>

<p>Stern, surprisingly, doesn’t have as many interns in Investment Banking as you would think. Best of luck!</p>