Will I get in?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I am wondering where I should be looking at in terms of colleges. I don't want to be shooting too high and getting my hopes up, or too low.</p>

<p>First off, I moved cross country from CT to CA beginning of Freshman year.</p>

<p>Anyway, here's the gist-</p>

<p>Freshman- (FirstSemester/SecondSemester)</p>

<p>Biology Honors (A-/B)
English Honors (B/B)
Geometry Honors (A/A-)
World Geography (A/A-)
Spanish II (A-/B)
Sports PE(B/B-) I was absent a lot because of a surgery. My class rank was hurt a lot because of this.</p>

<p>Sophomore-</p>

<p>Anatomy and Physiology Honors (A-/A)
AP European History (B/B)
Algebra II Honors (A-/A-)
English II Honors (A-/A)
Spanish III (B/B+)
Math Tutor (A/A)
Sports PE (A+/A)</p>

<p>-Sophomore at southern california school
-decent freshman grades 3.6 GPA unweighted (my school doesn't weight honors courses)
-I take pretty much every honors or AP course I can
-Last semester 3.8 weighted (took the one AP class, that was a 5.0 A but all honors are not weighted, again)
-Taking all AP classes next year
-Math Tutor
-honor role, math honors society, ect</p>

<p>-HS baseball team for two years
-Student council next year (stopping sport due to injury)
-Worked for independent hedgefund throughout middle school
-Actively Manage money for various clients since 5th grade (yeah, it has grown :))
-Will work for hedgefunds during summer
-In a world relief club</p>

<p>My class rank is crap, due to the unweighted honors classes its top 14% (in 10th grade) Overall for freshman and unacademic it is 20% (got owned by surgeries, absences, and getting burned out). It will change next year and be at least in the top 10%. Notice how my grades are much better this year.</p>

<p>So, hoping that you read all of that, or close to it, I was wondering where I should be looking at. Granted I have not taken the SAT or any other standardized test yet, where should I be looking at?</p>

<p>I would love go to Dartmouth or Penn, but I don't think I make the cut. What about berkeley? What do you guys think? Do you guys think I will be able to make any Ivy if I get good grades next year along with a good SAT/ACT?</p>

2

<p>If you look at common data sets and understand who makes up the bottom 10% (think football and other high profile teamsand the very rich), virtually no unhooked candidates fall below the top 10% at ivies and few fall below the top 2 or 3 in their class.</p>

<p>Think hard about saying you managed people's money since 5th grade and worked for a hedge fund in middle school. Does daddy own the hedge fund? Uncle Joe? Who in their right mind would let a 5th grader manage their money? Even if you were brilliant, 5th graders have little sense of market history and dynamics and going to school probably doesn't allow the research money managers do.</p>

3

<p>Well, you haven't completed your junior year...and sometimes that is the most important. Also, you haven't taken the SATs so its really hard to say if you could get into a top school such as Darmouth and Penn or not. I would say that if you could make it into at least teh top 10% of your class, do really well your junior year, and get a 2200+ on your SATs...you might have a chance. So basically, its really hard to say as of now. But good luck, and work really hard next year.</p>

4

<p>I did think about that before posting. My statement stands. </p>

<p>Obviously a 5th grader isn't going to know what he is doing. I merely got a feel for it and my experience has been expanding since. I'm not claiming to be Warren Buffett. </p>

<p>Both those statements were legitimate and not what you think.</p>

5

<p>First of all, PE does not effect your GPA. Second of all, it doesnt even show up on your transcripts....lol</p>

<p>Anywho, you look good.
Do stuff this summer. Otherwise dont expect Darty.</p>

6

<p>I think you have a shot if you get 2200+ SAT and bring up your GPA. How did you get a job working for a hedge fund!? <em>stares in awe</em> I'm having trouble getting fast-food employment... Lol. </p>

<p>Darthmouth- Low-mid Reach
Penn- Reach
UCB- Low-mid Reach</p>

<p>Will be able to give more accurate results when SAT scores come in. I don't think you'd make any Ivy (even some of the most amazing kids don't get into HYP) but you have a good shot at the "lower Ivies."</p>

<p>Would you like to chance me?</p>

7

<p>Thanks for being honest. That's all I was really looking for- an objective opinion with some advice in what to improve on.</p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

<p>It was a small hedgefund with only 3 guys, but had assets of over 20 million. I got to them through family connections, and slowly worked with them for years and became independent. No, it was not because daddy wanted me to. At 12 I had a genuine interest that is still present today.</p>

<p>@ colsen- Yeah, I was wondering about that. Obviously it is not academic, but it did lower my total GPA.</p>

8

<p>So, in 6th grade did you send your resume to some funds and one responded and hired you? Because that's what I was thinking didin't happen.....</p>

9

<p>No need to be an ass. I explained it in the last post. I met one of them through a friend, and then was offered a "job." I stayed with them for a few years as a learning experience and did my own thing on the side.</p>

10

<p>Darthmouth- Reach
Penn- Reach
UCB- Low Reach</p>

<p>Get that GPA up, and get a decent score to have a shot.</p>

11

<p>A hedge fund with "assets" of $20M? That would be the smallest hedge fund ever. I don't believe any are that small. And they don't have assets. The first thing you pick up when you work for firms is the jargon.</p>

<p>Read As Officer's posts on kids who do not tell the whole truth. They are easily caught.</p>

12

<p>I honestly don't care if you believe me or not. </p>

<p>Why would I lie to people when I want an honest opinion. That wouldn't be helping myself.</p>

<p>Like I said, it was only 3 guys.</p>

<p>Aside, please drop it. I can understand why you think that though. I would think the same thing too. When I first posted that, I wasn't sure how to word it because I knew someone would think BS.</p>

<p>And yes, I will follow your recommendation and read that article to make sure that doesn't happen in the future in some other event.</p>

13

<p>Wow, your a real jerk.</p>

14

<p>Me? (10chars) I mean he is posting what he thinks. He has a right. He doesn't know the real deal, how could he? Anyway, back to the real subject of the thread if anyone else has an opinion.</p>

<p>@ the person who said "Get your GPA up and you will have a good shot"-</p>

<p>Next year, I will probably have a 4.4 or so.</p>

15

<p>Actively Manage money for various clients since 5th grade (yeah, it has grown )</p>

<p>bull. YOU managed money for clients? More like you sat and watched. Dont lie. No one in their right mind would be dumb enough to give that kind of responsibility to a kid. (although my brother WAS offered salesman jobs at two car dealerships--one mercedes and one vw in 7th grade). I still call BS. Sounds to me like you're twisting the truth a tad.</p>

16

<p>Yes, I have managed money/still do. I started in 5th grade like I said, when my parents gave me a little bit of money to invest. I wasn't the average 5th grader. Then, a family friend gave me money. Still relatively small, a few thousand over the course of a few years, the guy who I mentioned earlier (who took me "under his wing") gave me some more money. In time, it has grown. </p>

<p>No, I don't just sit back and watch. No, I am not lying. No, It is not bs. I don't even know why I have to explain myself. Christ. Sounds like I'm twisting the truth? Why should I care what you think I sound like? I know what the truth is, whether or not it sounds like the truth to you or not. </p>

<p>When I said various clients, maybe that wasn't the word to use. But I still do get a commission. I don't just sit back and check it every 2 years. "Oh my grandma bought me a stock! I want to go check it!" Whether that's what you think it is or not, it doesn't matter.</p>

17

<p>No, doesn't make me feel bad. That's the kind of response I was looking for- honest. I didn't want a response to give me false hopes. </p>

<p>I would really love to go to UCLA. Would that be too much of a reach for me given the stuff that I listed in the beginning of the thread?</p>

<p>Thanks for the response.</p>

18

<p>You made it seem like you were playing with millions bro. Doesnt sound like more than a few grand. </p>

<p>Wasuperson, USC is private.</p>

19

<p>"You made it seem like you were playing with millions bro. Doesnt sound like more than a few grand."</p>

<p>Yeah, all you had to do is ask :) It's about 10k now.</p>

<p>It's funny. My entire student body wants to go to UCLA. I live 30 mins outside there and never really thought about it. I'm from the eastcoast, and that's what draws me to the Ivies (other than the usual stuff). </p>

<p>Do you know of any other schools that I should be looking at that are a little bit of reach for me on the eastcoast (preferable New England...just moved from CT, right outside of Yale). My dad is an alumni of Bowdoin.</p>

20

<p>Well, a lot of your Bs were in freshman year which is good because the UCs don't look at freshman grades and the Ivies don't put a lot of weight on them. I think it's a bit early to give you a good indication of your chances since it's still your sophomore year. It will largely depend on your junior grades, SAT scores, and maybe outside activities / essays. Right now your sophomore year grades seem to be about 3.67. If you can get a 3.8 - 4.0 and 2200+ SATs then I think you have a shot at U Penn and a decent chance at Berkeley, but Dartmouth might still be a bit of a reach. If you keep your current GPA with ~2000 - 2100 SATs then Berkeley and UCLA are a bit of a reach and U Penn and Dartmouth are not likely.</p>

<p>As for other schools, of course there are the other Ivies, Brown, Cornell, Columbia, etc. You could also look into the LACs like Williams or Swarthmore, alhtough I think they're pretty big reaches for you. Bowdoin might work. BU and Boston College are pretty popular, as well as NYU, and those might be easier for you to get into. If you've considered down south there's Duke, Vanderbilt, and UVa. U Michigan is also a pretty popular choice for many.</p>

<p>Hope this helped.</p>