My apologies for not specifying earlier; I just meant higher ranked in IB feeders or finance in general.
Would you say that UT Houston or UTD is better for me?
Anywhere you can afford that you get in is better for you. I gave you other names that place in IB. Arizona State has the IBIS program but it’s competitive. You have to apply. Would you get in ? Don’t think so but you can try.
Bama the IB Academy.
Other schools from Rutgers to Denver to Brant to Bentley to Seton Hall someone mentioned would also make sense.
Can you afford them ? None assure anything - no different than UT or NYU. BUT THEY, and others including UH, have made placements.
And lots of firms hire non IB people.
What can you afford, etc ?
But no reason to retake the test. It won’t impact you.
A Bentley would be a great spot if you got in.
IMHO it’s not worth the money your family will pay.
A school’s reputation won’t get you to Wallstreet. You will.
Them - being through connections they have, etc. The bigger issue - what do you consider higher rank with a 3.04 - and how much can you afford.
If you can afford to pay full (no loans), then it’s up to your parents in regards to how they want to spend their money.
But if you were to say Colorado was higher ranked than UTD, would that delta be worth it in hopes of you achieving your goal? Very unlikely.
You’re going to have to scrap and push hard on your way to your goal - or have a parent or friend make a connection for you.
Actually, a school’s perceived reputation is probably the top gating factor for getting your resume considered for “elite” Wall Street roles like investment banking, which recruit heavily from a small group of schools. That said, this shouldn’t be the main driver of college selection — those jobs are hard to get anyway, and there’s so much more to the college experience than maximizing your odds of landing an IB job.
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Does your family consider Southern Methodist University to be worthy enough? I’ll hope that @cinnamon1212 can contribute to what this school offers. There are tons of national and international companies with offices in the Dallas area. I think this is worthy of consideration…but only if your parents will pay the cost to attend.
The OP mentioned SMU Cox in their 1st post. If the OP thinks it’s a good fit, that could be a good option.
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IMO with a 3.0 GPA and multiple grades below a B, SMU Cox is really unlikely to happen. OP and parents should reset expectations.
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Welcome to College Confidential @d4yhb! You have a very strong SAT score and have certainly shown an interest in business and trading.
Like some others, I understand the desire to shoot your shot, but I would also urge you to think about your own mental makeup with respect to rejections. For some students, rejection is like a fuel that makes them want to be even more amazing wherever they land to show their doubters what a big mistake they made in passing them over. For students like that, a reach-heavy list can be a reasonable choice. For most people, however, rejection is a mental and emotional blow, and although they may be able to handle a few, the more they get, the more they tend to doubt themselves and the quality of their other acceptances. There are many stories of students who have a small number of acceptances from earlier in the year (usually from their “safeties”) and then get slammed with rejection after rejection coming in rapid succession near the end of the college results season, as that’s often when the most rejective colleges release their decisions. Thus, I think most students tend to do better with more acceptances than rejections. This is a very individual-based decision, but I would discuss it with trusted adults and give some serious introspection on the issue.
When I chance students, I typically use these categories:
- Extremely Likely: 80-99+%
- Likely: 60-79%
- Toss-Up: 40-59%
- Lower Probability: 20-39%
- Low Probability: less than 20%
For applicants with a very strong profile (including a very strong GPA), I would put most of the programs/schools on your list in the low probability category. Although you have reasons for your GPA, I don’t think that will be enough to get into a number of the options you’re applying to. Thus, I would add a category of Very Low Probability: <5% which is what I think your chances are at most of the schools you’re listing.
I’ll second the suggestions of Fairfield (a reach but a more reasonable reach) along with Bentley. I’d also consider adding Baruch (one of the CUNYs). Other possibilities include Drexel, Villanova, and maybe Providence.
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