I am a male, rising senior and I am trying to create a good college list for getting a finance degree. I have found a few but they are mostly reaches, so I have come to you guys for advice, thanks.
Stats:
SAT: 2210=680(M), CR(800), 730(W), E(10)
SAT 2: USH(800), Math 2()–taking in the fall
Senior Year Classes: AP Lit, AP Calc AB, AP Stats, AP Gov/Honors Econ, Honors Span 3
ECs: (weak here)
150+ hours volunteering at the same place
NHS-2 Years
Computer Club-2 years
German Club-1 year
Rugby-1 year
Summer Internship in the Revenue/Finance Department of a distribution company
I might have forgotten 1 or 2
*=these were freshman year and I have since transferred schools
My family does not have a problem paying full tuition, however paying less obviously wouldn’t hurt
Schools so Far:
Upenn
NYU
Villanova
BC
Bentley
Cornell(ik there isn’t a finance major here)
as you can see my schools are reach heavy, any suggestions to fix this?
Why do you want a finance degree? Most of the top finance job positions are actually held by econ/other degree holders- primarily because most of the top schools don’t have finance programs. If you want to work in finance, most would suggest getting another degree instead which gives you a more rigorous education (e.g. math, econ, stats, cs), because the finance is pretty easy to learn on your own. If you are open to that, all of the top 10 schools have good finance placement:
University of Connecticut has a very good undergrad finance program in the business school. That would be a safety for you. Good internship possibilities in Hartford or over the summer in Boston.
It is fine to focus on finance versus economics. Just know why you are picking one over the other.
Case Western would be another safety. Apply early for scholarship consideration (no cost to apply).
You also might want to consider University of Maryland, as a direct admit to Smith (business school). This is a very good option if you want to work in DC, and some merit money is available for out of state students.
You qualify for free tuition at University of Alabama. Culverhouse is the business school for undergrads. It is very well funded, with its own trading floor. Makes for a very good financial safety for most out of state, high stat students, though I recognize you can probably go to school in Florida for less than $20,000 per year.
I advised my kids to plan on working in the region they attend school after graduating, as it is much easier to connect with local or regional employers on campus.
@Acusio You would be too much of an academic outlier there and it wouldnt be a financial safety, so I don’t see how it fits in. Northeastern is a better addition.
It all depends on what you want in terms of environment. Boston College is the no compromise choice. You get a top program, top campus, top social life, excellent sports and proximity to Boston. Sort of hard to beat. Now get accepted!!!
If you want to study finance, schools you should consider that are not on your list:
Univ of Virginia
Georgetown (McDonough) - has big presence in New York investment banking
Univ on Michigan (Ross)
Indiana (Kelly) - especially good if you can get into investment banking seminar
Notre Dame
The best program is Penn (Wharton) but given your admitted weak ECs, lack of leadership positions and scores on Math portion of SAT and ACT I think this is a very high reach for you
I think that the OP’s Math scores, on both ACT and SAT, would rule out all of the most selective undergraduate business schools. I would recommend applying as an undeclared major to liberal arts colleges, and then pursuing Economics.
I don’t think your list is too reach oriented – the two Ivys are a bit of a reach but the other schools look like good matches.
I believe Cornell does have an undergrad Finance program in the Dyson School.
If you want a safety consider Fordham - Rose Hill. (Gabelli School of Business) The school has non-binding EA which is always good and you might qualify for merit aid. Villanova I think also has non-binding EA.
I liked Bentley when I visited it with my S so as long as you are comfortable going to a business focused school, I think would not remove that from your list.
Consider carefully if you want to do economics instead of finance. They are very different. Economics is a liberal arts course of study and finance is a business course of study. Look online at the required classes for major you want at each school you are considering because the curriculum you will take as a finance and econ student will be quite different. For example in a business school you take a business core with classes like accounting, marketing, IT, business law etc. which you won’t take as a economics major (unless you do econ in Wharton).
A 1480 is a very handsome score especially with a 33 ACT and 4.0 UW.
Perhaps Wharton, ND, NYU and Michigan are touchy but the rest are fine if Lehigh, Bucknell, BC, Wake Forest, Northeastern and Villanova are the backbone. I assume an instate Florida school is included.
Going the Economics route is great but not out of fear of not getting in a handful of those schools.
I wouldn’t expect people not involved in financial services to know that Lehigh and Bucknell produce excellent business graduates supported by great alumni. Seems like many students sort of miss these two, sadly.
Thanks all for the suggestions, I’ll definitely look into at least WF and Bucknell, which I have been thinking about as well.
Also I got a 29 on ACT math, not 28(not much better ik)
I am a bit dissapointed in myself on the standardized test math sections, as I have always had high As in math classes and am skipping a year of class to go into Calc AB(my school has kind of a stupid math curriculum so about 2/3 of the students take precalc senior year).
Hopefully I can do well on the Math 2 exam.
Also, @BatesParents2019 I don’t know if I’ll put a FL instate on my list yet as my family moves around a lot and I don’t know how much longer I will be a resident of Florida.