I’m a high school junior in North Carolina and I’m interested in statistics and business. I’m not sure if I want to do statistics for the purpose of pharmaceutical research (biostatistics) or for business (like to get on Wall Street). At Cornell, I major in statistics and try and do a double major (or just minor) in economics. At Georgetown, I would double major in accounting and finance. If it makes any difference, I’m top of my class of 601 and I got a 1380 on the SAT (700 CR 680 M). I haven’t taken the ACT or SAT Subject Tests yet. My ECs are solid; I’m one of the best high school saxophone players in NC. I’m leaning toward pursuing a Wall Street job, so which school should be my first choice? I’ve read lots of mixed things regarding the strength of both Cornell and Georgetown’s programs. So basically, do I have a better chance at a Wall Street job from Georgetown or Cornell?
IMO you should be considering more than these two particular universities. By the time you ultimately will apply, your interests and profile may have evolved somewhat. For one thing, my kids’ SAT scores changed a lot at different sittings.
What you might best do now is develop a list of schools to visit.
You can find lists of “target schools” someplace or other. But even at those schools, not everybody gets those offers.
These firms don’t hire a school, they hire a person. After extensive screening and multiple interviews…
Offers go to those who “fit” best- to some extent an intangible that you can’t completely control- and who have thrived where they are. So the best school for you to have attended from the perspective of those recruiters is the one where you have most obviously excelled, in all respects. The place/ environment where you feel you are most likely to thrive, irrespective of eventual recruiting opportunities.
Also bear in mind that college itself can be a transformative experience. What you think are your interests now may change as you are exposed to more fields of study/practice.
Regarding Cornell, programs that may interest you exist in the College of Agriculture & Life Sciences as well as the College of Arts & Sciences. Suggest you look into both.
But you should be considering lots of universities and programs, at this point.
I’ve visited Georgetown and absolutely loved it! The campus is beautiful and I like how the Georgetown neighborhood is right in DC, yet also sort of tucked away; I wouldn’t compare it to Penn or Columbia (both of which I didn’t like). The only thing is that they have a reputation for being very weak in the sciences, and the only way to study stats is to do a math major. Besides their pep band, Georgetown also has very few music groups (like a wind ensemble, etc.) that I could play in. I haven’t been to Cornell yet. From what I’ve heard, Cornell has strong science programs, and a dedicated statistics major. I do have about another year to figure this out, but since I’m still not sure exactly what it is that I want to do I like how Cornell is a more well-rounded school. However, I don’t hear as many great things about Ithaca as I do about DC. But I really need to see it though. So far I’ve looked at lots of different schools, but I really like Georgetown and Cornell, even though they are obviously very different. Do you have any recommendations for other good business schools or statistics schools? For business, Wharton is an obvious one, but I’ve been on Penn’s campus a ton (my sister goes there) and I’m not a fan of the school. Thanks!
Perhaps these links help. Hopefully your high school has guidance counselors that should have resources to help you.
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/18615856#Comment_18615856
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/business-major/1884276-bloomberg-2016-best-undergraduate-business-schools-ranking.html
http://poetsandquantsforundergrads.com/2015/02/04/the-top-feeder-schools-to-wall-street/2/
http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/business
http://poetsandquantsforundergrads.com/2016/12/05/poetsquants-best-undergraduate-business-programs-2016/