Great Test Scores, Average Everything Else

Chance Me / Match Me
1

My case is a bit weird, so I kinda want a third party opinion on where I stand…

9th and 10th grade: IGCSE
4 A*: International Math, Physics, Chemistry, Biology
2 A: English Language, Business Studies
1 B: French
1 D: English Literature
Using an online calculator, these grades turned out to be approx 3.75

I switched schools from 9th to 10th grade and I was forced to swap out History for English Literature because it was a required subject.

I moved from India to the US for 11th grade

11th grade hs GPA: 3.4 uw, approx 4.3 w
Took too many ECs and was stuck with crappy core classes because of my syllabus change.

12th grade classes

AP calc BC
AP stat
AP psych
LA 4 hns
American Studies 2 honors
Band

Test Scores

ACT: 34
E: 35
M: 36
R: 30
S: 34

SAT 2
Math 2: 800
Chem: 800

AP
Macroeconomics: 4
Chemistry: 5

ECs (not spectacular)
Volunteered at a special needs school in India
Volunteered (on field)/did an internship with (off field) an NGO in India to help fight tuberculosis.
Gave drum lessons to children in India
Played Tennis in school 9th and 10th grade
Played percussion for inter school competitions in India (9th grade)
Was part of every single music group in my school’s music program playing drums and percussion (marching band, pit orchestra, jazz band, symphonic band, and camerata orchestra) (11th grade)
Red Cross Club (11th grade)
Chess club (9th grade)

U.S. Citizen (New Jersey)
Indian American
In the terrible middle spot where I need but can’t get aid (except loans obviously) so hoping for some merit scholarships

Colleges

Northeastern
NYU
U Mich
Tulane
Lehigh
UT Austin
Bentley
Rutgers (aiming for honors college)
Indiana University Bloomington
Syracuse
Ohio State
Iowa State
UIUC

Degree: Finance

If you can, chance me and I’ll chance back :slight_smile:
Also, recommend any colleges please!

2

I did my IGCSE in India, 9th grade in Hyderabad and 10th grade in Delhi (if you know those cities)
Then, I moved to an American syllabus when I moved back (previously lived there till 7th grade) to New Jersey.

3

I think that is a good list of schools. NYU & Northeastern I think are high match/low reaches but please note that they are both super expensive. I know that Northeastern does offer a big scholarship to its top 10ish% applicants.

Also your ECs and course selection are fine. Just try to get a good first semester of senior year, GPA wise.

Chance me,
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1903247-chances.html#latest

4

Yeah I figured @HPhelpbot123
That’s why I really didn’t aim for many far reaches but are there any affordable colleges I can keep as reaches?

5

I’m not sure on which ones, but I do know that there are some schools that give merit aid based on your ACT score (which is more than qualified). I feel like most of them are lower-tier public schools though :confused:

6

Only reaches are NYU and UMich IMO. Everything else is mostly safeties

7

Your GPA is kind of low for 11th grade but understandably so as you moved to a new country. I think colleges will see that and give you some slack. You have very good test scores which will help you greatly. To make up for your EC’s, write great essays. You could write about your unique experiences in India as I’m sure you had some (fellow Indian here)! If you do that then you should have a decent shot at all the schools you mentioned. Good Luck!

8

Northeastern- low reach
NYU- reach
U Mich- match
Tulane- low match
Lehigh- low match
UT Austin- safety
Bentley- safety
Rutgers (aiming for honors college)- safety
Indiana University Bloomington-safety
Syracuse-safety
Ohio State-safety
Iowa State-safety
UIUC-safety

I would add some more matches that you think could give you some meet aid

9

If you need merit money, cross out NYU, UMich, UT, and UIUC.
Add Babson, Colgate, Hamilton, Baruch /Macaulay, UMN.
If you want your international experience and possible urm status to be valued and to give you a boost(/hook), apply to st Olaf and Dickinson. Both have Marie aid, a good Management major, and St Olaf has both excellent math and a partnership program with HBS.

10

Being from NJ consider Stevens. Its very close to NYC and easy to get internships

11

Northeastern is pretty expensive. My school’s valecditorian, he got like 5’s on all his AP exams and was waitlisted at MIT, got his full tuition covered but boarding is where they get you. He still has to pay 15 grand a year. So i dont known how much merit based scholarships you can get from them

12

I’m not sure how being an international student for those 2 years will affect you, but you’ve got decent chances at all of those schools (with the exception of Northeastern, because they are a very selective group). You should really narrow down your list, apply to about 8 schools max. Especially given the amount of safeties you’ve thrown in there.

13

Your gpa will hurt youu … but you still stand a chance… also, if you want a high paying position in finance, such as trading or investment banking, you should apply to more selective schools as there will be kids looking for these positions with degrees in finance and engineering from harvard and penn everywhere…
But you have a good background,
Bentley-not good for finance
Rutgers (aiming for honors college)-not good for finance
Indiana University Bloomington-no good for finance
Syracuse- no good for finance
Ohio State- I believe JP Morgan recruits from there
Iowa State- Not good
UIUC- I dont know
Tulane- No good
Lehigh- I dont know
NYU-This is a strong target school
U Mich- Strong target
UT Austin- Strong Target
Northeastern- This is a target school

you chance me for the tepper school of business, here is the link. http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1902841-tepper-school-of-business.html#latest

14

^ Bentley is good for finance outside of front office IB. BTW remember there’s more to finance than IB.
Indiana Kelley is very strong for IB (esp. IB workshop). It’s also very hard to get a direct admit.
An issue is that OP needs merit aid and is unlikely to get any at many schools s/he listed. Crafting an affordable list should be a priority.

15

I’ve given it some thought and I think I’m gonna cross out UIUC, Ohio, Iowa, and syracuse
I’m pretty sure Rutgers and Indiana would suffice for good safety schools and Bentley if I get some good scholarships.
UT Austin is probs a match cuz people in my school with better stats than me got rejected.
Also I can probs afford like 20-25k a year just not like the 70k NYU wants.

16

Probably add Stevens Institute of Technology to the list

17

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18

You’re GPA is lacking, but colleges will probably understand your situation. Test scores are really good and I think you have a solid chance at most of the schools you mentioned! Just work hard on your essays and good luck!
Northeastern- low reach
NYU- low reach
U Mich- match
Tulane- match
Lehigh- low match
UT Austin- safety
Bentley- safety
Rutgers (aiming for honors college)- safety
Indiana University Bloomington-safety
Syracuse-safety
Ohio State-safety
Iowa State-safety
UIUC-safety

also, can you chance me back? http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1908636-what-are-my-reaches-and-matches.html#latest

19

I think that your test scores/other stats are pretty consistent with your interest in finance, though it may be beneficial if you tried to streamline your interests or connect them somehow. I do agree that an interesting essay about your experiences in India will make you stand out.

20

I think that your test scores are really great, and as aforementioned, your GPA is a little lacking, but you can always boost that up with good letters of recommendation and essays. I would say add UC Berkeley to your list because of their great business/finance program, but they don’t give great OOS aid. Besides that most of your schools are low reach to safety, so good luck with that. Please chance back!