<p>I was born and bread in California ( a suburb of Los Angeles) and have had doubts lately about my academic pursuits…</p>
<p>I’m a true believer college does not categorize anyone accurately, and a persons SAT score does not determine their success in life. College is truly what you make of it, and so is life. My only reason for attending college is to gain worldly experience and new perspectives, and have doors open that would otherwise be unavailable without a secondary education. </p>
<p>I’m fascinated by finance, business, and economics. I read books about the subjects on my spare time (and SEC documents that most would fall asleep over). I hope to one day work in Los Angeles. I am not someone categorized as a future “corporate executive”, or someone trying to work the ladder in a fortune 500 company. I may (hopefully) begin somewhere like this, but I’ll most certainly end up working for myself.</p>
<p>Because of its location, and notable faculty in the arena of business and but more specifically finance, I applied as a transfer student (from CC) to NYU (College of arts and sciences, due to my desire to have a well balanced education). Most would think Stern (undergrad business program) would be best for me, but I am confident in my ability to teach myself business and finance and actually want to avoid being taught others bad habits. It’s the world I’m seeking to learn more about in college, and things I would otherwise not research in my spare time (while meeting the necessary people to be given a job in the field I’m interested in).</p>
<p>That being said, I’m very close to UCLA and USC geographically. Though I am not someone to view rankings as a big deal (as stated earlier), I’m beginning to feel like (due to the fact I most likely could have been given admission to both UCLA and USC) I made a mistake – only because my school is not ranked as high as the two locals…Though I will note it seems like in LA a lot more prestige is placed upon NYU than UCLA or USC (especially UCLA, as living here it feels like everyone went there). </p>
<p>I know I’m contradicting myself, but I felt like asking someone on one of the boards of the schools being mentioned this question would be like asking a barber if I need a haircut. That being said:</p>
<p>I’m majoring in economics, fascinated by everything on the planet from history to literature, but wish to initially work in finance for a company until I’m financially able to set out on my own. If you were me, would you choose NYU over UCLA or USC (finances not being an issue) ?</p>
<p>Just to give you background, I ran a subsidiary of my fathers company in Los Angeles, managing 40 individuals all older than myself (by at least 10 years, all with kids). I taught myself business via experience, read borrowed textbooks and my Amazon Kindle. I graduated high school with 165 full day absences, god knows how many truancies, and a GPA below 1.5. School meant nothing to me, as I believed I could teach myself anything. After several years, I began to feel remorse, due to my financial ability to attend college (unlike most) and my lack of interest. I began classes at the near by CC, and did very well. Now I’m attempting to rectify some inequities in my life, in order to remove the guilt I have as I see countless laborers making $8 an hour dreaming of a financial position that would allow them to go to college. If I fail, so do they. </p>
<p>My thoughts applying to NYU were that faculty teaching economics are most likely wall street veterans and or current staff at firms, and that I would get more of a first hand experience in terms of their knowledge. I also thought that, geographically, it would be much more convenient to pursue internships during the school year, to gain more experience before applying to jobs in Los Angeles. I’ve felt alone in LA as everyone around me wants to be a doctor, lawyer, or in Hollywood. Lastly, being by the UN doesn’t help either, as I’ve been told it’s not uncommon for your IR professor to be absent due to a meeting there. </p>
<p>I’m on the Harvard board because your college is almost certainly the best university on the planet. Any student at Harvard almost certainly would have been admitted to the schools in question, so I would think your perspective would be the most honest and objective.</p>