Do you know the difference between studying finance and econ- have you looked at the actual courses? They are not interchangeable academically, even though many people treat econ as their “back up” plan.
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There are a good number of undergraduate majors which combine finance & economics. Easy to research.
Here is a four course, undergraduate financial-economics certificate offered at Northwestern University:
If I recall correctly, I know several other top schools which offer a major in financial economics, but I need to verify before posting names. (Check out UCLA, Columbia, maybe SMU, maybe LSE (Let’s See Europe).
UCLA offers a Business Economics major (offers several concentrations including International Trade, Public Finance, and more):
The LSE (London School of Economics) offers a Masters of Science degree in Finance and Economics:
NYU Stern and NYU arts & sciences may provide options for one who wishes to study both finance & economics during one’s undergraduate years. Apply to NYU Stern for finance.
Duke University:
Yes but-
Looks like OP is planning EITHER, not a combo… and they are not interchangeable.
If you want to study business (a discipline of it), you want to study business. I’d rather you go to Ohio State (just throwing out a random name) than another school and study Econ.
So I don’t want to get into the - what about the school itself - like IU is safe but is Kelley? Given Kelley’s size and your stats are well above the cutoff for years past, I’m guessing you’ll get in there but given there’s not a criteria yet, we can’t 100% say. Penn State is not a hard admit but Smeal is not normal Penn State, for example.
I think classifications to some extent are irrelevant.
As I said in my note, NC State is your near assured and if you’re happy there your list is good but I expect you will have multiple acceptances - so I do think you’ll get into others but maybe they’re not a layup.
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I know econ is more theoretical and finance more practical; if a school doesn’t offer finance, I’ll major in econ. While econ may be a tad more intellectually stimulating, I’m quite positive I’ll be able to keep pace at any school I attend
Thank you so much for the added insight, really appreciate it
While you were typing, I added Duke University’s major concentration in finance & economics.
Northwestern University undergraduates who earn the four course certificate that I referenced above enjoy outstanding job/career opportunities.
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Gotcha, so the schools I layed out orginally may not be as assured of a shot. I just looked up the smeal vs PSU acceptance rate, and most of the results are saying about 55% vs 5% for PSU vs Smeal respectively. If this is true, I will most certainly have to rework my list.
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Smeal is moving to a direct admit model for most of the class spots for Fall 2026, so we don’t yet know what that acceptance rate will look like.
Insights @myos1634?
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If you’re ok with NC State and I suspect it won’t be the only acceptance, why do you need to rework your list?
If you’re not ok with NC State, why is it on your list?
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While NC State is certainly OK, I’d love to have more viable options in a similar realm to NC state acceptance rate wise.
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In the end, the most important school on your list is the safety - but you have to want to be there.
So you throw everything else out - and if that’s all you have, you need to be happy?
Would you?
I imagine you’ll get into Kelley - you’re far above the past statistical requirement but…
What is your goal? Is it Wall Street?
If so, you can add Arizona State and try to get into the IBIS program?
Va Tech Pamplin would be a good school. Bentley would be highly likely for you.
If, given all your entrepreneurialness, both Babson and College of Charleston (you might get in the Charleston Fellows program) would be good - but Babson another reach of sorts.
You have Illiniois/Wisconsin - so the easier/safer might be Ohio State and UMN and they’re likely substitutional outcome wise.. The safer Wake might be U Denver - very good rep etc. or American.
But how many is too many - you’re going to have acceptances. I think your list is fine as is.
Not sure what your end goal is - but I think you’re over analyzing.
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Just because no one has said this on this thread, WFU is also secondary admission to the business school (apply during soph year), so just like UVA, one can do all the right things and not be admitted. Perhaps OP really would be OK studying econ in that case, but well, that’s not the case for all students, including plenty I’ve known and/or worked with.
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I think 20 applications will be tough to manage. Essays, interviews, visits, more essays, homework, senioritis, etc. Twelve to Fifteen would be better. JMHO.
I only see NC State as your true safety. Probably South Carolina too. PSU, Illinois and Wisconsin aren’t safeties because you’re OOS and business is typically a high demand major. Smeal is changing their admission process this year too.
You need to decide if Econ is really an acceptable alternative to Finance. They really are different. My concern with schools like UVA, UNC and Wake are secondary admissions. What if you grow to love Finance and hate Econ but get shutout of their b-schools? You’re stuck or you’ll have to transfer. Why put yourself in that position?
Indiana Kelley has 10k undergrad students alone. Is that appealing? It’s easy to feel like a number at a large public school. Apply to Honors programs. They can help at large schools and offer useful perks.
If you’re looking for a few targets I would add Fordham and SMU. Well regarded b-schools and you would be competitive for scholarships and honors opportunities.
With your high math score you might want to look at something more quantitative.
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The goal is wallstreet, correct. I am certainly applying to quite a few schools, but I’m confident that I’ll be able to handle it, and would like to maximize my chances at a top tier school by applying to as many as possible. As for safeties, I have been looking at both ASU and OSU and might be looking to swap those in
I’m certainly aware of the danger in regards to schools like Wake, UNC, and UVA, but feel like I can outwork a lot of competition to get into the respective secondary schools. Although my application currently isnt one that stands, I got quite a late start in terms of maximizing my profile, and believe that it is not quite repersentative of what I could acomplish. However, if I were to get rejected from the B schools, I still think the quality of those schools aformentioned would still allow me to not be completely stuck.
Regarding SMU and Fordham, while I know they are competitive in terms of placement, I was unsure about there respective aid packages and if I even would be competitive for such grants.
In terms of a possible path in quant, I was under the impression that those guys are like, international math olympiad winners, the Messi or Lebrons of math. Would I be at all competitive in placement with my current resume?
I feel different than other posters. I’m not scared off by quantity. But it depends on the schools because some are more onerous to apply to than others. I like ASU but IBIS isn’t assured and then are they placement on Wall Street or I Banks but not on Wall Street?
I don’t know how important the target list thing is in that the two that do them have different schools - but SMU seems a good add as would UGA (not DA). But here’s the thing - lots of schools put out kids in IB- Va Tech, Bama, even NC State per LinkedIn. They’re not on any lists. And yet one doesn’t know anyone got their job.
Bentley is safe for you on the Transitions list per capita.
I think your initial list was fine personally.
In the previous not you said you can compete and outwork. Yet here you show less confidence.
You are 17. Don’t let anyone tell you no. You tell the world what you want and go for it.
Run the NPC for each school to see about financial aid if you haven’t already.
You would definitely be competitive for scholarships at SMU and Fordham. Most of the schools on your list only offer financial aid, not scholarships. These two could become very affordable.
I’ll defer to others about quants and math ability. A good friend’s son is a quant. He fell into the exceptional category for math.
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