Questions about these undergrad business programs? Stern, Sloan, AEM...

Applying to College
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<p>I want to be a finance/pre-law major, but do not know if the undergraduate programs listed below are 4-year or 3-year/2-year transfers. Also, I would like more information on these programs, as in the surrounding community and the rigors and flexibilities of the academics (I want quality/personal but also flexibility). I also want to know how to package my hidden talents to make my EC’s more appealing to the colleges below and how I stand at getting in these colleges as of now. Thank you for you input.
Note: graduating early, class of '09.
GPA: 3.92 (unweighed)/4.29 (weighed)
Rank: Top 5%
SAT’s: 2140 (640 CR, 780 M, 720 W) Retaking in October, November, January.
SAT II’s: 780 Biology M, 800 Mathematics IIC (Taking Math I and Spanish in December)
AP’s (9/10): European History (5), Biology (5) Senior Year: Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, English Language and Composition, Calculus BC, Chemistry, Spanish Literature, US History. (Independent Study) Art Studio Drawing. Most difficult schedule of the class of 2010 (and double the AP course load), fifth most difficult of the class of 2009.</p>

<p>E.C.: Solid but typical Asian activities. Math Team and various competitions, tutoring and other community service relating to education, choir competitions and musicals, student council, NHS…Most at leadership positions, local, state, or national recognitions/qualifications for most activities.
Know drawing, photographic imaging (dark room and stuff like that, took classes at another high school), gourmet cooking (Vietnamese/Italian), hemming and quilting, and graphic arts (took classes and self taught in Adobe Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, and Illustrator, self taught Jasc Paint Shop Pro). Never portrayed talents outside of self-enjoyment.</p>

<p>Schedule quirks: Skipped Spanish 2 and 3 (8th), Algebra 2 (9th), AP Spanish Language (10th). Double up on English (11th). Triple up on gym (10th)</p>

<p>College list: I’ve included my high school data for the regular schools (school average accepted weighed gpa, school average accepted sat (1600), number of students accepted last year). Class of 400.
University of Pennsylvania (4.35, 1537, 0)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (N/A, N/A, 0)
Cornell University ED (4.28, 1491, 1)
Georgetown University (4.18, 1478, 1)
University of Southern California (4.01, 1395, 0)
New York University (3.83, 1367, 1)
Boston College (4.11, 1418, 11)
Boston University (3.93, 1340, 6)
University of Connecticut (in-state safety) (3.6, 1194, 73)</p>

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<p>bump (10 characters)</p>

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<p>Extreme Reaches (sorry but highly unlikely)</p>

<pre><code> Wharton–4 year program (separate school)
MIT–not a separate school apply and then select business as major
</code></pre>

<p>Reaches</p>

<pre><code> Cornell AEM-- 4 years (major in College of Agriculture and Life Science)
Georgetown–McDonough (separate school and 4 year program)
NYU–Stern (separate school and 4 year program)
</code></pre>

<p>Targets</p>

<pre><code> USC–Marshall
BC–Carroll
</code></pre>

<p>Safeties</p>

<pre><code> BU
Connecticut
</code></pre>

<p>If you’re interested in law you should abandon MIT all together and save yourself the trouble. Wharton is another long shot and I wouldn’t waste an early decision application on it. My recommendation would be to decide between Cornell, Georgetown and NYU and apply early to one of them. All three have excellent placement on wall street and into law schools and an early application could put you over the top (or in the case of gtown at least let you know a little bit sooner). Obviously, Cornell’s culture is extremely different that that of New York or DC, so you have to decide what you want.</p>

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<p>About Cornell AEM program, it is ranked #4 in the nation among top undergrad business schools in the country. Its finance department was ranked #1 this year. It is, btw, under the college of agricultural sciences. Typically, AEM has best placements into wall street recruiters and other top business jobs out of Cornell majors. Also, applying ED to AEM will likely boost your chances significantly. This year, for RD, AEM’s acceptance rate was around 11 %. For ED, it is much higher. So, if you feel that Cornell is your first choice, apply ED for best chances. </p>

<p>Sloan at MIT is also top notch, but it is likely to be extremely hard to get in. Not to mention, at MIT, you will also have to take a lot of hard science classes such as physics or chemistry, even if you are a Sloan undergrad. It may not be the most suitable program for those strictly only interested in business or law.</p>

<p>Wharton is probably the best undergrad business school, but it is very selective. I believe it is as selective as Harvard, Yale, and Princeton in terms of overall acceptance rate, overall yield, and SAT average. It has undiputable name as top bschool, and thus, its grads are very well represented in Wall street.</p>

<p>Stern at NYU is also a top program. I would say that it is comparable to Cornell AEM program. But, one advantage that Cornell has over Stern is that as a Cornell student, you have access to endless courses outside of your major to explore and you have an advantage of enjoying the ‘real’ college campus that Cornell resides in. Stern’s advantage is that it is in NYC, if you like NYC that is. </p>

<p>Gtown has a very solid program as well, but all those other schools are, many people will say, a bit stronger than Gtown’s undergrad b-school. GL.</p>

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<p>Thank you for your input.
I will consider taking MIT off, as the curriculum is strict and geared towards math/science.</p>

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<p>And don’t worry, I know Wharton is a far reach.</p>

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<p>bumpity bump</p>

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<p>I forgot to add this.
All I care about is that the school has diverse and interesting people, healthy and delicious food, and a dorm room that doesn’t smell.</p>

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<p>Patlees–I’d agree with most of your assessment, but I think you are selling Georgetown a little bit short. I was accepted to Stern, Cornell AEM, and Georgetown McDonough among others (I’m class of '11) and chose McDonough. I would be the first to admit that the quality and prestige of Georgetown’s finance professors are not on par with Stern or even Cornell, but at the undergraduate level that is not as significant. What is significant is job placement and Georgetown places as many if not more graduates at bulge bracket firms when compared with Cornell and Stern. If you look at the BusinessWeek rankings in which Cornell is #4, filter “Median Starting Salary” and “MBA Feeder Rank” and you’ll see what I’m talking about. Furthermore, the OP’s secondary interest is law and Georgetown also has incredible success placing graduates in law school. Like Cornell, Georgetown also has a campus and a myriad of opportunities to take courses in other schools and like NYU, Georgetown is located in a major city (in my mind the best of both worlds). I also chose Georgetown because of its emphasis on ethics and soft skills and its awesome basketball team!</p>

<p>I did not intend for this to become a Georgetown fan post, but I just want to make it clear when it comes to Sterm, AEM and McDonough you should choose based on personal fit and not worry about the quality of the programs since they are all comparable. Good luck.</p>

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<p>corruptbargain, agreed. I am aware that Georgetown’s b-school has fantastic placement into Wall Street firms. You certainly made a good choice in choosing Gtown. </p>

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<p>That description fits Cornell well, btw. Cornell is known to have the best dorm food in the country and its dorm rooms are relatively new and nice. I think that Cornell and Georgetown may be the best fit for your taste, if you are looking for a stable, traditional college campus with interesting student body, although Gtown’s location is urban and Cornell’s location is rural. NYU has the location, but it lacks the cohesion of the student body, the student body ‘culture’, nice dorms, nice people,etc. I just heard many rumors that NYU Stern students are extremley cut-throat.</p>