I was gravitating more towards Steinhardt both for the culture and the acceptance rate. Although I was wondering how internal transfers work within NYU, for example from Steinhardt to Stern.
4.0 isnât that rare and yes 8.0=4.0.
(3.6 is low for some of the colleges you listed - itâs not a bad GPA but would make NYU a great reach).
If your liceo is linguistico, then your best odds are at colleges that value this type of education: Georgetown, GWU, American, Denison, Dickinson, Hamilton, Middlebury (most LACs in fact) where a foreign language &cultures+management/business (with different names) combo is offered.
CWRU, Rochester would also likely work.
You donât need a degree in fashion merchandising to work in that field (ROI for that major isnât very good). All these have the added bonus of meeting financial need.
You canât apply to Stern AFAIK because I donât think the math required is sufficient for calculus as itâs taught there (pretty intense - not the same everywhere.) So youâd apply to Steinhard.m, which is a better fit anyway.
Steinhard to Stern is basically impossible (they donât have the pre reqs).
Marketing requires a lot of statistics (if not required for degree, necessary for a job) but you should have enough of a launching ground for that with your math background. Youâll still need Calc but the âapplied/businessâ version.
Before you add any college to your list, calculate your SAI (please report here to see if itâs over or under budget and whether you qualify for Pell) and run the NPC on each college youâre considering plus a couple listed in this thread.
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My advice is to apply to more schools than the average US student, because you are still considered as international in a sense, where acceptance rates seem lower.
Think about applying to Boston College, as they meet need as you are a US citizen, although their business school is very competitive.
Also, I know it isnât easy, but if you can make a a trip over to visit some schools, not only do you have a better sense of what you are going to maybe experience, but Iâm sure this helps with admissions, even when they say it doesnât.
Lastly, if you have any family in the USA, I advise strongly that you go to a school not too far from them, because if you get sick or lonely, their help may be invaluable.
Good Luck!
Edited to add that you should try to take the SAT, which is a good indicator for where you are at, considering the school systems are so different.
I was planning to but unfortunately there were none available near me
I also wanted to ask if my extracurriculars are lacking or need improvement, and if two LORs from my professors arenât enough.
Would my stats be good enough for a more competitive school?
Very difficult to transfer to Stern. Almost impossible externally and low internally (internal transfers get preference over external applicants) - not impossible but very hard.
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American and GWU are two of those that we looked at in depth for my D19 (albeit for a different major) -they are both good for communication but both are need-aware and not usually overly generous for aid. Run the NPCs but Iâm not sure they will work financially.
â While GW offers significant amounts of need-based aid, we are not able to fund 100% of need.â Eligibility Factors | Office of Student Financial Assistance | Enrollment and the Student Experience | The George Washington University.
AU doesnât specifically say they do or donât meet full need but my recollection is that they donât commit to it, and US New says they meet 75% of demonstrated need on average.
Both have potential merit scholarships that can go towards meeting full need but those would not be automatic.
Can you explain this? As a US citizen, they are considered domestic. Their academics will be assessed compared to others in Italy, but that doesnât have a bearing on whether they are assessed as domestic or not.
IMO OP has an advantage at a number of colleges - all domestic considerations for application and funding but some diversity from a typical domestic applicant.
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Thank you for the response. Being considered international or domestic had been one of my biggest doubts.
If youâre a US citizen you are absolutely considered domestic. However they will assess your education based on where you went to high school.
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Would my academics be compared to other Italian students applying or generally students from my high school/country?
Unless your high school has a lot of students applying to the same colleges as you itâs unlikely to be that specific. More likely generally the country you are schooling in. It might vary by college too.
Ok, thank you!
For admission purposes, you will be compared to Italian applicants that year with a general baseline based on the countryâs system and their own record of past Italian applicants, which is why itâs important for us to know how you compare to other students in Italy (nationally or regionally). Then for financial aid you will be among the domestic pool and not subjected to the dire restrictions internationals face.
In addition, because languages are in sharp decline (unfortunately) applying for a language+sth major -which would make total sense for the liceo youâre attending - is a huge boost to your application both for admission and for preferential packaging where that is practiced (like AU).
AU, GWU, CWRU are need aware so they may or may not work for OP financially.
However, having advantages (international curriculum with US citizenship, high grades, uncommon major combination as long as OP is willing to be strategic) could tilt things in OPs favor so I think itâs worth a try.
If OP is strategic applying to a language+X major, universities where you apply to the whole university and can freely explore and switch majors (such as LACs, CWRUâŠ) would be of particular benefit to her.
You do not need to take the SAT - Italian students are in a type of curriculum where their scores donât reflect their strengths because theyâre used to writing long essays or taking oral exams that are like grad school Comps in the US. Thatâs probably why standardized tests arenât really offered.
Your ECs arenât very competitive. Not sure what you could do though. Theyâre solid but not wow - that being said as a domestic applicant you donât need to be an Olympian to get into some of these colleges so the bar isnât the same, the activities either need some external distinction or to be more original. Additional issue, the hours you need to spend at school leave little time to do much more so youâd need to refocus one activity or find a way to amplify it.
Of course nothing is easy with universities that are highly selective or need aware but I?m sure OP knows sheâs not a shoo-in anywhere 
We need to know whether OP would be Pell eligible - hard to tell because the lowish income announced in the original post doesnât mesh with parents providing 30k a year - being able to pay 30k a year would place someone in the top 5-10% Italian salaries.
If OP is Pell eligible itâs an additional incentive for admission.
If not, NPCs are going to be crucial: Boston College for instance calculates need by placing a huge penalty on equity/owning a house, so OPâs houseâs value (or if her family rents).
(For American readers: OP is studying English and Italian at high, well post-AP level plus 2 foreign languages&cultures/literatures at AP level, and has level 2-3 in Latin on top of it. However math, physics, and natural sciences are only part of a Gen Ed curriculum at honors level.)
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Thank you for the more in-depth information. However, I would like to know more about the language + major strategy. What would that entail?
Edited to know if schools take into consideration my classes as AP/honors even if they donât exist in Italy.
You express interest in a double major or a an interdisciplinary major (if offered) with one of the languages youâre studying. You can even express interest in a minor in English or another of the languages or classics on top of it. That profile is very uncommon among competitive applicants.
Example of a combined major
Example of majors youâd have to indicate as double major with certificate
+
And add courses from one of these âprogramsâ
Plus special freshman opportunity for bilingual/trilingual students
https://www.middlebury.edu/rohatyn/rgs-program
https://www.middlebury.edu/rohatyn/rgs-program/rohatyn-global-scholars-2024-25
The advantage of a âwhole universityâ approach is that itâs expected youâll explore. So you can absolutely pivot from the majors you expressed interest in when you applied.
This is different from some universities which admit by college or by major so itâs hard to switch (ie., going from Steinhard to Stern would be highly unusual because there are barriers.)
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Your general curriculum would be indicated as honors on CommonApp and the languages& Philosophy would be marked as something (HL&SL, etc). Those would be understood as indicative only and in parallel rather to your guidance counselorâs school profile which would say "Courses in our liceo are equivalent to Honors for âŠ, AP level for âŠ, and post AP forâŠ
The biggest negative of applying as a citizen living abroad is that you will not be eligible for in-state tuition at any public university.
I feel confident that your transcript will be seen in the proper context â admissions officers are adept at handing different grading systems and see many candidates who attend HS overseas.
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Thatâs great! Thank you
As an aside, Fordham has two distinct campuses in NYC. In short, the Rose Hill campus is a traditional Gothic campus in the Bronx â near Arthur Avenue (restaurants, bars), the Bronx Botanical Gardens, etc. You can get to Manhattan from the Rose Hill campus by train, subway, or a school sponsored van. The Lincoln Center Campus is smaller (about a city block) and is located on the upper west side in Manhattan. You must to choose which campus you want to apply to so do your research ahead of time. Not all majors are available at both campuses.
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