Hey guys, I would appreciate any advice. I am supposed to be a high school senior but graduated early at 16, so I’m currently taking a gap year. I am interested in finance but am unsure where my stats match up and where I should go. My current list of colleges is as follows. The stats are below the list.
University of Michigan
University of Pennsylvania
Harvard University
Yale University
Princeton
Villanova
University of Miami (IMO Top School, but I don’t know if they can get me into IB)
University of Florida
Cornell
Columbia
UT-Austin
Northwestern
UChicago
Southern California
UCLA
SMU
Vanderbilt
Penn State
Wisconsin
North Carolina
Georgetown University
University of Notre Dame
Indiana University - Kelley Stats
1570 SAT - 800 Math, 770 EBRW
3.85 UW GPA
4.40 W GPA
I graduated at 16, 2 years ahead of my peers; I am unsure if that means anything to these schools.
Very Strong ECs (why my grades slipped): Ran multiple businesses since I was 14, worked for businesses being the top sales closer there, nationally ranked athlete + recruited. All of my ECs are a big business and leadership spike.
Where do I stand in relation to these schools? My top 3 are UMiami, Penn, and Michigan, and I am unsure if I can get into Penn ED with my GPA being a 3.85 UW. I’m hoping my excessive ECs for business can help this.
I currently have offers to small D3 LACs, (Colby, Babson, Hamilton, etc). I’m trying to get one to an Ivy, especially UPenn. Personally I would much rather not play my sport to go to one of my top schools then to go to a small school that I wouldn’t see myself at.
Some of your schools don’t have a finance major. Of course many in your field of interest likely have neither a finance or Econ major.
There are kids in investment backing from many schools. Obviously not at the quantity of some schools but they still in. Schools like Va Tech, Houston and more - at least according to what their grads are posting on LinkedIn.
Arizona State has IBIS and just appeared low on a target list someone recently posted. Link below. They show a solid array of firms they’ve placed at.
According to Peak, who posts these target lists, U Miami is 54.
U Miami grads on linked show BNP Paribas, Jefferies and more.
How kids got these jobs I don’t know but ask the schools for a source of how they obtained employment.
If you have interest in a school, pursue the interest. If you want at least an opportunity bad enough, you’ll hopefully find a way.
As for whether your list works - I don’t know. But I’d shrink it. Obviously IU is a safety for Kelley Direct Admit - assuming the two year graduation doesn’t change that dynamic. I’d check into that.
But is it the right school for you ? It’s large. Very large.
So look not just at placements but 1. Where you can afford. 2. Where you can excel meaning the environment fits you right as you’d be there for four years, day after day.
I can’t chance you as we don’t know your EC details/accomplishments, nor can we see you whole app, including LoRs.
For recruiting, I expect those offers have deadlines. If you don’t intend on accepting a given offer, please let the coach know so they can move on.
IU Kelley will be a safety for you (assuming it’s affordable) because you meet the direct admit criteria. If you like that school and would be happy to attend, you may be able to cut down on your apps and not apply anywhere that you wouldn’t choose over IU.
Someone else can correct me if I’m wrong but my impression was that Hamilton had a strong IB pipeline (no business major; I think pre-finance types major in math or econ).
They don’t appear on these Peak Target lists. But kids list IB Analyst jobs on linked - Wells Fargo and Scotia Bank popped right up.
I’m guessing OP developed the school list from a target school list, similar to one linked below. Don’t know - just assuming - as many do. I just hope OP remembers, it’ll be tough from any school. And we don’t know what the economy/markets will look like in four years.
Likely because the school is small, so the absolute numbers going to banking or IB is also relatively small. Suffice to say there are many Hamilton grads on Wall Street, in a variety of jobs.
IB is a field where, for better or worse, it does seem to matter quite a bit whether your school is well-connected. There’s a lot of “It doesn’t matter where you go, just what you do when you get there” advice on CC, and in many cases it’s true, but for certain kinds of business careers you’re better off listening to people who really know the specific terrain vs. generalizing from other experiences or browsing LinkedIn.
Babson is an interesting option, because it’s so strong for entrepreneurship, and seems like potentially a fantastic educational experience for someone with your interests. But I’m not clear on paths from there to IB. There are clearly efforts being made to make those connections (Student-Run Investment Banking Program Fuels Success) but you’d want to do a deep dive into how that’s working out.
It doesn’t sound as if the smaller-school environment appeals to you, though, and you’re only looking at those because of D3 recruiting. You could look into larger D3’s with business schools, like WashU and Emory… I don’t know that these make the “feeder” cut but then again, does UMiami? You have UChicago on your list, which is also D3 - any athletic potential for you there?
I agree that IU-Kelley sets a good baseline - if you’re direct-admit there, no need to apply anywhere you wouldn’t choose over IU.
I am currently in communication with UChicago, trying to get an offer there, as well as WashU and Emory. UChicago, I can definitely play there; they just need to see me one more time this fall.
Regarding my gap year, I’m doing very well. I’ve worked primarily in a real estate investing company, generating over $500,000 profit in closed contracts within the past six months. I also had a prior venture with another company, where I managed to bring in 25% of the sales in a company of 50 people.
I’ve also played my sport on the national level, being ranked nationally and traveling around the country. Injuries have held me down here and there which is why the offers are still coming in.
OP would give up the sport for one of their most-preferred top schools. That’s not the same as not wanting to play. I think it’s clear if you read the whole sentence.
And OP, I think it’s smart. What if you choose a less-preferred school for the sake of sports, and then get injured again and can’t play? If you can go someplace that checks all the boxes - play your sport and get the education that best serves your career goals - that’s wonderful. But you’re wise not to make too many compromises for your sport. (That’s not to say that I think the schools that are recruiting you are, by definition, compromises. But your criteria are your criteria, and if a school doesn’t meet them, it’s a compromise for you.)