I am a rising sophomore in high school with interest in pursuing a career in IB or PE. Any feedback on my plan or chances would be appreciated.
SAT Score from 8th Grade:
1830
Math - 720
Reading - 590
Writing - 520
Unweighted GPA - 4.0
Weighted GPA - 4.625
Currently signed up for:
AP Stat
AP Calc AB
AP Calc BC
AP Human Geography
Honors English II
Honors Chemistry
Latin I
Latin II
Currently Plan to go to UNC-Chapel Hill and attempt a dual degree/major program along with business school:
- 5 year BS Mathematical Decision Sciences / MS Operations Research
-Kenan Flagler BS Business with a concentration in corporate finance
Any thoughts on whether the MS in OR is the way to go?
Any input is appreciated, and thanks for reading.
Is this a serious post? If you're taking the equivalent of through calc 2 in 10th grade then go be a fucking nobel physicist. If all you want to do is make money in IB or PE then just get into an ivy and study economics/finance/whatever. Get a good GPA and don't be a dumbass in interviews and you'll be able to get an analyst gig. It's 100% up to you from there.
Don't go to UNC, retake the SAT next year, go to a top 10 university.
Yea, serious post. I've always loved math and finance, and have been investing for 2 years now, averaging 27% annualized returns. Any thoughts on how my weaker reading and writing skills will affect my chances at an Ivy League such as Wharton?
You're only a sophomore. Do a shitton of reading professional documents (business magazines, WSJ, etc) and practice grammar/vocab questions to get your verbal scores up. Shouldn't be hard to easily crack 650 in each. You should have no problem getting an 800 in math. Pass all your AP's and do well on SAT II's and you can write your ticket wherever, especially if you're not a white male.
27% annualized returns over the past two years is OK, but I got 33% in my 401(k) without touching it. I wouldn't brag too much about that.
You're sweating this too much right now man. Makes me question whether I would even want to sit in an office next to you. Enjoy life man.
Also, take the PSAT and see if you can get a national merit recognition. Shouldn't be too hard if you bone up on your verbal and take your time on the math.
I am also considering going to Wharton and completing a double concentration in Actuarial Science and Finance. Thoughts??
First of all relax. Second if you want PE/IB just go for the highest rated target school you can get into. Don't even worry about post-college or major till you're into a college that you want to go to and will enjoy being at.
Am I correct in understanding that the Ivy Leauges do not offer academic scholarships?
Also, what are the views on early graduation from high school
My thought is don't.
Double majors aren't worth it. Twice the effort, marginal at best returns, only a good idea when you have a "passion" major paired with something that will be useful.
My dad really wants me to have the actuarial as a fall back, industry unemployment rate is
Is your dad an actuary?
My dad was/is a CPA, and while he did very well for himself (made it into the CFO spot in ~10 years), he also encouraged me to take the same path because of the low-risk fallback option. The thing is, now I'm doing everything I can to get OUT of accounting. I went to a state school instead of an ivy even though I had a 1500 SAT and 10 AP classes, and now I'm stuck at Big 4 in audit transferring into TAS just so I can hopefully lateral into IB or get into an M7.
Take the advice from someone ~10 years ahead of you, don't fall into some bullshit career beneath your capabilities because of what other people tell you. Reach for the top. You can always fall back down into something like actuarial. It's not going anywhere.
Your dad is not going to be living your life, so unless you have a burning desire to be an actuary, don't do it.
I have had thoughts of being an actuary in the past, but feel as if I would be better in PE. Would the actuarial major and tests help show my analytical skills.
Actuarial is boring as hell really. Go to a top ivy and you can write you own ticket, you wont be worried about unemployment.
By the end of this year, I will have exhausted the math classes at my high school. I am able to take classes at NC State via Dual Enrollment, Any suggestion of what math/finance classes to take my junior and senior years of high school?
None. You don't need higher math and there's no point in taking finance classes early. You can teach yourself IRR and NPV modeling in a couple afternoons if you really, really want to get a headstart.
Ive been practicing for SAT and will probably retake this year, also I have a good school / life balance, I spend 10+ hours a weekend boating, and the majority of my time is spent with friends and family. I probably spend about 30 minutes a day outside of school working on HW and studying. Main reason I am on the forums today is because I am sick and have nothing better to do.
Are there any specific classes I should take at the HS or should I just take electives, because right now my senior year is looking pretty empty.
Not really. Take some AP's you might be interested in. The history ones will make you look smart. AP Lit is great too. You can completely skip out of english in college. I took a keyboarding (piano) elective my senior year for first period and it was awesome.
Thanks for all your great input, really opened up my thoughts. +1 Silver Banana
No, My dad is an electrical engineer, currently a director of R&D, he is just overly conservative.
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