Undergrad transfer question
Hi guys, I've just joined the website, but I've been lurking for awhile now. I was wondering if I could receive some input on some things that I have been thinking about as a I prepare to enter college next year.
I didn't try hard enough in high school and ended up with a 2.98 GPA (sad, i know). I got a 31 on my ACTs with English: 36 and Math: 34. The best school that I got accepted at is American University and I'm enrolled there as a Business major planning to double major in Finance and Computational Science. Also WL at Northeastern, but I'm not expecting to get in there so I'll rule that out for now.
I've been seriously turning around my study habits this year to prepare for college since something clicked last summer that got me motivated and spurred my interest in finance. I've managed to get almost all 5/6 A's which you can imagine is a lot different than my previous grades... Also I've taken 7 AP's total and 3 of them this year.
Anyway, sorry for the novel of a background. Here's my big question: with the larger goal of working on wall street as possibly and FO quant or something with S&T, should I focus my efforts right now on bolstering my resume so that I can transfer to a better school (UPenn, NYU, Northwestern, etc.), or should I ride it out at American hopefully getting a 3.85+ GPA and then go work for a couple years before applying to a better grad school.
Any input is appreciated :) thanks for the help.
Are you a HS senior right now?
Yes
Sorry for the delay there.
bump
At the risk of alienating this entire board, I would say that planing the next 9+ years of your life (including b-school) JUST to get into banking is a little crazy. Think about other options. But even if just for the exercise - your best-case options:
1) Crush at AU, 3.85+, bust your ass starting now to build a network and get your resume actually looked at, do a PWM or maybe a no-name IB internship freshman summer (hell, try to do it this summer), similar (ideally better) soph summer, and then land a BB SA gig and convert for an offer. Having absolutely top drawer grades is essential.
2) Crush at AU, 3.85+, and transfer into whatever target program you can. If you wanna go Ivy, you're going to need a 4.0 and some luck. The undergrad biz program at UT strikes me as having outsize potential; it gets a lot of play relative to how competitive it is to enter. That said, I have no info on what the transfer admit rates are like. Again, killer grades are essential.
3) Do really well at AU, 3.7+, transferring if you choose to/can, and get a job that will get you into b-school. A job at a legit/promising start-up (network with VCs), an F500 rotational, or something else along these lines would be great. Go to an M7 b-school, leverage your network, and go the Summer Associate + offer track.
All of these routes require outstanding grades, and all require diligent, ongoing networking. You will have to be a machine for several years. If you're up to it, awesome - even if you don't end up in banking, you'll develop the kind of work ethic and reliability that translates into a great reputation and will take you places anywhere. But be aware of what's ahead of you.
Thanks a lot for the input Sandhurst, I think that all of your options make sense. I believe that I am capable of managing top notch grades while networking when I go away to school. I just hope that I'm not being the stereotypical overly-ambitious pre-college student that doesn't know what he's getting into. I used this year as kind of a tool to gauge how successful I can be if I actually try, and it was really hard to develop study skills that are pertinent to the amount of work that actually needs to be done to do well. That being said, I think that now I am able to do the work necessary.
I hadn't even considered an internship this summer, but that is something that I will look into ASAP. Hopefully I'm not too late to apply for some. If only I had motivation in the past /sigh.
Motivation is forward looking - don't dwell on the past.
You're not going to be able to swing anything for this summer by applying. You're going to have to pound pavement, pick up the phone, and make something happen. If your family uses a wealth manager, or anyone else you know does, this is a great way to get considered for a job. Unpaid PWM gigs abound, they just may not be advertised. As with all networking, everyone you know should know that you're looking for something in banking/finance - they can become dozens of sets of eyes and ears aiding your search. Don't be afraid to pick up the phone and just call people as well - often, shear persistence is all that separates you from getting someone to actually pay attention.
Do well at American 3.7+ and apply to all of the top 25 US News schools, one of them will take you.
Thanks Michael Scarn, sounds like a plan.
Appreciate the advice, thanks again. I have an uncle that I talked to today who said he'll look and see if he can find something. He works in PE which is not what I want to do, but I'm sure can't hurt.
OP, I'm in kind of the same situation as you. I'm a freshman at U of South Carolina now and I'm trying to transfer to some top schools. I am currently waiting to hear back from them now. Georgetown, Cornell, Vanderbilt, and UVA are some great schools that are very transfer friendly as far as admission rates go. You could also retake your ACT or SAT like I did, which will help you get admitted if you get a much better score.
Well I just managed to get off the waitlist at Northeastern somehow, so it looks like I will be attending NEU instead of AU. I think NEU is much more reputable, so I feel a lot better about my situation now.
That's great. Don't rule out any other options, or rest on your laurels.
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