How hard is it to get in an Ivy for econ?
I am a prospective high school student aiming for finance. My reason for creating this post is hearing different shocking stories
Here are two:
1) Uber-smart Indian nerd with 4.83, 1600, 36, IBO/IMO competitor, USACO gold competitor, managing editor of high school newspaper, Key Club president, etc.... gets denied from all the Ivies
2) Dumbass cousin with 3.6 WEIGHTED, 35, almost no extracurriculars, sh*tty essays, gets in UT. My dad even told me he could only get in UT b/c he was applying for CS (competitor major), could have gotten MIT/CMU if applying for something else like mechanical engineering/materials science
My question is - how hard really is it to get in an Ivy? I am a freshman anxious to get in a good school (preferably Ivy, or my dream school, UChicago).
Here is some basic stats -
Cumulative GPA (1 semester so far) - 3.83
Staff writer in student newspaper
USACO silver competitor
USABO semifinalist
132 on AMC 10B (Made AIME)
Participant in Model UN, debate (parliament), Mock Trial
Accepted to University of California COSMOS summer camp (prestigious STEM camp)
Test scores so far -
5 on AP music theory
5 on AP microeconomics
800 on SAT II Biology
1580 on SAT
Legacy at Chicago (Booth)
Given this information, and assuming I keep going down this path, how likely would it be to get in an Ivy? Excited to hear back from some alumni...
Thanks!
fag
Think you missed a click/tap and ended up here instead of collegeconfidential
You're a freshman in HS and you've taken AP classes and the SAT?
Though it might seem strange to you prep school (or average high school kids), I go to an ultra-competitive public high school in Silicon Valley populated by children of Asian immigrant engineer families who have very high expectations. Anything less than a 3.8 at this school and you'll be the laughing stock for other students and end up as a physchology major at UC irvine.
I died, +1
Cali high schools are very academically difficult.
Monta Vista?
Congrats on your quest to be a virgin until 32. I'm going to assume you're Indian, so thank Vishnu for arranged marriages or else I'm sure you'd die an incel.
I was wondering the same thing. Looking to transfer to HYP Me: 2.6 high school GPA 1450/2100 SAT White, but member of the tribe (Jewish) Currently attend nationally ranked CC (community college) (3.14 GPA) Interned at prestigious PWM shop pushing penny stocks
Kid you're fucking insane
bump... does anyone have real constructive advice? Not just the "enjoy high school you'll be fine" but real measures I can take to ensure my success. Thanks.
Get better than a 3.8 GPA in highschool. I know people who aren't wildly intelligent with 4.3+ GPAs. Especially if your 3.8 includes two AP classes - that means you were shit at others.
Attempt to develop a social life. There are tons of over accomplished nerds out there. Be as smart as you are and act like a normal person and you'll be far more successful.
1) Forgot to clarify - I'm only taking 6 classes this year, all non-honors/AP (freshman can't take APs at my school); those two AP tests were self-studied and taken separately. Still, I am aiming for all As this semester.
2) Great point, I will start increasing my networking efforts, joining more clubs/meeting more teachers
Thanks for the advice!
OP, lots of these prestigious institutions get applicants from students 4.0/4.0 with 10 AP courses, 1600 SAT scores, meaningless clubs and extracurrics, etc. You sound like you can hit those criteria. Do you have a hook (other than legacy at UChicago) such as being URM or uber-wealthy parents? That'll definitely help your chances in todays college admissions.
I don't think this would boost your chances by strategically picking your major (really depends on the school) but Humanities/Social Science majors at Ivy leagues still end up getting into banking because of their ugrad pedigree. Just how I see it
One of the more in-depth giga-virgin LARP trolls I’ve seen on this forum. 9.2/10 for the effort.
COSMOs isn't hard to get into -- my cousin who managed to get into zero UCs other than UCR or UCM did COSMOs as a freshman in high school.
The standards for out of state applicants is different as long as they can pay $$ even for the top state schools.
Please go to College Confidential now.
It's a lot harder now; I know some really brilliant students with a ton of math/science awards who got rejected
Look, you live in the bubble of the Bay Area and I suspect go to the same South Bay high school as my cousin. Chill out and focus on some personal development -- people in finance have EQ and IQ.
The other cousin who barely graduated a few years back from said high school seems to be doing just fine, in fact, working at Google after bombing high school there and going to a "mediocre college". Anyway, peace out.
You're falling into the trap of focusing too much on scores and not enough on substance. Once you've hit a certain academic performance threshold, everyone is in the same bunch. And at that point, college apps become all about who you are as a person. Write a killer essay and have 1 extra curricular that truly sets you apart. It's better to have a single EC that is truly at the college level than 5 that just fall short.
I agree. If your EC is that you're a HS Senior Varsity Football Quarterback playing at the College level, you win my vote.
Lol you're a nightmare kid.
Assuming ur not a troll, I know what kind of guy you are - ALL those bay area public HS kids are absolute absolute garbage human beings. It's not even your guys' fault but more so your parents (Asian engineers, as you said), the faceless vanilla liberal UC system, and the arrogance of Silicon Valley beta male icons that Asians find comfort in. Suddenly dressing like shit and talking fast and knowing code is cool and that makes you all kill eachother for positions at Google lol
Sadly, you should perhaps realize your Indianness probably is the reason you were Ivy-rejected. I'm an insider through a friend of mine and I know for a FACT there's an effort to keep indians and chinese kids out unless they're so qualified that they'll come together and sue over discrimination lol
FYI I'm white/spanish and from NY but 2 of my best friends are from your area, one went to Mission San Jose in Fremont and he damn near killed himself.
As for advice, yes stop sounding like a fag seriously. All this obsession over grades makes people puke and takes away from your actual character. Wherever you go UG, network your ass off, make trips to NY, network your ass off, get good grades, oh, and network your ass off.
But heed my words: don't network until you shave off the Silicon Valley HS mindset....I mean it. My buddies from there both literally could not find jobs after college because they both had such shitty people skills and were too arrogant for some lower jobs.
Aren't the 4.0 students who are beta males as you describe the ones who end up getting the high paying jobs at prestigious companies out of college? Idk where "street/people smarts" end up.
They end up employing these book smart kids
Ivies are a crapshoot for everyone, no matter how good your stats and awards are. Ivies are also especially focused on admitting people who have diverse interests and demonstrate passion for their major. You seem like to be just another one of those grindy Bay Area Asians/indians. Setting yourself apart will help, but even with your impressive stats your chances will still be low.
.
Hi City 491,
The key to getting into iveys is to be a “spike” in one subject/area, ans not be “well rounded”. There are thousands of students who apply with perfect sat, gpa, APs, varsity sport, music. Gpa is important but significantly less so than your “story”. The secret formulae -> Pick one area and focus all extracurricular into that area (or be able to easily relate them to that area).
For example, one person I know that got into Stanford- application focus was being a “communicator”. His extra curriculars- made a short movie that was shown at a film festival, debate team, was a presenter/interviewer for panels for a few large events. All his extracurriculars point to him being able to communicate his ideas.
Additionally, do anything you can to not fit in your stereotype. How many Asians apply with perfect grades and super good at one instrument. Thousands... how many Asians are the national puppet champion of their country? Very few. In the same way, females should over-index on stem because it is an area still dominated by males.
Applications can be gamed. Create a plan with your parents and counselor.
This kid is a senior in high school now and Ivy day is tmr lol. He honestly should have a decent chance according to his post history he's already gotten accepted at MIT and Uchicago
He said he’s a freshman...
I see nothing about your profile that's unique and you're a ORM, you're probably gonna get rejected from all of them in reality
What area in finance? Are you just aiming for IB?
Remember to keep your expectations in line, the work in IB at the junior level isn't gonna be fun or "interesting". Mainly just working in Excel and formatting Powerpoint slides. I'm gonna give you the benefit of the doubt that you aren't just another day trader high school kid who's interested in stocks and thinks IB is about stock trading or going on CNBC and talking about the latest M&A deal you pulled off.
This kid knew about WSO since his freshman year of high school. I found out about it after I got into college...
kids built different these days
Soon kids will be signing their junior internship offers senior year of hs lol
Lets be honest guys, this was the type of kid that if you saw him getting shoved into a locker and bullied, you either A. Walk away and laugh or B. Pull out your phone and record and hope Worldstar answers your DMs.
Hahaha def B. What high school freshman takes the sat, sat subject test, and 2 ap tests without even taking the class yet. What happened to engaging in typical freshman debauchery
You're only USACO silver? That'll be an ugly stain on your resume. If you want any semblance of respect from AO's, you need to get to USACO plat by freshman year.
Update for the haters: In at 4/8, including one HYP!
Lets goooooo grats. So one of HYP, uchicago, and MIT? which other ivies tho. Also u have to admit u were kind of asking to be memed when u posted that as a freshman
Can you PM me advice pls
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