College Admissions

[fencer90]

I am currently a junior and fence foil. I definitely want to fence in college; i am currently around 30 on the junior standings and i finished the cadet year in 10th. hopefully ill get some senior pts as well during the upcoming year.

I am definitely looking at all the ivy league schools as possiblities but my grades are slightly below average for them. I want to major in business and there aren't many top business schools in the northeast.

I know that the top business schools with fencing teams include UPenn (Wharton) and NYU (Stern). My grades basically match those of NYU but are below average for wharton.

I would like to fence at Penn and apply there early but I know how difficult wharton is. Do u think i should apply to NYU early or Penn?

[fencer90]

I want to know how much the coaches could help with the admissions. Michanik (Penn) and Mormando (NYU). My grades are low for wharton (top bus shcool in nation) but i want to know if my fencing could help enough and if it would be worth it to apply early there.

[HDG]

If you're in High School now, you won't be applying to business school until after you graduate from college, and you are unlikely to take a graduate or professional degree at the same place you did your undergrad work (hardly unheard of though).

For now, find the undergrad school (and fencing program) you think is the best fit; don't worry about Wharton or Stern until you're well along in your undergrad career. If you don't have the grades to get into one of the schools at which you hope to later do an MBA, or at which you'd like to fence, think about desirable schools in locations with strong fencing clubs.

[KD5MDK]

There are lots of places with good undergrad BSchools, too.

[fencer90]

Well at whichever undergrad school i attend i know i want to major in some business field (finance, actuarial, accounting) - something along those lines. The top schools among those (with fencing teams) include wharton and stern. And if i major in business as an undergraduate I'm not sure where i'd like to go. What other top bus programs are in the northeast (preferably with fencing teams)? Also, between wharton or stern which would u recommend applying early to? I defintiely want to go to Penn a lot but wharton is very difficult. I don't know if my fencing credentials are good enough to push me into wharton - i went to both of the cadet world cups this season and am around 30 on junior pts list.

[larkmaj]

I agree with HDG. Business school is a graduate school so you want to be looking at somewhat reputable schools with business related bachelor programs so that you'll look good when applying to business school. I haven't heard of any "business" undergrad degrees. You speak of Wharton, but are you aware that the only undergrad degree they offer is a BS in Econ?

You ask about influence of coaches. I had a friend who applied early decision to Cornell and was recruited by the crew coach. Didn't seem to help there, he was flat out rejected, not even deferred, and his grades were pretty respectable. So I wouldn't rely on the coach to get you in.

[fencer90]

So what schools (preferably with fencing teams) would u recommend for someone who in the future is looking to pursue business? It would be nice if you could rank them by academics. I know my list of schools with fencing teams includes UPenn, NYU (stern), Notre Dame (a little far since i'm from NY), Boston College, any others...

[IU_Epee]

An MBA is a master's degree, but just about every business school in the nation also has an undergraduate degree. Businessweek's rankings of undergrad business programs can be found at: http://bwnt.businessweek.com/bschool...te/06rankings/

Some of the top undergrad programs you haven't mentioned include Notre Dame (very strong varsity), Virginia (club team, I believe), Emory (no idea), U. Michigan (very strong club team), U.T. Austin (strong club team), and Indiana (strong club team).

[fencer90]

Yeah, I've looked at a lot of rankings and considering i live in NY, the top schools that are a reasonable driving distance away seem to be NYU and Penn so thats where my ques comes in. I know wharton is difficult. Noone has answered my real ques whihc is just between Penn and Stern which do u think i'd be better off applying early to. Obviously NYU would be eaiser to get into but i would much rather go to Penn (I've visited and liked it a lot). So even tho my grades are slightly lower than needed for Penn (I have 2100 SAT), would it be reasonable to apply there early - hopefully with support from Dave Micahnik, their head coach.

[rocky]

Send a letter and meet with Michanik. Almost all of the coaches will be very upfront and tell you whether they want to/and can get you in once they see your results and your numbers.

[fencer90]

Yeah...im retaking the SAT and still have SAT 2s to take so by the end of june and into july I'll fill out all the recruit forms and try to meet with Michanik. Im just trying to get a feel for if wharton is too big of a reach with my grades. He already recognizes me...but maybe ill attend the camp solely to meet with him...who knows

[FoilyDeath]

UPenn or Penn? Don't confuse them...as you were on the subject of Ivy's, I'm supposing you mean U.Penn. Very strong fencing, great undergrad school, and it will increase your chances of getting in their business school later. My suggestion? Go talk to the coach.
Also, there are a whole bunch of other good schools...NYU of course, but if your still looking at the Ivy's, don't completely forget Brown who has a very respectable varsity team(don't start me on this again:P), or any of the Boston area schools (BC, BU, or even Harvard/MIT if your feeling brave).
Also, when you say Wharton, do you actually means U.Penn business school? Or just U.Penn? I think you might be confusing things....

[fencer90]

Yeah I'm talking about UPenn, sorry i often just write Penn. Out of the Ivys taht have fencing..Harvard, Yale, UPenn, Brown, Princeton, and Stanford....Yale and Harvard are definitely super reach schools. Stanfords too far way. And i definitely like UPenn because i visited and it also is more business oriented than Brown.

I'll probably just visit Micahnik over the summer and see what feeling i get from him. And then i'll decide between applying early to UPenn or NYU

[Poulet]

don't completely forget Brown who has a very respectable varsity team(don't start me on this again:P)

I'm not trying to pick a fight or anything, but very respectable and having good team results are mutually exclusive in this case.

[fencer90]

FoilyDeath, when I say Wharton i am just saying that if i apply to UPenn i would be majoring in some business field. So as an undergraduate i would apply to the Wharton sect of UPenn.

[FoilyDeath]

Stanford isn't an Ivy:P
Also, just to point out your undergraduate degree isn't going to matter if its in business. Nobody gives a damn if you studied business as an undergrad, because everybody knows that you don't learn anything until grad school when it comes to business.
As long as you get into a good school and keep a good GPA, it really doesn't matter too much what you major in as long as it stays slightly scientific so you can go to a good business school later.

[fencer90]

I know all about the fencing teams and whos on each team for foil. Brown isn't too strong for foil and i know i would immediately be a starter. I am definitely leaning more towards UPenn, which is more business oriented.

[fencer90]

FoilyDeath, then what would u recommend if i want to go to UPenn...applying to a different part of the shcool and not Wharton? because i know wharton is much harder than the other sects of UPenn

[FoilyDeath]

As far as I know, applying to U.Penn for any B.Sc and keeping a decent GPA will get you into the business school with no trouble at all....I'm not exactly the person to ask about this stuff though, I didn't look into U.Penn when I applied, and I'm an international student at that. But yes, U.Penn has a very strong MF team. Contact the coach, and he can probably give you a better idea of if your grades are up to scratch.

[MyrddinsPrecint]

Whatever you do, don't make the mistake of being too specific.

VISIT. Talk to the coaches, try to visit a practice, talk to people who aren't fencers too. Keep in mind that if you had some sort of accident and couldn't fence (or discovered something else you love a lot too), you still have to live there and go to class. If you're not happy there independant of the fencing, you won't be happy there.

That said, I agree with everyone. Business is like Law--- You have some room to meander in your undergrad major, as long as you show you're smart and can work hard, (and you don't major in underwater basketweaving), you'll be okay.

A brand name college is nice to have-- But with more amazing applicants every year, the brand name college list is getting longer. Especially if you already have an idea of what general field you'd like to go into!

Shop around before you get locked into anything; I promise you if you get to a school where you can learn a lot of fencing, but you hate the coach, the team atmosphere, and the school, you'll end up hating both the school and fencing. I've watched it happen. It's not pretty.

I know a lot of people who have ended up at schools where they were easily better than everyone else on the team their first year, and academically and socially it was the right decision for them (no, guys, I'm not talking about me.... I'm just close to that statement....)

Check out the "similar threads" at the bottom of this page.


Also look at Div 1 schools that aren't Ivies, some of them are Damn good schools, and maybe a bit easier to get into.