What do you need to do to go to a uni such as Harvard or Oxford if your from AUS

[LastOfUs]

You're in Year 10 next year and you are already worrying about Ivy League schools? Woo.

All I know is that if you want to go to Oxford you need to get a 98.5+ which will give you an interview and then there'll only be a chance with no guarantee; they only accept people based on academic merit and not extra curricular activities etc. You also need to keep in mind that you will be an international student so unless your parents would be willing to fork out huge amounts of coin or you'd be willing to start an international drug ring and get quite wealthy before the end of year 12 it would be hard.

Just from pure research and interest on the topic, I think it would be a better idea to undertake an undergraduate domestically and do a masters and/or pHd at an Ivy league or Oxbridge uni as you'll know more about yourself and be more financially savvy.

[spectroscopy]

All I know is that if you want to go to Oxford you need to get a 98.5+ which will give you an interview

do you know that the 98.5+ guarantees the interview? or is it your report as well

[TrueTears]

Mark has pretty much explained the general application process, I'll give a bit of information on the finance/economics PhDs area...

US:
-Although quite a lot of science PhDs require GREs, most finance programs require the GMAT (some accept GREs, but GMAT is preferred).
-As far as funding goes, similar to what Mark has said: a combination of fellowship, TA, RA should provide enough financial support.
-Getting into the top ivy league programs is a bit of a hit and miss and do sometimes largely depend on luck. Finance programs are extremely competitive, to maximise your chances you should (at minimum) satisfy the following:
1. Strong academic achievements and very clear and direct research interest(s). You should have close to perfect academic grades and thorough research experience throughout your undergraduate studies. (The key here is research).
2. Another very important component is recommendation letters. A bit of 'politics' is often present here if you have "connections", goes a long way...
3. At least in finance, getting a few publications under your belt will REALLY strengthen your application (aim for top tier journals, JBF/JFE/JFQA etc), especially if you can co author with someone from the institution that you're applying to (preferably the person that you would want to supervise you for your PhD).
4. Close to perfect score on the GMAT.
5. Try to get accepted and attend as much prestigious finance conferences as possible, in the US (AFA/MFA) or EU (EFA/MFS).

Even given the above preqs you may still get rejected from top institutions simply to due to the sheer number of top tier applicants. Sometimes it comes down to luck whether you get the offer or not.

[TrueTears]

Research experience? So we should find casual jobs as research assistants or perhaps do a research project at Melbourne Uni for instance? I think Melbourne Uni offers those over the holidays.

The key is research, remember when you apply to a top tier institution for a PhD they are training you to essentially become academics. You should gather as much research experience as possible in your undergraduate studies. Apply to as much research scholarships as possible.

Also aiming for publications (collaborating with potential future supervisors) is very very important.

[Robert243]

Is it even more competitive for medicine ?

[thushan]

Is it even more competitive for medicine ?

For UK I don't know.

For US med is only grad entry.

And for US Ivy League...it's a crapshoot because there's barely anything separating the best applicants. It comes down sometimes to who reads your application. I got waitlisted at Princeton, rejected from Harvard, MIT and Yale.

[TrueTears]

Is it even more competitive for medicine ?

I have no idea for medicine sorry. But I'd imagine it to be just as competitive as any other field.

To put some numbers out... about 900-1000 finance applicants (remember, these aren't just random applicants, the majority of them are world best) apply every application period for the top institutions, typically 3-4 (at maximum, sometimes even less) get accepted. Simply being the best at what you do isn't going to cut it. Luck, connections, politics all play a big role in determining whether you're successful or not.

[spectroscopy]

didnt u of chicago or northwestern or something lose 700 applications and the entrance committee still had too many perfectly qualified applicants? its pretty hard to get accepted in the US apparently, i would think networking with your prospective supervisors and researching with them if you can would be the best way to stand out from the crowd

[TrueTears]

Actually in the late 1970's UChicago lost all of their 500-600 or so papers for their PhD finance entry exam (the examiner's suitcase got stolen at the airport which contained all the papers). So what did they do? They randomized and picked 5 people out of the total pool...

[Robert243]

For UK I don't know.

For US med is only grad entry.

And for US Ivy League...it's a crapshoot because there's barely anything separating the best applicants. It comes down sometimes to who reads your application. I got waitlisted at Princeton, rejected from Harvard, MIT and Yale.

they didn't take you in even thought you got a 99.95 and had all those chem awards . And true tears , if I may ask what did you for them to accept you .

[TrueTears]

And true tears , if I may ask what did you for them to accept you .

Pretty much the things I listed earlier. However I think a few important points were:

1. One of my recommendation letters is written by the only Australian finance professor in the states (it also helps that he graduated from Monash and is extremely close with my supervisor at Monash, they work together on a lot of papers and hence why I also tend to get involved in their research lol), and he is also quite a prominent figure in the finance academic circle (especially in the states). I also co authored with him in a paper of mine.
2. I have a few forthcoming papers in A* journals.
3. I also have a few working papers with some finance academics that I met at top US finance conferences.

But I think luck played a huge role, there are much better candidates out there than me lol

[Robert243]

Pretty much the things I listed earlier. However I think a few important points were:

1. One of my recommendation letters is written by the only Australian finance professor in the states (it also helps that he graduated from Monash and is extremely close with my supervisor at Monash, they work together on a lot of papers and hence why I also tend to get involved in their research lol), and he is also quite a prominent figure in the finance academic circle (especially in the states). I also co authored with him in a paper of mine.
2. I have a few forthcoming papers in A* journals.
3. I also have a few working papers with some finance academics that I met at top US finance conferences.

But I think luck played a huge role, there are much better candidates out there than me lol

Good luck man .

[Robert243]

Haha thanks Florian K , just another question , but can i get admitted into a US or UK prestigious uni  if i give them a good amount of money . I'm not really that wealthy , but im just curious if i could .

[spectroscopy]

can i get admitted into a US or UK prestigious uni  if i give them a good amount of money . I'm not really that wealthy , but im just curious if i could .

not for ivies, no. Schools like the ivies have an absolutely insane amount of money. to put some numbers on it, harvard has an endowment of 30 billion dollars, compared to melbourne unis 1.2 billion,  they would not risk a scandal over any small amount of money.  you would have to donate tens/hundreds of millions of dollars to build a library for them to let you in

[appianway]

lol I did get into Harvard back in the day for undergrad, so if anyone has questions about applying to Harvard /Princeton/Yale, feel free to message me.