My son is a junior with an ACT of 27 and 3.7 unweighted average. He has taken the SATs and the ACTs twice and scores in the same range repeatedly so I am not expecting a big score jump in the fall. He’s at a top (name brand) private school and taking the most rigorous curriculum. He wants a school with an accounting/finance major available though definitely not sure he’ll end up with that as his major. His primarily extracurricular is a varsity sport/travel, but he won’t be good enough to play in college. He has a very warm, easy going personality and is extremely social so he will probably thrive wherever he is planted, but we have to find some more matches and safeties to visit over the summer. He absolutely loves skiing, but it’s not a factor in where he goes. Finances are not a consideration.
Before we had any test scores to work with we visited the following: UVA, University of Denver, UC Boulder, Tulane, Wake Forest, Elon, Virginia Tech, Colorado College, Bucknell. UVA, Tulane and U. Denver are his favorites, with Tulane being by far his very favorite. He definitely will not be applying to Virginia Tech or Colorado College. I don’t consider UVA to be in the realm of reality and Tulane is very reachy. He likes the rest on the list. Not a huge fan of Boulder, but it is his safety for the moment.
This summer I think we need to focus on expanding the safeties and matches . . .my list tentatively to visit includes American, Babson, Bentley, Bryant, BU, Syracuse, University of Vermont and Lehigh. He may apply to UC, Santa Barbara, but I am not going to take him for visit there unless he gets in.
Does anyone have any thoughts of schools I might be missing that he might love? I think the things Tulane and Denver have in common is the fact that they both are medium sized, in great cities, and yet still have campuses.
Any other ideas for us to visit in the match/safety category?
How about Fordham? Mid sized, urban campus but very expensive (high room and board in NYC). Loyola MD has strong business school but is a bit smaller. Both are Jesuit schools in case that is a factor.
Would your son also be interested in schools in college towns? That would increase the number of possibilities
-Loyola Marymount University (Los Angeles. Jesuit although my secular Jewish brother will attend)
-American University (Washington DC)
-University of Maryland - Baltimore County
-Chapman University (in the LA metro area. Orange, CA to be exact. Not an exciting city, but easy access to the full amenities that LA, OC, and San Diego offer)
-College of Charleston (Charleston, SC. Popular suggestion for students attracted to Tulane)
-Duquesne University (Pittsburgh, not sure about the campus and is a true Catholic school).
-Fordham University (NYC. Probably a reach, and Jesuit)
-Marquette University (Milwaukee, WI and Jesuit)
-University of Portland (suburb of Portland. Catholic although only 44% of the student body identify as such)
-University of San Diego (Catholic, but a school I recommended to my brother)
I definitely think schools with a great college town would work (hence Vermont being on the list).
We are also secular Jews and honestly my son is atheist, so I’m thinking the Catholic options might not work. UMBC is an awesome school, but a bit too close to home. But College of Charleston was not on my list, and that sounds like a great suggestion to investigate! I will definitely check that one out.
Thank you LuckyCharms for your ideas too. I’m definitely hesitant on the idea of a Jesuit school because my son is atheist, but since two people are suggesting Fordham, I may check it out just in case it might work. I do like the locale and have heard a lot of good things about it. Thank you very much for chiming in!
Loyola MD is a great school, but definitely a little too close to home. I don’t want the commute to our house to be under two hours frankly.
Since you plan to be near Lehigh it makes sense to visit Lafayette and Muhlenberg.
I would also suggest Holy Cross because it is test optional and has an excellent program combining economics, finance and accounting. If you go, then it would make sense to visit Clark.
Given your son’s stats pursuing a business major will lead him to less competitive and less prestigious schools because of the popularity of these programs.
I would also suggest TCNJ, which is highly selective and has the third best business school in the NY area behind Columbia and NYU. His stats are in range.
Your list is otherwise good. Bucknell may be the choice for ED because he has a good shot.
If you have never been to Burlington, Vermont you may walk away putting UVM near the top of the list.
Your son sounds a lot like my daughter. Stats are similar and she is also in love with Tulane. We visited American in DC over April vacation and she loved that also. She liked College of Charleston but I worry about the quality of academics. We have also toured Pitt and I think she is still considering it though the size is bigger than she wanted. She liked Elon though would prefer a more urban setting. The two that we saw that are definitely off her list are U. of Richmond - too preppy for her, and Virginia Tech - too rural.
She is also thinking about Fordham. We plan to tour in the fall. I am also planning to have her see Manhattan College while we are there. Its close by and stats make it more of a safety.
I am also encouraging her to look at Loyola New Orleans. Its still in NO, which she loves, and it gives out merit money, even to people with stats in her range. You might want to check that out.
You may also want to consider Trinity University in San Antonio, TX. Despite the name it is a largely secular campus. The school states that the mission of the chaplaincy is “to lead those who follow Christ, to support those of every faith, and to serve all who call Trinity home”. Truly Christian schools will not include the latter two clauses in their religious mission statements. Unfortunately Jewish life is quite limited on campus.
Rollins College in Winter Park, FL could be another option. It lacks an accounting program but does have a decent finance option as well as a host of other business and non business majors. Winter Park is a suburb of Orlando.
OP, your son has very good grades and you said the high school is rigorous. There is a disparity between his ACT score and his grades. However a 27 is the 88th percentile, so its not anywhere near terrible, quite the contrary.
You need to compile a list of test optional schools that will drill down on the other aspects of your son’s application.
Based on some of the suggestions, it would be much better if he went to some of the prestigious test optional schools like Union, Holy Cross, Trinity, Connecticut College, Dickinson, Gettysburg, St. Lawrence, etc. Wake Forest is test optional. Lafayette is known for being test light and he has an excellent shot there.
If he isn’t sure he wants business, I don’t think I’d look at Bentley and Babson as they are business schools.
My S went to Fordham and loved it. There are many non-Catholics there who were happy and comfortable but your S would have to take 2 philosophy and 2 theology classes and there are religious symbols on campus so he’d have to be OK with that at Fordham or (I’d guess) any other Jesuit schools. The Jesuits are educators and want everyone to be comfortable on campus.
Perhaps a school like Marist or Quinnipiac could work as more of a safety.
Many of the LACs mentioned above don’t have business undergrad majors. Muhlenberg may work as it has business.
My D is at Lafayette and I don’t think the school is “test light”. In fact of the group of schools my D strongly considered it was the only one that was not test-optional. Lafayette is a great school for my D but it does not have a business school.
The LACs I mentioned do not have business majors but Economics is a suitable alternative. Going down market for the sake of a popular major has short-term as well as long-term career implications. It’s much better to graduate from a prestigious school than a good program at an average school, or be faced with a situation where you want to change your major.
I have personal experience with Lafayette and tests are a smaller part of the admissions process, besides 60% of last years class scored a 24 - 29. This student will probably get accepted.
Thank you so much, @BatesParent2019 , for your helpful suggestions and insights. I have a feeling my son might like UVM too between Burlington and the skiing! I just wish it was a bit easier to get to it from here. We do have direct flights from DC, but of course I live closer to Baltimore’s airport.
I have visited Lafayette and think it is a lovely school, but didn’t recall them having accounting. I will double check! That’s a very good idea because I think he’d have a shot of acceptance there. I appreciate your other suggestions as well and will certainly check those out!
You hit the nail on the head on the disparity between my son’s academic achievements and his test scores. He works hard at school, but is in the 4th quintile on test scores even though I believe he is in the bottom of the first quintile or top of the second in academic achievement. It makes it hard to know exactly where to aim with the colleges because I’m not sure how they will view this disparity, but I agree that test optional would really be a benefit. I just want there to be accounting and not just a business management major or finance only major . . .although honestly, I’m betting he ends up with a career in sales.
@me29034, oh we will have to stay in touch. You are getting me enthused about American! Interestingly, Richmond was on my list, but when his test scores didn’t seem to budge, well it had me second guessing that as an option. My son felt the same about Virginia Tech as your daughter. I might take him to see Charleston since a couple of people have mentioned it - - although I would have the same academic concerns. However, with accounting, I’m not sure how much it would really matter . . .so long as he could pass the CPA exam. It might be a good safety option for him. I’m hoping he gets into one of the better academic choices.
My son liked Elon, but yes, would prefer more urban. I LOVED Elon for him . . .that has been one of the most student centric schools I’ve visited so far (and this is my second son). Wake has Winston-Salem, but I didn’t really love that city.
Please keep me posted on your visits and what your D likes and doesn’t like! I will do the same and let you know if I find any gems.
@happy1, I really appreciate the specific insights on the schools with which you are familiar. I definitely think my son wants business, but I was hoping there might be a liberal arts component in case he changes his mind. In his mind, he wants finance/accounting. But I see he has an interest in history and in science as well so was hoping he might be at a place that has those available. He also studies Arabic in high school and would like to continue, but that’s so hard to find that we aren’t making it a criteria.
I agree a lot of the LACs really don’t have what we are seeking - - hence why we have tended toward slightly larger schools with more offerings. Bentley seems to have a mix while being strong in business. Babson might be not ideal.
I think Fordham is sounding too religious although so great in the other respects. I think studying philosophy is outstanding so would encourage that for any student, but theology classes might be an issue for my student.
We did visit Lafayette with my older son, and he applied and got accepted (ended up at Bucknell). We really liked what they had to offer, but I didn’t recall a business program. I’ll be sure to check all the suggestions to be sure that they have a business program and that it includes accounting (some do not), but appreciate the tip on Muhlenberg.
Thanks so much everyone for chiming in with great food for thought! I really appreciate the many suggestions and the great insights on what might and might not work and why. Super helpful!