So I know St Louis University has a whole department for International Business. I am not sure about merit aid, but definitely seems worth looking into.
Tulane has a cool dual degree program in international studies and business, but even more so I am not sure what cost of attendance would be there.
South Carolina again seems like a very obvious choice.
I note to my knowledge, Alabama and Auburn do not have significant International Business programs. Good for business generally, though, so I am not sure how much that is a specific interest.
In addition to South Carolina as mentioned above, Tennessee offers a Finance major with International Business Concentration. It looks like merit aid for these stats would be $7500 against a total COA of $52k, so maybe a bit over budget (though their personal and transportation allowances are higher than many others, so billed costs might come in under $40k).
Ole Miss would be comfortably under budget with $10k auto-merit. They offer a Finance major but not sure about the extent of the international business possibilities.
Ohio State loves to scoop up MI students. I think the National Buckeye scholarship is likely. Fisher is also a good program. Apply by EA. Freshman can apply for their scholars or honors programs.
IU is significantly warmer in winter than Ann Arbor, so if climate is a factor in the decision-making, I wouldn’t rule out Kelley because the Indiana’s not part of the south. Also, as soon as I started reading your description, I immediately thought about U. of South Carolina. It should definitely be on the list (I’d guess a likely for admission and a toss-up as to whether or not it would come in as affordable).
Some other schools that your family may want to consider include:
College of Charleston (SC): About 10k undergrads
Florida Atlantic: About 24k undergrads. Classified as a commuter school, but 58% of first year students live on-campus, which means thousands of freshmen are living on-campus. Make sure to read up on what’s going on with public higher education in Florida to see if your family thinks it would be a fit.
Louisiana State: About 31k undergrads at this big SEC-player
Oklahoma State: About 21k undergrads
U. of Arkansas: About 26k undergrads here and your son would get good merit aid here, too.
U. of North Carolina - Charlotte: About 23k undergrads and Charlotte has a lot of businesses in the area, especially for banking
U. of Texas-Dallas: About 22k undergrads and a more academically-focused rather than athletically-focused campus
I was also going to mention College of Charleston.
Might check out UNC-Wilmington too. OOS cost of attendance is estimated at $42k.
Elon is over your budget but might be worth applying and see if any merit is forthcoming. Is he recruitable for golf?
Coastal Carolina has a concentration in International Management (as well as a major in PGA Golf Management). Comes in around $45k, but you never know.
Bama will just make the cut - you’ll get $15K. You should take the SAT again. 20 more points = $9000 more. They just have a minor, not major in IB - but South Alabama has a major in addition to Auburn.
Vandy is easy - run he NPC to determine affordability. Then there’s that they have neither a finance (or business) major for undergrads - but these are the little things I’d also say given his #s it’s a no, as will be UGA and UM. If you want a Vandy type, look at Emory although I’m not sure if they can fit in the International but they have undergrad business (as does Rice).
Agree with U of SC - it’s #1 for IB - but it’s also a no for the major (maybe not the university).
Was going to suggest Charleston but @austennut beat me to it. My kid goes. You could get under $50K and check out the international scholars program which I linked below. The student would have to double with International Studies but there’s likely crossover.
Ole Miss has a great International Studies school - I’m sure it can be combined. Mississippi State and Southern Miss both have IB majors.
FIU is strong, #2 after U of SC. FAU was mentioned. FL publics are generally affordable. So any that have the major. Rollins for private with merit if you want small.
Georgia Southern and Kennesaw State in Georgia.
In addition to UNCC as noted earlier, App State.
James Madison in VA.
LSU has a major called International Trade and Finance. They’ve gotten aggressive.
I’d also say given his