Hi, New to this forum. DS is applying to all 3 schools for Fall 2018, and we were wondering which school has a better network for jobs after graduation. We are from New England, and so don’t know too much about the job markets around those schools… He intends to major in Accounting/Finance, and does want to move to either TX or Alabama. He is not coming back
smu has a better alumni network and business school than baylor or tcu, but baylor has the better alumni network. tcu has the better business school. Both are likely to provide a better total career trajectory than Alabama.
Thank you @jamesk2014. This is our firstborn, so this has been a very overwhelming experience for us. We know a lot about NE schools, and job markets here, but he threw us off with his decision to move that far away. We’re comfortable with his decision though, and after visiting those states, we see the appeal of living in either of those states-very welcoming people. Appreciate your feedback.
Thank you @jamesk2014. This is our firstborn, so this has been a very overwhelming experience for us. We know a lot about NE schools, and job markets here, but he threw us off with his decision to move that far away. We’re comfortable with his decision though, and after visiting those states, we see the appeal of living in either of those states-very welcoming people. Appreciate your feedback.
Another factor to consider is availability of internships and the size of the city. TCU has the Dallas-Ft. Worth area to pull from for internships. Waco is much smaller. I will second SMU as a good choice as it is also in the Dallas - Ft. Worth area. I would choose Texas over Alabama for a place to relocate. There are several great metropolitan areas/cities to live in Texas including Dallas-Ft. Worth, Houston, San Antonio and Austin. The largest city in Alabama is Birmingham at 200,000, where as Houston has over 2 million. I think the job prospects will be much better in Texas.
Another vote for SMU. Research SMU and Dallas. Very strong alumni network and job placement. Great business school.
The tie breaker in SMU and Baylor could be whether he prefers Waco or Dallas for college.
If the OP is looking at these three schools, they should also look at Emory. It has arguably the best private undergraduate business school in the south, and the location in Atlanta is great for internships. SMU is also considered a better school for business placement than the trio mentioned.
Between the three listed by the OP, I would prefer TCU as the Fort Worth location will provide superior internship opportunities throughout the Dallas metro area. Just budget for a car.
I don’t know much about Baylor, but the problem with Alabama as a business college is placement. Birmingham is a tertiary city. The nearest big city would be Atlanta, Alabama would not be considered a prime school to recruit at (Emory, Georgia, Tech, GSU, Clemson, Auburn, and Florida would all be recruited before Alabama). If he does go accounting, the recruiting will be easier than finance.
Why not SMU in Dallas? Ooops. I posted before I saw all the others making the same suggestion. Besides alumni support you also need to be comfortable with the religious and conservative aspects of Baylor and Texas Christian. I believe SMU has many students from California maybe making it a bit more diverse than the others.
I don’t think TCU is at all religious and hasn’t been for many many years. That is a nonissue.
Baylor and TCU will serve him well if he wants to stay in Texas. I agree with the SMU addition. Any real distinctions between the three are mostly personal perceptions/preferences. The alumni network for all three in Texas is strong. Baylor, TCU or SMU can send him for job opportunities all across the state. As a Californian who was educated in Texas (Baylor), I was surprised by how loyal alumni are to their Texas colleges. Personally, I think it’s kind of weird but it is a big advantage for employment. I do think Baylor is more “Texas” than TCU or SMU. While I was there, most of the students were from Texas. I think their student population remains far more Texan than SMU or TCU (don’t quote me on that though). Baylor is larger than the other two and I think a more beautiful campus (personal preference). Full disclosure - educated at Baylor, dad and uncle went to SMU, brother in law graduated from A&M and TCU, nephew went to TCU ( a year - had too much fun). When I was making my choice 30 years ago between Baylor and SMU my dad told me “you are going to Baylor.” I am not sorry for his guidance.
My D1 attends college in the NE. Had no idea what to think about it either as none of us are from the area. We were more worried about warm clothing than job opportunities!
Good luck.
Thanks for your insight. Had to chuckle at that last sentence. I felt so much better after reading your post. My son has said he likes Baylor since the first time he set foot on campus, and we’ve looked at a lot of schools over the past 2 years, all in the South and Texas. Question for you: Obviously, my son is not going to be flying home too often? Do a lot of kids leave on weekends to go home, since they’re local?