Hey guys I want to go to an LAC and have the intimate classroom experience, intimate community etc… but was wondering which LAC’s were best for getting into top business programs and feeding into the top companies.
Economics was the traditional path at LAC’s, but given the change to quantitative analysis Math is a huge feeder to WS; others include Physics, and Comp Sci.
Amherst, Bates, Claremont McKenna, Hamilton, Middlebury and Pomona were the LACs listed by College Transitions as those sending the greatest percentages of their graduates to highly regarded MBA programs. Though these colleges would be safe bets for your interests, others with similar attributes would be comparably suitable for you.
Business is such a broad term, but for the elite tracks of Management Consulting and Investment Banking (in no particular order):
-Williams College
-Amherst College
-Claremont McKenna
-Pomona College
If it helps my favorite LAC’s are Bowdoin, Wesleyan, Colby, Bucknell and Middlebury. Are these good schools for a track leading to business and MBA programs.
Dickinson is a good choice. My D’s fiancé from there has had a very successful experience with Deloitte as an Econ grad from there. They also have an international business program, I think.
Re #4: Yes, provided you are interested in the wide array of arts and sciences courses at these schools as well.
OP, have you worked with your GC to determine match, reach and safety schools understanding that many, many of the schools mentioned in this thread will be reaches for everyone?
I applied ED to Bowdoin and waiting to hear back and thinking of applying ED2 to Wes or Middlebury, trying to get a feel if they are able to get me where I need to after graduation.
All of those schools are well regarded by graduate programs. They are elite schools by any measure. If you get in, go.
Yes, they will all get you to where you want to go - just need to be accepted
Thanks guys this helps a lot!
If you want to go a different direction, URichmond and Bucknell are strong LACs that have business programs.
Davidson is also strong, if you’d consider venturing further south. They are close to Charlotte, which is now second only to NYC as a center for the financial sector, and they have a legendarily strong old-boy network.
@TryHard44 College Transitions lists the following colleges and universities as sending the highest percentage of graduates to “Wall Street.”
Amherst
Baruch
Boston College
Columbia
Cornell
Dartmouth
Duke
Georgetown
Harvard
Middlebury
NYU
Princeton
Rutgers
University of Michigan
University of Notre Dame
University of Pennsylvania
Wake Forest
Wellesley
Villanova
Yale
Wake Forest and Richmond (perhaps Bucknell as well) are unusual as they combine classic LAC curriculum and atmosphere with a very strong UG business school. My S is finishing his first semester at Wake and he would tell you (because I ask him) that there really is that intimate professor / student relationship. Small classes, discussion based, extremely available professors, etc. Even as a freshmen, he has been able to get involved with clubs through the business school (finance, investing, etc) and get exposure to info sessions from the big investment banks, accounting and consulting firms, etc.
{quote]Wake Forest and Richmond (perhaps Bucknell as well) are unusual as they combine classic LAC curriculum and atmosphere with a very strong UG business school.
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My concern with universities that have a separate undergrad B-school is that employers might just recruit the B-schools grads, not the Liberal Arts grads. Anyone care to comment?
^^In recommending LACs with b-school programs I was thinking that the OP would choose to study business at those schools.
You would be correct if I went to a school with an undergrad business program I would be in said business program.
Regarding Wake Forest (where my son attends and I have far more knowledge relative to the others mentioned), career services has done a fantastic job of bringing traditional B- School career services to the entire student body. They actually have 4 (and growing) classes available that fall in the “college to career” genre, guiding each participant to the resources available and helping with the job search. They make a point of stating that the major companies who come to campus aren’t looking for the best business students, but rather the best students. They do a nice job of tracking performance and disclosing outcomes. Per their website, if you look on the First Destination Report, you can actually see where EVERY student is employed or attending grad school from previous graduation years. If you look on 2016, you will see some math, stats, econ and other majors with consulting and finance gigs. Of course most of those jobs are are filled by the true business majors but I think that is more self selection.