Best Safety Business School

Applying to College
41

If my daughter wanted to go into business and save enough money as quickly as she could in order to stop working and write for the rest of her life, and I was willing to pay whatever her education costs, then this is how I’d start the search.

  1. Designate a pool of money of what the top/most expensive school you would pay for costs for 4 years.
  2. Let your daughter know this is her start-up fund. Let her choose the best college value for her goals (whether that’s Wharton at U. Penn or a less expensive school with a big merit offer) and how that would balance on the monetary end. For some fields, school reputation is very important and the Wharton name will give a big boost. In others, it doesn’t really matter. Your daughter should be researching what she’s interested in and how she can go about achieving that in the way that will most successfully achieve her goal of savings lots of money to retire early.
  3. Consider the cost-of-living for the finance jobs. Perhaps Chicago might be better than New York City, or Seattle might be better than San Francisco. If she’s going to gun for particular locations where she can save more money, look to see at which schools they’re recruiting. Make sure you look into them to see if they’re a fit for your daughter.
  4. Assess how competitive her pool will be. Many of the Top X schools are filled with overachievers galore who are intent on networking and getting the best internships, etc. Most employers may only hire a certain number of interns/employees from a school, no matter how awesome. Additionally, the pool may not just be her college, but all the schools in the surrounding area. So an NYU student is likely to also be competing with Columbia, Fordham, CUNY students, etc. Whereas in Chicago, a Loyola Chicago business student might be competing against Lake Forest, U. of Illinois - Chicago and then non-business majors from Northwestern or U. of Chicago.

If I was developing a list for a student like your daughter to look into, then it might look a bit like this, with a focus on schools with recruiters in areas with a lower cost of living, or places that will place well in the highest fields but that offer merit aid to enough students where it might mean saving $100-200k or more over more popular options:

Extremely Likely (80-99+%)

Indiana University
Butler (IN)…Indianapolis
Creighton (NE)…Omaha
Drake (IA)…Des Moines
Duquesne (PA )…Pittsburgh
Loyola Chicago (IL)
Seattle U (WA)
U. of Hartford (CT)

Likely (60-79%)

Fairfield (CT)
Fordham (NY)… Bronx
Illinois Wesleyan…Bloomington, IL
Santa Clara (CA)
Texas Christian…Fort Worth
U. of Pittsburgh (PA )
U. of San Francisco (CA)
U. of Tampa (FL)
Baruch (NY) New York City

Toss-Up (40-59%)

Southern Methodist (TX)…Dallas
U. of Illinois
U. of Wisconsin

Low Probability (20-39%)

Trinity (TX)…San Antonio
U. of Florida

Lower Probability (less than 20%)

  • Daughter’s favorite schools with tiny chances for all

I couldn’t disagree more with this. A safety is a school that is extremely like to offer admission to your child and is extremely likely to be affordable without loans. That is all it is. Many students “only” apply to safeties because those are the schools that they like. A student with higher stats has a higher number of safeties than a student with lower stats and the same budget, simply because the higher stat student is more likely to gain admission at more schools. And the popularity of a school does not necessarily have any bearing whatsoever on the quality of education a school provides.

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42

I agree. My S is the converse - a combined major in Economics and Business who much prefers his Econ classes to his Business classes. I am not sure what this will mean for a post-college career.

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43

You have plenty of time to consider a few extra safety/low match options. Most safeties don’t have a ton of supplemental essays and the ones they do have are either very short or on topics similar to other schools.

My two cents: I’d look at the full list for balance, as 10 reaches and 1 safety would not be an ideal plan, in my opinion. In other words, I would hope there are some matches on the list (in between 25-30% and 50%+ acceptance rate).

In the vein of not knowing how a kid might change in what type of school they’re looking for by the time senior spring rolls around, I’ll suggest looking at TCU Neeley as a low match (almost, not-quite safety). It does well in the P&Q ranking for its admission selectivity level.

An under-the-radar school that doesn’t show up on undergrad business ranking lists is U Rochester. Its undergrad business program is on the newer side, econ major is fantastic, and very easy major switching. I don’t know its most recent acceptance rate, but I’m guessing U Roch would be categorized in the high match range for a high-stats kid.

As for Kelley, my understanding is that for certain fields, access to the best recruiting involves being in the Workshop.

44

A bit easier to get into than Williams/Amherst, with a “school of commerce” (business), pipeline to Wall Street/management consulting, and not as high on northeasterners’ radar: Washington and Lee University.

If your daughter wants a huge school, never mind. But if LACs are on the table, it’s worth a look.

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45

Another vote for SMU/Cox here. If you are doing a Texas tour be sure to stop by.

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46

Wellesley may be an option to visit but I think she would prefer a co-ed experience. Smith is just not a cultural fit. Bowdoin will be just a big of a reach as some of the other schools on her list.

She does love writing but views it as something she’d like to do further down the line on her own accord and not as an immediate career.

We thought about Boston College but we are not religious at all and werent sure how that would play out.

47

My daughter has zero interest in the greek system. Isnt the greek system a big part of W&L?

48

This is where, as a parent who has sent two and help others, I disagree with you.

Your daughter should not apply to any school that she wouldn’t love and you can’t afford.

There is no more important school on your list than a safety !! None.

So you should spend time finding not just an easy to get in ranked one but one that fits.

Your family is clearly chasing pedigree. I would argue that US News shouldn’t determine where you should go. You should.

I would start by touring schools of different sizes as you stated you want to do. Urban Suburban. Rural. Greek. Sports. Take advantage of location and go to Bentley abd Babson. Both strong. Can they fit ?

What you think your kid likes today may not be what they like tomorrow. My son is at a school he refused to consider til he went on job shadow or college visit day with 3 friends. Came back and applied. He goes to Bama. Top rated career center in the SEC. Is it great ? No clue. But a ranking says so. Yes over Vandy, UGA and UF…for internships.

Look at W&L, high ranked and amazing for business as an LAC. But if your plan is to apply to UM, UT, UF just because they are high ranked, then your safety is of paramount importance. I saw your note on Greek. @dramamama can assist there. I don’t suspect it’s Greek as you think of Greek in the normal sense.

You may not have time but if you visit enough, they will feel…this is it. My daughter is at Charleston. It was the 4th school of maybe 20-25 visits. I knew junior year it’s where she’s end up. Could just tell it was home. Her friend from there is interning at Goldman Sachs this summer. It can happen anywhere but as you know, discipline matters to.

Btw we applied to 21. With common app it’s not as hard as you think. Not all schools require essays or many are the same school to school with two word changes. You’d be amazed at the # you can get some depending on school choice.

Also while you are full pay are you willing to pay $65-70k for a UC Or Michigan if UF or IU are much less or your state flagship ? If so no problem. But if not, you can remove them now, etc. in other words, what you can afford vs what you want to may be different. You could go to a great school for under $20k if wanted.

Anyway enough opining. But I truly hope you give a lot more weight to your perceived safeties. We’re already reading about kids with similar stats getting shut out this year. Just one yesterday in fact.

Good luck.

Btw you mentioned Rice. If so WUSTL, Vandy, Emory would be peers and Wake, BC, right there. All these a reach. Denver, AU, Elon, etc would be the safety. Don’t bank on legacy. Apply to the right school. Rice, btw, is just starting an undergrad b school. Rice is great but legacy in few cases will be the determinant.

Ps. And I go back to recruiting. Recruiting for what ? Do you have a discipline in mind ? Marketing, finance, operations, supply chain… It matters.

Good luck

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49

We visited UF because we were on spring break in Florida and it was relatively close.

We visited UM because I had a business meeting in the Ann Arbor area and it was convenient to guide her through the Detroit airport on her way to the Iowa Young Writer’s Studio summer program since there are no direct flights to Cedar Rapids airport. We also didnt want to send her alone with a connection when flights were being cancelled left and right.

Yes they are great schools but we werent “chasing” prestige. They were strong schools that made sense given the circumstances. Indirectly, she’s getting to visit Univ of Iowa through the writing program. Apparently, Iowa is the #1 MFA program in the country (I have no clue but that’s what she tells me).

We’ll visit Texas and Rice because that’s where we went and thought it would be fun to show them where mom and dad went to school. Also have family and friends in Austin and Houston.

We’ll probably hit some of the New England LACs during some of the in service school days since they are easy drives.

She’ll probably do a summer internship offered by her high school next year so we wont have a ton of opportunity to visit that many more schools. Also, as a senior she’ll be expected to lead “voluntary workouts” for her field hockey team. We’ll try to squeeze in as many as possible.

50

Yes, Greek life is big at W&L; however because 80-ish percent of the school participates, it is not like greek life at other schools, magnified. It is more inclusive; the school takes a big role in regulating it and bans hazing etc. The school may or may not be for your daughter, but I mention it as it’s a little under the radar in the northeast.

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51

That’s awesome. Adding onto trips. I love it.

Hopefully her ECs, relations with teachers (Recs) will be good. Sounds like she’s a strong writer and yes Iowa is near tops …hence my question on discipline. You’d never think so by school rep.

I mentioned prestige…right or wrong…based on the list you gave.

Best of luck. Keep us updated. You’re a year out and your journey will change.

Ps. Miami Ohio. Good safety. Good cost. If interested in IB, U of SC #1 and the nation’s top honors college.

Take care.

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52

To reiterate what @Mwfan1921 stated above economics and an undergraduate business degree are two different fields of study. Economics is a liberal arts course of study and gets very theoretical at the upper levels. In contrast, if she attends an undergraduate business school she will take a business core with introductory classes in subjects such as accounting, finance, IT, marketing etc. and then she will major in one of those disciplines. I’m not saying that one path is better than the other, but they are different.

I would recommend that your D look at the curriculum for a business school and an economics major at two schools she is considering (should be able to find it online) to see if one path is preferable or more in her academic wheelhouse.

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53

There are plenty of people at Boston College who are not religious. The Jesuits answer the calling to educate, not to convert. Perhaps all business schools could do with a bit of Jesuit education, ie questioning whether or not this business is good for humanity rather than just the bottom line. Anyhow, I wouldn’t rule it out, because it has an excellent business school, unless you don’t want your child to stay in New England, because it becomes very attractive to remain there.

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54

A post-covid note. Many companies no longer participate in on-campus recruiting; most conduct virtual hirevue interviews and require applicants to apply through their online portal. Just worth mentioning because this has expanded the number and type of colleges active in the recruiting process and decreased the importance of the top target schools, IME.

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55

Yes, no and maybe.

There is a set of schools with phenomenal and active alumni networks- SMU, Notre Dame, Smith, Wellesley- which “punch above their weight” in corporate recruiting. Doesn’t matter if the college is on the core recruiting target list- if there are alums there in relevant roles (i.e. someone who does facility management at Pfizer is not going to be terribly helpful getting someone into a marketing rotational program) you can gain access to recruiting.

There is a set of schools which by nature of location are perennials- Atlanta is one of (it might the top) distribution/logistics “Center of Excellence” in the country. So not just logistics facilities-- but the corporate headquarters of companies which are leaders in that field. UPS, Coke, etc… so if a kid is interested in supply chain and relevant business disciplines- ANY of the Atlanta schools are going to have an edge, whether or not they have a specific Supply Chain program.

There is a set of schools with nichey type programs, and recruiters will do a deep dive. U Maine in paper, Tulsa University in Cyber, two handfuls of top rated programs in actuarial science.

And then there is I-banking. Most kids who claim they want it as HS students don’t know enough about it to understand: 1- what it is 2- how you get hired 3-what the career path looks like.

So for my money, choosing a college because of its on-ramp to I-banking doesn’t make much sense. Go to Princeton because you want to major in philosophy or math and you love everything about it. If you end up in banking-- and it’s what you want to do- a nice bonus. But it’s not as though every single student at Princeton (even in Econ) has their pick of I-banking opportunities. Institutions hire the student, not the college.

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56

We agree. Choose the college for what it offers, there are no guarantees and many factors come into play, such as alumni networks, not reflected in the rankings. One more to add-at the right fit, a student may shine at the top, compared to a more average performance at a supposedly higher ranked school. IME, for recruiting, far better to be number 1 at college 50 than middling performance at college 10.

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57

@CFP when was the last time you were in Houston & Austin? If not recently, I’m guessing both campuses have grown & changed quite a bit.
Rice is easily one of the most beautiful college campuses. You won’t believe the growth in the Med Center!!
UT has face-lifted & expanded DK Royal Stadium, I think Frank Erwin Center was recently torn down (or getting ready to be). Austin growth has exploded.
Both are excellent schools.

58

Jesuit Colleges do have huge core curriculums which may not work for everyone. My S studied business at a Jesuit college (great experience) and he only had one free elective after completing the general ed core, the business core, and the classes for his major. This was fine for him and he did benefit from a great liberal arts education…but it wouldn’t work for my D who had specific interests outside of her major that she wanted to pursue in college.

For that reason I don’t think Jesuit colleges are a great fit for every student.

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59

Not recently but looking forward to visit. Looking forward to visit Texas in general because I dislike New England (for many reasons).

We’ll probably do the hard sell (j/k) because we both absolutely love our respective universities - even if they are reaches. That’s the first thing I learned after joining CC- every competitive school is a reach. I just hope we can restrain ourselves from correcting the tour guides when we go.

My wife picked Rice over Princeton because she loved the campus and didnt want her parents spending a ton of $ on her education (Rice was really inexpensive many years ago). She will be all over that one.

We’re going over next Spring break because I dont want the kids scared off by the summer heat. We’ll pretend it never gets over 95 degrees.

The first thing Ill do when we land is hit the local Whataburger. Not because it’s great but it just because I miss it.

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60

Whataburger IS great!! So many fab places to eat in Rice Village (highly recommend Hungry’s -nicer, sit down- or Velvet Taco-casual), plus great shopping! Rice is stunningly gorgeous!
Haven’t been on UT campus in several years, but it’s Austin, so great food everywhere.
It is crazy HOW competitive UT, Rice and A&M are.
Great things happening on all 3 campuses.
Sounds like your daughter has the stats for some great college choices.
Might be good to do (free) Khan Academy prep between now & jr year PSAT, if she’s not prepping already. If she could score high enough for NM semi or finalist, that would open doors at many schools (not the Cali schools, I don’t think), but Texas scores still value it.

*yes, we’ve set all kinds of heat records this past month, hottest July on record. 100+ daily for weeks. It’s brutal.

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