Another voice saying to consider SMU. Can vouch for the fact that its business school punches above its weight. My oldest went there and had a great career outcome. I believe many companies, including Goldman Sachs, are increasingly expanding in Dallas. That said, SMU greek life is more traditional and (to me, from the outside, but with sons in fraternities at both schools) different from greek life at Washington and Lee.
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Thought about SMU. SMU always had that rich, Highland Park snobby, Greek vibe to it.
I think they have an excellent business school but not sure if my daughter will really like it there. That’s the challenge: You want to see everything but there’s just logistical limitations.
Maybe we’ll fly to Dallas first on the Texas tour since DFW is an AA hub.
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We found a recent Notre Dame math grad to tutor for the SAT. He was insanely cheap (only $50/hr).
They did a practice test from the college board. He basically told us that if she took the SAT right now, she’ll score 700’s on the math part but that should improve once they break down the individual sections and she actually starts Pre-cal next year. She’s a good math student but English is her better subject so we feel good about her PSAT/SAT chances.
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Direct admit into Carroll at BC is not a safety or match for anyone. It is a tough admit with many perfect score rejects. It just is. And transferring from another major is basically impossible. If the Jesuit thing is a non issue, worth an application specifically to Carroll. It’s an awesome school in a great place with great outcomes, especially the Boston to NY corridor.
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You may also like URichmond. Again, not a shoe in, but very doable with those stats, more so than BC. Great Biz school, LAC environment (actually considered an LAC).
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I don’t agree with Wake being a Reach. The acceptance rate is in the 30’s. Also for business Rice is a poor choice, has little to no placement outside of tech/energy (mainly oil) companies.
OP says that they are avoiding religious/Jesuit education, because they are not religious (although they put a lot of stock in à Notre Dame grad ?). They also dislike New England “for many reasons…” I’m really wondering what the reasons are 
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We don’t need to know the reasons…
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No, I can use my imagination.
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We’re not anti religion. We’re just not familar with how religion plays a role in its curriculum.
BC, Notre Dame, Georgetown are all great universities (I’m sure there are others as well). But we already have a list of reach schools so they just aren’t at the top of our list for now.
I think Georgetown is the least religious of those 3 (I could be wrong) but after my daughter saw the Georgetown Hotmess Instagram, she scratched them off her list.
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Lol I am mom to a recent Georgetown grad - religion isn’t an issue at all. My d loved it and had a great experience. But you sound like you have enough schools she liked better!
Thanks. That’s what we thought.
Our D doesnt want any mandatory religion courses that she must take as part of her graduation requirements.
On a side note, when she made her initial review, Georgetown was high on her list because they have a very good business program.
Is the Georgetown hotmess fact or fiction? Curious, since you mentioned your daughter’s experience.
Sure. The theology requirement is a pain but is very general - lots of choices and no indoctrination at all. Yes dorms do suck. Lol. Seniors generally live off campus in cute Georgetown houses. Though my oldest went to Columbia and dorms weren’t much better. My d is a secular Jew and very progressive politically and was very comfortable and happy. She had friends at McDonough Business School and they all seemed to have amazing opportunities.
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You can disagree. Per their website the acceptance rate was 25.2%. But ED will surely lower the RD rate.
What we know about the student is they have wonderful grades and a projected top SAT. So they would get big money at schools that only factors those. Great schools depending on the major. Like Bama Manderson. Miami Farmer. Arizona Eller. South Carolina Darla Moore which is the the top honors u…or one of two along with ASU and has the top Intl Business program as opposed to ASU which is at the top or near in supply chain or Arizona which is near tops for MIS.
Hence I keep asking for a potential discipline.
What we don’t know about the student is his their LORs will be, short of a possible HS given internship how the ECs look, etc. thus all may be strong. But we don’t know.
For a school like Wake one needs more than just stats…,imho. Oh btw. On Poets and Quants…Gtown is #2 and Nova is 9. If the package is solid Nova a likely but then there’s religion.
TCU, in addition to SMU, a solid b school with great outcomes. If the student were wanting smaller Elon and DU would be solid ‘safeties’ for business and unless seeking IB will likely lead to similar opportunities as IU or other top publics…if the student goes after it.
While unlikely not safeties we’ve read this year about kids with similar stats getting rejected at UF and UMD…UF doesn’t admit by major.
IU is a safety. Never an issue. But let’s be honest once you are at school ranking isn’t relevant to get you through the four years. Fit is. And it’s an unknown anywhere but you can try and find the right fit. Try…
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Our D’s LORs should be extremely strong. Per the people at the school (counselor, teachers, administrators), she is extremely mature and is viewed as a leader within her class. She has a natural ability to build genuine rapport with adults and people in authority.
Im sure this is very typical of many CC students who post here. She’s your average over-acheiving smart kid with a high emotional IQ.
And what are her ECS abd how is she showing impact within the community or furthering herself. At IU you are correct it won’t matter. At others it will and often times at a large level.
Why business ? What interests her or as a 16 year old it’s unknown…,which hopefully is the answer.
I view her EC’s as average (maybe below average).
She’s not a STEM kid so she doesnt have math olympiads or science fair awards. Im not sure if that matters.
The IWYS is supposedly a feather in her cap (I really dont know) but it’s highly selective (less than 14%) and it’s uncommon for sophmores to get admitted?
She was a Gold Medalist on the National Spanish Exam (not sure if this even a real thing or something like NHS where it’s not even worth mentioning).
She’ll probably be a Field Hockey co-captain her senior year.
Probably President of the school’s volunteer organization (her high school counselor runs the program and they have a great relationship).
Paid summer internship next year (the high school has a good program).
She may apply to the Adroit writing program in Summer '23.
Im not sure what other EC’s she should consider. Even though she’s applying to highly selective universities, we have no expectations of any T15 school. Williams and Amherst are arguably in that group but we’ll have to visit first before she decides to apply (even if they are super reaches).
She’s a suburban, upper income, Asian/White kid who isnt curing cancer - probably one of the least desirable demographic groups among elite universities.
If she’s doing a sport and as a leader, I wouldn’t say she’s subpar. That’s a large commitment. And I wouldn’t worry about awards or competition. Thinks like a part time job are great…an internship could be good if there’s continuity but I’d personally rather see 3 years at Kroger than one summer Of intern . It could be something as simple as walking dogs at the shelter. Both my kids did. My daughter grew to helping get dogs adopted. She also helped resettle a refugeee family in Nashville. Not saying these are for your daughter but if there’s something out there she’s passionate about…go for it. That and field hockey would be solid. On ECs quality over quantity.
Look for tenure, increased responsibility, and impact …vs. just accruing stuff simply to do so.
Will be fun to hear back in 20 months.
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Iowa is an extremely selective/impressive program, and her EC’s are fine.
I realize your D doesn’t want to focus on writing… and that’s her prerogative. But if your GC is telling you that she’s “the least desirable demographic” based on the schools she’s applying to- she is missing the boat on something distinctive in her profile.
Ross is very popular in my neck of the woods (not in-state for Michigan). And I’m usually right in predicting who will and who won’t get admitted. Michigan is a major research university, not a trade school churning out drones who will go get jobs doing M&A and cranking the levers of capitalism (even if that’s what the kids think they want to do, and even if that’s what they end up doing).
Your D has an opportunity to highlight what makes her special in the Ross pool (talented writer). She doesn’t need a “pre-professional” twist on her writing in order to make it come alive in a Michigan essay- but it seems to me there are so many talented writers in the business world-- that it’s a missed opportunity.
Your D could be the next Kara Swisher. Your D can read what some of the great financial writers are doing in exploring (and exposing) the fraudsters in crypto, Game Stock, plain vanilla bank fraud. Your D can look to journalists like Paul Krugman, a host of Pulitzer winners, or the “fun” folks like Ben Mezrich for inspiration.
I would not be so quick to dismiss something which is distinctive, shows a high level of accomplishment, and demonstrates “why a business school” compared to the the thousands of other kids whose activities are their HS’s “Investment Club” and helping a local coffee shop apply for an SBA loan.
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Appreciate the insight. The guidance counselor is fantastic. She and my daughter are very close.
Regarding the demographics, it’s in reference to T10-15 schools who have a plethora of high acheiving Asian students from affluent suburbs. The elite private schools seem to focus on underrepresented minorities, low income, first generation students, or legacies. She’s in a very overrepresented applicant pool for the Ivys etc.
My initial thought process is to look at top state schools that utilize race blind admissions (ie Michigan) which is one of the reasons we made a few visits. If she didnt like them, we would switch gears to smaller privates/LACs. She was very impressed by Ross so it’s on the high list.
We’ll also visit Wiliams and Amherst because I want her to see the flip side of a big public university (plus they’re geographically close to where we live). And yes, of course all these schools are reaches.
She loves reading and creative writing but doesnt want to major in English. She would actually be a good lawyer (strong critical thinker, excellent writer, etc) but I’m hesitant because she would probably want to go into Big Law (like my sister - her aunt) because financial independence is very important to her (which is why she wants to major in business). Big Law is brutal. I know she thought about it and even when we visited Michigan, the Law Quad is amazing and I could see her envisioning herself there.
It’s still early so I want her to enjoy the journey and not be stressed by the process. She’s accutely aware of the selectivity of these schools. That’s why I started this thread to find a safety valve that in case of emergency, break glass and still be happy choosing the safety school.
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