<p>A number of people have recently mentioned W & M as a school to look into for business studies. Being from up north, I know of the school but not too much about the specific programs. Is business an area that is well regarded there ? A program that most kids enjoy both at W & M and while participating in intern programs, etc...?? Thanks. Marc</p>
<p>It's not a bad school. This past year, it was named #29 undergrad bschool by business week. I'm not really sure what you want to know specifically. There are better schools for business (like UVA) but at WM you can double major or minor in subjects outside the school, which is very popular (business/english or music or german or econ etc.) Maybe you can do this at other schools too but its nice to take advantage of the strong liberal arts the school has to offer. </p>
<p>Ask more specific questions if you want to know more.</p>
<p>Thanks Lemmi. My son is a junior in hs..he is in an Intl. Studies program which has mostly AP, Honors. He is an A- student, did 1430/2140 on his SAT I ( he took it over last week to try to bump it up ), good ECs ( e.g. editor of paper,etc..). He seems interested in pursuing biz studies but also might like to stay involved in the international aspect. We checked out GW...also UVa...
both seem to be good schools, hard to gain access especially the latter since we are from NJ. I am now checking out schools that have traditional good biz programs ( UMIch, NYU, Emory, etc..) but also wanted to look at some of the smaller private schools that may, in some ways, be preferable to the larger
schools. W & M caught my eyes and ears.. Not sure how competitive it is to get in especially to OOSers. Might be worth a trip to look. Thanks. Marc</p>
<p>W&M will be roughly as competitive as UVA to get in. Significant parts of the out of state student population is from NJ/NY/PA area.</p>
<p>It seems he may really want to take a look at Georgetown. They are small and private but also have very strong business and international studies programs. I'm not sure if you can do both but it's something you may want to look into, and its not too too far from home.
At WM, the admin. highly recommends students to go abroad so having an "international emphasis" with your BBA is not difficult. The problem is that the most feasible time to go abroad is the spring semester of your junior year, which also happens to be recruiting season for internships. This obviously puts those kids who do go abroad at this time at a disadvantage, but you can still find an internship. But definitely come visit The College if you want a smaller setting with somewhat of a private school feel.</p>
<p>Look at U of South Carolina as well. They have an international business program that is at or near the top of the rankings, I believe. You can also get financial aid and instate tuition based on your S's stats.</p>
<p>Of course, my S turned down the money from USC to go to my and my wife's alma mater, W&M, but he really isn't interested in business. I would say W&M is a great all around school for nearly all liberal arts subjects, as well as business, so I would say your S would get a great all around education there.</p>
<p>Great Business program for a LAC. In fact, one of the very few schools its size and reputation to offer a program at the undergrad level. The Mason family (of Legg Mason) has recently donated money to build a new facility which will be state of the art.</p>
<p>"but also wanted to look at some of the smaller private schools that may, in some ways, be preferable to the larger schools. W & M caught my eyes and ears.. "</p>
<p>Just to note, W&M is currently a public school.</p>
<p>W&M Business and Int'l Studies are already well-regarded and seem to be making concerted efforts to improve their business offerings. And as pointed out, the Business school seems to have a strong international studies flavor. </p>
<p>Overall, I think the "rankings" such as they are, are probably pretty fair. I'd call it a "Tier 1a" school (sounds better than "tier 2"); UVA, Georgetown, UPenn, Cornell, MIT, UMich, and even NYU (though my personal feeling is that it's a bit overrated) all being Tier 1. Many of these are considered "better than" W&M simply because of their size, and the number of alumni, and thus name recognition and resources, overall, are greater and this isn't something that's going to change much. But as to the quality of education he'd receive compared to those others? I'd say he'd have nothing to regret should he choose W&M, it may be the best of the LAC's.</p>
<p>To some extent, it depends on where he plans to work; regionalisms play a part, for example, NYC-centric Wall Street financial houses have a definite taste for the big-name NorthEast schools, while in Chicago, they have different biases. In DC, there's no problem with recognition. </p>
<p>Anyway, I think W&M certainly offers a much different experience from most of those schools - not "better", but "better for some". I'd say it's definitely worth a visit, and especially so if your son worries about being lost in a very large school.</p>
<p>OOS is difficult, as it's a state school, and 66% of the admits are supposed to be in-state, but not quite so bad for males. OOS females face daunting odds. </p>
<p>You've probably seen it already, but just in case: <a href="http://mason.wm.edu%5B/url%5D">http://mason.wm.edu</a></p>
<p>Here is an article on the new building - named for Alan B. Miller. I also post a link to an article about him. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.wm.edu/news/?id=7277%5B/url%5D">http://www.wm.edu/news/?id=7277</a></p>
<p>1 out of 6 students majors or minors in business? Interesting. I wouldn't have guessed that.</p>
<p>From my friends that were or are in the Mason School, the undergraduate business program is strong, since W&M undergrads are great to begin with anyway :). The MBA program at Mason however is lacking, and that may be why W&M isn't getting a high rep in business.</p>
<p>how hard is it to get into the b school? is it harder if you have to apply early because of study abroad 2nd semester sophmor year? thats kinda the vibe i got from the website i hope its not too tough!</p>
<p>It's not that hard at all, I haven't heard of anyone not getting in. The application is very, very, very basic</p>
<p>I think that there a lot better business schools out there than W&M if one really wants to study business. There undergraduate program is making some moves, but I'm not sure how well the program is really viewed overall, especially in comparison to W&M peer schools, as well as many ranked below W&M.</p>
<p>Some of my son's friends seem to be focusing on such undergrad business schools like UMich; UVa, UMd, Indiana U, Lehigh, Cornell.... I guess it depends, of course, on one's stats, $$$ availbility and personal taste, big vs. small, city vs. suburban. Personally, although it is not ranked as high as some others, my son also likes GWashington. My son my add it to his list of schools in the fall. Thanks. MBJ</p>
<p>business is good at W&M for the underprogram.... but you have to apply after you get admitted to the College.</p>