Business undergrad safety schools

I’ve had/have kids in the business programs at Rutgers, TCNJ and Clemson, also accepted to UMD, Pitt, UDel, UMASS Amherst, UCONN, JMU, Elon, Bentley, Syracuse, Temple, Saint Joseph’s, Seton Hall - all but Rutgers and TCNJ offered merit (in state).

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At the risk of digressing further from the OPs question I would like to note that the top MBA programs I am familiar with with do not discriminate against students with undergrad business degrees. In fact I know a number of people with a BS in business who went on to attend Harvard, Wharton etc. Typically they study a different area of business as a grad student. Ex. my H was an accounting major/CPA and had a concentration in finance for his MBA.

FWIW I also know people with undergrad degrees far from business (English engineering, music…) who got into the top MBA programs.

I generally believe people should study what they are most interested in as an undergrad. The odds of getting into an elite MBA program are slim for everyone regardless of major. Best to take one step at a time.

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The top schools typically have around 25% business majors and another 20% or so who majored in econ. There’s no discrimination against undergrad business degrees.

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I agree. I was replying to a post above.

Now let’s get back to the OPs question about safety schools for business.

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Sorry for the poor wording. I didn’t mean top MBAs discriminate against business majors or BBAs, but rather if the goal is an MBA, even a top one, a business undergrad degree is possible but not necessary. And, as a result, more safeties could be envisioned.
Contrary to what some HS students could believe by generalizing, it’s not the same straight path as for other subjects, ie., undergrad in History->PHD in history, undergrad in math->MS in math, etc. (And switching, like undergrad math-> phd history would be very uncommon and require a very unique research project.) In addition, an MBA is not necessary for a career in the way it is for some professions (law, physical therapy…) but rather a degree that complements undergrad+experience.
The usual path to an MBA is undergrad (business, econ, quantitative field all welcome, other fields possible) → solid work experience-> MBA in relation to career goals.
(25-30% business degrees would prove my point :wink:).
In short, if OP wants a business degree for undergrad, several safeties were listed already but if OP’s goal is an MBA, the undergrad degree can be econ or even something else, which broadens the list of potential safeties. :+1:

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In a world where private schools cost $80k a year and some of the top state schools cost $60k or more for out-of-state students, it is risky to ignore the financial implications of pursuing an undergraduate education that will likely result in pursuance of advanced degrees. An elite MBA is expensive, and could become cost prohibitive to a student that is carrying student debt of over $100k after undergrad.

The total cost of education, including potential graduate school, should always be a factor when deciding on an undergraduate major and university. Choices teenagers make today could limit choices they will have in the future.

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I agree. My comment was not worded well. Certainly financial ramifications should be part of a decision. I thought I was directing the comment to people who wanted to major in business undergrad but it wasn’t clear enough.

NOW LETS GET BACK TO THE OPs QUESTION.

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thanks for your reply, do you think majoring in business managment from any university (prestigious or not) is a good idea if I want to get an MBA?

Depends on what you want to do with your life, what you mean by “not prestigious”, if it’s a general major or a specialty (accounting, marketing, risk management…), if you pair that with a minor (international business without a FL at the advanced level and study abroad, marketing without a thorough understanding of statistics and/ or data science… are, well, not useless, because you do learn a lot, but not that valuable professionally), how good the career center is and how you take advantage of it, your internships…

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Well, if you’re asking for someone to throw out random schools, you’re going to get random results, but it’s not going to be very helpful. A safety school needs to have some criteria. It has to be affordable enough to pay for on your own(layoffs or business failures happen). It has to be statistically realistic enough to rely on admissions. And it has to give you a reasonable assurance of getting into the major you want. Generally, an in-state school is the best choice as a safety. An out-of-state or private school is not a safety. It’s a financial reach school.

Business schools can be very competitive. Some (UT-Austin) admit business students as freshmen, making it near impossible to get in from the outside.

Cost really needs to be the prime concern. If you can’t afford it you’re wasting your time on it. If it requires large amounts of debt, then it’s not worth going there.

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Assuming you are a CA resident - SDSU would be a great safety.

Apply broadly and good luck.

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Just to add to all the suggestions. Remember the path to an MBA involves ‘work experience’. The undergraduate major you pick should still lead to a job and work experience that will stand out in a MBA application.

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Several of the ones listed here are NOT safety schools. The definition of safety school varies greatly here. And the landscape has changed since 2021 as well.

Disagree on the UMD selection. If you apply and state business, you will be considered business and rejected outright if full. Meaning, you won’t get into university at all. PSU just gives you to the alternate campuses and does not allow you into main campus if your major is full.my daughter was forced to select a major but was really undecided. She would’ve been happy getting into the school and discovering, but got rejected because she selected business. Sad these schools don’t allow for exploration for 17 yr olds. You have to know exactly what you want to be at 17.