At this stage I’ve not ruled liberal arts for Economics out. I’m especially keen on Bowdoin and may replace UNC with it but I think it would be harder to get into right?
I’m actually looking at both so I’ve trying to take a via media. I’m also been open to liberal arts to maybe experiment with both of them.
Yes I understand. But some schools have a generalist management major and those are usually the lowest paid sub area, along with marketing.
All said it seems the student prefers Econ and not bus although in a place like babson, they will merge.
Btw op - if you like babson, Bentley would be it’s safety cousin. .
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That’s actually Northwestern. Business minor. Not major.
You have 20 common app spots.
I would not say Bowdoin is harder to get into UNC, especially from OOS.
But forgetting that - they are different. Forget the names and rank - what do you want in a school - size, environment, sports.
The rank is secondary and far less important short of a few names.
Ps budget is the most important.
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I want a mid-sized University which has a good economics program, has a flexible curriculum and let’s me continue with my ECs like scuba-diving although I prioritize the quality of the program first.
That makes sense.
There are many LACs with very good Econ at various selectivity levels. You’re probably going to want to keep a good selection of public universities on your list for a combination of affordability/selectivity reasons, but you could consider adding to, or substituting for, some of your more selective university options with various LACs.
There are some obvious ones, like basically all the most selective New England LACs. I’d personally also suggesting looking at least at Swarthmore, Haverford, Pomona, Claremont McKenna (I think they have an Economics-Accounting major), Carleton, Grinnell, Macalester, and Reed.
I note this probably just looks like a list of a whole bunch of very good LACs, but Economics is a core LAC subject, and it makes sense so many of the very good LACs make a point of being very good in Economics.
Anyway, Richmond is another interesting one–they actually do have business for undergrads, and it is a very business-oriented school. Last I might mention Kalamazoo, which also offers both Econ and Business majors.
Obviously all of these are potentially very expensive if you pay full price, so definitely check out their net price calculators. Some also have merit and/or need+merit programs, which might be worth a shot depending on whether you like the school enough.
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Good catch!
I’m going to guess some of the LACs I just mentioned are better or worse for this particular EC, but I will let you figure that one out . . . .
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Thank you for all the information! I’ll prolly look into these LACs (especially Richmond and Kalamazoo) and maybe apply to the need-blind ones.
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And we had the UCs, Michigan, UNC, and Bowdoin - why ?
I’m not a diver but assume you want to be coastal.
You might look at schools in Florida - U Miami, and schools like College of Charleston, and others that rim a cost - I think you mentioned Loyola Marymount earlier. U of San Diego might be another. I’m sure they’re more. URI is mid size and big merit. Bryant. Conn College meets need and has merit. Small but coastal.
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A lot of the lower ‘ranked’ won’t matter if need blind. Lots of merit to get a smart kid in just like many of the publics mentioned earlier to meet budget. They buy kids in with stats above the norm.
Kids like you won’t pay full for those schools (that exceed their stats) so they pay you to come. In addition to Kalamazoo, Depauw, Wooster, Allegheny, Susquehanna, Willamette and frankly the list goes on and on.
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To this point, I wonder how the OP will end up doing on A Levels, and how various colleges will perceive them. I think most people who understand that system could conceivably value them pretty highly, if the scores were high enough. And I wonder how that potentially could translate into merit offers.
Like, Richmond gives out some full “Richmond” scholarships, but perhaps more importantly gives out quite a few more 1/3rd “Presidential” scholarships, which is obviously targeted at wooing people away from higher ranked schools that will only meet demonstrated need for such students.
And then they top up some of those to 1/2 through their “Oliver Hill” scholarships, which are for “academically accomplished, intellectually curious students interested in building a community of learners within a multi-cultural environment. Named after civil rights icon Oliver Hill, Sr., scholars participate in engaging and culturally stimulating activities that revolve around diversity and social justice.” Maybe that could be the OP?
Anyway, those could be pretty compelling offers for OP. No guarantees, of course, I just think it could be a good fit if it worked out (no clue about the scuba diving, although Richmond is not too far from the ocean . . . ).
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Most LACs have fewer than 2,000. Bowdoin has 1,900 students, Haverford has 1,400 students, Pomona and Reed have 1,500 each, etc. The largest LACs that have economics would be Middlebury with a “whopping” 2,500 students, and Wesleyan with 3,000 students.
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Is it advisable to cut down on my reach schools such as Duke, WashU , Berkeley and UCLA? Should I replace them with more safeties or targets?
Berkeley and UCLA are outside your budget, so there’s no point applying.
Did your parents run the NPC calculator for Duke and WashU?
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Yes to UCB and UCLA - they’ll be over $70K.
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Yeah, I’ll scrap the UCs altogether maybe. The NPC for WashU and Duke are both similar although WashU is slightly costlier. But given that I’m applying to them via RD (regular decision), my chances of getting in may be slim.
Maybe I can replace them with Boston University or Boston College.
Any of the high end privates will have an issue with RD vs. ED.
The trick will be to ensure you have some colleges you can be assured of getting into.
I’d say this - you are a rising Junior.
Don’t obsess at this point. Keep good grades. Stay involved.
It’s ok to keep a list but no decisions will be made for another year plus so you have many months until you need to get this granular.
But maybe - occasionally - not full bore - check out some schools of interest via their online info sessions. Maybe one or two a month.
Don’t do too many - they’re all the same and all are boring.
You have finance issues. It seems like you just want big names.
But to hit $$, there’s tons of great schools - maybe it’s a U Miami or Miami of Ohio. Or an Alabama (best bang for buck) or Mississippi State or WVU, etc.
You can do econ anywhere.
You’ll take your shot but you’ll still need to hit budget and while you said it’s $50K, your dad might say - well if NU is $29K, I don’t want to pay more.
So I think you’re going a bit too fast for now.
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A “mid-sized university” will also rule out Purdue, University of Washington, University of Indiana, and UMass Amherst.
Depending on how flexible your definition of “mid-sized university” is, you might consider Miami University in Oxford, Ohio (around 16,500 undergraduates).
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