Chance my son for a Business Major applying to Top 25 Schools

Again, I understand that OP is referring to undergraduate business schools. I used MBA programs as an example of the importance of rankings.

With respect to undergraduate business schools, I never suggested that one should focus on any specific number of schools as situations & priorities vary. Nevertheless, rankings are an important factor to consider regarding undergraduate business schools for those targeting highly competitive positions.

P.S. Wall Street Oasis (WSO) provides interesting commentary on topics such as this. Because their readers and posters tend to focus on high-paying, highly competitive careers / occupations, the overwhelmingly dominant view is that rankings matter a lot both at undergraduate & at MBA level programs.

I agree that one’s major matters as supply chain, for example, is very strong at some universities not typically viewed as elite or highly ranked overall, but highly ranked for specific disciplines (majors).

I agree with your second point that regional location can be as effective as a high ranking.

I meant to say Global 100 - I put Global - and finally someone agreed with me :slight_smile:

I think of my current GM - and she has 40 years experience but no degree. My counterparts - one has a GED, some like me have MBAs although most are 2nd tier or no tier and some have degrees from places like U of Phoenix or U of Maryland Global - and that guy just left and got a VP job at an automotive supplier.

When you look at industry at large - for example, we have an IU finance guy who is doing vehicle fleet sales - so in general, most end up in good, solid, corporate jobs but not to the level that everyone is going in excited about at the begininng. Or eve knows exists.

Unless your business has your name on the building, we will all experience times of layoffs (hopefully not us specifically), cutbacks, age discrimination, forced relocations, and more - and many of the people who face these issues go to good and not so good schools.

I think, on an overall basis, people put way too much pressure on themselves. Yes, there are future CEOs out there - and they might go to Harvard. But they also might go to Western Michigan.

Get a good, solid foundation - work hard to network and take advantage of opportunities to “land” experience - because even though the college brochures say we have this internship and that internship - they don’t just happen. And there’s many kids not getting them and working at Panera for the summer.

Be the best you - and things have a way of working out.

Also, and others have mentioned, people have to focus on what they want. They say Wall Street - well Wall Street has the I-Bankers…but they have HR, marketing, corporate finance, internal and external communications, and more. And a lot of Wall Street today is in NJ, Florida, Denver, Nashville, and others.

The world is changing - and our kids need to adapt - and think beyond the perceived career gold medal that they know little or nothing about.

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Above is a list of UNC’s BBA outcomes with a 97% response rate and 99% knowledge rate.

Top employers over previous three years:
Accenture, Bain, BofA, BCG, Capital One, Cisco, Comcast, Deloitte, EY, Goldman Sachs, IBM, Insight Sourcing, JPM, Morgan Stanley, Newell Brands, PWC, P&G, Red Ventures, SunTrust and Wells Fargo.

This is a Top 25 BBA. We don’t know exactly what jobs people are getting at Goldman (IB, PE or back office?), etc. but this start out of undergrad is what a legit T20 school provides. If you’re a top student at a Top 100+ BBA program, you may get a hook up from an honors professor, get a job with the top firms coming to campus (Big 4?), Accenture or may have some job postings.

With a 3.7 GPA and 1370 SAT, I recommend IU if you can swing the cost and like the remoteness. If your grades are good enough to get entry into a UC or Cal Poly/SJSU, strongly look at that. I’d think that Santa Clara would be about as difficult to get entry as Fordham or Miami. Penn State is an easier entry but pretty expensive OOS. Still cheaper than the privates if you’re full pay. Some, like SMU, may offer merit funds for the b-school but may not. Lack of leadership but have work experience.

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I agree with those suggesting you focus less on ranking and more on fit with your kid. You know him - put him somewhere he can succeed. As someone who has been involved in hiring hundreds of people over a 30+ year career, when it comes to biz majors, I would take a student from an unranked public school who had leadership experience, interned/worked in the field over someone from UCB who just studied. I found what they did outside the classroom is what made them more valuable as employees.

Chapman and LMU are probably good private targets, SDSU, UCR, CPP and CSULB are very good publics - especially for biz/MIS,

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Thanks for your feedback. Obviously we have overlooked undergraduate enrollment size when making this list. What is a reliable source to find this information?. I had no idea smeal enrollment was this big.

Look at each college’s website for info. Contact admissions for details or do a tour. Reach out to the business schools directly.

I used this website.

Also

My advice is to talk to your son and help him without pushing too hard. Learn to listen. It can be stressful at times. The hard part is to know when to push and when to walk away. Good luck.

OP: If you venture on to other websites such as Poets & Quants for Undergrads or Wall Street Oasis, you will find that rankings matter for those seeking career opportunities in the most lucrative and prestigious companies as that is the essence of both websites.

If not targeting the most lucrative & the most prestigious career options, then rankings are far less important and location of the school takes on added significance.

Poets & Quants for Undergrads publishes a list of average SAT scores for recently enrolled students at over 100 undergraduate business schools. This chart should be helpful.

Also, the largest undergraduate business schools tend to attract the most recruiters to campus for OCI (on campus interviews).

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Update (as of Dec 1 2021)

SAT Score: 1440 (higher than expected when i wrote the chance thread).

Accepted Schools So far:

Arizona State:WP Carey-MIS (Direct),
Michigan State:Broad-Supply Chain(Not Direct yet),
Minnesota:Carlson-MIS(Direct),
IU: Kelley-Finance (Petition Pending).

Waiting: Fordham,SMU,Rutgers,UIUC,UMass … and some UCs/Cal States

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As an Indian-American, do not select Penn State, he will be very uncomfortable. It’s an extremely bad atmosphere for non-whites.

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Update (as of Jan 14 2022)

Accepted Schools So far:

Arizona State: WP Carey-MIS (Direct), Merit$12.5K
Michigan State: Broad-Supply Chain(Not Direct yet), Merit $10K
Minnesota: Carlson-MIS(Direct)
IU: Kelley-Finance (Direct), Merit $3K
Fordham: Gabelli-Finance(Direct)
Binghamton: SOM-Business Admin(Direct)
Santa Clara: Leavey-MIS(Direct), Merit $9K
Purdue: Krannert- Integrated Business and Engg

Deferred: WPI and SMU(withdrawing)

Waiting: UIUC, Villanova, UMass, USC … and some UCs/Cal States

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Congrats. Just curious - why the various majors? Ultimately, which do you want to pursue?

Most of the business schools you pick major in the second year, so it does not matter. Son wanted either Finance or MIS but was not sure at the time of applying.

The Berkeley MET program interested him so we added Purdue-IBE and Lehigh-CSB.

Minor Update. Deferred from Villanova.

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Update (as of Jan 29 2022, all EA resuts in)

Accepted Schools So far:

Arizona State: WP Carey-MIS (Direct), Merit$12.5K
Michigan State: Broad-Supply Chain(Not Direct yet), Merit $10K
Minnesota: Carlson-MIS(Direct)
IU: Kelley-Finance (Direct), Merit $3K
Fordham: Gabelli-Finance(Direct), Merit:$25K
Binghamton: SOM-Business Admin(Direct) Merit:$10K
Santa Clara: Leavey-MIS(Direct), Merit $9K
Purdue: Krannert- Integrated Business and Engg
Penn St: Smeal-Supply Chain (2+2) (Declining)
Rutgers: RBS-NB -Finance
Wisconsin: Finance(Direct)

Deferred: WPI ,SMU(withdrawing),Villanova, Miami
Rejected: Maryland(went test optional)
Waitlisted: UMass(withdrawing)

Waiting: UIUC,UCs/Cal States

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Lots of great options already! Congrats!

Congrats on all the acceptances, including from schools on your initial “reach” list!

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Accepted Schools So far: (as of Feb 16)

Arizona State: WP Carey-MIS (Direct), Merit$12.5K
Michigan State: Broad-Supply Chain(Not Direct yet), Merit $10K
Minnesota: Carlson-MIS(Direct)
IU: Kelley-Finance (Direct), Merit $3K
Fordham: Gabelli-Finance(Direct), Merit:$25K
Binghamton: SOM-Business Admin(Direct) Merit:$10K
Santa Clara: Leavey-MIS(Direct), Merit $9K
Purdue: Krannert- Integrated Business and Engg
Penn St: Smeal-Supply Chain (2+2) (Declining)
Rutgers: RBS-NB -Finance
Wisconsin: Finance(Direct)
South Carolina: Darla Moore-Finance (In-state tuition, Maybe Merit)

Deferred: WPI ,SMU(withdrawing),Villanova, Miami
Rejected: Maryland(went test optional)
Waitlisted: UMass(withdrawing)

Waiting: UIUC,UCs/Cal States

Help!. Son now says he does not want to go out of state!. Santa Clara (expensive) is the only option left.

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HELLO Santa Clara!!! Congratulations! I’ve heard very good things about SCU.

Hang in there. Hopefully one of the UCs/CSU will pull through. Santa Clara is excellent btw.

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