Thanks, I guess that’s the hard part to decide as not visited many colleges and seems to don’t have any preference…sounds wiered. So only options left to to do online research and rankings etc…to find out best programs…if that’s make sense…,
How many colleges one should apply to…how many are too many as pretty busy year ahead with lots of application essays…,
Parent of current rising HS senior and older son alumni of Fisher (tOSU). Will add two data points.
One of the things I like most about tOSU (not just in Fisher) is the tendency to ensure that freshmen are exposed to the tools used by industry. So, even if only a rising sophomore, students are attractive interns to employers because they are ready to contribute in a real way even with only one year in. Another nod to Fisher is that my oldest is a rising second year at a T5 b-school, so Fisher served him well in that way, also.
Second data point - same son interned at a major investment bank this past summer. He said that the place was filled with Wharton recent undergrads who were incredibly smart, skilled and hard working. They work their tails off but after 2 years of no-life servitude they are set up for entry into the coveted private equity/VC/hedge fund world. Basically 24 year olds earning salaries which dwarf the kind of tuition complained about on CC.
He tried to get his little brother (a way better student, by the way) to think about that but that conversation went nowhere, fast.
I guess my point is that there most definitely are major employers out there continuously seeking undergrad top b-school grads. This is not a cushy road (think of a surgical residency type of work schedule - not kidding, work, sleep, work, sleep.). Large financial benefits, but every penny is earned.
(Older son is awaiting his start date for his real job in IB next year. He is sweating a bit as he is getting married next summer and if his start date is before his wedding date, he will not be at the wedding. Not kidding on that one, either).
Hard to get a feel without actually getting a feel but some common categories to consider are:
Geographic location: Preferences on coasts, mid west, etc.
Physical location: rural, suburban, urban
Size: Large, medium, small
Living quarters: residential vs. non residential (do kids tend to stay on campus or move off campus as soon as possible)
Class size
LAC style vs. Large University
Super competitive or collaborative
Education - what other majors / minors are strength points
Alumni - where do they work (and what type of jobs) in your area of interest (easy to research via linkedin)
Greek / Non Greek
Big Sports
The list can be as detailed as you like. There is no perfect school. You probably have a sense of the environment you would enjoy. Refine that and then choose schools that match.
What are you thoughts after visiting Georgetown, Texas & Virginia regarding those schools ? Your answer can help others to help you to refine your target schools.
@ publisher,
Liked Georgetown, UT Austin is instate and good college so obvious choice, Virginia was good but far from DC, connectivity, also lot of social movements etc in Charlottesville so kind of not sure…,
@ rickle1, those are good points and I’ll start refining
Take UC Berkeley off the list if you cannot afford $65K/year to attend. UC’s offer little to no financial or merit aid to OOS students.
The business major is in a separate division and admits students in a competitive holistic process. Frosh intending business majors begin in another division (usually L&S), take the business major prerequisites, and apply (usually in their second years). They also need to take prerequisites for a backup major in case they are not admitted to the business major.
@gunbymom, yes we looked at both npc calc and admission process at UCB. Still interested…that’s only California condor lodge on list…
@dreamiv2020 How many applications is a tough one. No right answer. But it’s a lot of work as many will require supplemental essays. Was just having this conversation with my niece with S’21 present. He applied to 15 and we both agree that was way too many. He was burned out. We easily should have knocked off 6 or 7 of them as there was realistically no chance of admission (HYP types) or he really wasn’t that excited about attending. That’s the challenge with very selective schools; you just don’t know the outcome so you apply to lots of them just in case.
The real problem - he didn’t have a real safety. That’s about definition: a school that’s affordable, that you’ll be admitted to, and THAT YOU LIKE. He had two easy admits but he wasn’t crazy about them so I think that set the stage for applying to too many reaches (because you just don’t know about admissions). He basically cast a wide reach net. He should have narrowed that down to only schools that he would have loved to attend. Easy to say in hindsight.
@rickle1 , I agree 100%, it’s hard to decide and choose, I guess no easy answers to these questions…
My S20 is in the same boat. His GC recommends the typical 9 schools…3 reaches, 3 matches, 3 safeties. We went a little different route. Pick 2 safeties that you find at least a little appealing and then do tons of research and narrow the list down for matches with maybe 1-2 reaches.
I know it’s tough. My son absolutely resisted our in-state options for safeties. He doesn’t want High School 2.0, but after visiting and realizing that there are so many different kids he’s at least Ok with the option if necessary. Plus the business schools are highly rated.
After that it’s drill down and find the schools that check all the boxes. He found 9 more so he has 11 on his list. He’s done 3 applications already. He’s looking at the rest. I think it’s sinking in how much work they are with all the essays plus keeping up with all the emails and visits. Personally I think 6-7 would be the perfect amount. I’ll be surprised if he does all eleven. I think there’s 2 or 3 that could fall off the list.
I think between 10-12 should be good considering safeties, matches and reaches…and i agree it needs lot of research…
What are the options out there to check the net price, other then NPC, is it pretty close to real cost of attending schools
I’m kind of narrowing down on my list, what are good options with financial aid and comparable on IU Kelly business school…adding Columbia, Williams and Gabelli.,where do you get the rankings from top 15 onwards…I just see rankings for top 15 finance undergrad schools on usnews