Looks like many of the business programs (Indiana, Ohio etc) have minimum ACT 30 for direct admission. Can anyone speak to how hard it is to gain admission if not directly admitted?
Hitting 30 may not happen for him—I have no idea how difficult it is to raise ACT 3 points.
What about the Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics at Syracuse? They have a dedicated Sports Management major.
A few suggestions, if your son is able to bring his ACT score up several points here are some top-notch colleges with excellent business programs: Washington & Lee, U of Richmond, Bucknell, William & Mary, Villanova, Lehigh, BC & Wake Forest (these schools have become more selective in the past few years, i.e. Villanova & UR’s admit rate was 27% this year.) Being a male from the West Coast may help him a bit. Here are some slightly less selective, but good colleges with strong undergrad business programs - Rhodes, Dickinson College, Franklin & Marshall, SMU, Miami University in Ohio, TCU, University of Delaware, Loyola University of Maryland, Elon College & University of Tulsa. I have first-hand knowledge of U of Richmond’s Business School and I would highly recommend the school and major to your son. Best of luck to him. (FYI…Large, public universities with strong business programs include U of Pittsburgh, U of Maryland, Penn State, Virginia Tech, Boston U)
What about the CSU campuses? San Diego State is a great school, for example, and there are many others!
Different college majors and courses may be applicable to different aspects of sports. For example:
However, he may want to consider doing a more general major that can be applied to some aspect of sports (while taking sports-related electives), rather than a sports-specific major that may be an impediment if he needs to look for a not-specifically-sports-related job. Narrowly focused pre-professional majors may signal to employers that the person is not that interested in other jobs that s/he would otherwise be qualified for, so they can be limiting, especially if the jobs aimed at also consider people with more general backgrounds (e.g. a sports business major will have to compete with general business majors for sports business jobs, but is likely to be less competitive for non-sports business jobs).
@AwayHeGoes you will need to decide whether he wants a regular business degree or one with a sports emphasis.
You touched on something in your original post–the advantage of business students being right in a city so that internships have minimal logistical barriers. There are some great schools for business that are not near cities, & therefore internships are for summers only, & getting them involves much competition (since students from all over are applying) & significant logistical hassles (e.g., where would he live?). Two colleges with solid business schools, Div.1 sports, & are literally blocks from unlimited businesses are Virginia Commonwealth U & U of Nebraska-Omaha. Both are reasonably priced & their business schools are not brutally hard to get into.
Has he taken the SAT? You can find SAT/ACT diagnostic tests that help determine which test best suits a student. ACT is reading speed intensive for all subjects. Many students, especially boys with shorter periods of focus, can struggle finishing the ACT. Just a thought.
Marist, Quinnipiac and UCONN.