Depends on size they want. Alabama has a free app this week - and Culverhouse is strong. It’d be $20K all in - with $28K off. It’s an easy app.
Arizona - would be $30K off - so $25K all in.
Many of hte Southern publics would be in budget - including UF, FSU, UGA, etc.
There are also smaller schools that would be well within budget - whether a College of Charleston, U of Denver, potentially Tulsa, and many others. Even some LACs would be within budget and would have more a bus/econ major vs. maybe finance.
it would help to know what the student is seeking - from a weather, size, etc. POV.
Good luck.
PS - i’m seeing Wall Street - while it’s harder to get to from “regular” schools - it’s not impossible - and depending on what the student wants to do, Wall Street is moving - Charlotte, Nashville, Dallas, etc.
Someone mentioned SMU before and with merit, it could be a very good choice. Indiana Kelly with merit would be another.
Has your son thought about any Canadian schools? Western U., U. of Waterloo, and U. of Western Ontario were mentioned on the lists linked above. Canadian schools tend to be very stat based and more affordable than many of their U.S. peers. When looking at costs, don’t forget to convert from CAD to USD. Perhaps @DadTwoGirls might have some advice?
If the student gets the app in before Dec. 1st they would certainly get a good AES scholarship at UT Dallas maybe enough to cover full tuition, then you can save your money and use it on a big name grad school. UTD isn’t for everyone, apply but make sure you visit to asses “fit” before accepting.
I think your son has a decent chance at McCombs. Apply to every scholarship that is available for him at UT (and TAMU ans SMU).
While UT, TAMU and SMU are not necessarily feeder schools to top finance firms in the NE, they do place into some of the top firms. My son is at one of the top bulge bracket firms in NYC and he has several co-workers from those 3 schools.
There are some smaller liberal arts schools that you should consider and COA of $45K will put them into play. Lafayette, Middlebury, Babson, Lehigh all send a decent number of kids to Wall Street. When you say Wall St, are you thinking about traditional IB jobs or more jobs related to finance/banking?
Then there are OOS public ivies that you can look at. I am thinking UVA and UNC in particular. None of these are easy admits. Some one suggested Fordham but Northeastern should be in play too.
TCU and SMU seem likely to come in at or under budget after merit. In particular, TCU EA (with merit award) is released in December, if that helps eliminate some January apps to safeties.
For a strong candidate like the one described, Case Western would offer a generous merit package. My bet is your student would be offered at least half off tuition with their acceptance package.
52AG makes a good point. Your student would likely have to apply to business programs in their respective business colleges, and then double major or minor with econ in the liberal arts college.
A couple things to watch out for… First, many schools do not have direct admission into their business programs. Students have to apply for general admission, and only after earning a given GPA in a set of prereq classes are they admitted into the B school. Second, many B schools do not guarantee admission into a given concentration. My nephew went to Penn State’s B school and during freshman orientation the dean explained that everyone wants finance and they only have so many seats, so the top XX students by GPA get their first choice.
Student guaranteed admission to UTAustin, as auto admit (Top 6%), but definitely not guaranteed major.
McCombs is an outstanding business school, and it isn’t a given for anyone…including NM, Valedictorians.
The major may be a reach, but I think the other poster may be reacting to your characterization of “LONG shot” and “doubtful,” which makes it sound near impossible. What is OP’s app missing, i.e., what type of UT auto-admit student gets into McCombs? Does McCombs release any data with regard to acceptance of UT auto-admits?
I’m sure McCombs does release info.
I just know in my very large, 6A district, it is quite common for Top Ten students (not Top Ten%, true Top Ten) out of grad classes 800+, to not get accepted into McCombs. These students are NM S/F, many have started small businesses, have all the bells & whistles on their resume, and still don’t get into McCombs. We know 2 recently that didn’t get into McCombs, but did get into Wharton.
It really is that tough.
As a top 5% student, the OP’s child would be an auto admit to UT Austin, although there is not an auto admit to individual colleges/schools like McCombs B School. Looking at various web pages on admissions standards, OP’s son has a decent not a long shot chance to get in to McCombs. The published acceptance rate is 19%. The 75th percentile for all UT matriculated freshmen for 2021 is 1480. Even assuming McCombs is more selective, dollars to donuts 1550 will be greater than the median and probably closer to the 75th percentile. The 75th percentile SAT composite for Princeton is 1570 and the 50th is 1540 as points of reference.
Southwestern University near Austin is good for business/Econ and will likely give your kid some good merit if a smaller school is of interest. My daughter is an Econ/math grad and worked at the Federal reserve before heading to grad school. Lots of successful grads. Probably need to apply soon for a merit scholarship if the deadline isn’t already past.
Has the student done the cost calculator for Rice? Rice offers good aid, with no loans, for those who qualify. Full tutition for those below $140 and half for those below $200.