I’ve tried to feel good about my decision but I can’t help but feel anxiety because I am not directly admitted into the major I want. I chose the University of Iowa and I was admitted as prebusiness. I feel as if I was short-changed…I have decent stats I guess: 25 act and 3.82 gpa, and I was denied direct admission for business.
I keep thinking about how I could’ve gotten something better out of this with my stats. I was looking to get direct admit to a good bschool, but it seems like most of them require a higher act (Iowa only wanted 1 point higher on my act). Marquette was unaffordable, and Depaul was my other option.
I keep telling myself it’s the right choice but part of me thinks a gap year would get me something better. If anyone could give me some advice, or tell me any business school I could possibly get into directly, it would be very helpful
If i were apply to Lyndon State college I will go straight to their pre-Meteo track So if you like learning then just go to University of Iowa, if not then take a gap year
Relax, you picked the University of Iowa for, I’m sure, lots of good reasons. Complete your first two years and then apply thru standard admissions. If you keep your grades up, I’m sure you’ll get in.
After two years, and you decide UI isn’t for you, or if you want to apply to a different business school, go ahead and transfer. The key is keeping all of your options open, by keeping up your grades.
@BeeDAre i have always wanted to major in business, and i feel like a liberal arts degree (like economics) will yield less opportunities and probably lower salary. Econ is a backup plan i guess, but i would rather transfer to a different bschool if i dont get into Iowa’s
@Gator88NE i will get in if i meet certain requirements, but they may be too difficult. My worry is that my grades wont be high enough to transfer anywhere, and I’d be stuck at Iowa in the liberal arts college. This is why im looking for “direct” admission
What would it take for you to get your ACT score higher? If that is realistic, then a gap year and reapplying might make sense.
Otherwise, just buckle down once you get to U of Iowa this fall, and focus on your grades so that you have the best chance of transferring into the business program.
@happymomof1 It’s pretty unlikely that I will score higher (I’ve taken it 4 times and barely got a 25 the last time I took it). I am able to retake it this summer and if it’s higher, I will have a strong chance of getting in (they accept applications through August 1 for Fall 2015)
How much prep did you do before taking the ACT each time? Will you actually do the prep needed before re-taking? Be brutally honest with yourself about that.
If you will prep, and you need good strategies, take the time to review xiggi’s advice on that subject: http://www.mediafire.com/download/xbientdegj4/Xiggi+Advice.PDF Even though that is written for the SAT, almost all of it will apply to the ACT as well.
Feeling unsure that you made the right decision is something that a lot of imcoming freshman experience. One useful tip to combat it is to talk to other students in your class and see how excited they are to be going to Iowa in the fall. Obviously you’re not going to be jumping for joy every single day, and a little apathy is to be expected, but have faith that you made the right choice. Think of all of the reasons why you picked Iowa over DePaul. There has to be some. You’ll do great, I promise.
I did a lot of studying by myself using my ACT practice books and many practice tests. Thank you for the link, i think it could be very helpful
Im trying to focus on what to do for college because the ACT is something i should’ve been done with early in the year. I may just go to Iowa, cuz i don’t want to waste a year staying back, just hoping to be a “shoe-in” at another business school
Btw, I would’ve gotten in directly at KU and ASU, but it seems like their business programs weren’t great and the overall education quality there is worse
Ivies educate a tiny percent of students. If you don’t get into the business school, then you can figure out your plans which may or may not include transferring. You may decide econ is the right path or a number of other fields. Regardless, don’t dwell on your other options and focus on how you can maximize your ROI at Iowa.
Thank you for the encouragement, and i have a question about the May 1 deadline: Are we “locked-in” to 1 school only now? I believe I accepted admission at both Iowa and Depaul…
University of Iowa is a fantastic university in one of the best college towns in the USA!! It’s a Carnegie “very high research university” that is well-known and with alumni all over the country. Within the College of Liberal Arts are several majors related to business. In addition to three options within Economics, there is an Enterprise Leadership major that is jointly offered with the Tippie College of Business that does not require admission to the College of Business (http://admissions.uiowa.edu/academics/enterprise-leadership). There is also an Actuarial Science major that is one of the most prestigious programs in the country, and can prepare you not only for a business career in the insurance industry, but also for any job that involves analyzing financial risk (http://admissions.uiowa.edu/academics/actuarial-science). The majors in Informatics and Statistics would also give you skills very useful for a business career. Start getting excited about college! And don’t visualize yourself making bad grades before you ever even start. Be determined to make good grades no matter what. Find out about all the free tutoring and other resources available on campus. Stop worrying and start looking forward to all the amazing experiences you will have. You made an excellent choice with University of Iowa, and the CLA can meet your needs!
By May 1, you should have only one place where you have accepted admission. So if your notes indicate that you have accepted at more than one place, you need to decide which place is where you are going to go, and let the other place know that your plans have changed and that you won’t be attending. If you made a deposit, you probably won’t get it back. But don’t worry about canceling on a university that way. Lots of people are on waitlists and will cancel an acceptance if they get into a place they like better.
Why is double depositing such a popular thing. Waste of money IMO, I feel like people are given plenty of time to make a decision (in most cases, everyone knows where they’ve been accepted by the end of March/beginning of April.)
But since you’ve double deposited, I’d honestly say go with the cheaper option. It seems that you applied to a lot of OOS publics, so I’m not sure if Iowa is IS or OOS for you. If it’s IS, then obviously that’s your best choice (unless your scholarship to DePaul was that big), but OOS it would be cheaper to go to DePaul assuming you got a scholarship.
So if you like learning then just go to University of Iowa, if not then take a gap year