My son has been admitted to University of Illinois and USC Business schools. Both are top 5 accounting programs per USNWR, for whatever that means to many/some/few. Also admitted to Michigan, but not the “preferred admit” to Ross Business. Admitted to Emory, but must apply to Goizueta in Sophomore year for Junior year. Problem at USC is that it is a Spring admit. Any reason to choose Michigan or Emory, where some kids don’t get into undergrad business school, when Illinois and USC are sure things? Thank you.
@coachray : Does your son not plan on excelling in classwork or joining extracurriculars when at a college? The intro econ. courses and b-school courses offer A grades to upwards to 35-40% of the section and the mean GPA for the B-school is a 3.6. This likely comes from combination of earning B+ and higher in pre-business courses and earning A’s in gen. ed requirements (not that hard as most will be in the social sciences which typically grade easily), and this is not hard to do which is why like 80% or more gain admission . Also, would your son literally die without being in a b-school? Are there other majors or EC endeavors that would allow them to develop their interests in business that may actually make them look like a more interesting candidate to employers in case something does not work out, or his future interests in employment so narrow that a b-school is almost the only route to take? Please think carefully about that. In addition, I know at Emory there is an increasing emphasis on entrepreneurship and facilitating that among undergrads. Your son could get involved in such things during the period before the app. to the business school and it will 1) make them a more competitive candidate in case the GPA does not hold up perfectly and 2) honestly eliminate the need for a BBA if whatever he ends up doing enjoys some success.
@coachray If your son’s ultimate goal is to gain admission to a top flight MBA, then the major matters less than GPA, GMAT and evidence of entrepreneurship.
Some schools Harvard/Stanford will not admit you without strong evidence of entrepreneurship. Others - Chicago and Wharton - are more finance oriented and care less about entrepreneurship.
They all care about (1) elite undergraduate pedigree, (2) very high GPA and (3) very high GMAT scores.
@MyOdyssey : Sounds right, just keep in mind that many will avoid admitting straight out of undergrad and also that “very high” for MBA (this may begin in the 3.7, perhaps even high 3.6 range depending on experience and GMAT) is different than very high for say, medical school or law school (you are talking 3.85+ for elite medical schools and with a schedule chock full of science courses which are less inflated than courses taken by many who pursued UG business, social sciences, or humanities. Law school is so high likely because they are taking into account the inflation in depts typically pursued by pre-laws) which also suggests that many value experience. I will agree that they want to see a high or GMAT score.
Go to Emory. The prerequisites for the business school are manageable and Goizueta is a great school. Being a spring admit sounds terrible. Rule out Michigan because you have the same concerns about it as Emory. Emory is significantly better than U of I. Emory is the right choice. It is also safe and the weather is nice. The acceptance rate for Emory’s business school is 70% so do not be too concerned.