Would appreciate advice on college list for my son who is a junior.
Stats: UW GPA:4.0, ACT:36, has taken 7AP courses will likely have 12 by senior year. Debate team, Quiz bowl captain, summer courses in economics
He is interested in Economics and Business majors. Tuition not a constraint.
He wants to be closer to home (Georgia) so not looking at West coast options. He would prefer programs that allow interdisciplinary courses since he is interested in economics, business and psychology - behavioral economics.
He is exploring:
Northwestern, Cornell, CMU, NYU, University of Michigan, Emory, Georgia Tech, University of Chicago, UGA, Brown
Is this a balanced list? Should he have other safeties in this list? Which other ones would you suggest?
Other than UGA, this is a very very reach heavy list. Despite your son’s excellent stats, you need to look at acceptance rates for these schools, not just average scores and GPAs to determine what is a safety/target/reach.
For a true safety, take a look at IU Kelley (would be auto admit for your son) that is excellent for business
For a target - Lehigh
As a general comment, a student with these interests may want to consider a major or minor in data science. Behavioral economics could then be developed as an interdisciplinary applied domain.
Thank you both for your responses - really appreciate it. This is our first time going through the college application process. Are there any resources to figure out safety schools that are good in economics/business?
I’d say - define closer to home because you have three Ga schools and the rest aren’t.
I think he’s fine if he’s ok at UGA and Ga Tech and truth is - you can get into an Alabama, for example, up until May 1 although the best programs (randall research, blount scholars) have an earlier deadline - I think Jan 15…so and not saying it -but U of SC Honor, Clemson Honors, Va Tech, Auburn, Bama, etc. - choose one and throw in an app just in case although I suspect he’d get into both state schools.
Closer to home and solid might be a Furman…or U of South (an LAC) or UF as a close UGA substitute.
Honestly - i think you’d be fine - although if you’re going to NY or Pittsburgh or Chicago, then why does it matter if he goes to Texas (Rice), California (Stanford or Pomona), etc. A flight is a flight. Boston may have solid options - a Brandeis as an easier but not easy school. You might also look at a Babson.
Best of luck - but I suspect he’s well set as is - although you shared stats only and admission is typically beyond that at top schools. And I’d probably throw in an uber safety because it will be a simple app, less than $100 - and a just in case.
Also a Junior, so perhaps not the most qualified to answer, but from what I understand it’s total fine to be reach heavy, but students should have 2-4 schools that they have a higher chance of admission just so they have options in case reaches don’t work out.
I would recommend using naviance if there are many students applying to schools of your interest to see how the data from your school reflects differently (ex. UVA might reject very few in a certain range whereas unc might seem harder than JHU). This and talking to your counselor can probably give you a more in depth perception of your shot at different colleges that might not be explained solely by acc rate.
Some schools to look at: UVA, Notre Dame (These two are fantastic for business and econ and seem to also be a bit more focused on stats like gpa and sat, at least in my understanding)
Actual safeties might be FSU or Alabama
Some things to consider. Business school admission is usually tougher than most other majors except CS and engineering at some schools. If your son wants business please apply to business programs. It’s easier to transfer out than in. If he prefers Economics then that probably makes applications easier.
Some of the schools on your list are not direct admit. It’s a competitive admit after sophomore year. I believe UGA is a competitive admit. They also have 8,000 business undergrads. Your son most likely would make the cut but something to consider.
I also think some business schools like UVA and UNC have a holistic admission process. You could be a great student but get shut out. I would be very wary of these programs unless your son is OK with picking another major or transferring. Again, your son is very competitive but it’s not a guarantee.
My question is what is your son looking for in a school? Does he want a large school or smaller school? Urban? Rural? Be sure to apply to Honor programs. They can help make a large school feel smaller.
His list is solid. For safety/matches I would look at FSU, South Carolina and NC State. NC State has a strong math/stats program. Most likely would get some or a lot of merit at these schools. Pitt has a small, direct admit business school. For something smaller maybe Richmond, Wake Forest or W&L. Apply early. Surprised Duke or Penn isn’t on his list.
You’re lucky to have GT as an in-state option. S20 started at Scheller and transferred to ISyE. Your son might find that path more agreeable. Emory would also be a nice option. Good luck.
If he wants to be near Wall Street for internships, he might want to consider Fordham as a safety school.
It is absurd that a student with a 4.0 UW, lots of APs and honors, and a 36 ACT score should have to be looking at schools with over 50% acceptance rates for a safety, but that’s how it is nowadays. Unless he has a hook (URM, wealthy donor child, recruited athlete, or, to a lesser extent, legacy), he’s unlikely to get in to top schools because he’s competing against students who have his academic qualifications, plus a string of very impressive ECs, like having founded the latest Fortune 500 company (just kidding, but not really kidding).
We are also in Georgia. I agree with other posters that your son’s list is very reach heavy. I do think that UGA is most likely a safety for him, and he should be an auto admit to the honors college. However, this is assuming that your son is near the top of his class. There are some super competitive public schools like Walton or North Gwinnett where the top students are routinely taking 15+ AP classes and many of them have 4.0s. If you have access to Naviance or Scoir for your school, it may give you a better idea of where you son stands relative to his classmates. For my kids school, there is a clear line of demarcation on the scattergrams.
If you are from the Atlanta area, Georgia Tech probably should be considered a low reach. I’ve had two high stats kids apply (both 35 Act and top 10 percent of class at a competitive private school). One was deferred then waitlisted, the other was accepted early action.
It’s a good idea to add a few safeties and matches to your list. Other posters have given you some great suggestions. I particularly like Richmond and Wake Forest as target schools, and Indiana as a safety. However, if you are full pay, you will need to decide if those schools are worth an extra $200k or more over UGA.
Has your son visited any colleges yet? It would be helpful to know what he is looking for in terms of size and location. Both of my kids felt UGA was too big and that Tech was too urban. We toured a wide variety of schools - urban, rural, suburban, small, large and in between. Several places that on paper sounded perfect fell off the list and some that were not even contenders at the beginning ended up as favorites.
I think the 4.0/36 are looking at easy admits for the cash register - cha ching.
And many of these b schools like Manderson at Bama, Eller at Arizona and Darla Moore at U of SC are legit - certainly in the same hemisphere as a very solid UGA Terry. And not for this student but for OOS students cost less with those stats.
For a true highly regarded safety, IU Kelley is most people’s that want elite because it’s an auto admit given these stats. And highly ranked.
Thanks for the suggestions. We have visited the ones closer to home and he has been to U Michigan for debate camp which he really enjoyed. We are planning to visit a few other colleges in the spring and that’s why getting ahead on a longer list so we can narrow down what he likes.
The best advice that I was given by our school college counselor was visit, visit, visit. She told me if you are on vacation somewhere, go tour the nearby college even if your kid has no interest in that particular school. This helps your child figure out what appeals them. The other great piece of advice she gave me was to visit Northern schools in February. Don’t visit in the Spring or Fall when the weather is beautiful. Southern kids need to understand what Boston or Chicago or Ithaca are like in the dead of winter.
You are very early in the process. This gives you ample opportunity to tweak your list. If your son likes Emory - he will probably also like Wake Forest or Wash U . If he likes Georgia Tech, the urban campuses of NYU or U Chicago or Boston University might appeal to him. If he likes the big state schools and sports culture of UGA and Michigan, then maybe Auburn, Clemson or Alabama would be a great safety. The list of schools you are considering are all great choices for a business or econ major. However, there are significant differences in both the academic and campus cultures at these schools. For example, Brown has an open curriculum vs. the core curriculum at Chicago. It would be very unusual for a student to not have a strong preference for one or the other. It may take some time to figure out what he wants, and that is perfectly fine. As others have pointed out, most of the colleges on your list are a reach for everyone. Your son is stellar, but you are looking at a group of schools that in most cases reject 90 percent of their applicants. I’m sure when all is said and done, he will have some great options. Quite possibly some from your initial list. In today’s world of college admissions it is just always a good idea to have a few backups. Best of luck
Is he interested in continuing debate in college? Depending on how strong he is, he might consider reaching out to debate coaches at Wake Forest or Emory, might be helpful. I’d also consider reaching out to Northwestern coach and see.
No. However, does it need to be? If he applies EA to UGA and get an acceptance, will he be ok with that if everything else falls apart? If he doesn’t get an EA acceptance from UGA, then you are doing some scrambling next December, but I think that risk is low.