<p>I'm wondering what are some of the disadvantages of going to a less competitive school such as Alabama for undergrad, compared to other schools I'm looking at such as USC, Michigan, North Carolina, Texas, Wisconsin, and Penn State.</p>
<p>I'm planning on majoring in business and I want to go to an elite MBA school such as Columbia.</p>
<p>I really like the fact about Alabama that my tuition would be covered and there would be no costs for undergraduate. If I make a 4.0 or a high 3 in undergraduate at a school such as
Alabama and I scored very high on the GMAT, would this put me at a disadvantage at getting into MBA schools such as the Ivies, and Stanford.</p>
<p>My parents are willing to pay $30,000 a year for me and the rest would need to be covered by either merit aid, scholarships, or financial aid.</p>
<p>It really don’t think it makes too much of a difference. If you get the grades you plan on getting, all you have to do is get some work experience and get involved. Now if you got in to Columbia, don’t pass it up, but of the others go to the one you like the most and think you will do the best at. It WILL look good applying to grad school if you go to a top notch place like Michigan or Columbia, but in an application process, your grades trump ALL of that pomp</p>
<p>I was in a similar dilemma last year (though I had less choices - just Michigan and another school that was offering me a full ride but was ranked pretty low). Everyone on here said that it really doesn’t matter as long as your grades are high.</p>
<p>I eventually chose UM because my financial aid package here, while not a full ride, was pretty good and made the costs reasonable and within reach. I also was a lot more excited about UM; I only applied to the other school because they sent me mail guaranteeing acceptance and a full ride.</p>
<p>My advice would be to wait for aid offers from all the other schools. If there is a school that you like a lot, and they offer you a good/manageable package, you should probably choose that. If you do decide on Alabama, I don’t think it will be an issue at all as long as you have very good grades.</p>
<p>Edit: Out of curiosity, are you a National Merit Finalist? If so is your full ride for Alabama’s National Merit Finalist scholarship? I received info about that and it looked pretty appealing. The full ride I had was from another school’s NMF scholarship.</p>
<p>My dad went from Rutgers to Columbia business where he got his masters - so no. If you go to Bama (where you’ll also have a hell of a time) and put up some good grades like my father did at Rutgers, then you’ll certainly have a shot at some of the schools you list.</p>
<p>^^ Yes… unless you want to work for 5 years and get your MBA and try for associate… If you want to get in as an analyst out of undergrad, you don’t have much of a choice… None of the schools you listed are top targets, but USC might get you into local TMT groups… Michigan, UNC and Texas will give you a chance</p>
<p>Wisconsin and Penn State won’t cut it… you’ll have to network a lot. and bama is self explanatory.</p>