Is this college list too ambitious for a midwestern oboist who wants to major in business?

Chance Me / Match Me!
21

Lot’s of great schools on your list but I’m assuming if you got into Ross you would go. It seems like a no brainer.

Rice is great but I would be cautious of going to a new business program. Lots of growing pains.

I would figure out if you want to do Econ or Business. They’re not the same. Depending on the school they may or may not be housed in the Business school. If not, then Econ might not have access to the Business school resources, counseling, and recruiting. It’s also probably harder to transfer into the Business school from Econ than vice versa so I would apply Business if you aren’t sure.

If you look at a large public university with a large business enrollment look to see if they have a business honors program. You’ll get more attention plus added perks. Not all large public universities have large business schools. Look at schools like UNC, Pitt, or Georgia Tech.

You really need to pin down your finances and what you can afford. If you need any type of merit/FA to attend consider it a reach. Merit scholarships are very, very competitive even if you’re a NMSF plus your family situation adds some complexity. You need some matches and safeties. I’m assuming MSU would be a safety.

Good luck.

2 Likes
22

It’s a no-brainer. Do the full ride scholarship. Someone is literally giving you $200,000 to go to college. You’d take a free Ferrari, right? Or you could turn it down and pay $200,000 for a Porsche…you’re choice :slight_smile:

23

For your safety, UCF, if you apply by end of Sept/early Oct, you’ll receive a scholarship. If you wait until Nov or later, you most likely won’t. Scholarship money goes quickly. Plus, their business classes are almost all exclusively offered online (pre-covid). This turns off many business students.

UMD is extremely stingy with OOS merit aid.

90% of UNC admits must come from in-state, so OOS is extremely difficult to get in.

Many business schools have both direct-admit and junior year admit. Since you do not show any business interest through your ECs, you might have a tough time getting direct-admit at the top b-schools. But you can always work on your business ECs in college and apply for your junior year.

1 Like
24

Your list: it is long (although that seems to be the trend these days). Keep in mind that in addition to general application there will potentially be separate honors college applications and separate scholarship applications for each school, so the effort really starts to add up quickly.

ASU is a great option. B-school is well-ranked especially in areas like analytics, accounting and quantitative analysis, which seem to be up your alley. Double-check me by running the scholarship estimator on ASU website, but I believe NMF gets you full tuition scholarship there.

Both of your in-state options are great, so that’s a plus

UMD - good school, but I do not have a sense of their merit and FA

UNC is reach/high reach for OOS (depending on legacy status) + is secondary admit to b-school (unless you are one of the lucky 40 per year freshman direct admits)

For reaches - figure out the affordability angle and program rankings/reviews and then chose

ECs not business related - your PT job working in a store is business related. Somewhere in the application questions you may get the opportunity to address how, when, and why you decided you want to major in business to explain why you do not have more. My oldest had zero business ECs in high school because she did not get interested in business until summer after Jr year (through a volunteer job), but was able to address that in supplemental essays.

As others have suggested, figure out your budget, then find colleges that fit your budget and have well-regarded b-schools or econ programs (even if overall university national rank is not as high), and most importantly that you see yourself wanting to attend.

As someone else suggested, if there is a way for you to get exposure to econ and business and decide if you like one over the other before deciding on a college that would be helpful. Business and econ are related, but not the same. I say this as someone who has a major in both. Many people find they have a preference for one over the other once exposed to both.

25

I also should add that your list of schools could/should change if you choose Econ over Business but I would think UMich would be first for either one.

FYI…I’m also an Econ/MBA person. The two are related but pretty different.

Assuming MSU or possibly ASU as a safety I would consider how a school like UMD would fit on the list. It’s OOS but not rated any higher than MSU in business so cost/prestige wise it doesn’t make sense. UNC would be a different story. It’s OOS but a top-rated business school.

Another thing to consider is your AP credits. They could cut a year off your education. I’m not saying that’s the best option but something to consider. If you want the 4 year college experience then don’t do it. S20 carried 51 credits to Georgia Tech. He’s planning on 3 years, but we’re not counting on it. He’s enjoying his time but looks at it more like a business transaction. Great school and opportunity but why pay for another year if you don’t need to.

26

You have to remember - on the CC, we look at rankings. Outside of the top schools, a flagship is a flagship. Nebraska is no different than Maryland which is no different than Oregon. Yes, Maryland is ranked in the 60s and it’s harder to get into. But most in society do not see that. They hire regionally or for specific majors. Example, ASU and MSU (along with Tennessee) are known for Supply Chain.

After UNC, UVA, UCLA, UCB, Michigan, and William & Mary - which public you go to likely doesn’t matter - again, unless you are in a specific discipline such as supply chain or IS (Arizona is good).

Find the right fit and most importantly the right price. They are out there.

UMD, by the way, very good school, very difficult to get merit.

27

Thank you so much! Ross would definitely be my top choice, but given my lack of business anything, it’s pretty unlikely. I will definitely do some more research into schools, but I’m grateful for all the ideas I got on this forum!

28

Yeah, UMD is looking less and less like a good option. I think I was mistaken about how much merit they offer. :frowning: thanks for the advice!

29

Yikes. Yeah, those three schools look like they’re gonna be the ones I cut. Thanks for your insight!

And I know that I have zero business ecs. Opportunities aren’t really plentiful in my school/region. I’m just not really sure what the best course of action is (and it might be too late to start anything senior fall)

30

Don’t worry about the business EC’s. You have a part-time job. That’s worth a lot. You learn a lot by just working. S20 didn’t have any business EC’s, just part-time jobs and he got into every business school he applied. Work it into your essays.

Some schools consider work experience for admission, some don’t. Some weigh it more heavily than others. You can usually find this out on their admission criteria. Personally, I think part-time work experience is more valuable than a lot of these EC’s and clubs I see listed on CC.

4 Likes
31

Another comment about work experience. S20 liked the co-op schools so he applied to Drexel, Northeastern and GT.

We talked to kids at Northeastern and Drexel. The NEU kids did some work at MIT and one of the Drexel kids worked at Penn. I chuckled and said that seems odd to the Drexel kid. He smiled and said it’s because “we’re work ready”. Don’t underestimate work experience. There are so many ways to work it into an essay. Anything that demonstrates maturity, dependability, and ability to work with others or customers is gold.

3 Likes
32

In terms of private U’s, two where you might qualify for big merit, and which are particularly strong in both business and music, are U of Denver, and U of Puget Sound.

Business and music are the two things DU is most known for; plus it has the Pioneer Leadership cohort program that is highly selective.

UPS has a small Business Leadership cohort program that is also highly selective, and great music programs.

I’m not sure what the max merit is for these schools but it sounds like you’d be competitive for the cohort programs - especially with all of your leadership EC’s - and for good financial incentives, especially with National Merit.

U of Miami could also be worth a look.

In terms of co-op schools, U of Cincinnati is strong in music and has strong co-op programs in business.

IU Kelley is one of the top business schools, and IU’s music conservatory is tops too, so that could be worth a look in addition to tOSU as mentioned above.

Temple is another public U with a wide variety of business programs and excellent music. Big merit awards are possible, and there’s an honors college.

Another top-notch but affordable business honors cohort program (especially with NMF merit) is the U of Nebraska Lincoln Business Honors Academy… and UNL has a music school as well.

I’m a Rice parent and generally love the school, but with the business major being brand new and the music school offering only limited opportunities to non-majors, I’m not sure it’s going to be an ideal target. Northwestern and USC could be better for what you want, if the costs are workable.

URichmond could be worth checking out also. Performing arts scholarships are available to music minors as well as majors; could be a good place to combine business and music.

You do have nice in-state options; if you can get into Ross, the in-state tuition and terrific music combined with Ross business could be hard to beat.

I think a rec from last years calc teacher would be fine, especially since you had her for two years in a row and covered college-level material with her.

Good luck - sounds like you’re getting a good start and will be well-prepared to apply in the fall.

1 Like
33

DU (Denver) maxes at $27K + $3K if you live in a dorm. It’s still a $45K+ COA.

34

Just curious as to your comment about knowing upfront about the Benacquisto. UF in particular has basically said (to us) that this is a state, not school program so any legislation reducing it could potentially increase the COA. I’ve heard that FSU was different in that they were offering an institutional merit package to meet the Beacquisto if were reduced or eliminated for OOS.

Did you hear differently? Although accepted, we had basically put it off the table as our D had gotten “guaranteed” merit elsewhere.

35

All I’m saying is - the reason for not applying to Florida, to me, makes no sense.

If she doesn’t apply and we find out things remain the status quo, she will regret it.

So I’d apply. If you earn the Benaquisto, they will tell you upfront if it’s guaranteed for four years or if legislation can change that. By applying, you buy time until you hear the real answer…that’s all I’m saying.

Florida has moved up to the #6 public school. There will be strong pressure against eliminating it.

It’s an easy app - so I’d apply - and that buys you time - all I’m saying.

36

Congrats on a great resume!

I would suggest looking at Indiana University - Kelley School of Business. Wonderful program, good ranking and decent scholarships for out of state. We toured for my daughter and came away very impressed.

37

@cmublue was there anything specific that stood out to you? I was accepted there and I’m considering going, but we’re OOS so we didn’t get a chance to actually visit the school. At this point, any insights would help!

38

Hey! I have a few suggestions.

Definitely check out Georgia Tech. It doesn’t require non-custodial CSS, has a healthy selection of merit scholarships, and has a great business program. Atlanta is abound with internship opportunities too. It’s probably a reach but not a huge reach.

Vanderbilt. Non-custodial CSS not required. Over 250 full ride scholarships annually. Campus is gorgeous. Nashville is fun. Enough said? (Reach though)

Drexel. This might be a slightly more safety option - the acceptance rate is higher, they don’t require n-c CSS and as a private school offer merit aid.

Would also strongly recommend Babson College. It’s a small business school in the Boston area and very prestigious. Private with merit scholarships available.

Would also advise you to look into international schools. Cost of tuition for you as an international student could likely end up cheaper than your most affordable US options. If even vaguely interested please let me know and I can advise re/ my personal experience with the U.K., Canada and Germany.

Of the options you’ve mentioned, UMich would be a great school to attend. Whoever mentioned Puget Sound - totally agree it’s a great and feasible option.

39

Career counseling services and recruitment.

I have seen a few third party surveys of graduates and they rank their experiences at Kelley very high.

I have spoken with multiple recruiters and they all said they love to hire IU grads.

ROI calculations regarding cost to attend / salaries after 5 years in work force.

Breadth of course offerings.

Beautiful campus and very friendly community. Bloomington is awesome college town.

1 Like
40

IU is a gorgeous campus. Kelly is a fine school - it’s not the top of the top - but it’s that next level. It’s a large campus - but usually it’s looked at as a top 50 campus and in a neat little college town.

If you want a big college, IU is a “nice” place to spend four years. vs. other schools that are “ugly” - calling you out Illinois :slight_smile: Don’t forget, you need to spend four years there - so it needs to go beyond ranking.

1 Like