Hillsdale College in Michigan?
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I don’t believe Lafayette has a business program (unless things chamged since my D graduated) but economics is a popular major. Nearby Muhlenberg does have a business program.
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St. Olaf. Their alumni network is strong in the midwest and the kids I have known have had good internships and career counseling.
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Gettysburg and F&M too, although really stretching “Midwest” now…
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Thx for the correction.
You say you are not likely to receive need based aid. Are you able and willing to be full pay at any college to which your student gets accepted? This is a family decision. We were full pay but our kids did get some merit aid. We were not hunting for merit aid.
So…I guess I’m asking to find out if you want info about schools with potential merit aid…or if this doesn’t matter to you.
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We would definitely welcome merit aid. Our family income and assets are likely higher than the thresholds for need-based awards, but overall cost is still certainly a consideration, for sure!
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I will then agree that Denison and Ohio University should be explored. Ohio University (like the other OH publics) freezes your tuition costs for all four years…so this is also an advantage.
Agree that SMU is worth exploring.
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St. Thomas in Minnesota. Small university with more of an LAC feel. Gorgeous campus in a very cute neighborhood in St. Paul. Lots of terrific internship opportunities. Terrific alumni network in the Midwest. The Twin Cities are headquarters to a lot of Fortune 500 companies. St. Thomas is Catholic, but most of the graduates I know are not Catholic. In a consortium with other schools in the Twin Cities: Macalester, Augsburg, St. Kates, Hamline. This would be a likely school for him. He would get merit.
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Another Jesuit college that I’m surprised hasn’t been mentioned is Xavier in Cincinnati. It’s about 5k undergrads, there are lots of big companies in the Cincinnati area, too, and if he is trying to meld econ and business, then he might be interested in the Smith Scholars Program which is an honors cohort within the business school that looks at a lot of the liberal arts ackground of business: Smith Scholars Program - Smith Center | Xavier University
Seconding Creighton, too.
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Has anyone mentioned University of Dayton?
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Here are a couple more schools for your family to consider:
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John Carroll is another Jesuit school, in the Cleveland area. It has about 2400 undergrads and fairly robust business offerings, too.
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Gustavus Adolphus (MN) has about 2100 undergrads and is probably well worth checking out.
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Lake Forest (IL) has about 1700 undergrads and is in close proximity to Chicago.
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Calvin (MI) has about 3k undergrads and, if if Hope might be a good fit religiously, then Calvin also deserves a look.
One place to browse for more ideas is this source that shows the number of Bachelor’s received in various fields in 2022. These snips are for the overarching business category, but if your son developed more particular interests (accounting, marketing, etc), you could further narrow down by specific major.
Great Lakes schools with 4,347 undergrads (or less)
Plains schools with 4,347 undergrads or less
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Thank you SO much to everyone for these wonderful recommendations and resources! You all are wonderful fonts of info! I really appreciate the insights and ideas you’ve offered and have much more to explore based on your input. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
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[quote=“ChiLACDreamer, post:1, topic:3648181”]
“He is perhaps seeking a “unicorn” as he would love to find a place that has engaging and caring teachers and support staff but also offers relevant, hands-on internship opportunities in the business sector and facilitates opportunities for career placement in top-tier national / international companies.”
If you only stick to the Midwest, you may be chasing a Unicorn. Several LACs in the Midwest offer traditional business programs, but probably not at the level you described. Bucknell and Richmond, previously mentioned, and Washington Lee would fit what you are looking for but obviously are not in the Midwest.
Consider this in terms of geography; we have experience with a college that was a six-hour drive and one that was a 90-minute plane ride; we preferred the latter. Being in Chicago, there are multiple non-stops to Richmond, and it may be more convenient than it appears.
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This seems to be my week to discuss the ecology of Great Lakes LACs.
So if you look at, say, Denison, I think you will find they do in fact get internships at national/international firms all over the country, get jobs with such firms, go on to get MBAs and such from top graduate programs, and so on. They actually have a really interesting Global Commerce major that is very much on point if that sort of employer is of interest to you, with a capstone experience in London.
Now, the other schools you mentioned are also really good. But I really don’t think this is a “unicorn” concept in the Great Lakes, people in that region understand the desirability of a small college that also places well in business careers.
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We did a lot of research looking at LACs with traditional business programs. I’m not knocking Denison or any other well-regarded LACs in the Midwest. I do not believe that Denison offers a traditional undergraduate business program.
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Sure, but what the OP asked for in terms of a unicorn was:
He’s interested in either a smaller college or a university with smaller class sizes that make it “feel” smaller / more personalized, preferably in the Midwest. He is perhaps seeking a “unicorn” as he would love to find a place that has engaging and caring teachers and support staff but also offers relevant, hands-on internship opportunities in the business sector and facilitates opportunities for career placement in top-tier national / international companies.
I think Denison’s Global Commerce major, for example, seems right on point. And it is true that isn’t a traditional business degree in the sense you would find offered at most big public colleges, but isn’t that exactly the sort of unicorn the OP is looking for? At least that was my interpretation.
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I can’t speak for the OP. Maybe Denison is the Unicorn. However, if the student wants to study economics and business,-like the opening sentence of the post, they can’t do it at Denison.
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The student didn’t say business - but business and econ - and a lot of schools have exactly that major…vs wanting to do marketing or operations, etc.
There’s barely a school out there that wouldn’t say they don’t provide - or in the case of internships since schools don’t provide - but that their students get or don’t get this:
as he would love to find a place that has engaging and caring teachers and support staff but also offers relevant, hands-on internship opportunities in the business sector and facilitates opportunities for career placement in top-tier national / international companies.
I think Richmond and Bucknell are fine schools - but I think many of the midwest schools listed above meet the needs of the OP as well - especially if they’re not looking for a specific business sub discipline.
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Also, some colleges’ economics departments accommodate “business” students with courses like “managerial economics” or accounting courses, while others stick to courses with a more theoretical liberal arts focus. Compare the economics course offerings at Claremont McKenna and Pomona, for example.
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