McIntire v. Ross v. Kelley

My S facing a difficult decision regarding undergrad biz schools. Accepted into UVA but recently denied preferred admit to Ross. He has been accepted direct admit to Kelley and also accepted into honors program as a freshman. He is OOS and received sizable merit scholarship from Indiana. Fairly certain that he won’t receive any merit or financial aid from UVA or Michigan. Having difficult decision which school to attend this fall. S had a 4.0 UW GPA and 35 on ACT in high school but applying to McIntire and Ross are by all definitions a calculated risk (as evidenced by him being denied Ross preferred admit) and Kelley is a sure thing. Know they are all top 10 undergrad biz schools but wondering which is best for future career in finance. Tuition/expenses is a consideration but not as important as reputation of biz school and career goals.

Current McIntire student here. If your son wants to go into banking, consulting, S&it, etc., then McIntire or Ross would be best bets. During interviews, I saw kids from both schools at all the superdays I attended. I’d personally go McIntire over Ross since I believe it’s easier to get into than Ross. Also, you’d be on a level playing field (since there are no preadmits) whereas you’d be behind for Ross since some students (the preadmits) are already considered “better” essentially.

Tend to agree that McIntire a bit easier to get into than Ross but both are difficult. Read that approximately 40% of Freshman get into Ross but only 50-55% of Sophomores get into McIntire. That is why I again ask the question if my son should attend Kelley as its a “sure” thing whose cost is substantially less than either McIntire or Ross? Yes aware that Kelley may not be a better biz school than McIntire or Ross but have to weigh the plusses and minuses of each school.