<p>My d was recently accepted at UVA and VAtech ( VA Tech Honors program & housing). She wants to major in business and is leaning strongly to UVA as McIntire has a tremendous reputation. She became greatly concerned, however, when she looked at the very informative McIntire website for prospective students which shows that the average GPA for accepted internal applicants is in the 3.6-3.7 range (40% rejection rate). She is concerned that there is a very significant chance that she may not get in. The question is, what do students do who find themselves in this predicament? Transfer? Become archaeology majors? At least with Pamplin she knows that she will be able to pursue her choice of major and not lose sleep over it for the next 18 months. Any advice?</p>
<p>I believe many become econ majors, because many of the requirements overlap. Many probably eventually get a MBA. </p>
<p>McIntire also offers some masters degrees, although UVa’s MBA is offered by Darden, which is extremely competitive and aimed towards people with experience in business.</p>
<p>Congratulations to your daughter on her acceptances!</p>
<p>You pose a great question. Students tend to find another major that assists them in their goal of being in the business arena. In addition, they do internships in the business sector in the area they have an interest. For example, a student that has an interest in marketing would possibly major in psychology and do internships with an advertising/marketing/pr agency. If they want to do finance then they may major in economics. Other students that want to do international business would possibly do foreign affairs as a major. Again, backing these all up with internships. </p>
<p>If her interest lie in the area of accounting and she does not get into McIntire then that is a time to consider other options. I am not saying she has to, but if she wants to sit for the CPA at the end of undergrad then she would need to look elsewhere. Also, just an FYI you do not get the McIntire nod until after March 1st so she would have to get applications out ahead of time for those schools with a March 1 deadline. </p>
<p>McIntire is highly competitive and those that apply have already had fellow classmates self-select out of the process. Students know if they have what it takes to get in or not. Look at the McIntire prerequisites and see what her strengths and weaknesses are for doing well in them: </p>
<p>[UVa</a> McIntire School of Commerce: Prerequisites](<a href=“http://www.commerce.virginia.edu/undergrad/admissions/Pages/Prerequisites.aspx]UVa”>http://www.commerce.virginia.edu/undergrad/admissions/Pages/Prerequisites.aspx)</p>
<p>If you have any further questions you are welcome to PM me.</p>
<p>ltjenkins “At least with Pamplin she knows that she will be able to pursue her choice of major and not lose sleep over it for the next 18 months. Any advice?”</p>
<p>Depends on her desired major. As woosah noted there are viable options even if it’s not possible to enter McIntire. However, if you daughter is interested in accounting or business information technology I’d advise going straight to Pamplin and not stress about it for the next 18 months. McIntire is very highly regarded but the Pamplin graduates with these degrees will be working right next to the McIntire grads. If one didn’t have to worry about being locked out of McIntire (and possibly having to transfer to another university) then of course you would stick with UVA.</p>
<p>@ltjenkins, personally, I don’t think your daughter should discount UVa out of FEAR of not getting into McIntire. Yes, 40% of UVa applicants are rejected, but the majority (60%) are accepted. Frankly, Pamplin doesn’t hold a candle to McIntire. According to Business Week, McIntire is #2 while Pamplin is #52. Furthermore, if your daughter is interested in finance/Wall Street at all, UVa (both McIntire & Darden) is a target school when it comes to recruiting, while VA Tech is not.</p>
<p>[Top</a> Business School Rankings: MBA, Undergrad, Executive & Online MBA - Businessweek](<a href=“Bloomberg - Are you a robot?”>Bloomberg - Are you a robot?)</p>
<p>Also, you should delve into the differences between both schools. </p>
<p>McIntire’s Profile:
[University</a> of Virginia: McIntire School of Commerce - Undergraduate Profile - Businessweek](<a href=“Bloomberg - Are you a robot?”>Bloomberg - Are you a robot?)</p>
<p>Pamplin’s Profile:
[Virginia</a> Polytechnic Institute & State University: Pamplin College of Business - Undergraduate Profile - Businessweek](<a href=“Bloomberg - Are you a robot?”>Bloomberg - Are you a robot?)</p>
<p>For one, Pamplin is huge with 3,529 students, while McIntire is 685. (Yes, I know McIntire is a 2 year program, but if it was a 4 year program, then it would still only have 1,370 students.)</p>
<p>91% of McIntire students were in the top 10% of their high school class. Only 33% of Pamplin students were in the top 10% of their high school class.</p>
<p>As an alumnus, I find it interesting that the largest alumni gift to Pamplin was a paltry $65,270, while McIntire’s largest alumni gift was $1,110,000.</p>
<p>The OP’s daughter is already aware of McIntire’s tremendous reputation. She’s also aware that even after some students pre-select themselves out of the application process only 60% are accepted. I wouldn’t say that she should shy away from a challenge. But, if she knows that her future application to McIntire is going to cause a lot of stress during her first two years I think that’s a waste of her college experience.</p>
<p>Let’s assume that Globalist’s 33% figure for the top 10% of class is correct. Roughly 1200 students in Pamplin would have been in the top 10%. Ergo, she will have many high gpa peers to associate with at Pamplin. Let’s accept that Pamplin educates a student body with a wider range of academic capabilities than McIntire. If the 1,200 students are a proxy for high potential then let’s say that 300 are graduating from Pamplin in any given year. For comparison purposes, McIntire will graduate perhaps 310. Employers recognize that they can still find high potential employees in the larger, but more varied, Pamplin College of Business. If the OP’s daughter is a top graduate from Pamplin she will have opportunities.</p>
<p>I think the numbers I’ve quoted speak for themselves. </p>
<p>Personally, I don’t like the idea of not doing something because of fear of not achieving it. Life is all about challenges and overcoming them. Will you be the person who will be up to it or just settle for what’s easiest? I say go to UVa, and work really, really hard to make sure you’re one of the 60% who gets into McIntire.</p>
<p>Hi! Another congratulations to your daughter for two wonderful acceptances! She has done well with all of her hard work. I saw this post and it reminded me of the same choice one of my son’s best friends had. She did not have the VT honors admittance, but had to decide between VT and UVA for business and had some of the same concerns as you. Her dad was a UVA alum, so there was that pull. </p>
<p>As globalist pointed out, Pamplin is a much bigger school, but she felt that factor was actually an advantage because of the networking potential. Virginia Tech may not have a million dollar alumni donor, but they do have a very strong alumni base as you most likely are aware of. I linked a couple of articles that were put out recently about Pamplin grads just so you can learn more. </p>
<p>[Pamplin</a> graduates’ teamwork, preparation lure employers | Virginia Tech Home | Virginia Tech](<a href=“http://www.vt.edu/spotlight/achievement/2012-09-10-pamplin/hired.html]Pamplin”>http://www.vt.edu/spotlight/achievement/2012-09-10-pamplin/hired.html)</p>
<p><a href=“https://event.businesshorizons.org/spring13/students/employer-list/[/url]”>https://event.businesshorizons.org/spring13/students/employer-list/</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://www.mba.vt.edu/career-services/statistics[/url]”>http://www.mba.vt.edu/career-services/statistics</a></p>
<p>I am not so sure Wall Street firms don’t target Pamplin grads. Many firms from Wall Street and other attractive employers recruit at VT. They even have a pretty large alumni group up there called “Hokies on Wall Street” 
</p>
<p>Try to take a visit to both schools and see which seems to fit her personality better. They are both tremendous academic universities and offer a student so much! Best of luck to both of you as you make this exciting decision. She really is in a win-win situation! :)</p>
<p>Don’t get me wrong. I’m sure you can still get a great education at Pamplin, but McIntire definitely has an edge. Check out this link regarding McIntire. Page 2 titled “2011-2012 Highlights” says a lot. In this weak economy, 98% of McIntire grads had a job upon or soon after graduation with the average salary at $61,022.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.commerce.virginia.edu/careerservices/Documents/Destinations%20Report%202012%201_10.pdf[/url]”>http://www.commerce.virginia.edu/careerservices/Documents/Destinations%20Report%202012%201_10.pdf</a></p>
<p>KandKsmom, I was looking at the links you provided. The last one is for VT’s MBA program, not its undergrad business program. Nonetheless, the differences are quite noticeable.</p>
<p>According to your link, Pamplin’s average starting salary for their MBAs is $67,392 – only a few thousand dollars higher than the starting salary for undergraduate McIntire students ($61,022). Darden’s average starting salary for their MBAs is $109,335 + a $26,985 signing bonus. You can review Darden below.</p>
<p>[Career</a> Advancement: MBA: Darden School of Business: UVA - UVA Darden](<a href=“http://www.darden.virginia.edu/web/MBA/Career/Home/]Career”>MBA - Career Support | UVA Darden School of Business)</p>
<p>Whoa - you are comparing apples and oranges. Darden is not McIntire so it shouldn’t be in the conversation. The MS in Commerce from McIntire is similar to Pamplin in that most students enter with no significant work experience. The average McIntire masters graduate earned $59,123 (data as of Dec 2011). The Pamplin MBA graduate earned $67,392. I’m not saying that these salaries are directly comparable but we are in the ball park.</p>
<p>The McIntire undergrad average salary of 61k is admirable. But there’s quite a range of salaries in the survey. The median in the northeast is 70 while Northern Virginia is 56k. Virginia Tech’s finance graduates average 54k; accounting 52k; and business information 60k. All else being equal, I’d expect Va Tech’s median salaries to be lower than McIntire’s simply because Tech has more graduates some of whom will not have high gpas.</p>
<p>The OP’s daughter will have to make the decision that’s best for her.</p>
<p>Hi globalist! The reason I posted the MBA link is because many high achieving students like lt’s daughter move onto to get their MBA at VT. My son’s friend did just that and received her Master’s in Accounting and Info Systems in 5 years. I am sure she isn’t making what a Darden grad would, but from what son tells me, she is doing very well financially. </p>
<p>Gosh no, I am not trying to compare Darden with Pamplin. That would be like Big Apples to clementines 
I just thought I would share a few links that may offer some more food for thought. Both great options with no downside!</p>
<p>No worries, KandKsmom. Without question, one would definitely get a good education at either McIntire or Pamplin. I just wanted to share all the pertinent facts. </p>
<p>BTW ChrisTKD, a MS from McIntire is not the same thing as an MBA from Darden or Pamplin. If you’re comparing apples with apples, you have to compare Pamplin’s MBA program with Darden’s MBA program since Darden is the school that awards Masters in Business Administration. Comparing an MS with an MBA is like comparing a DD (dental) with an MD. They kind of learn similar things, but they have different focuses, courses, and prerequisites.</p>
<p>I’d say Darden is a different animal altogether regardless of the name of the degree. If you want to compare Pamplin’s masters programs with McIntire’s you can but that’s not germane to the OP’s issue.</p>
<p>I also have the same concerns as ltjenkins’s daughter.
As what @Globalist said, so now it all matters on which one suits my personality the best.
I’m not sure what their cultural differences are.
Can anyone help please? Thanks so much. </p>
<p>You can sit for the CPA exam as a statistics/math (stat concentration) major. I knew a number of kids heading into this after the prob-stat with calc course sequence. There are always options.</p>