<p>My son is trying to decide how many colleges he should apply to. He wants to major in business, international business, with a minor in French. We live in NC & as of this moment, his stats are
SAT 1970, re-taking this Sat June 1
32 or 33 ACT (i forgot)
all honors, seminars and AP classes
all A's
3.9 unweighted GPA
4.7 weighted
EC's - too many too list but some great, some average & consistently held a job, lots of volunteer hours, etc.</p>
<p>He is going to apply to Chapel Hill, Elon, NC State definitely. UNC is his #1 right now.
Wants to apply to NYU, UChicago, UPenn & Columbia</p>
<p>I know he needs stronger SAT scores for the last 3. So my question is, what other schools are a fit for him, strong in business?? Any advice? Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>Stern School of Business at NYU is a very strong school for business if he likes a city school, as is Wharton at Penn. I personally don’t know much about the other schools although they’re all, in general, great schools. I wouldn’t worry too much about the SATs when the ACTs are so high. Most schools will accept either so he’s really in good shape. However, taking the SATs again couldn’t hurt, just in case he could boost his scores a bit higher. His grades look really good to be accepted to any of those schools, but with schools such as Columbia, UChicago, and Penn, it’s a crapshoot for anyone, regardless of statistics. But as I mentioned earlier, look at Stern and Wharton–they’re both highly commendable programs and you can’t go wrong at either. Good luck to him on the SATs and with the rest of this crazy process!</p>
<p>I know Upenn, Chicago and Columbia are a crap shoot. We’re applying to get in on the “chance” that there maybe something “special” on his app that might appeal to one of them. But I know they are high reach and I think he needs a couple of safeties. What would be a safety for someone with his stats? In all reality, if he gets accepted to UNC, that is where he wants to be, and that is what he would probably choose. But I’ve heard it is hard to get accepted there too.</p>
<p>I would say UNC Chapel Hill is definitely plausible. His ACT scores are on the higher end of their median which is definitely helpful and writing a good essay would push him over the edge. Their 2011 acceptance rate was about 31% so it’s a more plausible feat for him definitely. As for “safeties,” I don’t know your son personally but any school that accepts about 40-60% is generally considered a safety with his credentials. For example, he might consider schools like Meredith College which is in-state and has an acceptance rate of 61%. I might also recommend some of the SUNYs if he likes that big school atmosphere, such as Binghamton or Geneseo. As for closer to where you are, you might consider University of Georgia or the New College of Florida. I would look closer though based on what your son liked personally about each of the prior mentioned universities and do some research about similar programs with higher acceptance rates. For example, if he loved that they had great weather, look for schools with higher acceptance rates where the weather is probably going to be nice most of the time. Hope this helps!</p>
<p>As I recall, Columbia and Chicago do not have undergraduate business schools. Penn-Wharton is the strongest school on your list but is rumored to have a <10% acceptance rate - that makes it a reach for anyone.</p>
<p>My advice is to submit the ACT score unless the SAT jumps to around 2200.</p>
<p>Other schools to consider: </p>
<p>Indiana (Kelley) - Likely a pre-admit to the B-School with an automatic scholarship
Boston College (Carroll School) - tough admit but a very good school
Michigan (Ross) - fair chance at pre-admission
Notre Dame
Emory
USC - Avg Admit: 3.8/32. Has a new World Business degree program.</p>
<p>If he want to retake a test, it seems ACT is a better choice since he did better in that. He may want to add some match schools (as vinceh suggested) and reduce the number of reach schools.</p>
<p>Thanks, after serious consideration, we are going to take our time and research all of the schools listed above and see what his SAT re-take score is. My neighbor suggested UVA and Pace in NY. Are those 2 known for business majors?</p>
<p>I agree with the idea of more research. UVirginia has no undergraduate business degree; I am unaware of Pace and its programs. With a 3.9/32 your son will be a competitive candidate at many schools. I would take Penn, NYU, UNC add the schools I listed in post #5 and use them as a base to start from. If you want/need more then go to this list:</p>
<p>[Best</a> Undergraduate Business Schools 2011 - Businessweek](<a href=“Bloomberg - Are you a robot?”>Bloomberg - Are you a robot?)</p>
<p>It’s 2 years old but changes are minimal. Visit the school websites and go from there. There’s also probably a site that ranks undergraduate international business programs.</p>
<p>SUNY Binghamton has an excellent business school and it is very competitive- they take 200 kids. FYI SUNY Geneseo is a small school with about 5,000 kids.</p>
<p>University of south Carolina has top rated undergrad international business. Check money matters on admissions site…may qualify for merit money that also reduces or waives OOS tuition.</p>
<p>Thanks guys. I know it’s silly of him, but he won’t consider moving to Mass., upstate NY or S. Carolina for some odd reasons I won’t go into. But he is open to all other states and schools. Thanks vinceh, the schools you listed are sparking an interest in him.</p>
<p>updates and LOTS of b<em>**ting. June SAT score 2080. Just released, ranked #4 of 465. With so many great schools, and reading some other posts with GREAT advice, I am left so overwhelmed and confused. How do you all even begin to narrow down the list of colleges to apply too? I do not want to bug the s</em>*t out of him all summer to do 50 essays, apps, blah blah blah. This is what HE WANTS… Chapel Hill, Elon, NYU, UPenn, Columbia, Yale, Harvard. The only safety he will consider right now is Appalachian, and that’s because he went hiking NEAR there ONCE.!!! UGH!!! (no offense to any appalachians, I just know nothing about it, and NEITHER DOES HE) I have gone over this and over this with him till I’m blue and bursting at the seems that all of his choices are REACHES!! I don’t know if I should stay out, stay in, let go, let God, beat him, kiss him or walk away! Can you tell I’m frustrated? Should I stay out of it?? This is my first child to go off to college and we have no clue. I’ve been researching and reading CC but I just don’t know what to do. Please help.</p>