For the OP’s combination of factors, any choice will be a compromise, so it all depends on what you want to emphasize. Of the schools mentioned above, IMO the best choices include:
The University of Colorado - Boulder, which Bloomberg ranks at #62 for undergraduate business programs.
Middlebury College, which has no undergraduate business programs but is otherwise excellent, and has its own ski area (which appears to be pretty good if you're o.k. with New England vs. Rocky Mt. skiing). Middlebury's average ACT score is 31 (same as the OP's) but it is more selective than that average might suggest. So it may be a fairly big reach.
Colorado College, which also has no undergraduate business school, but does offer "economics and business" and "mathematical economics" majors. Pike's Peak looms over the campus and winter sports are very popular there (https://www.coloradocollege.edu/offices/outdooreducation/ahlberg-leadership-institute/ski-leader-track.html) ... however, the major Rocky Mt. ski areas (Breckinridge, etc). are a couple hours' drive away. This school has an unusual one-course-at-a-time "block plan". The average entering ACT is 30 (more selective than UDenver but a bit less so than Middlebury).
Williams College and Amherst College may be out of reach. Utah is worth checking out but is not necessarily more attractive than Colorado-Boulder for what the OP seems to want. Lehigh is #22 on the Poets & Quants business list (#32 on Bloomberg’s) so that might be a great choice if you want to make skiing a lower priority.
None of the east schools are in the mountains, hills, maybe, mountains, no. Yes, I’ve been to Vermont, Dartmouth, Lehigh, and all the other usual suspects named so far.
How challenged you’ll be is solely based on how hard you push yourself and what your work ethic is. They don’t simply hand out a 4.0 for paying tuition anywhere.
Now, to the mountains…Montana, Idaho, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Arizona, Idaho, Nevada and Washington, all have schools in reasonable proximity to real mountains. Google the schools in each state and pull up images, see if it’s what you had in mind. Then start vetting the quality of the schools. There will be a lot to choose from.
Two I’d certainly consider are Westminster and Utah, both in SLC. Westminster’s business school was endowed by the Gore family of GoreTex. The Wasatch Range is stunning.
The Green Mountains of Vermont max out at elevations of ~ 4500 feet. OK, that may seem ridiculously low by Western US standards. But think of it another way – the conditions at 4500 ft are such that the summits are above the tree line. Is that the case in, say, California or Colorado at 4500 feet? Or is the western US mild in comparison?
The White Mountains of New Hampshire max out at elevations of ~ 6500 feet. Again, that may seem low. On the other hand, the summit of Mt. Washington has some of the coldest winter temperatures and highest wind speeds on record, including a measured wind chill value of -102 F in 2004. Mt. Washington has been used as a training ground for scientific/military personnel stationed in Antarctica. Are there similar conditions in say, California or Colorado at 6500 feet?
Check out Colorado College. Verrrrry different campus culture than Boulder. My D17 will be a freshman there this fall, and her ACT was 32, I think the 50% range covered 30-33. Look into it, it’s a top-notch LAC right near Pike’s Peak.
“I would prefer something in the Rockies. Is Utah a good school?”
Someone else mentioned that the University of Colorado is about as strong as you can get in the Rockies. I would amend this to “in the US Rockies”. The University of Calgary is academically a very strong university. It has hard to find rankings that compare “very good” US schools with “very good” Canadian schools, but I would regard Calgary as probably a bit academically stronger than Colorado. Also it could be argued that Colorado College might be stronger than UC Boulder, although it is a very different type of school and the comparison is likely to depend upon major.
This might be splitting hairs, but one might wonder whether “an hour’s drive from the Rockies” counts as “in the Rockies”.
Also, ^^ as per @DadTwoGirls , Colorado College has a very highly competitive admittance rate (just under 15% this past cycle) so it’s not as easy to get into as UC Boulder.
@NEPatsGirl…LOL. As you’re aware, I have lived in Vermont, NH, Seattle and now MA. I ski the Cascades, Rockies, Grand Tetons, Alps, etc. The Cascades just east of Seattle are referred to as the “Little Alps.” Eastern skiing is slumming it. When my friends from the PNW and Europe have visited me and first see the Green or White Mountains, they’re very impressed with their beauty but call them hills.
Having said that, Andrew Haraghey learned to ski and began his racing career at Mt. Snow, VT. He’s now a student at Westminster College. Andrew was recently named to the 2017-18 U.S. Paralympics Alpine National Team. http://www.teamusa.org/US-Paralympics/Sports/Alpine-Skiing/Team-Rosters
“The Green Mountains of Vermont max out at elevations of ~ 4500 feet. OK, that may seem ridiculously low by Western US standards. But think of it another way – the conditions at 4500 ft are such that the summits are above the tree line. Is that the case in, say, California or Colorado at 4500 feet? Or is the western US mild in comparison?”
The tree line in the Sierra Nevada range is about 9500 ft. California has 46 mountains with peaks higher than 9500 ft. And 22 of those are higher than 12,000 ft.
Killington (Vermont) has a 3050 ft. vertical drop, which is a bit less than Breckinridge (CO) at 3398 ft. but more than Copper Mountain (CO) at 2601 ft. Sugarbush (VT) has a greater true-up vertical descent (2552 ft.) than Steamboat (CO), Copper Mt (CO), Taos (NM), Keystone (CO), or Alta (UT). Lake Placid (NY), two-time Winter Olympics site, has a greater true-up vertical descent than Vail (CO).
Granted, almost all the top ~30 ski areas, by true-up vertical descent or skiable acreage, are in the West.
But how many top colleges are within a few hours drive of Jackson Hole or Telluride?
Oh I get it, that whole “east coast skiing is slumming it” lol. Just making a point for those people out there who might be really thinking there are no mountains at all in the area, just tubing hills. Do we even know if the OP wants to ski? I didn’t see that in his post. And I have heard, like the post above, that skiing in this area is so much more difficult because of constantly changing conditions, that its a great place to learn. Well, that and the fact they are really just hills
Back to UCB, my daughter attends Leeds and did an internship at Level3 Comm last year and had her choice of internships between an investment banking firm and Ritz Carlton this year. I have been impressed with the school, the connections, and the mentoring the school provides.
BYU could still be a great fit, and you would have a competitive application given your academic history. Their business school places students extremely well. Their accounting program has been ranked top 3 for the past 10+ years, and their finance program has ranked top 10 undergrad (depending on the study). The campus is at the base of the mountains, with snowy winters and hot summers.
Being a Mormon is not required, but there is a strict honor code. (Don’t believe a lot of the rumors, just go read it yourself).
BYU is ridiculous for normal non mormon young people. 97% plus kids are solid mormon. That 3% can probably be accounted for in athletics. Religion is required, dress code is required, honor code is required. https://policy.byu.edu/view/index.php?p=26
Really, if BYU was doable it would be packed with gentiles, it is cheap as chips and as you say, seems to have a solid business program.
