Need help with my college list!

College Search & Selection
1

Hi everyone, I’m a high school senior from Tennessee currently undergoing my college search and looking for some help assembling my college list.

My background:
ACT: 34 (9 on writing)
GPA: 3.86 UW, 4.21 W
Classes (including senior year): 3 AP, 4 dual enrollment, 2 dual credit, 5 honors, 4 core standard (2 science, 2 math). Only made it to pre-cal in math because credits didn’t transfer when I moved.
Projecting great essay and good recommendations.
I’ve done 50+ hours of volunteer work, did professional acting for several years, was a co-captain on the tennis team which I played on all four years, and worked as a sports writer for a couple years.

I’ve placed 5th in my district and 2nd in state in the Food Marketing DECA competition, which is relevant because I’m looking to study business in college. I’ve also done Model UN and Youth in Government, and I will most likely be accepted into my school’s National Honor Society this year. My desired fields of study are either business administration or entrepreneurship (or both) as I hope to become a business owner or a business executive. Money is not an issue in my college search, and I’m looking into a lot of OOS schools due to limited options in-state.

I’ve done a lot of research on the best business programs and visited over a dozen colleges to get a feel for what type of college I want to attend, which has helped me create my current list:

Safety:
Tennessee
Alabama (already accepted)

Middle:
Babson
Indiana
Miami (OH)

Reach:
Michigan
Emory
WashU
UT-Austin

Overall, I’m looking to attend the school that will give me the best education (specifically in business), provide opportunities, and set me up for success in grad school and my future career. After visiting many colleges, I’ve decided that the size of the school isn’t a big factor as I feel I am very good at adapting to whatever environment I’m placed in. While I love watching sports and think it would be fun to go to a college with good / popular sports teams, I think that the academic side of things is far more important.

Given the information provided about myself and what I plan to study in college, I’m hoping some of you can help suggest some schools to add to the list, some to take off, or if some should be under different categories. Thank you!

2

Lol, do you not like Vandy?

3

@emorynavy I do, but Vandy doesn’t have a business major, which is what turned me away from applying there.

4

You might want to look at UNC as a reach – great business school.

IU-Kelley is another great public with strong business – and they have direct admit to the business school which is is nice.

In your Additional Information on your Common App I suggest explaining why you didn’t take Calc. Nothing long or defensive – just a couple sentences of the factual info, including some details, so that AOs who might wonder have their question answered.

Congrats on your success and hard work in high school and good luck!

5

@AlmostThere2018 Thank you for the suggestions! I was debating whether or not to put UNC on my list so I’m definitely going to do some more research on it.

I’ll also explain why I didn’t take calc on my common app, but do you think not taking it significantly hurts my chances of being admitted to good schools?

6

I think as long as you can explain it then it’s okay. You will have to take it in college as a business major, but you probably know that already.

Good luck!!

7

@AlmostThere2018 Thank you so much, I’ve been stressing about that all through high school, so hopefully you’re right that it won’t matter too much as long as I explain it well :slight_smile:

Thanks again for your help!

8

What about UVA? You don’t apply to the business school until first semester of sophomore year. Top biz school.

How about Fordham? Gabelli is great and there are tons of opportunities for internships in NYC. It’s 20 minutes on MetroNorth from Rose Hill campus to Grand Central. With your stats, I’d imagine you’d be a solid candidate for their Honors Program, too.

If you’re looking at Babson, maybe check out Bentley in the same neck of the woods?

Good luck and keep us posted.

9

@4Gulls I considered UVA, but I heard that only 65% of students that apply to the business school get in, and it wouldn’t make much sense for me to go there if I couldn’t study business given that it’s for sure what I want to do.

Also, thank you for your other suggestions as well. Being in NYC as a college student is a bit intimidating, but I would agree that the internship opportunities would be great at Fordham so I’ll do some more research on it. As for Bentley, I’ve never heard of it but will definitely look into it! :slight_smile:

10

How about JMU? It’s right up Interstate 81 from you in Virginia. My oldest daughter did DECA in high school as well. She loved JMU - its business program is solid and the alum network is outstanding in the Greater DC area. She landed a job with a consulting firm in the fall of her senior year.