My daughter’s spreadsheet included what was important to her - quality of food, housing, honors program, etc. Although we could afford all the options (not eligible for need based aid), we did include the finances - taking the tuition and subtracting the various merit scholarships she had received. The finance part did help eliminate some schools. For example, realizing how expensive U Del was (they gave her minimal merit and we are OOS), took it right off the list.
@oldfort I said I would view the direct admit to a b-school as a big deal IF that is what she wants to study. I didn’t say or mean to infer in any way that it was the only path to a job.
Some students prefer/feel they can do better in/are more interested in a b-school program which typically includes a business core with introductory classes in subjects such as accounting, finance, IT, marketing etc. (My S happened to be one of them – he felt a b-school dovetailed with his interests and talents). An undergraduate b-school is a different path than majoring in for example economics which gets quite theoretical at the upper level.
I am NOT saying one path is better than the other but I would suggest that if the OP seriously considers UVa or a non-direct admit school that she take the time to look at the coursework (can be found online) for both a business and an liberal arts major and see if she could be happy with either path.
I did a lot of research into targets, semi-targets, etc for Wall Street IB when our S had a brief fascination right around the beginning of senior year. Just as CC is great for everything college-related, Wall Street Oasis is the best forum for questions/answers re getting jobs on Wall Street, including which schools are best for that. Also use Poets and Quants, where you can find actual placement data. Here you go!: https://poetsandquantsforundergrads.com/2018/05/21/top-feeder-schools-to-wall-street/
Always:
- Finances
- Direct admission to a particular school over having to apply to that school (business, engineering, nursing)
- Success in getting jobs for those majors
- Think about the weather. Is she from the south or north?
- How hard is it to get home?
- Options if she changes majors…my “wanted to be a doctor since she was 10” college senior has just decided that med school may not be for her after all.
I agree…narrow it down to 2-3 and then go to admitted students day.
Also realize that really, she can’t go wrong at any of thos places
In this field, are internships common during the school year or usually just the summers?
we made a list of pluses and minuses. Topics like costs, distance, size, reputation, competitiveness, coursework of interest to her, requirements, clubs, whatever. I let HER decide what was a plus and what was a minus. When we did that, the decision became vERY clear. As the chart came out…she chose the lowest ranked school, but that was last year and…she is SO happy. So I am proud of her. I think she made an excellent choice, for her. Good luck!
It also helped us to read reviews on UNIGO and NICHE. I know they are not drawn from a random sample, but when multiple kids, on both sites, say the same thing (like there is nothing to do here but drink on the weekends)…;there is probably something there.
Among the seven schools to which your daughter was accepted, Virginia, BC-direct admit, IU-Kelley with Hutton Honors College & UNC-direct / assured admit are all worthy of serious consideration for one targeting Wall Street investment banks.
When going to a revisit day for accepted students, consider asking about type & location of internship placements. You might be surprised by BC & opportunities not only in NYC, but in Boston as well.
I am not suggesting that you discard the other three universities, I am only suggesting that these four options are too good to ignore.
UVa stands out to me as an excellent choice, but I’m not familiar with all of the schools on the list, so I don’t have an opinion about whether it’s the best option.
I have 2 recent U of Richmond graduates who loved their time there, with small classes, excellent professors, great advising and internships, strong alum network/career services. Richmond is a fun city with great food, historic sites, also artsy, and has great parks. We loved our visits there.
One of my Spiders is in a PhD program at UVA, so we are getting to know Charlottesville, too, such a pretty area and campus, too, very strong academically.
My UR grads were science majors, but the business school is excellent, and one of their cousins is currently in the business school and doing great.
All of the schools on your list have excellent business programs. Furman and UR are both smaller than the others, so have a very different campus feel than the larger schools. I agree with suggestions to do some followup visits at top contenders. Your kiddo has some wonderful choices to consider!
OP, I mean this kindly…
Just keep that mouth shut.
Let her say all kinds of crap as she tries out what each school feels like in her head. When she says something stupid, just say “hmmm.” When she praises a place, just say “yeah, its a good school.”
She has a lot of time to decide and if you talk to much it will just make it harder.
I have worked as an investment banker (and recruited for) three bulge bracket banks in NYC. (Full disclosure, I’m a UVa engineer undergrad.)
McIntire benefits from synergies with (possibly a halo effect from) Darden, and that helps explain why there’s a stronger UVa alumni network on wall street compared to your other options. UNC and BC resumes get similar consideration, and I’m sure that your daughter could get an equal education at those schools as well, but I would assume that UVa is the only school on your list that all top WS banks target. (If she really wants to do her homework — just reach directly to Career services at each school and get a list of outplacements to investment banks — including numbers at each institution.)
The other schools are much less likely to be “core” schools for BB recruiting.
Even if she misses the McIntire cut, adjacent degrees (e.g. economics) are certainly sufficient to compete for any and all WS positions. And honestly, as a person who’s read hundreds of undergrad business-school resumes, I can attest: frequently the “unusual” majors, who display a passion for a finance career, get the extra consideration.
Though, relatedly: McIntire isn’t that hard to get into, and if she misses the cut, then she probably wouldn’t get a top-tier job offer regardless of what she majors in or which school she attended. I know that’s a backhanded way of putting it, so let me state it positively: the person will make or break the career options, not the major.
When D18 received her acceptances, she visited several for admitted students day. The opportunity to sit in on classes, meet students, feel the vibe on campus was what made the decision easier.
When the dust settled it wasn’t hard to choose Amherst. What was hard was turning down the schools she thought were nearly perfect.
Congrats to your daughter on a successful run! Congrats to you mom for all the time you put in here <:-P
That’s a great list. My D had UVA and BC very high on her list…she got into her ED school before hearing from either one - but, fwiw, those two schools are fantastic but very different, culturally. UVA means a strong Greek life influence and, well, mannerisms, compared to BC (students getting somewhat dressed up for a football game at UVA instead of wearing jeans and sweatshirts flat out confused my D…big Greek life wasn’t high on her list of priorities, but for some students, it’s a strong desire). Both schools have geographic diversity but UVA is a lot of Virginians, and BC is alot of Northeasterners. I have lived in both of those geographic areas and I’m not saying the culture at one school vs. another is not worse or better, they are just different and your daughter may fit both, or really prefer one or the other. Our family knows several current UVA students. It seems many of them still hang out primarily with other UVA students that they went to high school with, or that they knew from surrounding towns playing sports with or against, etc. Again, if you’re from VA, maybe this is a good thing but just sharing that I’ve heard from multiple parents of current students that that is not uncommon. I know more than one current UVA senior that did not get into the com school. That said, they still have jobs lined up after graduation, which is great, so all worked out, but not the way they anticipated. Good luck, your D has great options to consider and aside from the major, I hope she finds the right fit.
This is an interesting article https://poetsandquantsforundergrads.com/2018/05/21/top-feeder-schools-to-wall-street/
Adding to what @brooklynlydia said
- but if you have an aspect you want them to consider…mention that. “Have you thought about how you would be able to get home for breaks for each college?”
- Don’t you get a favorite! Then if they don’t pick it you will be disappointed
I appreciate all of the feedback and opinions from a various points of view. It pretty much confirmed my thinking and my daughter’s choice.
She has wanted to go to a UVa since the eighth grade and I didn’t want that or my allegiance (as a UVa and UNC alum) to cloud her decision.
Fortunately, we accounted for this years ago so cost isn’t a concern. If it had been UNC is a fantastic option other than the fact that we live about 2 miles from the Dean Dome and she’s ready to get out of Chapel Hill.
Thanks again for all the input!
@Cavitee UVA is great…my son recently graduated from UVA and was in McIntyre. Plenty of his friends ended up on Wall Street. Lots of opportunities there…you just need to get into McIntyre (which isn’t a given). Admission is very competitive and lots of kids don’t get in and become Economics majors (and lots of kids self select out and don’t apply so the group applying are pretty strong. Grades aren’t the only factor to getting into McIntyre. Students need extracurriculars and leadership. Lots of clubs at UVA are competitive to get into…my son got denied from lots of clubs that he applied to. She needs to like and thrive in that type of environment. My D is in Kelley and we are very impressed with that program so far as well. I also am very familiar with CSOM at BC. The curriculum there is very different as compared to UVA and IU (will only speak to the ones that I know about). Accepted student days can be helpful. Good luck.
"OP, I mean this kindly…
Just keep that mouth shut."
She’s been on CC for 18 months and now when the college decision needs to be made, mama is going to keep her mouth shut?! Good luck with that : )
I don’t think she meant here on CC 