<p>Hi!
So I'd like to expand my list of colleges I'll probably be applying to. So far I have Fordham, NYU, Northeastern, GWU, BU, Baruch, and Temple.
I'd like to know of some other colleges in big cities that aren't really extremely selective. My major will be business.
I have a 3.45 GPA (bad freshman year, straight As since sophomore) with a very competitive curriculum and expect a 1950 SAT (I know NYU is a huge reach, but I'm still going to try.) No significant ECs. And I'm international.
I'd really prefer schools that aren't very expensive. Like 35k or less in tuition would be fine, unless they're as or more prestigious than NYU (I know some of the schools I listed aren't as prestigious as NYU and they're the same price, but they're just options.) I'd prefer my college to be in a big city. So are there any schools, private or public, that you would recommend, that are realistic for my stats?
Also, is DePaul in Chicago a good school? I love its location, and I see myself going there. I think it's a match for my stats. However, it is a bit expensive (though I can afford it) and it doesn't seem to be even moderately prestigious. It's 121 in the US News National Universities (is that terrible?). However, it's 64 (which is good) in the businessweek rankings, which is the reason I'm strongly considering applying and going there. Would you recommend it? How would you compare it to Baruch? DePaul seems much more expensive, but ultimately (and believe me) it is only 9k more than Baruch (because living expenses are so expensive in NYC).
Ultimately, I'm looking for the best education I can get in an environment I'd feel comfortable in without taking heavy loads of debt. I don't really care about the rankings themselves because I know unless it's a top 25 school (which I can't get into with my stats), employers in my country will probably never have heard of it anyways.
Thank you.</p>
<p>Take a good look at Univerity of Minnesota. Their Carlson School is strong; Minneapolis is a great city and the campus is in a great location butting up against downtown. A new light rail line between campus and downtown and beyond is opening any day. Your stats make you a slight reach. Lastly and importantly, the OOS tuition is very reasonable; within your range.</p>
<p>Why bother with NYU? Even if you get in (which you might, they would love your money), it will be way over your budget. It’s perhaps the most expensive college in the world, and notoriously poor with aid, most of which is loans. Total COA for your four years will be about $300,000. Think about that. As someone interested in business, this could be the most important cost-benefit analysis of your career.</p>
<p>Minnesota was a good suggestion in a lower cost city. Others might include North Carolina State, North Carolina Charlotte, Ohio State, U of Pittsburgh, Georgia State, U of Houston. </p>
<p>In the east (which seems like your preferred location) you can also look into Drexel, Pitt, SUNY Buffalo, St. Johns, Pace, and Loyola-MD. If you are willing to go to the Midwest you can also consider DePaul, Marquette, Xavier, Loyola-Chicago (as a matter of fact many Jesuit schools are in cities and offer business so look at this list of Jesuit schools and see if others make sense <a href=“Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities--Jesuit Colleges and Universities”>https://www.ajcunet.edu/institutions</a>). Further south you could check into Tulane, Loyola-New Orleans.</p>
<p>If you are interested in a Business major, contacts and opportunities for internships are key. DePaul is not particularly selective overall, but its business school might be. Their Theater school is exceedingly difficult to get into. It would seem like an excellent low-match choice for you, academically, and worth applying to. They are not as expensive as NYU, for instance, and you could get some financial aid from them. Pace is expensive, but you might also qualify for a scholarship there (especially if test scores go up on a second try). It offers superb access to NYC financial sector. I would call Pace a safety for you, but its Business program might be a little more selective than college as a whole. </p>
<p>University of Washington, Georgia Tech, CU Boulder, and the University of San Francisco (safety and will likely give you merit despite your international status).</p>
<p>If you’re willing to go to a suburban school right outside of a big city (think Bentley, Hofstra, or the University of Puget Sound), your options improve considerably. It’s worth noting that in most non commuter, non extremely urban American colleges, social life is found in the school itself. Students aren’t just expected to go out into the suburbs and make their own fun. A good number of schools try very hard to bring comedians, DJs, speakers, etc onto campus. </p>
<p>You may also want to consider Canadian, Australian, and UK options which are often much cheaper, and much less selective than most American universities worth attending. </p>
<p>Allow me to add to when when’s suburban list, the University of Maryland College Park. A subway stop or five from the center of the universe. A very good business school that will be a reach for you and will come in around $45K for the whole tomato. They won’t care about the ECs but will care about the GPA and scores. Let me suggest that NYU is beyond your budget, as are most of the private schools mentioned so far, except for the ones when when has pointed out. Georgia Tech is a high reach for you. Private schools in a city are outside your budget, essentially.</p>
<p>With a 35,000 budget and an international. It will be difficult to get enough aids for business schools like NYU or BU, you can apply, but do not count on admission or merit aid. You need to reach down to some good business schools that will give you much needed merit aid as international. I will not count on public schools like Baruch, Pitts or Temple either.</p>
<p>Happy1 actually had many good suggestions, in NYC you should also try Iona, Adelphi, LIU in addition to what was mentioned.</p>
<p>^^^@artloversplus, why exclude Baruch, Pitt, or Temple when their tuition comes in under 35K? I can see that some of them are reaches, but…? Please clarify.</p>
<p>Iona, Adelphi, and LIU* are not in NYC. Nor are they worth attending over any of the schools already mentioned (if even worth it at all).</p>
<ul>
<li>LIU does have a Brooklyn “campus”, a few buildings with mostly commuter students. The main CW Post Campus, also heavily commuter, is an hour away on Long Island.</li>
</ul>
<p>Thank you all for the advice and recommendations. Yes, NYU is very expensive, and it’s probably not worth taking huge debt, and they’re probably not going to accept me anyway. I looked into University of Minnesota and U of Maryland CP and I’m interested in both. And yes, Pace would be a safety since I haven’t heard good things about it. </p>
<p>Why do you care about prestige so much if you can’t afford prestige? Baruch is the only school on here that you can afford.</p>
<p>My D was a business major at DePaul. The School of Commerce is well-respected in the Chicago area where it also has a very extensive (and active) alumni network. My D loved DePaul, did well in her classes, had an amazing internship, and graduated with a job in one of the Big 4 accounting firms.</p>
<p>It’s not in the east (where your other choices are), and I don’t know how committed you are to that geographic area. However, DePaul has a fabulous campus in Lincoln Park, and Chicago is a great city.</p>
<p>@AnnieBeats I never said I care “so much” about prestige or that I can’t afford prestigious private schools. I only said that (like most people going to one of these schools) I would have to take loans in order to go to a school like that, and I don’t think it’s worth it unless it’s Stern or Wharton.
@scout59 I’m glad to hear that your daughter accomplished so much at and after DePaul. It is one of my top choices so knowing that your daughter graduated with a job in a Big 4 accounting firm reinforces my interest. Thank you!</p>
<p>Forget the “not affording” prestige part. Loans from where? None of these schools, prestigious or not, are in your price range aside from Baruch even after loans. You’ll get poor aid as an int’l student as well.</p>
<p>I also think you overrate Stern.</p>
<p>Yes, DePaul in Chicago is a good school. It’s not prestigious, but it’s a good school. Is #121 terrible? Think about it this way: there are 4,000 colleges and universities in the U.S. DePaul is in the top 150 according to USNWR, which is the top 4%.</p>
<p>Emory University has a great business school and is located in a city, but it is just as expensive as NYU. The other caveat is that you have to apply to Goizueta as a junior - they don’t do freshman admissions. Still, they might offer you better aid than NYU does.</p>
<p>All of these public schools in different states, though, are not necessarily within your price range - although I guess it depends on whether you truly mean $35K or less in tuition alone or $35K total cost of attendance. All of the aforementioned public universities other than CU-Boulder do have OOS tuition that’s less than $35,000 a year, but the total cost of attendance will be more than $35,000.(CU-Boulder’s nonresident tuition and fees at their college of business is $35K+; the total CoA is about $50K.)</p>
<p>Hit post too fast. If it’s just tuition < $35,000 you’re looking for, here are some suggestions:</p>
<p>Oglethorpe University (Atlanta, GA)
University of Central Florida (Orlando, FL)
Lesley University (Cambridge, MA - near Boston. They are dropping their tuition to $24K)
UMass-Boston (Boston, MA)
Coppin State (Baltimore, MD)
Towson University (DC/Baltimore Metro area)
University of South Carolina (Columbia, SC)
Clark Atlanta University (Atlanta, GA)
Morehouse College (Atlanta, GA) or Spelman College (Atlanta, GA)
Howard University (Washington, DC)
Georgia Gwinnett College (in metro Atlanta, about 30-40 minutes from downtown. Dirt cheap)</p>
<p>Also, Babson College is more expensive than what you’re looking for, but it’s a well-respected undergraduate business college and they might offer you some financial aid.</p>
<p>yumpin’ yimminies, juillet, Boulder is up to 49K+ now?! how did this happen to my alma mater? I seem to recall it was only 44K last year. I sense Adolph Coors behind the scenes here, or at least he was the one we would have blamed 30 years ago. (Does anyone name a child Adolf any longer?) And to think I went for 1/20th of that and got money back at the end of most semesters. Another opportunity for financially independent students long gone by the wayside. </p>
<p>University of Minnesota is $19,870 for OOS tuition and $8312 double occupancy housing and board. Top notch school; that’s why I mentioned it a while back.</p>