<p>Our son is still trying to broaden his list. He is a current junior in a non-ranking private school.
Top 10% (but doesn't know how high, likely NOT valedictorian)
Practice SATs run around 1400 for CR and M
Lots of ECs with leadership positions
Personality: very friendly polite Texas guy, the type to be the first to stick up for a friend or give you his last dollar for lunch.
Not athletic but outdoorsy. Loves to write! Good with math. No problem going out of state. </p>
<p>So I think he needs a mid size LAC with an accounting program. His current list includes SMU, UT and IU. His list doesn't reflect the LAC vibe at all.
Any suggestions? </p>
<p>These schools all have great programs, agreed. We know LACs don’t typically have them.</p>
<p>The more artsy vibe is what we’re looking for not the LAC label. For example, UT, has a great diversity in activities on campus. If he wanted to plug in there and continue writing, he could. That school does lack in personal attention though.</p>
<p>I guess we’re looking for a school where he would not only get a terrific accounting education but, also suit his theater loving, poetry interests. </p>
<p>His GC suggested the University of Chicago for him to apply to but, they don’t seem to have an undergraduate accounting program. Is there another school in the same vein anyone can suggest?</p>
<p>Not to many LACs have accounting and fewer have master’s programs. Some smaller schools to look at might be Babson or Bentley. Or perhaps look into some of the many great mid-sized universities that have business programs.</p>
<p>PokeyJoe, you said in your first post that you were looking for a more artsy and then in the post after mine you said we are looking for. Is this I and we, you and your son or you and his mother?</p>
<p>My godmother’s name is Josephine, so Joe as a mom works for me.</p>
<p>Looking down the list of LACs, I did a spot check and not one of them had an accounting major. If you want a smaller school, you could look at a places like Wake Forest and Villanova. </p>
<p>Thanks geo1113. That’s two more to check out. </p>
<p>DiimitriR, we’re trying to duplicate the feeling of a LAC to better suit his personality. TAMU is a great school with a top notch business program. Barring a major screw up, he’d be an auto-admit. The issue there is our own fault. We have multiple UT alums in the family and our oldest is a current UT student. The family trash talk would never end. ;)</p>
<p>He is also unlikely to apply to TCU because of his current preference for SMU. They aren’t different enough to motivate DS to apply to both. </p>
<p>Fair enough, that’s good thinking! I would definitely apply to TAMU then if your son feels he can give as good as he’s going to get from his relatives.</p>
<p>One good thing about a bigger school is that you can always find a crowd that fits your personality even if the prevailing giant U culture isn’t for you. I’ll admit that I’m having a hard time thinking of too many LACs that have 5-year MSA programs though. Would it be totally crazy to do 4 years at a LAC that has general business or economics and then go to a college that does have an MSA program? He could get the 24 accounting hours required to sit for the CPA exam during the MSA program. I have a few friends who did do that and it’s not an awful idea. Places like Swarthmore might be a good option. </p>
<p>If that plan doesn’t sound too good, how elastic is your definition of LAC? If you squint, Georgetown University could be a LAC. </p>
<p>@PokeyJoe, I just wanted to add something. I have studied and taught at schools with enrollment from 2,500 to 50,000. The determining factor in the amount of attention the student gets is determined by the help the student seeks. Someone who goes to a small school, goes to class then goes home will not get the same level of attention as the student who go to the school with 50,000 student but actively seeks help. </p>
<p>Another thing to consider is the number of student organizations a school supports. Larger schools generally have more such groups. </p>
<p>What it comes down to though is what school will give your son the best chance to have the greatest opportunities in the field they want to study. The top accounting schools tend to be the large universities and offer the best paths to the top accounting jobs. However if you find these more LAC type schools you seek make sure you check with their career services to see if they offer a pathway to those big accounting firms.</p>
<p>Bucknell is another school to add to the list. It is a LAC of 3500 students or so and has with an excellent reputation and an accounting program. It is located in a small town in central PA.</p>
<p>In Texas you might also want to consider St Edwards and Trinity–both have 5 year MPA programs. My son is at SMU and loves it. He was an auto admit to the business school and was also given Direct Admission to SMU’s MPA program. I know you already said your DS would not apply to TCU, but they do have an excellent 5 year program. Out of state you can consider Wake Forest. University of Richmond and Emory have great business schools but I don’t think either offers a 5 year MPA program. Good luck.</p>
<p>Thanks guys, I really appreciate all the suggestions and advice. </p>
<p>I’m a UT grad myself so, I understand all that big schools have to offer including clubs and career services. My husband used to help recruit out of UT for his firm as well. We know not all schools attract the same types of interview opportunities. That will definitely factor into the conversation. Employment is the goal. </p>
<p>Since this DS is our third son to do this, we want to be sure he has multiple schools to consider instead of relying on his brothers’ experiences. -especially since he’s the first potential business major in our family. If he’s comfortable in his environment, hopefully, he’ll work up to his potential. Thanks.</p>
<p>The following public schools for you are exellent out of state schools which means out of state tuition: UC (University of California) Irvine, UC Riverside, UC Davis (new in 2014) and University of Washington (Seatlle). Also, USC (University of Southern California), a private school in CA, has a Masters in Accounting program ranked high nationally.</p>