We are looking for colleges with strong undergraduate business programs but no language requirement for graduation. Student took 3 years of language in high school and we suspect he would have trouble completing college requirements. Would prefer to avoid the need to obtain a waiver and just find a school where it is not required. I suspect that schools with no core curriculum such as Amherst, Brown, Grinnell, Smith would be appropriate. Looking for something similar but with a strong business focus. At this point, leaning toward LACs but open to larger universities.
Fordham does not require language for the undergraduate business program, but they do have a core curriculum.
Case Western Reserve doesn’t have a language requirements for undergraduate business program,
It looks like Ohio State doesn’t have a FL requirement.
Very few undergraduate business schools require foreign language courses unless you are an international business major.
UPenn business does have a FL graduation requirement, but one needs only a 450 on the SAT subject test for most languages to fulfill it: https://undergrad-inside.wharton.upenn.edu/external-exam-credit/ . It appears that some other colleges expect a score in the 500s for an applicant to be exempt from the admission requirement of high school year 2 of a foreign language, so a student who has completed high school year 3 has a good chance of scoring at least 450.
URochester
@Counselmom I assume you’re open to liberal arts economics or some other non-business specific degree since you mention LACs. If that’s not the case, stop reading here.
My son had a similar situation. He had two years of two languages. He was fluent in one, but it was only taught at a handful of colleges. He dreaded taking college level courses in the other.
Language proficiency is confusing concept to understand because each college has its own method of determining proficiency and the final deciding factors are often arbitrary. Read the fine print carefully and if you find it unclear (as we did) ask questions.
My son’s shortlist included Williams, Kenyon, Hamilton, Wesleyan, Conn College, Skidmore. At the time none of these had language proficiency as a requirement for graduation. That may have changed.
Be sure to read fine print on the open curriculums too. There still may be graduation requirements, some college-wide, some by major.
Bentley university
Generally, LAC’s don’t do business, by definition. But there are a few that do offer it.
Bucknell is one such LAC that has an undergrad 'bidness program. Not sure what their FL requirements are, however.
Looks like Bucknell does require a FL
https://coursecatalog.bucknell.edu/collegeofartsandsciencescurricula/curriculaoverview/collegecorecurriculum/
Most LACs with which I’m familiar have a core curriculum which includes some type of FL requirement
Someone mentioned Bentley. Might be a solid choice for your kid as it sounds like he wants to get right at. Bentley is one of those schools that lets you (actually makes you) dive in right away. Very strong program in a great market. They produce a lot of career ready kids.
If he knows business is his thing, a good choice. if he wants to explore all kinds of things, should probably look elsewhere as it’s business first and foremost. That said, very interesting and specific business majors. (As an example - not just “Finance” but rather three separate finance related majors - Corporate Finance and Accounting, Economics - Finance, and Finance - each specializing in particular area.)
Agree on Bentley University. I have 2 kids there - love it!
It is hard to give any meaningful suggestions without information such as your child’s academic stats, what you can afford to pay, and other preferences (ex. location etc.). Offhand a couple of LACs that offer business that I can think of include URichmond and Muhlenberg (you should check to see if they have foreign language requirements). If you like the idea of Bentley you can also look at Babson and perhaps Bryant as other small business oriented colleges.
I suggest you do the research – you can come up with a list of colleges your child is interested in and then go to each school’s website to see if: 1) the school has a business program and 2) if foreign language is a requirement. Alternatively you can start with a list of business programs (from USNWR or Poets & Quants for example) and then look to school websites to see if foreign language or a large core curriculum is required for any schools that appear desirable.
The schools you mentioned (Smith, Amherst, etc.) do not have business programs as far as I know – but they likely have economics. It is important to understand that economics and an undergrad business school are very different things. Economics is a liberal arts course of study and gets very theoretical at the upper levels. In contrast if your child goes to an undergraduate business school he/she will take a business core with introductory classes in subjects such as accounting, finance, IT, marketing etc. and then you will major in one of those disciplines. I’m not saying that one path is better than the other, but they are different. I would take the time to look at the coursework (can be found online) for both a finance and an economics major and see if one path is preferable to your child