Suggestions, please

<p>I'm a rising senior researching all sorts of different colleges, and I'm hoping someone will suggest some places for me to look into. Since you need to know a little about me to know what I am looking for, here goes:</p>

<p>Hispanic Male, Public High School in Texas
Class Rank: 7/320, UWGPA: 3.8
SAT: Took the old one, 740 Math, 650 Verbal, will be retaking
ACT: 32, will be retaking
SAT IIs: Have not yet taken any</p>

<p>I'm planning to major in Business/Finance</p>

<p>I've visited a few schools, my favorites being Southern Methodist University, U of Colorado, and UVA. I also like all that I see from Washington & Lee, Dartmouth, and Penn (who can beat Wharton?). I'm also Catholic, so Georgetown and Boston College seem appealing.</p>

<p>The size of the school really doesn't matter, as what is more important to me is a combination of solid academics and a nice campus setting.</p>

<p>what do you want to study? do you want an urban/rural/suburban campus?</p>

<p>oh business. nvm.</p>

<p>USC, Penn, Georgetown, Northwestern, NYU, MIT, Emory, UVA</p>

<p>northwestern doesn't have undergrad business</p>

<p>i suggest unc, miami (oh), texas, indiana, uva, michigan</p>

<p>Have you thought about Notre Dame? I noticed you like Georgetown and BC, and BusinessWeek ranked Mendoza at Notre Dame as the nation's #3 undergrad business school.</p>

<p>Dorian - I have thought about Notre Dame...but I don't know much about South Bend, and I haven't heard any raving reviews. Is it livable?</p>

<p>irish200 - All the schools you list have amazing reputations, except Indiana - What is special about them? UNC has an amazing campus (but it's quite hard to get into), Texas-Austin is probably a little too close to home but I'd be happy there. Miami, UVA and Michigan - too much of a reach?</p>

<p>bob - Type of campus doesn't matter too much...if I had to choose one, I guess I would choose suburban, but really I don't care much.</p>

<p>South Bend, while certainly not as exciting as a place like Austin, is a fine place to live, and it's only a two-hour train ride from Chicago.</p>

<p>Ungrad Business Rankings:
<a href="http://bwnt.businessweek.com/bschools/undergraduate/06rankings/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://bwnt.businessweek.com/bschools/undergraduate/06rankings/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<ol>
<li>Penn</li>
<li>UVA </li>
<li>Notre Dame </li>
<li>MIT</li>
<li>Emory </li>
<li>Michigan
</li>
<li>NYU</li>
<li>BYU</li>
<li>Texas *</li>
<li>Indiana *
(this is why I listed IU)</li>
<li>UNC *</li>
<li>UC- Berk.</li>
<li>Georgetown</li>
<li>Cornell</li>
<li>Wash U</li>
<li>Carnegie Mellon</li>
<li>Miami (Ohio) *
</li>
<li>Lehigh</li>
<li>Villanova</li>
<li>SMU</li>
<li>USC</li>
<li>Illinois</li>
<li>Boston College</li>
<li>Wake Forest</li>
<li>Richmond</li>
</ol>

<p>I'll talk to you what I know about each school...and assess your chances</p>

<p>UNC-Yes, it is very hard to get into from out of state... this was my #1 choice, primarily because of business... I was rejected with 31 ACT, 1430 SAT, very good ECs, but you being a URM may help... I would go for it. As for the campus... it's quite small, and doesn't have much green space- however I love the state of North Carolina. I would go for it.</p>

<p>Miami (Ohio)- This is the school I chose. I believe it is one of the fastest rising schools in the nation. Especially in business. The school is POURING money into construction and academics... take a look for yourself (links below)- also a brand new business school in 2008...I wouldn't be suprised to see MU crack the top 10 in the next two years.
Also, one of the prettiest campuses in the nation--lots of green. And Georgian/red brick architecture. Visit and fall in love. You should get in--Probably with a decent scholarship, as well as honors (priority scheduling--BIG plus)
<a href="http://www.muohio.edu%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.muohio.edu&lt;/a>
<a href="http://www.forloveandhonor.org/projects/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.forloveandhonor.org/projects/&lt;/a>
<a href="http://www.sba.muohio.edu/home/NewBuilding/models_renderings.asp%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.sba.muohio.edu/home/NewBuilding/models_renderings.asp&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Texas- You will know much more about this than me. Never been there.</p>

<p>Indiana- Yes, while it is not otherwise highly though of... the Kelley School of Business is among the best of the nation and attracts some of the best students across the nation. IU is a big school with a lot of school pride. The campus is pretty big, and is one of my favorite campuses that I have seen (I have seen many) besides Miami. Safety School for you.</p>

<p>Virginia- This is also a very good school. You would need to take SAT IIs to apply. It is very similar to UNC in most aspects and has a beautiful campus, similar to Miami's with Georgian Architecture and bricks. You probably have a better shot here than North Carolina because the percentage of OOS students is higher here.
<a href="http://www.uva.edu%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.uva.edu&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Michigan- Also, a good school with a lot of school spirit. Never been to the campus so cannot help you with that. I think you have a very reasonable chance at getting in-- stop underestimating yourself.</p>

<p>Feel Free to PM me, or post here if you need more--
I am very willing to help</p>

<p>Northwestern has a business economics minor.</p>

<p>Brown has a business economics concentration as well.</p>

<p>You could get a full ride at Indiana, and still be in a top 10 business school. Check out the Kelley Scholars and Wells Scholars program, both full ride oppurtunities for students with high test scores and GPA. You also have direct admission to the B-School, where at schools like Michigan, UNC, and UVA, you would have to apply once you get there, and you may be stuck without a major.</p>

<p>I don't think IU's rep is bad. Their Peer Assessment rating in the US News is in the top 40, which is much more telling than the overall index score which discriminates publics. And their B-School has wonderful placement (receiving an A+ from BW), I think they are 7th overall for finance. Also they have one of the most beautiful campuses in the nation.</p>

<p>You have a shot at any school with your stats. You have the GPA and the test scores for anywhere, it's all about your ECs. But seriously consider IU as a safety, with those two scholarship programs, because you may say to yourself at the end "geez, do I want to pay 160K to go to Michigan?" I know tons of kids going to IU because other schools were too much.</p>

<p>I agree with a lot of what A2Wolves6 said. You really shouldn't rule out some of those schools because you don't think you can get in.</p>

<p>Notre Dame, UNC, UVA, Indiana, Miami University (OH) are great schools to start with and all fairly similar</p>

<p>they each certainly are essential "college towns," where life in the city centers around the campus</p>

<p>Might look at Holy Cross-very good Catholic school with strong alumni network/internships. HC is one hour from Boston.</p>

<p>Thanks everyone.</p>

<p>irish200 - The Miami campus sounds like something I would like. Nice to see their business school building new facilities. Do you apply directly to the business school or apply after you are in? Also, do you have a link for scholarships?</p>

<p>A2Wolves6 - I definetely am looking for a good deal in education. I'll be honest, I hadn't heard much about Indiana until this thread. That's why I asked :). I'll definetely be researching them further to see if that might be the best place for me. I do like that placement rating!</p>

<p>par72 - Is Holy Cross strong in business?</p>

<p>Almost every building on the MU campus is red brick...even the new ones (you should see the parking garage- people think its an academic building)
Every dorm/buidling is 3 stories or less--this means you get to know almost everyone in your dorm, unlike many other schools which have huge dorms and you stay on your floor.</p>

<p>If you were accepted into the honors program which I think you have an extremely good shot at- you would be granted automatic admission to the business school, and begin taking some classes right off the bat with a small group of similar students (about 40) also in the honors business program... and you would take certain honors classes with some of these students until graduation---builds real strong bonds. You would also be automatically rewarded a minimum scholarship. You being a URM coupled with your academic success helps a lot- and puts you in a very good position for a large scholarship and/or the Harrison scholarship (full ride)- you apply for the Harrison, when you apply for honors.</p>

<p>Otherwise, if you do not get into the honors program, you would apply to the business school after your sophomore year (but would begin taking core classes your sophomore year, freshman year you could also take some if you have a lot of AP credit- but mostly liberal arts courses)... I believe you will need at least 3.2 GPA to enter (I think its increasing from a 3.0), but you should be able to achieve that- don't doubt yourself.</p>

<p>Here is a link to financial aid. Miami acts a lot like a private school when it comes to money.
<a href="http://www.units.muohio.edu/sfa/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.units.muohio.edu/sfa/&lt;/a>
<a href="http://www.units.muohio.edu/sfa/scholar/index.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.units.muohio.edu/sfa/scholar/index.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>I think you have a strong shot at the Harrison or some of the others</p>

<p>Thanks for the links and the info. I really like the sound of that Harrison Scholars program, not just the money but also the other benefits that go along with it. </p>

<p>I've actually been in contact with Miami, but the information you have provided probably just clinched my decision to apply there. Thanks!</p>

<p>It's kind of strange how Miami is 17th in Business Week, and in the 50s in US News.</p>

<p>I suggest you could visit both Miami and IU on the same trip... the schools are about 3 hours apart</p>

<p>I probably will try, as well as trying to get Notre Dame in there as well.</p>

<p>Thought you may like to see the US News Finance Rankings</p>

<h1>1 University of Pennsylvania (Wharton)</h1>

<h1>2 New York University (Stern)</h1>

<h1>3 University of Michigan–Ann Arbor (Ross)</h1>

<h1>4 University of California–Berkeley (Haas)</h1>

<h1>5 University of Texas–Austin (McCombs)</h1>

<h1>6 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Sloan)</h1>

<h1>7 Indiana University–Bloomington (Kelley)</h1>

<h1>8 Ohio State University–Columbus (Fisher)</h1>

<h1>9 Carnegie Mellon University (Tepper)</h1>

<h1>10 University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill (Kenan-Flagler)</h1>

<h1>10 University of Southern California (Marshall)</h1>

<h1>10 University of Virginia (McIntire)</h1>

<h1>13 University of Illinois–Urbana-Champaign</h1>

<h1>14 Pennsylvania State University–University Park (Smeal)</h1>

<h1>15 University of Florida (Warrington)</h1>

<h1>15 University of Washington</h1>

<h1>15 University of Wisconsin–Madison</h1>

<h1>18 Boston College (Carroll)</h1>

<h1>18 Purdue University–West Lafayette (Krannert)</h1>

<h1>20 University of Notre Dame (Mendoza)</h1>

<h1>20 Washington University-St. Louis (Olin)</h1>

<h1>22 CUNY–Baruch College (Zicklin)</h1>

<h1>22 University of Illinois–Chicago</h1>

<h1>22 University of Maryland–College Park (Smith)</h1>

<p>Some suggested schools (Miami, Holy Cross, Northwestern, Georgetown, Emory) don't have strong/any finance major. Keep that in mind.</p>

<p>How is your family financially? Do you qualify for aid? If you don't, then definitely keep Texas on your list, being in-state and having an auto admit (top 10%). It could eliminate basically all the schools mentioned, considering the combination of low tuition and high educational quality. Also is nice on your parents as you don't have the huge travel expenses associated with flying home for breaks. You would likely be in honors there too. Very nice campus, lots of spirit.</p>

<p>Shoot for schools better than Texas, it's a safety for you. Even Michigan is a safety. I think you are Wharton quality, if you really want to go there. May want to do ED there. If MIT interests you at all, you may want to try there, but it's SO HARD to get into MIT, and even that 32 ACT is a bit low for them.</p>

<p>Suggested Schools (A lot of these Matches can be looked at as safeties too)
REACH: MIT, Penn
MATCH: Virginia, North Carolina, Cal-Berkeley, Carnegie Mellon, Notre Dame, WUSTL, USC, NYU
SAFETY: Michigan, Texas, Indiana</p>

<p>Financially, we fall in the category where aid is hard to come by yet paying for college is difficult (my dad's salary just went into the six-figures last year, and my mom's job is part time as a learning specialist for a school district which doesn't pay much at all). I have two younger siblings, and I read somewhere that that could be a factor in getting aid. I hope so.</p>

<p>UT will always be on my list. Austin is a great city, and it's only downside is that it's one of the few large cities where mass transit is nonexistant. I've always thought of it as a great school, but have figured I should shoot higher. I'm not big on MIT. I haven't visited Wharton, but I have spoken with a Penn admission counselor. Sounds like a place where I could do RD, but maybe not ED. I just don't feel strongly enough to give it that kind of commitment.</p>