If anyone could speak on the Assured Admissions program to Kenan Flagler? From my understanding - aside from getting rejected from the University completely - there is potential that I am admitted to UNC without Assured Admission into KF. This would mean that I’d have to apply at the end of my freshman year. If anyone read my previous post about UVa, I am not interested in going through another applications process given how stressful this undergrad one has been. I would not like to enter my freshman year in an extracurricular “rat race” to apply all over again at the end of my first-year. I’d rather enjoy my transition, and not have to worry about acceptance for at least the rest of the four years. I would also not like to drop all that money into a school in which I am “locked out” of a career opportunity that I would be interested in pursuing if I do not gain admission after my first year. Any help is appreciated, thank you so much.
The Assured Admissions to KFBS is pretty limited (i.e. they don’t give that many out). You can get admitted to the university without Assured Admission and apply to KFBS after your freshman year. You didn’t mention if you are instate or OOS, which is important for general university admissions which has been discussed extensively on these threads. If you do get Assured Admission, then you are guaranteed admission in KFBS assuming you meet the GPA requirements and complete all prereqs. You would start taking business classes end of sophomore year or junior year, while taking the prereqs your freshman and sophomore year. Assuming you are a senior in HS.
Getting into KFBS is a competitive process if you don’t receive Assured Admissions. It requires a great GPA, completion of prereqs and while not required, participation in business clubs, leadership positions, etc. It is not easy as average GPA is 3.5+ and around 50% are admitted. KFBS is expanding to admit more people but it will be a slow process. I would advise anyone applying to AP out of stats, micro and macro econ, and calculus if possible. Econ and accounting are difficult to get A’s in, so can affect your GPA at UNC.
Seems like a trend to have competitive admissions at some of the top undergraduate business schools, including KFBS and UVA. Understand your wanting the certainty, which is a common complaint, but a competitive process ensures the business schools get the best college students who have prepared themselves for the business world and succeeded in college so far, rather than great high school students with high standardized test scores. Good luck!
Very helpful information, thank you. First of all I am OOS and a senior in HS. This is very unfortunate because I loved every aspect of the school except this KF admissions program. Could you speak a little on what would happen if I got rejected from KF but still wanted to pursue Management? what opportunities would I have and what degrees could I graduate with? I just want to know for absolute certainty before I drop thousands of dollars on a college in which I may not even get into the Business program.
@hotsauce240 Odds are good if you get into UNC OOS that you can maintain the grades necessary to get into KF. The key to Assured Admission is having the grades/scores but showing your passion for a career in business.
My daughter’s grades/scores were great but no ECs or business experience on her application and got into UNC but not KF assured admit. A friend of hers whose rigor, GPA and test scores were not nearly as high got Assured Admission. He started multiple successful small businesses and has displayed an obvious passion for the business world. They don’t want to waste spots on someone who is just trying to figure it out.
In my daughter’s case it came down to UVa or BC CSOM (not interested in UNC since we live a mile from the campus.) It wasn’t a difficult decision for her because even with a guaranteed admit to Carroll she loved UVa. The risk of not getting into McIntire exists but she is willing to take it, so she’s headed to UVa in August.
@hotsauce240 Not sure of other avenues outside KFBS for Management. People do Econ and Math for finance or go to the journalism school for some advertising/marketing type education. If you meet the KFBS advisors, they will help you along and many people who don’t make it the first time can get advice on what was lacking so they can apply again and get in. A lot of people who don’t get in don’t necessarily do all that is required or aren’t suited in the first place. Also know several assured admits who don’t want to do KFBS after getting in. I can only speak for my daughter, but she is in a sorority and having others who already went through the process was helpful, she got involved with business clubs such as Carolina Women in Business and the Finance club, got to know the KFBS admissions officers and advisors. Also doing some kind of business internship after your freshman year (think something unpaid where you work for a parent’s friend in business or something like that) is helpful. All while doing well in school. A lot of people take the basic accounting and econ classes and find real quick they really don’t want to do business after all. Agree with the poster that if you get in from OOS, you are likely studious enough to meet a lot of requirements for getting into KFBS. Good luck.
@Cavitee @jdogNC gotchu thanks, really helpful information. I unfortunately fit the bill of the incoming student interested in business with a small amount of business experience, but still very much trying to figure things out. I have also realized that not getting into KF doesn’t completely lock me out of business, as I can still major in Econ and take business courses. The unfortunate thing for me is that I find Econ interesting on the surface area, but would prefer to go into depth with a business concentration like Administration or Management. Do you know if UNC has extensive availability with that? If I’m not in KFBS do I have a lot of possibility for business courses, or a little, like what the spectrum would be on that. Obviously considering going to the school, I’d have to weigh every single option, including not getting into KFBS during undergrad. Appreciate it, thanks so much.
Hey there! I’m an OOS assured admit for the KFBS, and I didn’t have much business experience when I applied. I did engage in research and wrote strong essays, so if you have strong extracurriculars and a well rounded college application, you definitely have a chance!
Even if you don’t get assured admission, you still have 2 opportunities to apply—if you get rejected after your first try, you can reapply after your second year. There are also other business-related majors, such as Management and Society, Sports Management, and Physics with a concentration in Quantitative Finance.
Let me know if you have any questions!
Re Assured Admit - so many of the other top b schools undergrad going to direct admit - agree not worth the risk if you don’t get in directly from high school when you can get into Texas Michigan Indiana etc…
@hotsauce240 Just an observation from the business world. Many many many kids go to banking, consulting, corporate Leadership Development Programs within industry (all the marquee stuff) with econ, math, stats, applied math, engineering degrees. KF would be great and (assuming you get in OOS) you have a great shot, but even if you don’t get in to KF, you can easily find your way into a great business role.
When we toured a few yrs ago, the stats were about 55% admission to KF but the student affairs director we met with told us that was skewed because a good number of the rejections were actually kids self selecting out of the program (didn’t like accounting or econ or intro finance or stats) so it’s more likely 65%. That’s 2 out of 3. If you can get in to UNC OOS, you can do that all day long! Be confident.