Hi,
I am currently conducting my search and am looking for some insights into business schools. I would love to hear experiences.
My Profile:
I am a US citizen but have been attending a school abroad for the last eight years. My school uses the American curriculum. I believe I would count as an international applicant.
GPA: 3.77/4 UW (I have been rather unlucky in the GPA department. I had to take some random art classes with obnoxious, unbending teachers who felt the need to be harsh because they did not want to set a precedent of students taking the classes for an “Easy A”).
GPA calculations as follows: 93-100 (4.0), 90-92 (3.67), 87-89 (3.33), 83-86 (3) etc.
APs: Took 3 jr year and will take 3 next year plus a research course considered the same rigor as an AP. There are only 2 APs students at my school were allowed to take sophomore year and neither were relevant to my interests so I did not take them. Scored two 5s, one 4, and one 3 on my tests this year.
Test Scores: I took the SAT in March and fumbled the English section. I know that if I took it again I could improve, but realistically speaking, I am not a great test taker and I do not see myself being able to score exceptionally well to the point where it would really add much value to my application.
ECs: I am proud of my activities and they are genuine interests of mine that I have been developing since middle school. Majority of my activities are not within the school community (four successful businesses ventures, internships, service work, brand ambassador positions, sponsorships etc)
Ideally, I would like a school with 8-25k undergrad population, suburban/town with a solid business program. I am also interested in sustainability and environmental science (potentially going to double major/minor) Good student life is also important to me. Also, would like a school where there is at least ~5% international population and ideally not totally dominated by in-states.
Thank you!
How are much are your parents able/willing to spend? Since you will not have an instate option, affordability may be your biggest hurdle. Any region of the country of more interest?
As a US citizen you will be a domestic applicant.
What is your SAT score total & then broken down into Math & Verbal sections ?
Which AP tests & score for each ?
I really did poorly on both sections unfortunately. 1260 with 570 Verbal 690 Math. For PSAT and practices I consistently did much better on Verbal than Math so it was pretty unfortunate. I wish I had practiced more with testing conditions.
I took Environmental Science (4) , Human Geo (5) , Macro (3) , Micro (5) . Great class combination. Macro was taught second semester so I was mostly doing it self-taught so not a great score obviously.
I am quite lucky. My parents set up my college fund when I was born and it has accumulated significantly since then. I am extremely grateful that affordability is not a big factor for me.
Thanks for letting me know. I also have citizenship in this country. I am not sure whether that is a plus or not?
Kelley school of business at Indiana University is a well respected program that you can probably get into.
Little to no chance of getting in Univ. of Indiana-Kelley School of Business with a 1260 SAT unless English is not your first language and you can produce a high TOEFL score. Even then, you may face a challenge.
P.S. I’ll research SAT scores for undergrad business schools on another website & list them here in the next hour.
Indiana-Kelley also has required courses that one must take if not a direct admit as a freshman to the business school.
For direct admit to Kelley he would need a 3.8 GPA and 1370 SAT (or 30 ACT). Otherwise you would have to apply after completing 30 college credits and 4 or 5 business prerequisites through the standard admission process.
I would look at state colleges that have direct admit business majors such as San Diego State or Michigan State. One thing working in your favor is that many colleges are going test optional this fall so not having to submit a low SAT might work in your favor.
The average SAT score for Indiana-Kelley in 2018 was about 1440–but that is the average (mean), not required minimum.
OP: Consider these business schools:
The University of Utah
American University (Wash DC)
Hult International Business School
Purdue University
College of New Jersey
Syracuse University
Univ. of San Diego
Seton Hall (New Jersey)
University of Texas at Dallas (Jindal School of Business)
Providence College
Univ. of Tennessee at Knoxville
James Madison University
Drexel University (Philadelphia–has co-op programs)
Univ. of Akron (heavy party school)
Elon University in North Carolina
Univ. of Missouri at Columbia
University of Oklahoma
Rochester Institute of Technology
University of Arizona (Eller School of Business)
Univ. of North Carolina at Wilmington (beach / ocean–lots of parties)
Univ. of New Hampshire
Ithaca College
St. Louis University
Texas A&M
Texas Tech University
From my list above, strongly consider:
The Univ. of Arizona
Elon University
University of Utah
American University
Univ. of Texas at Dallas
Univ. of Oklahoma
Texas A&M
Texas Tech
Thank you for the suggestions. Regarding SAT, I know I have a very low score and considered taking a few more tests before I apply. However, realistically, I do not feel confident that I would be able to score above the 75th percentile for most schools so do not see value in taking the time to grind out the SAT now when I could do other things if that makes sense? Our counsellors have advised us to only submit scores if they really add value and in my case I do not think it would.
What are your thoughts on turning in an SAT? Is it worth it to work for a score to get to the M50 or better to just not turn anything in and take advantage of the test-optional policy?
GPA wise, don’t many schools recalculate and take out art/choir/PE/health kind of classes? Taking into account just academic marks, my GPA would be higher.
I had to take a dance class instead of PE for the PE credit because of scheduling conflict. I am NOT a dancer and was compared against people who had elected to take the class because they had experience or really wanted to. So despite my best effort, I only managed to get an A- (3.67) which was a significant effort in itself because I was given a B- for the quarter grade! Meanwhile, the majority of students got to take a regular PE class where A+s were handed out…
I also had a further two art classes to take and despite the teacher saying my quality was of AP level, I received A-s in the classes.
I feel my school has serious issues with unfair grading across teachers. I have a few friends who received A- first sem, A- second sem and somehow ended on As for the year. Really depended on the teacher and how generous they were.
Sorry about the rant, but it really is discouraging to think about how this kind of grading is affecting me now.