Undergrad: USC vs. CMC vs. CMU vs. WM

Hey guys, I’ve been lurking for awhile but I need advice on the best business education for undergraduate. I’m trying to weigh the quality with the costs. I was accepted into:

  • USC Marshall (1/2 tuition scholly) $45k/yr
  • Claremont McKenna $70k/yr
  • Carnegie Mellon Tepper $70k/yr
  • William and Mary $55k/yr

I’m very interested in entrepreneurship & tech but I’m going into college with consulting or banking on my mind too. If you have attended these schools or know graduates, any advice would be worth it. I’m leaning USC bc of the scholarship, but at CMC and CMU I would play football. Thanks for even reading this, I know you guys are hella busy.

These are some good options. You might want to consider taking the USC scholarship back to the other schools to see if they would match.

Another point to consider is that your options are geographically dispersed. Although you aren’t tied to the region where you attend school, it sometimes points you in that direction. You also might want to consider travel to home while in school, which add to cost and convenience.

I think William and Mary, USC, and Carnegie Mellon are all considered to be quite good by one publication or another (USNews - https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/business , Bloomberg -https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2016-best-undergrad-business-schools/ ) I don’t really know anything about Claremont McKenna for business. It is a very good, unique school overall, though.

My gut says Carnegie Mellon is probably best regarded overall for undergraduate business. I’m not convinced it justifies the difference in price, though. And they aren’t necessarily separated by so much that reputation should be the only deciding factor.

USC because same level as other options and has entrepreneurial vibe with strong business connections and half the price.

I currently go to William & Mary as a minor in the business school. William & Mary has excellent undergraduate teaching in general, and it has certain courses like entrepreneurship ventures and entrepreneurship consulting that get you out there working with real businesses. It’s entrepreneurship center is brand new, but it aims to connect studnets by hosting weekly or biweekly visits from entrepreneurs and startups, as well as try and form connections for students. It will mean applying to the business school after acceptance though, which I do not know if it is a requirment for other schools.

You’ve been accepted into great schools, but hard situation due to costs. I would honestly say USC for this one due to costs, alumni network, and location. USC is right in the heartland of California where lots of this will be happening.