UVA vs. Mercy College Business Honors

College Search & Selection
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I was accepted into both UVA and Mercy College, and am at odds of where I should go. The two schools are completley opposite – Mercy is a small, private school in New York, whereas UVA is a large, public state school towards the south. they both have their pros and cons:
UVA pros: Well Known Business program with high recruitment from comapnies, generally good school, instate tuition (though it’s costlier than Mercy due to scholarship money), pretty campus
UVA cons: food (which I understand isn’t the determing factor), from what I’ve heard there’s a questionable racial/ socioeconomic enviornment (I’m a black female), Not too close to cities for internships/ jobs, admittance to business school not guaranteed

Mercy Pros: Nice sense of community (I know some of the professors there due to a summer program, and the Dean sent me a christmas card), scholarship money, Internships from freshman year, in New York (which seems like a prime location for business), I could graduate in 3 years due to AP credits, selective (only 40 students taken every year)
Mercy Cons: food, The campus life is a bit dead, School isn’t very prestigious (ex: <40% graduation rate (like for real)), small unknown program/ school

With UVA, it’s a good school with a recognizable name, but I have to apply to their business program after two years in the shcool, and I’m not guaranteed entry. It’s also more expensive and they wouldn’t accept many of my AP credits. Mercy’s model mixes pre-recs with business classes, so by 2nd semester students can (and do) get internships, builiding a strong resume from the start. The Business Honors program itself has a roughly 90% graduation rate (good program in a bad school). Also, I would save a lot of money going there due to them accepting 11 AP credits, allowing me to graduate a year earlier, and also scholarship money.

Sorry this is getting long but I guess my question is, as an employer, would you rather have a future employee from a well known program like UVA’s, or would a strong resume (like with Mercy) be eqaully as compelling? Because what good is saving money/ time if I can’t get a job?

Again, sorry for the length, I’m just so confused and lost, and looking for guidance.

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any help would be great

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I don’t know anything about Mercy. UVA however is one of the top schools in the county (not just public but any). It has an excellent business school that is heavily recruited by the top firms of many industries. I wouldn’t be too concerned about admissions to McIntire. From there website, approximately 2/3 who apply get in. Look at it this way. You are a strong enough student to gain admission to UVA as an OOS. That is very hard to do and on par with getting on to some of the most selective schools. Congrats!!! From that I take it that you are an excellent student who takes your education seriously. If so, I’m sure you will do just fine at UVA and have no problems getting admitted to b school. With it’s history, beauty, incredibly talented student body (that’s an important factor too - being in a environment that’s oozing with success), outstanding resources and job placement, I think it’s hard to beat.

From a recruiting standpoint in business, top firms in consulting, IB, Industry, Accounting all basically live on campus.

So MBB, Big 4, Goldman Sachs and the rest of the BB, and the major FDLPs (Financial Development Leadership Programs) of GE, Pepsi, J&J, Exxon, etc all recruit from UVA. You will get a GOOD job coming out of school. That’s what they do.