I’m going to echo a lot of colleges that others have mentioned. These are mostly Catholic colleges, with a few other privates added in. The list is categorized based on my very fallible sense of what might be your chances of acceptance.
Guaranteed
Extremely Likely (80-99%)
Creighton (NE) (lots of finance companies in Omaha, including Berkshire Hathaway)
U. of Portland (OR)
Seattle University (WA)
Seton Hall (NJ)
Duquesne (PA )
Likely (60-79%)
Fordham (NY)
Santa Clara (CA)
Southern Methodist (TX)
Providence (RI)
Fairfield (CT)
Gonzaga (WA)
Toss-Up (40-59%)
Villanova (PA )
Lehigh (PA )
Possible (20-39%)
Boston College (MA)
U. of Richmond (VA)
Less Likely (20% or less)
Carnegie Mellon (PA )
Emory (GA)
Georgetown (D.C.)
Tulane (LA)
U. of Pennsylvania
As @circuitrider recommended, I would certainly investigate options for if you decide not to go on to law school. Also, I would look at the costs for 7 years of education (4 yeas of undergrad and 3 years of law school), with 3 of those years at a top law school to see how much money you’re talking about spending. Did your grandmother’s gift have sufficient funds to cover all 7 years? If not, you might want to consider economizing a bit in college to save money for law school, as a great GPA and LSAT score from any of the colleges on this list would work to get you into a to law school.
I’d recommend looking at the schools where you are likeliest for admission, and then looking into schools where admission is less likely. Admissions have been very unpredictable for many who depended a lot on seeing their high SAT & GPA qualifying them above the 75th percentile at universities, or where Naviance or Scoir or just knowledge of their school’s college admissions history just did not match up with what is currently going on.
USC is a private university. Your state of residence doesn’t matter at all on terms of admission or coat to attend.
Since you had USC on your initial list…why not add Santa Clara University…a Jesuit college in your state with a fine undergrad business program. And they also have a law school.
If you have a 3.75 UW with a “big upward trend,” is it safe to assume that you had a weaker 9th grade year? This will position you well for UC’s, since the UC GPA is calculated with sophomore and junior year grades only. GPA Calculator for the University of California – RogerHub
You heard wrong. GPA & LSAT are what will matter (with the possible exception of H&Y, who seem to have a slight preference for their own/each others students- and you aren’t even aiming for either of them).
JHU is an outlier in your lists, not just in terms of majors but in terms of who it suits. Nothing in your posts makes me think of a JHU student.
For top law schools you want a top GPA, so keep that in mind when you are choosing your UG university- you want a place where you will be a star.
The point about law school $$ is worthwhile. You have a pot of X$$ available to you. Spending less money on UG leaves you more money for Law school. You may be thinking ‘I am going to make a killing as a corporate lawyer- I’ll pay off that $300k in no time’ but you may be surprised.
First, the majority of students being accepted to the top law schools have taken at least one, and usually 2, years between UG & Law school. Builds experience, gets better LoRs and (crucially) gives time to prep for the LSAT. During those years you won’t be making mega-bucks.
Once you get into your top-tier law school, IF you are at the top of your class (which will take serious hustle) AND you get an offer from one of the Big Law firms (also takes serious hustle) you could be one of the ~30% of students who start around $200k/year. BUT you will have to live in an expensive city, dress in expensive clothes, etc. Take a look at this, noting that it assumes $0 in any form of debt (incl law school or car): Biglaw Budget: 1st Year Associate – Biglaw Investor
All that to say: if you can save money on UG you may be very very glad later!
The less debt you start with the faster you are building your portfolio.
If you like Tufts, you might like Union, which is an easier admit. Smaller school, smaller city but similar demographic. Again, no business major but decent placement into finance jobs.
If you were liking the size and the urban proximity, you might want to consider the schools in Philadelphia and DC. Villanova, GW.
You might want to research Babson. Generally it’s not one that is considered as an alternative to Tufts, but it is excellent for business.
This is a great time to figure out what you want-- size, location, academics, vibe.
I haven’t been on College Confidential for a while now. My daughter just graduated from Mount Holyoke College, and my son who is a freshman chose a different route than what is discussed on college confidential. To answer DadSays, Really? YES. The schools were busy as it was high school vacation week, that being said, after the tour at Bowdoin we asked if we could see the dance studio. The woman told us we had to walk back to where the tour started across campus and ask someone there. By the time we got to the admissions office, my daughter told me, we’re good. Never applied or talked about the school again. Bates was so different just the day before. Not only were we allowed to see the dance studio, as we watched a class through the door, a student saw us, came out to talk to us for a good 10 minuets to answer any questions we had. I was so put off by the Bowdoin visit, that was the reason I started the thread. i had no idea it would become as viewed at it has. We also found many schools seemed more interested in the athletes than the really good students, partially why she chose a school that didn’t take sports to serious. I myself was a college athlete, so no offense to the dedication it takes, just not for her.
You may not have meant this the way it sounded. Just want to point out that they are not mutually exclusive. There are athletes who are also at the top of their class. I have one, as do others on this forum. Do they get some special treatment? Yes. But they are providing an additional, immediate contribution to the campus beyond their academics.
Sorry to hear of your bad experience at Bowdoin. We were treated well, but my son also did not pursue it. He wanted a strong CS program and he didn’t think Bowdoin was deep enough. BTW, the thread is a good one.
Fordham has an excellent business school and is in NYC, the heart of the financial industry. The campus is beautiful, the nicest green campus in The City and it is across the street from the Bronx Botanical Gardens, which are gorgeous. The surrounding neighborhood is not the greatest although it does include the Little Italy of the Bronx so there is ready access to amazing Italian food at a number of excellent restaurants and take-out pizza parlors.
Students are not locked into the Fordham neighborhood because the university has a 2nd campus at Lincoln Center, where many of their graduate schools are located, and the 2 are connected by a university “Ram Van” which runs constantly day & night 7 days per week. This gives students easy access to midtown Manhattan & the West Side right from campus. In addition, the Metro North commuter rail runs literally from the campus gate down to Grand Central Station and the East Side in minutes. It’s an especially good alternative at times of day when the van is likely to get bogged down in traffic.
Your mother might recently like the fact that Fordham recently announced the appointment of its first woman president, a Harvard educated lawyer who is herself also from a Jesuit family. Although her academic experience has been at Tulane and Loyola of New Orleans where she received accolades for her superb work as an innovator at both, she was born in NYC when he parents were grad students at Fordham. Tell your mom.
Poets and Quants is a good starting point for finding business schools. Once you get outside the top 10 prestige doesn’t matter. The outcomes between #20 and #40 will be based on personality, GPA and internships, not prestige.
Are you sure you won’t apply to a few UC or CS schools as a safety? Arizona schools? Never hurts to have a local school as a backup. Things can change over senior year.
Look for schools with direct admission to your major. Penn State is not urban and you need a 3.5 GPA after 2nd year to get finance.
Pitt would be OK but not sure it’s worth $50k/year OOS (and I’m a Pitt grad). Apply early.
Fordham is a good choice. S20 got into Gabelli but not quite enough merit. I really liked Rose Hill. SMU and Emory are nice.
DePaul in Chicago could be possible. Solid business program with happy kids. Not highly ranked but does well around Chicago. What about Santa Clara or LMU?
Yes I do like Villanova haven’t really taken a look at GW yet but I will and Babson I have heard about but I believe my gpa might be below standard for that school.
I would look at Gettsyburg (you’d have a 60% chance), Trinity (50% chance), and Lafayette (50% chance). Maybe Brandeis, if you’re looking at the Boston area. If you’re looking at Georgetown, look at George Washington (50% chance) and American (50%), too.
…
All these percentages are estimates, and do not reflect what the actual admissions outcome might be.
DadSays Do any non athletes provide an additional, immediate contribution to the campus? At my daughters school, we attended a few Dance performances and the Orchestra ( Yo-Yo Ma was in attendance ). We didn’t attend any sporting events. Both events we attended were filled to capacity, and the performances were outstanding. Thats why she chose her school.
I was asking you. DadSays Do any non athletes provide an additional, immediate contribution to the campus?
You stated athletes provide an additional, immediate contribution to the campus as to why they get special treatment. Your words, not mine.
i think all students bring an additional, immediate contribution to the campus. Athletes, Dancers, Musicians, and handicapped students who overcome obstacles, to name a few.
My point, my daughter chose a school that does not favor athletes, over Dancers, Musicians and handicapped students. i don’t even go on this site anymore, but got a notification someone mentioned me. You can private message me if that still a thing, i don’t really understand the new format.