What would be a good college fit for me?

College Search & Selection
1

Hello! I’m a rising senior in a big high school in North Carolina
Here are my stats:
Unweighted GPA: 3.33 (low I know) W GPA: 3.8

EC/Honors: DECA, Work experience at 3 different restaurants, Secretary Officer of ICC, ICC representative of Career Club, NHS, Knights In Action community service program, Intern at Dentist office, Current employee at Marble Slab Ice Cream shop
(I listed everything just to see what would help) I also plan on doing more internships this summer, probably with a financial manager from Wells Fargo

SAT Score: 1270 as of right now but I’m still waiting on my June score and I’m taking it in August. (Hopefully I can get around a 1350 by August)

My class rank as of late was a 341/790ish (my class is huge) but I’m not sure what it is as of late.

AP Courses: AP Psychology, AP Human Geography, AP English Language, and planning to take AP Macroeconomics and AP Statistics senior year. (I signed up for AP Macro junior year but did not receive it because of how big my class is)

I was also wondering if my stats are too low for NC State or Clemson? Would that be a good option? I was planning on applying for finance or business. Also this is my schedule for senior year:

AP Statistics
AP Macroeconomics
Honors English IV
Honors American History II
Honors Forensic Sciences
Honors Hospitality and Tourism
Early Release- Fall
Early Release- Spring

Thanks everyone, let me know if you need any more information.

2

You can make your own assessment for a school by googling Common Data Set and looking at section C. One thing to consider is how much your family can afford for college. Run the Net Price Calculator for those schools, then talk to your parents about the results.

3

Yes, the financial side is important. It’s helpful to run the NPC for schools that seem interesting to you.

I love that you have lots of work experience. I think that is so important, but in terms of college admissions and personal growth and development.

You certainly seem like a reasonable candidate for NC State, though I obviously don’t know for sure whether you’d be accepted or not. Maybe Clemson, too, though I don’t know the stats there as well. What about UNC-Wilmington? Work hard senior year and try to really do well, both to boost your transcript and to prepare yourself once you get to college.

If you can afford private or OOS, what would you think of Elon? You could also maybe peek at Longwood University and Christopher Newport, which has an essentially new campus and lots of energy. What about another state flagship? There are some that are excellent research universities but not as competitive as a UNC or UVA. I’m thinking Tennessee, Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, etc. NC State will probably be your best bet financially, though, if that works out.

4

I appreciate this so much! NC State is definitely my number one top choice but I’m starting to have doubts as to whether I’ll be able to get in because of how competitive it is getting. I love Clemson and Virginia Tech too!

5

Well money isn’t really a problem… as long as it isn’t ridiculously expensive. My parents have been saving for my college fund since I was little so really 35-40k wouldn’t be an issue… I guess it just depends on what school it is.

6

Your matches are UNC Wilmington and App state. UNC Charlotte is a safety. Elon, NCSU are reaches.
Seconding CNU, USC Columbia,
Other possibilities: UAlabama, USF (Florida), Penn state, Pitt.
Clemson is very unlikely.
For all, look at whether you must be a direct admit or if your odds are better if you apply undeclared.

7

MYOS makes a great point about making sure you can get into the business program directly (it’s often harder to get into the business program than into the university in general). And if you can’t get in directly, how hard is it to get in once you’re already a student there? Mississippi & Mississippi State have decent business programs & you’d probably qualify for some scholarship money.

8

You seem like a student who does best when “real world” experience is part of the picture. Do you think you might prefer a program with a significant co-op component, to one that is more traditionally classroom-based? Drexel https://www.lebow.drexel.edu/academics/undergraduate would be a reach (admissions-wise and perhaps money-wise too), but Cincinnati seems well in range for both your stats and your budget. https://business.uc.edu/undergraduate.html

9

What I have seen from your records is that Clemson is a reach school because your SAT is a little too low for them. They have students with about 26-31 ACT which converts to 1260-1430 SAT. So your best bet is to get to the 1350. Your GPA is also a little too low for their acceptance but you may still have a chance, and is actually a 50/50 shot for their school. So keep up the good work and continue to take the next step!

As for NC State, the acceptance is a little higher but these two schools are a little reach, but don’t let that bring you down. Remember that you never know until you apply!

10

If I wanted to get hired by a good firm and end up working in New York City (a dream of mine, I know its really far away and it will take a lot of work) would USC Columbia be a good choice since they have a really good business school?

11

I understand… I wish I did better in high school, I got pretty distracted.

12

I think all of the suggestions are for the most part are excellent. I would consider Pitt and penn state for an oos student that shares your profile to be reach schools. But perhaps worth a try.

13

Your coursework and work history make me wonder - have you considered the Hospitality and Tourism school at USC, rather than the business school? I would think either one could be a path to working in NYC and other major cities - it depends whether you specifically want to be in the financial industry or whether business/management in the hospitality, tourism, and/or retail industries would appeal. Your question about USC just reminded me because I know students in the highly-ranked Hospitality program there. (That said, I have no idea about USC’s relative connectedness to NYC - whether in the b-school or the hospitality school, so I’m just posing an unrelated question rather than answering yours…)

14

Most people according to the scattergram from my high school with my stats have been accepted to Penn State and UPitt… I have a Naviance account which shows acceptance history. They would probably be a bit more match than reach.

15

I don’t really know much about hospitality and tourism… what does it even entail?

16

Here’s the site for USCarolina’s program: https://sc.edu/study/colleges_schools/hrsm/index.php

In general, Hospitality and Tourism programs offer a blend of business/management background and practical skills and experience vis-a-vis running hotels, resorts, restaurants, theme parks, cruises, tours, tourist destinations, etc. etc. (In USC’s case, retail and sports management tracks are offered as well. At other schools like Clemson and NC State, the other tracks tend more toward parks-and-recreaction type management.) There is overlap between the knowledge base for business/management programs in a b-school, and hospitality/tourism management programs in a hospitality school, but b-school programs tend go deeper into the abstractions of financial theory where hospitality programs tend to be more practical, front-end oriented. (For example, Cornell’s Hospitality school, the top-ranked program in the nation, has its own high-end hotel and restaurant on the Cornell campus, which is entirely student-run.) I imagine your Honors Hospitality and Tourism class will talk about majors and careers in this area. If it’s something you might consider, maybe you can contact the instructor ahead of time and get some advice.

I think, on the whole, that hospitality schools tend to be slightly easier admits than business schools, all other things being equal (though people may correct me or point out exceptions)… not that this in itself is a reason to choose a different path, but it’s worth at least considering whether the aspects of “business” that you like are better embodied in a b-school program or in a hospitality/tourism program. If you would enjoy studying the business behind tourism, retail, hotels/restaurants, etc. as much as or more than studying the business of investments, financial theory, and so on, then it’s an option to consider. A number of the schools you are thinking about have both, including USC, Clemson, NC State, Virginia Tech, and Penn State. Just looking at your employment history and the fact that you’re taking the Hospitality class senior year, it seems as if your record makes you look like a well-suited applicant with a proven interest in the hospitality field. If you’re really not sure which route sounds better, maybe apply to a couple of hospitality programs that sound the most appealing, and still apply to business at the other schools.

And speaking of business schools… If it’s a possibility $-wise, maybe consider Syracuse, for a very NYC-connected business program? The university as a whole is a good match for your stats, though Whitman is a bit more competitive. (Stats are only a little higher but admit rate is lower.)

17

Hospitality pays peanuts though - precarious or low pay jobs are plentiful but good, stable jobs that pay well are rare. That’s why it’s often easier to get into hospitality programs than in business schools.
Whitman will be a reach…
For Penn State, apply undeclared (“DUS”). It’s a perfectly legit way to get into the business school and the pathway most students take (90% students who apply to Smeal out of high school are turned down, then ask for reconsideration for DUS… Which means they may not get in at all and have to wait till March to hear back. Cut the pointless step, apply straight to DUS.)

18

Well, the salary point is well taken.

We haven’t discussed College of Charleston in this thread, have we? It seems like a really good fit for your stats (GPA a notch under median, compensated by SAT almost at 75th percentile), and a great college destination. They do not accept by major - academic interests are discussed, but everyone starts out undeclared. Hospitality is part of the business school there, so pursuing that field or not wouldn’t be a binary decision - you could add a minor or a concentration in Hospitality to one of the more general b-school majors if you wanted to http://sb.cofc.edu/academics/majors-and-minors/index.php CoC isn’t as huge as most of the schools you’re interested in, but 10K undergrads is still plenty of “critical mass”… and it’s a gorgeous campus and city.

19

I probably wouldn’t be interested in CofC, I don’t know. I didn’t think my GPA was this low, that I’d have to start looking elsewhere and even switch my major.

20

Pitt and Pennsylvania state for business. Low reach or match. Just words. I think they are 50 50 which isn’t bad. Just as an oos student it’s a bit more selective. But maybe they don’t get many applications from nc. So that’s good for you. I think Alabama might be worth a look too. Further afield like UNM ASU. Perhaps FSU. All worth a look too.