So, I applied to a total of 11 universities. I was accepted to 6 and denied by 5. Of the 6 that I was accepted to, I want to go to the best, but I can’t decide. I applied to the business colleges.
The best ones of the six with the programs are:
University of Richmond (Robins School of Business)- Business, Economics
Northeastern University (D’Amore-McKim School of Business)- Management
Ohio State University (Fisher College of Business)(Selected to Scholars Program)- International Business Administration
Penn State University (Smeal College of Business)- Management
The other two are North Carolina State University and Syracuse University.
I was also thinking about not going to any and preparing for SAT again. Also, in this time I could gain work experience and do some volunteer work, then apply to even better universities. My SAT was 1830.
What do you people think is best?
Congrats on all those acceptances! Sorry I can’t help you choose between them. I agree with NROTC grad, do NOT take a gap year. Pick one and go in the fall. If you want to graduate from an even better school, then do well in undergrad and apply to them for graduate school. It would be more meaningful that way anyway.
Wow, you’ve got GREAT choices!
I’d pick URichmond, because they focus on undergrads so your experience there would be the best. It’s like being in an all-honors college. Not to mention their business school rocks.
Of course, if you like football, you can choose either Penn State or Ohio State.
In terms of location and alumni network, Penn State has an edge though.
Finally, Northeastern has a co-op system and Boston.
Essentially: lucky you, you can"'t choose wrong!
Do keep us updated with your thinking process. It’ll help other students who read.
BTW, I got accepted to Ohio State’s Scholar program: Innovation, Creativity and Entrepreneurship Scholars Program.
In terms of weather, I’ve heard that the climate of Penn State, Ohio State, Northeastern will be very cold whereas that of Richmond will be better.
@MYOS1634 you say that Richmond will be the best of all.
I’m still considering the colleges. Now that I have been accepted to colleges with majors other than International Business Administration, I don’t want to go to Ohio State. So OSU is OUT!
Now, remaining are Penn State, Northeastern and U. Richmond.
Northeastern has CO-OP! 6 months paid and real work experience while learning. No crap.
Penn State has nothing academically special. It’s too big and I read somewhere that some students don’t get to participate in clubs or programs because of the population. Also, in a small college, the student:teacher ratio is good and so an individual gets more attention. So I think it’s safe to say that Penn State is OUT too!
Can you guys tell me something that’s exclusive to UR(for example Northeastern’s co-op)? I want something really cool. I applied to Richmond because of its ranking, its weather, and the fact that it’s really close to my sister’s house in Raleigh.
So which one should I choose? Northeastern University or University of Richmond?
U Richmond will be more personalized than NEU, with smaller, interactive classes, and a close knit community. That’s basically the opposite of neu where a third of your friends will be gone at any given time due to coop, and where the size does not allow for as much personalized attention-though certainly better than Ohio state or Penn state.
It’s all about the co-op program. Decide how much you are interested in it.
If doing the co-op really interests you, then NEU obviously wins.
If the co-op is not important to you, then U.Richmond is better.
There is no doubt that U.Richmond offers better academics in the classroom, but outside the classroom NEU has the co-op plus the city of Boston (for career networking, not entertainment).
Student-Faculty Ratio is perhaps the most ignored statistic about colleges, but it is very important.
NEU has a ratio of 13 to 1, which is not bad, but U.Richmond easily beats that at 8 to 1. This is a major reason why UR has better academics.
THey don’t have a Cost of Attendance estimate, but based on Ituition, R&B, etc, etc, plus the usual incidental estimates, it’d be about 63-64K at Northeastern for I20 purpose. Is this affordable?
You don’t say which country you are from, but in most countries, most universities are quite large and are in exciting parts of the bigger cities. Not so in the USA, where good universities can big or small, in big cities or in small towns, and every combination among those variables. So I hope you know that University of Richmond is quite small, and is in a very peaceful, even rural setting. It’s incredibly beautiful, but you need to be aware that there is nothing urban about it (no stores or restaurants next to it), except that downtown Richmond is a few miles away. And while Richmond will be slightly warmer than the others, it’s not tropical by any means. It will get cold. There will probably be snow…just not as much as in the other places.
Northeastern’s size and location are far more typical of foreign universities…it’s much larger than U of Richmond, and is in the heart of Boston.
You got into very good schools, it doesn’t make sense to take a gap year. Rankings aren’t everything. I think Northeastern or Richmond would provide the best experience, but obviously it depends on you. Richmond is in a small city and is a liberal arts college; a very different experience from Northeastern which is in a bigger city and is a research university.
Richmond is probably more prestigious and has better academics.
I’d go with Northeastern because I’m an international student and Northeastern apparently has many. It’s also in Boston and I love big cities. Richmond seems to have more parties and sport events, which I don’t enjoy. I would be giving up the prestige and quality of Richmond, but it’s not enough of a difference that I am willing to give up Northeastern’s pros. You could be completely different from me and prefer Richmond.
Oh and co-op is also a huge thing at Northeastern. It usually takes 1 semester or year more to graduate (but I don’t think you pay for the time you do co-op.) It seems like you would enjoy that. Personally I don’t see it as something very special but that’s just my opinion.
So it’s up to you.
My thoughts on this from good friends whose sons/daughters faced similar choices… albeit not the most recent but still valid. My college roommate’s son who now operates his own hedge fund and has travelled a path from major financial firms including a stint at Goldman and another hedge fund chose between University of Florida and Penn State both of which have extensive business alumni networks and placement. Another friend’s son who works for national brands companies like Tropicana and Avon went to Lehigh but in his first job virtually everyone who he worked with came out of Penn State and again the extensive alumni/recruiting network.
Thanks @moooop @undecidedac96 and @bookmama22 for your opinion.
@moooop I’m from India and the place where I live there’s not much cold.
In terms of place I’d prefer Richmond because of the rural setting. I don’t wanna live in a big city with all the fuss. I prefer a quiet place.
@undecidedac96 I think that co-op is awesome! Nothing better than experiencing a real job and learning from it. But again, Richmond’s academic is better and of course there will be internships. See, co-op almost ensures me a job. For me, a job isn’t necessary because I already have a big family business. Surely I could work at a company for a year or two, but not more than that. ( http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/1961-value-of-a-co-op-program-vs-internship.html )
If u don’t want the pressure and worries that come with a big city, then don’t go to Northeastern. The actual quality of academics won’t be any different at Richmond or NEU. But the experience will be very different.
@rjgwl96, Basically, I hear nothing but good coming from Penn State, their school of business, and their graduates along with a more recognizable name all along the East Coast. Although I think that Ohio State and Northeastern are great choices as well. I would not look as hard at NCSU (excellent Engineering program, though not the best for business), and Syracuse (I know the name but it isn’t as high profile as the others in my opinion)
I don’t know enough about Richmond to really comment on it.
We have a top notch business school here at Richmond and it seems that you really enjoy all the features that we have here. I can tell you that if you choose UR, you won’t regret that decision. Campus is small and out of the city and there is lots of personalized attention from professors.
@rjgwl96 There really isn’t that much crime on campus. Some of the rates may seem higher than other schools, but thats because students feel more comfortable reporting crimes here, where as at many colleges crimes are underreported. Theres crime on any college campus- you just want a school that acknowledges that, takes preventive measures, and makes sure those affected report it, which is true of UR. Also note that if you are looking up crime rates of Richmond city, we are not in the city, but outside the city limits.
