Which college should he choose? [Archive] - Two Plus Two Older Archives

nyholdem

11-04-2005, 02:03 PM

Hi All.... My son is a High School senior and is currently applying to many colleges. He has good grades 97 avg. and about a 1350 SAT. He is interested in Business and Finance but that changes monthly lol. His strengths in school subjects are math and science. He is very into sports and has played 3 sports in HS. He has mostly applied so far to larger universities such as, Michigan, Wisconsin, Maryland, Boston, etc.

Please give me your insight about these schools and any others large or small that may help him. I am relying on your experiences on schools you attended or currently attend.

Thanks

miajag81

11-04-2005, 02:05 PM

I went to Maryland. They have a highly respected business school FWIW. I wasn't in it though, so I couldn't really give much detail.

canis582

11-04-2005, 02:09 PM

Michigan. Make sure he goes to a big school with at least 10k students or a state school. Even if he goes to Party U, all he has to do is get into a good grad school and he is set.

SackUp

11-04-2005, 02:11 PM

I went to Pomona College of the Claremont Colleges in California.

Yout cannot beat the education, he would be able to play a varsity sport, and he gets to live in Southern California. Also, their acceptance rate into grad school is off the charts.

11-04-2005, 02:16 PM

sounds like hes pretty smart. I would go wherever he can get the best scholarship, cause college is freakin expensive. I had a full scholarship and still ended up 18 grand in debt somehow. I guess I'm too lazy to work a real job and go to school at the same time. But have your kid look into as many scholarships as possible, and have someone knowledgeable review his applications. Best of luck

4_2_it

11-04-2005, 02:16 PM

Well, if he wants to play college varsity athletics, either he will get a full ride at a large school or need to go to a smaller school. Any thoughts of sending him to a Princeton, Penn or Dartmouth. Bucknell is also very good. My cousin went there and has a great career on Wall Street right now.

jnalpak

11-04-2005, 02:19 PM

ddollevoet

11-04-2005, 02:20 PM

I went to Wisconsin. I agree with a previous poster (even though he went to Michigan). Make sure he goes to a big school. Anything the Big Ten will suffice. Job hunting is a lot easier when you go to a school that everyone has heard about.

Wisconsin and Michigan are both fine choices, if he can endure the winters.

JordanIB

11-04-2005, 02:39 PM

Bottom line is whatever school your son goes to (and it'll be a good one with those grades and scores), he will be absolutely fine, because any of those schools will have great alumni and job networks, as well as great on-campus job recruitment.

I can't speak to other schools, so I'll put my $0.02 in on my alma mater, Cornell. I had the same business and finance interests and graduated from their undegrad business program (now the 2nd accredited undegrad business program in the Ivy league, along with Wharton). Solid well-rounded program that doesn't pigeon-hole you into any one aspect of business, so you can pick and choose to put your own program together.

It certainly fits the trend of larger universities.

His interests are constantly changing, which is absolutely fine at a place like Cornell where you can pretty much study anything and take classes in anything. I value my time in Science & Crime, Intro to Bible, Wines, and Pscych & Law as much as -- if not more that -- my time in business classes.

Finally, if cost is an issue at all, being in NY, if your son chooses the business program (or anything within the 3 state-funded schools), you're getting the same education that other people are paying through the nose for at a $10,000/year discount. (And you can still take whatever you want in whatever school or subject you want, just like everyone else.)

As for sports, there's likely a high bar for playing on the varsity teams -- it couldn't hurt to contact the coaches and inquire about those sports -- but there's a wide variety of club teams available (and intramurals).

Good luck...

My overall advice is don't fret too much over the entire application process and decision on where to go. Like I said at the start, any of your kid's options are gonna be great ones.

asofel

11-04-2005, 02:43 PM

wow...I don't think I've ever seen 100% of the replies be serious...i find myself almost wanting to shout SIIHP!!11ELEVEN just to bring things back to normal....

But with regards to schools, people have touched on the important stuff. My college experience was fun, but I owe a lot of money on it, and it doesn't matter so much given my line of work (computers/programming). Visit as many as you can and go by feel and atmosphere, scholarship, and location. As long as its a good school he'll do fine with jobs, etc.

tolbiny

11-04-2005, 02:50 PM

Not Case western reserve university.

TiK

11-04-2005, 03:00 PM

I couldn't help but reminisce and laugh about my high school experience after reading about your son's stats (97 avg., 1350 SAT). It seems like yesterday that I was in the same boat. Crazy high school I went to they calculate your average to the hundredth place. The difference between the valedictorian and salutatorian was about 2 hundredths of a point. Pretty sick, and the competition was pretty sick too.

I ended up going to Michigan, hated it (it was [censored] cold, and it happened to be the mildest winter in 25 years). But on the plus side, I was there when Michigan split the Championship with Nebraska fall 1997. Let me just say that Michigan games are RIDICULOUS (ridiculously awesome, that is). That stadium holds over 107,000 people and it's SRO EVERY HOME GAME. Other than that though, I didn't like the school. Big lectures, lots of kids, very easy to get lost in the fray (which I did). So I took some time off after my freshman year, went to community college for about 2 semesters, and then transferred to Tulane (great [censored] place and warm weather too). New Orleans has got to be one of the best cities to go to school in. Tulane itself is not too bad either.

Anyway, from my experience, I would say that you (your son rather) should definitely visit the school. No matter how good the school is, make sure you can LIVE there for four years. Cuz lord knows I would've killed myself had I spent four years at Michigan (or Cornell for that matter, that place is even drearier than Michigan during the winter).

I apologize for my long-winded reply. But if you have any specific questions, feel free to PM me.

Edit: Also, as JordanIB posted,
[ QUOTE ]

Finally, if cost is an issue at all, being in NY, if your son chooses the business program (or anything within the 3 state-funded schools), you're getting the same education that other people are paying through the nose for at a $10,000/year discount. (And you can still take whatever you want in whatever school or subject you want, just like everyone else.)

[/ QUOTE ] This, you should definitely look into. It is a GREAT value. Ivy league diploma for state college tuition.

JordanIB

11-04-2005, 03:06 PM

[/ QUOTE ]Cuz lord knows I would've killed myself had I spent four years at Michigan (or Cornell for that matter, that place is even drearier than Michigan during the winter).

[/ QUOTE ]

They live in New York. I assume the kid knows how to handle a winter...Ann Arbor, Ithaca, or elsewhere.

TiK

11-04-2005, 03:11 PM

I'm from New York too, and I thought I'd be ok with it...

Edit: Either way, it's all a matter of preference and where your son would be most comfortable studying as well as living. Oh, another good thing about Cornell, the food there is [censored] fantastic.

BeerMoney

11-04-2005, 03:13 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Well, if he wants to play college varsity athletics, either he will get a full ride at a large school or need to go to a smaller school. Any thoughts of sending him to a Princeton, Penn or Dartmouth. Bucknell is also very good. My cousin went there and has a great career on Wall Street right now.

[/ QUOTE ]

Princeton, Penn and Dartmouth all have fantastic athletics. Athletes who play there are usually recruited.

IMO, southern schools are underrated. Consider Duke, UVA, UNC, Georia, Clemson, GA Tech, etc. At least visit one of these schools, and see what your opinion is.

MrMon

11-04-2005, 03:20 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I went to Pomona College of the Claremont Colleges in California.

Yout cannot beat the education, he would be able to play a varsity sport, and he gets to live in Southern California. Also, their acceptance rate into grad school is off the charts.

[/ QUOTE ]

I believe Pomona is the 3rd toughest entry right now. I'd have a backup plan.

howzit

11-04-2005, 03:36 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Hi All.... My son is a High School senior and is currently applying to many colleges. He has good grades 97 avg. and about a 1350 SAT. He is interested in Business and Finance but that changes monthly lol. His strengths in school subjects are math and science. He is very into sports and has played 3 sports in HS. He has mostly applied so far to larger universities such as, Michigan, Wisconsin, Maryland, Boston, etc.

Please give me your insight about these schools and any others large or small that may help him. I am relying on your experiences on schools you attended or currently attend.

Thanks

[/ QUOTE ]

where are you from? has he spent time on either coast? I believe cliamte/weather is as a huge factor as education. If you are from the mid-west then i don't see much cultural difference of going to Wisconsin, but if he is from east or west coast, Michigan and Wisconsin, and even Maryland are worlds apart from Boston. Going from someplace like Florida and spending tundra winters in Wisconsin or Michigan, upstate New York will make your son instantly regret not choosing a local university.

Looks like your son likes Big Ten and ACC schools. I think a lot of Big East schools (Syracuse, ND, Georgetown, BC) have strong business programs so you might want to look into that, and maybe he can reach even into the Ivys, although his SATs are borderline. But what's $50 in application fee for a nice job after if he doesn't flunk out!

Michigan has a strong business core and he'll be exposed to large university type feel. If he wants to go for a smaller school than somewhat smaller east coast private schools as well as some west coast schools have strong business schools coupled w/access to any metropolitan city. (as well as atlantic city). I'm talking BC, Georgetown, Penn, and maybe NYU. These are slightly smaller schools but not small in the sense of liberal arts small.

As for sports, if he his going to walk on, then obviously a smaller school is preferable as it will increase his chances of getting playing time if he makes the team. All schools have intramurals and club teams of the sports he's probably interested in. This is guaranteed at the big universities. A lot of schools have small clubs for the lesser known sports: waterpolo, sailing, crew, tennis, - call ahead.

The main point I would look for now if I was to do it again is: school's facilities, cultural match (as personally i would avoid going to the mid-west school), graduating requirements and options for degrees, and social life, i.e. how do students get drunk. The best classes i had were in my major field and the side classes i got to take (photography, music)

Large universities have usually better facilities, public funding, and strong support for sports. Michigan and Wiscosin, Maryland are also no slouches for academics but it is probably easier for your son to slip academically than in a smaller university w/smarter student pool.

nyholdem

11-04-2005, 03:36 PM

Thanks for the replies so far. I appreciate all the info.
The guidance department at his school feels the Ivy schools would be a reach because of his SAT scores. They feel you need about 100 points higher than he got for those schools. The same has been said Duke and UVA.

As far as varsity sports in college he could play soccer or lacrosse at a D3 school, but feels he would rather go to a larger university.

I wonder if he might get a little lost at a Michigan type school. We are going to visit a few schools in ther next couple of months. It's ultimately going to be his choice but I certainly appreciate all the help.

Please continue to give me all of your opinions and views.

I will show him this thread and discuss it with him later

Thanks Again

howzit

11-04-2005, 03:38 PM

one more thing. . .how are you paying for this?

loans or out of pocket? Getting residency for a state university will save thousands.

nyholdem

11-04-2005, 03:45 PM

We are from NY... Im not sure he's thinking very much about the cold weather in his decision process, maybe he should? Why do you say you would avoid the mid-west schools? (Mich. Wisc.)

I've put away some money for college.

crosse91

11-04-2005, 03:47 PM

i was in this boat too about 3 years ago. I'm from austin and had a 92 avg at a private college prep school, my sat was 1410. I major in advertising here at UTexas. My advice: find the best school that also meets your social needs. I could have also played D3 lacrosse, but i didn't like small schools.

So:
research yourself
visit one small one medium and one large school
which one does your son like the best?
now, find the best business schools that are that size...and proceed accordingly.

as for college lacrosse check www.uslia.com (http://www.uslia.com) -the club teams are pretty competetive (d3 level at least for the top 25-30 teams)

peterchi

11-04-2005, 03:49 PM

[ QUOTE ]

I wonder if he might get a little lost at a Michigan type school. We are going to visit a few schools in ther next couple of months. It's ultimately going to be his choice but I certainly appreciate all the help.

[/ QUOTE ]
I say Michigan if he's serious about Business. Excellent undergraduate business program. As another poster said, he'll have to keep his grades up for his first two years, and apply for admission into the Business school for entry in his Junior year.

HOWEVER -- I have heard that this is changing. It may already have, definitely check up on this, but I heard that there were plans to make the undergraduate Business education into a 4-year plan, i.e. you apply for admission to the B-school straight out of high school.

In terms of whether or not he will get lost -- if he makes it into the B-school, it's a small enough community within the school, I think it would suit him well.

Yes it's cold. I disliked that a lot, but that's about all that I disliked.

wonderwes

11-04-2005, 03:51 PM

This is a stretch, send him down to Austin to go to UTexas. They have one on of the highest rated business schools in the country (Finance, Accounting, Management). You need like around a 3.7 gpa just to be considered to get in. Warm weather, great city, lots of girls and good campus life. However, that is a longgggg way from home.

Keys for him choosing a school:
1. Have him apply for everyone he can get accepted to.
2. Take the time to visit every single campus you consider. Your decision making will be based a lot on the visit you take of the area
3. People change majors all the time, dont be surprised if he changes his
4. Its all about the right mix. Right campus, right college towm, and the classes you need for your major. When he decides make sure he has a list of several options, so he can feel happy about his decision months/years after making it.

crosse91

11-04-2005, 03:53 PM

I'm going to have to throw UT in here for consideration. Great McCombs business school, 4 year program. And the business school classes are very good. I don't know what it costs for an Out of State Student, but it won't be any more expensive than other Out of state schools. FWIW, is your son interested in a fraternity to shrink the school? Maybe a club sports team? Austin is a great town AND we beat UM in football last year. So take that Ann Arbor.

peterchi

11-04-2005, 04:00 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I'm going to have to throw UT in here for consideration. Great McCombs business school, 4 year program. And the business school classes are very good. I don't know what it costs for an Out of State Student, but it won't be any more expensive than other Out of state schools. FWIW, is your son interested in a fraternity to shrink the school? Maybe a club sports team? Austin is a great town AND we beat UM in football last year. So take that Ann Arbor.

[/ QUOTE ]
I don't disagree with any of this, Austin is great. I fully endorse Texas as a second choice to Michigan.

While I'm at it, I am vehemently opposed to the University of Maryland. Not too much basis for it -- just that I took a course there this summer and the campus is absolutely terrible. I admit that I don't know much about the school otherwise.

Paluka

11-04-2005, 04:01 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I went to Wisconsin. I agree with a previous poster (even though he went to Michigan). Make sure he goes to a big school. Anything the Big Ten will suffice. Job hunting is a lot easier when you go to a school that everyone has heard about.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think this is atrocious advice. The idea that big schools are better for job hunting is preposterous.

Paluka

11-04-2005, 04:05 PM

If your son is actually interested in playing sports in college, that is really going to limit his choices to small schools.
I went to Cornell and it was great.
Maryland seems like a poor choice. Maryland does not have a good academic reputatino, why get good grades and test scores and then pay out of state tuition to go there?
If he is interested in a big state school experience, Michigan and Austin are probably the best choices. I'll mention Cornell again because it is a great school and does not feel small like I would imagine the other Ivys do.
Personally, I think it would be a mistake to not apply to some longshot smaller schools and try and get in.

highlife

11-04-2005, 04:09 PM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Well, if he wants to play college varsity athletics, either he will get a full ride at a large school or need to go to a smaller school. Any thoughts of sending him to a Princeton, Penn or Dartmouth. Bucknell is also very good. My cousin went there and has a great career on Wall Street right now.

[/ QUOTE ]

Princeton, Penn and Dartmouth all have fantastic athletics. Athletes who play there are usually recruited.

IMO, southern schools are underrated. Consider Duke, UVA, UNC, Georia, Clemson, GA Tech, etc. At least visit one of these schools, and see what your opinion is.

[/ QUOTE ]

With his SAT scores and grades (unless his class rank is VERY high), there is no way in hell he will get into Duke or UVA. It's also doubtful he will be accepted into UNC or GTech either out of state. Clemson or Georgia he will get into easily but they aren't really very good schools compared to the others.

I recommend most of the Big East schools. Rutgers, BC and Villanova for example are all well respected schools with excellent business programs. The Big Ten is good as well but the campus's are absolutely enormous and its so easy to get lost in the crowd. Northwestern is the best academically but I doubt he would want to live on that campus.

nyholdem

11-04-2005, 04:09 PM

He actually applied to the b school at UMich. I believe you can appy either as a freshman or certainly after your freshman year.

Thanks for the advice on UT. It sounds like that might be a good option also.

He eliminated UNLV, figured he'd be seeing me too much. lol

Please keep the good advice coming.

howzit

11-04-2005, 04:13 PM

[ QUOTE ]
We are from NY... Im not sure he's thinking very much about the cold weather in his decision process, maybe he should? Why do you say you would avoid the mid-west schools? (Mich. Wisc.)

I've put away some money for college.

[/ QUOTE ]

should've seen your username, "NYholdem"...
then weather shouldn't be a factor, especially if you live upstate!

Don't heed much interest in my negatives of Michigan/Wisconsin. It's just a personal taste. I prefer living in the cities on the coasts above the mid-west.

There are great schools in the South, UVA and Duke like you've mentioned and visiting schools is a great idea if he hasn't heard much of these schools.

Picking a place based on its general location on the map along w/its academic strong points was the way i went about it. (I wanted to go to the east coast and didn't consider the South which I should've done along w/Pac-10 schools.)

as for the $, you probably know this:

east coast private school ~$30k/yr.

UM in state: $~5k
UM out of state: $15k

unfortunately, the private schools never get cheaper.

highlife

11-04-2005, 04:13 PM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I went to Pomona College of the Claremont Colleges in California.

Yout cannot beat the education, he would be able to play a varsity sport, and he gets to live in Southern California. Also, their acceptance rate into grad school is off the charts.

[/ QUOTE ]

I believe Pomona is the 3rd toughest entry right now. I'd have a backup plan.

[/ QUOTE ]

send him to Harvey Mudd!!!!!! /images/graemlins/cool.gif

Paluka

11-04-2005, 04:15 PM

I don't really know what grades/test scores it takes to get in where these days. I'm assuming his #s aren't quite good enough to get into the very top schools or the tough out of state public schools (so no-go on Harvard, Princeton, Michigan, Berkeley). If this is the case, I think he should look into the next tier of private schools. These would include Cornell, Northwestern, Emory, Penn, etc...

Georgia Avenue

11-04-2005, 04:16 PM

I agree in general about the school size issue. I went to both a large and a tiny school and I hated the one and dropped out. Big schools are a ripoff, essentially, the Wal-Mart of education. If he can't get into an Ivy League (big woop) he could try a good smaller place like Swathmore or St. Mary's etc...Of course I'd recommened my alma mater St. Johns College, but that's not for business majors! /images/graemlins/smirk.gif

Just my O-pinin.

howzit

11-04-2005, 04:16 PM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I went to Pomona College of the Claremont Colleges in California.

Yout cannot beat the education, he would be able to play a varsity sport, and he gets to live in Southern California. Also, their acceptance rate into grad school is off the charts.

[/ QUOTE ]

I believe Pomona is the 3rd toughest entry right now. I'd have a backup plan.

[/ QUOTE ]

send him to Harvey Mudd!!!!!! /images/graemlins/cool.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

CUNY and F.I.T. are now accepting the class of 2010 applicants.

TiK

11-04-2005, 04:20 PM

[ QUOTE ]

CUNY and F.I.T. are now accepting the class of 2010 applicants.

[/ QUOTE ]

Baruch in the CUNY system has a pretty good Business program, granted it's no Wharton, or Michigan B-school, but it's still pretty good.

UMTerp

11-04-2005, 04:54 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Maryland seems like a poor choice. Maryland does not have a good academic reputatino (sic), why get good grades and test scores and then pay out of state tuition to go there?

[/ QUOTE ]

Chris,

While that may have been true 20 years ago before the Len Bias incident reshaped the university, or even 10 years ago when you were looking at schools, it's no longer the case. In fact, the 1350 SAT may be below average for incoming out-of-state students at UMCP. In the 2005 US News and World Report rankings, Maryland was a Top-20 public university, ranked only one spot behind Texas. Their business school was ranked 27th in the nation, and in the Top 10 of public universities.

----------------------

I had a similar list of schools I was considering out of high school, and ended up going to Maryland because I got a scholarship there. I chose it over places like Hopkins and Duke, and don't think my education suffered one bit. You get from college what you want. The OP's son can get a fantastic education from any of the schools listed, provided he wants to learn. I loved Maryland, and would make the same decision in an instant if I had to do it again.

The sports teams are great, social life is good, you're less than a half hour from both Baltimore and DC, etc.

And the education is really top-notch too as far as a state school goes.

If you had any more specific questions, I'd be more than happy to answer them too.

UMTerp
UMCP - Class of '99
B.S. Civil Engineering

samjjones

11-04-2005, 04:58 PM

Granted, I got a 1200 on the SAT the only time I took it while completely wasted from the night before (in 1993), but isn't it fairly easy to get 1200+ now? I got a whopping 600 on the math section. I add g00t.

UMTerp

11-04-2005, 05:05 PM

IIRC, when they "recentered" the SATs (I want to say in 1996 or 1997), the average score went up somewhere in the ballpark of 60-100 points.

TheIrishThug

11-04-2005, 05:32 PM

the way i see it, for the most part, a univeristy is a university. what really makes the difference is 1) does ur kid fit with the school (i'm tlaking the type of ppl and community not grades) and 2) what kind of netwroking will they have done when they get out.

1) is obviously a personal choice that none of us can answer for u.
2) as long as u r not coming out of a that is not viewed as less than good, a degree is a degree. i go to Northeastern in boston. Northeastern does a co-op program that ensures netwroking. when i graduate (from the 5 yr program) i will have doen 3 6-month co-ops at 3 different companies. these r not just busy work, paper pushing internships, these r paid, full time employment job.
when i graduate i will have 18 months of work experience on my resume as compared to (assuming the ppl from my graduating class got a job directly after graduating) other ppl's 1 yr.

also we have a great club lacrosse team. 11th in the nation in the uslia.

nyholdem

11-04-2005, 05:43 PM

We will begin visiting schools next week. We are going to Maryland first and then heading up to the Boston area soon after. We'll probably go to Michigan in December (see how he likes the cold then)...

Please tell me more about Northeastern,

Also Those of you who went to UTexas and Mich please give me some more personal experiences.

Thank you all for your continuing help.

Reqtech

11-04-2005, 05:48 PM

Gotta give a plug for my Alma Mater. Pamplin College of Business at Virginia Tech is pretty good and is worth a look.

jester710

11-04-2005, 05:50 PM

UT might actually be one of the hardest schools to get into on this list, given their overpopulation problems right now. But if he gets in, the business school is top notch. USC is no slouch in that department, either.

Also, a strong case was made on this board yesterday for Ohio State. I believe there's even a promotional video.

LittleOldLady

11-04-2005, 06:01 PM

[ QUOTE ]
So I took some time off after my freshman year, went to community college for about 2 semesters, and then transferred to Tulane (great [censored] place and warm weather too). New Orleans has got to be one of the best cities to go to school in. Tulane itself is not too bad either.

[/ QUOTE ]

Uh, New Orleans USED TO BE one of the best cities to go to school in. At the moment 80% of the city looks like the back side of the moon. I believe Tulane plans to reopen in January. Most of the uptown area around Tulane did not flood, although Tulane did experience some flooding. Of all too much interest to Tulane students, the French Quarter is OK and up and running. But the city's infrastructure is shot. There is, for example, no landline phone service (the opportunity is being seized to install a fibe optic network. The mail is spotty. The cellphones are marginal. There is no sewage treatment on the east bank. There is no trauma center. The police department is inadequate (even by previous standards of inadequacy), and the city is being patroled by the National Guard--no one knows how long that will last. Much of Tulane's faculty has been laid off, and many of the rest are looking for jobs elsewhere. Who knows if they will come back? Unless a student actively wants to be a part of the rebuilding of a unique American city, I would give Tulane a miss for the next few years. BTW the Tulane student body is heavy on kids from NY and the mid-Atlantic who weren't quite Ivy material.

11-04-2005, 06:23 PM

Don't forget about driving NE for about an hour and change to visit the University of Delaware. Not overwhelmingly large (17k ungrads), better than average business and engineering schools (overall the school was ranked #66 across the nation for public universities - a couple spots behind MD) and a very good I-AA sports program (take your pick with whatever sport). Your son won't feel lost, he will be an hours drive to Bawlmer (Baltimore), a 1/2 drive into Philly and there are no worries about work/fun during the summer...Ocean City, Rehobeth and Dewey Beaches are convienently close.

School is what you make it to be...my father told me I had two choices - finish near the top of your class and THEY will come knocking down your door, or, relax, do fairly well, party and you will have to go to THEM. I choose the latter and don't regret it. I run my own business and play poker for fun whenever I want.

Good luck

TiK

11-04-2005, 06:28 PM

[ QUOTE ]

Uh, New Orleans USED TO BE one of the best cities to go to school in.

[/ QUOTE ]

Touché

Maulik

11-04-2005, 08:44 PM

I just want to mention if your son is interested in business, he should study a science and consider businss later, via MBA, etc.

Many made the point, you get what you want out of college. This should be discussed, repeated, rinse. Example, an undergrad here at U Maryland studied Math is now working on his phd at Princeton Math.

Shilly

11-04-2005, 08:51 PM

When you say Wisconsin...you've said it all.

Paluka

11-04-2005, 08:57 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I just want to mention if your son is interested in business, he should study a science and consider businss later, via MBA, etc.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is absolutely true. I think studying "business" as an undergrad is a very poor choice. Hard science and engineering majors are better respected, and have more options after graduation.

runner4life7

11-04-2005, 09:05 PM

I havent read any responses but I go to wisconsin-madison and its a good school. It is a very active campus as far as sports and intramurals and just playing for fun. I would suggest he stick with business and stay away from engineering as it has shown in my experience to be much more enjoyable. This coming from a junior who started in nuclear engineering and switched to econ.

PokerFink

11-04-2005, 09:07 PM

I haven't read any of this thread besides the OP, but it sounds like a big 10 school would be a big hit. Look into Michigan, Penn State, Ohio State, and Wisconsin.

Duke

11-04-2005, 09:09 PM

WillMagic

11-04-2005, 09:49 PM

He should go to the school that he likes the most. If he doesn't know what he likes then it would be wise to give him the opportunity to tour a bunch of different schools - but if he wants to go to USC and gets into Harvard, he should still go to USC. Happiness > prestige.

Will

PokerFink

11-04-2005, 10:05 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Happiness > prestige.

[/ QUOTE ]

Worth repeating.

LittleOldLady

11-04-2005, 11:40 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I don't really know what grades/test scores it takes to get in where these days. I'm assuming his #s aren't quite good enough to get into the very top schools or the tough out of state public schools (so no-go on Harvard, Princeton, Michigan, Berkeley). If this is the case, I think he should look into the next tier of private schools. These would include Cornell, Northwestern, Emory, Penn, etc...

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Ahem. Penn is in the top 10 of American universities by most accounts, and for business Wharton is pretty much top of the pops.

Voltron87

11-04-2005, 11:51 PM

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I don't really know what grades/test scores it takes to get in where these days. I'm assuming his #s aren't quite good enough to get into the very top schools or the tough out of state public schools (so no-go on Harvard, Princeton, Michigan, Berkeley). If this is the case, I think he should look into the next tier of private schools. These would include Cornell, Northwestern, Emory, Penn, etc...

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Ahem. Penn is in the top 10 of American universities by most accounts, and for business Wharton is pretty much top of the pops.

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I'm biased because I'm going to Penn, but this person is right. You can't really compare Emory and Northwestern to Penn in terms of repuation as a whole, and Wharton obviously is top top tier. Penn is in better half of the top 10 universities in the nation and the other schools in the post don't really make it there.

That said, we are talking about BS reputation factors. You can get an awesome education at Emory or those schools. A lot of the admissions process is luck and networking, there are many more qualified kids with great scores and grades than there are spots at HYP, Stanford, Duke, Penn, etc. It's anyone's guess whether you will get a better overall education at Yale or Cornell or Northwestern or (name top school here), but the fact is for many finance and grad school opportunities the prestige of your school does matter, even if the HYP schools' repuations are propped up by history. Northwestern could be the best school in the country 10 years from now but it would never be #1 on those stupid lists and wouldn't be the school overachievers gunned for and bragged about. That is because the system is BS.

LittleOldLady

11-05-2005, 12:00 AM

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We will begin visiting schools next week. We are going to Maryland first and then heading up to the Boston area soon after. We'll probably go to Michigan in December (see how he likes the cold then)...

Please tell me more about Northeastern,

Also Those of you who went to UTexas and Mich please give me some more personal experiences.

Thank you all for your continuing help.

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As Thug said, Northeastern is famous for its long-established co-op program, and Boston itself is a student paradise. But in the pecking order of Boston universities, Northeastern is not too high on the totem pole (yeah, I know the metaphor is mixed).

UT-Austin has an excellent honors program which is very cost-effective even for out-of-state students. UT-Austin is very popular with Louisianans who don't want to spend a bundle, but who, rightly, think that LSU doesn't cut it. UT-Austin is really an outstanding university, competitive with some of the prestigious private universities, and people seem to like living in Austin very much.

One of the so-called public Ivies that hasn't been mentioned is the University of Vermont--but I understand that it is pretty expensive for someone out-of-state.

LittleOldLady

11-05-2005, 12:15 AM

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I don't really know what grades/test scores it takes to get in where these days. I'm assuming his #s aren't quite good enough to get into the very top schools or the tough out of state public schools (so no-go on Harvard, Princeton, Michigan, Berkeley). If this is the case, I think he should look into the next tier of private schools. These would include Cornell, Northwestern, Emory, Penn, etc...

[/ QUOTE ]

Ahem. Penn is in the top 10 of American universities by most accounts, and for business Wharton is pretty much top of the pops.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm biased because I'm going to Penn, but this person is right. You can't really compare Emory and Northwestern to Penn in terms of repuation as a whole, and Wharton obviously is top top tier. Penn is in better half of the top 10 universities in the nation and the other schools in the post don't really make it there.

That said, we are talking about BS reputation factors. You can get an awesome education at Emory or those schools. A lot of the admissions process is luck and networking, there are many more qualified kids with great scores and grades than there are spots at HYP, Stanford, Duke, Penn, etc. It's anyone's guess whether you will get a better overall education at Yale or Cornell or Northwestern or (name top school here), but the fact is for many finance and grad school opportunities the prestige of your school does matter, even if the HYP schools' repuations are propped up by history. Northwestern could be the best school in the country 10 years from now but it would never be #1 on those stupid lists and wouldn't be the school overachievers gunned for and bragged about. That is because the system is BS.

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Yeah, Voltron87, I'm biased too. I have three Penn degrees, and Judy Seitz Rodin was in my senior seminar section. (Donald Trump and Candace Bergen were there when I was there too, but she flunked out.)

But you are definitely right about the BS reputation factor. The ugly truth is that Harvard is just plain not that good. The faculty is inbred, and Harvard is the poster child for grade inflation. You can indeed get an excellent education at many schools if you pick and choose carefully among the offerings and faculty and do the necessary hard work. But prestige (even if it's not fully warranted) is actually worth quite a bit. A student who graduates from Harvard or Yale is immediately hooked into a very powerful alumni network--if he or she wants to be. A lot of doors will open just because of the name on the diploma. Ask anyone who went to MIT. BTW MIT is NOT the poster child for grade inflation, not at all.