I lied, but I didn’t mean to.
You may want to check out this thread about a high schooler with similar stats who was interested in investment banking. There were comments about the profession and certain schools which might prove helpful for your family.
As a frame of reference these are the schools that are currently on your list with the 2018 CPA pass rate and its letter grade from Niche with its ranking on college athletics fandom from Niche (based on survey responses). The CPA exam data did not indicate whether this was passage on the first time, passage of all sections of the exam, etc. Apparently the typical passage rate is 45-55% with one source saying that in 2018 it was 53.00%
Extremely Likely
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U. of Arkansas: 58.8%, A for athletics (#60 on Niche)
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U. of Mississippi: 63.5%, A+ for athletics (#35 on Niche)
Likely
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Auburn: 65.3% overall pass (#20 on Niche)
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U. of Tennessee: 70.4%, A+ for athletics (#34 on Niche)
Toss-Up
- U. of Georgia: 72.8%, A+ for athletics (#9 on Niche)
Lower Probability
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U. of Florida: 77.1%, A+ for athletics (#1 on Niche)
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UIUC: 63.5%, A for athletics (#98 on Niche)
Low Probability
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Georgia Tech: 60.6%, A- for athletics (#125 on Niche)
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U. of Notre Dame: 72.3%, A+ for athletics (#22 on Niche)
All in all, you have a solid list of schools already! But since you came on to see if there were any schools you were missing, below are a variety of schools that I considered. The ones that I’ve sorted by my guesses as to the likelihood of merit are smaller to medium-sized schools so that your family could get a sense of some of the options that seem to meet a number of the criteria. A few of the “medium” schools are getting so large (like Syracuse and Louisville) that some might consider them “big” schools. Also, for states that are not near Mississippi (and definitely not in the south), I think that your son might be viewed extra favorably which could either increase his chance for admission and/or merit aid.
Extremely Likely
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Bellarmine (KY): About 2300 undergrads in Louisville, 52.4%, A for athletics (#101 on Niche)
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Butler: About 4400 undergrads in Indianapolis, 53.7% overall pass in 2018, A- for athletics (#160)
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DePaul (IL): About 14k undergrads in Chicago 53.3%, A- for athletics (#115 on Niche)
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Marquette: About 7500 undergrads in Milwaukee, 57.6%, A for athletics (#104 on Niche)
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Providence (RI): About 4300 undergrads in…Providence, 55.3%, A for athletics (#58 on Niche)
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Samford (AL): About 3700 undergrads in Birmingham, 65.4% overall pass, B+ for athletics (#266 on Niche)
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Stetson (FL): About 2600 undergrads 69%, B+ for athletics (#260 on Niche). This one’s not in a big city but it’s 45m to Orlando and 35m to Daytona Beach, if he likes Florida.
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U. of Alabama – Birmingham: About 13k undergrads, 51.5% overall pass, A- for athletics (#136 on Niche)
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U. of Alabama – Huntsville: About 7200 undergrads,47.2% overall pass, B- for athletics (no rank on Niche). Just listing it here for informational purposes, as I don’t think it would be a good fit based on what’s been shared.
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U. of Denver (CO): About 6200 undergrads, 67.9%, A for athletics (#108 on Niche)
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U. of Louisville: About 16k undergrads, 45.7%, A+ for athletics (#28 on Niche)
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U. of Saint Thomas: About 5900 undergrads in Saint Paul in the Twin Cities, 54.3%, A for Athletics (#62 on Niche)
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Wofford (SC): About 1800 undergrads in Spartanburg, 54%, B+ for athletics (#273 on Niche)
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Xavier (OH): About 4900 undergrads in Cincinnati, 56.7%, A for athletics (#99 on Niche)
Likely
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Baylor (TX): About 15k undergrads in Waco, 66.8%, A+ for athletics (#16 on Niche)
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Furman (SC): About 2300 undergrads in Greenville, 77.4%, B+ for athletics (#251 on Niche)
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Syracuse (NY): About 15k undergrads in Syracuse, 46.0%, A+ for athletics (#21 on Niche)
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U. of Tulsa (OK): About 2600 undergrads, 61.4%, A- for athletics (#149 on Niche)
Toss-Up
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Texas Christian: About 11k undergrads in Fort Worth, 72.5% overall pass in 2018, A+ for athletics (#50 on Niche)…I’d say leaning closer to likely
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Southern Methodist: About 7100 undergrads in Dallas, 63.3% overall pass in 2018, A for athletics (#114 on Niche)…I’d saying leaning closer to likely for admission, but a toss-up for the business school.
Lower Probability
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U. of Miami (FL): About 13k undergrads in a suburb of Miami, 74.1%, A+ for athletics (#17 on Niche)
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Villanova (PA ): About 7k undergrads in a suburb of Philadelphia, 61.7%, A+ for athletics (#10 on Niche)
Low Probability
- Tulane: About 7400 undergrads in New Orleans, 68.3%, A- for athletics (#192 on Niche)
If your son does decide that he really prefers big flagships, these are some others you may want to consider.
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Florida State: 67.6%, A+ for athletics (#12 on Niche)
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Indiana U.: 64.6%, A+ for athletics (#39 on Niche). Not a big city but quite metropolitan with a lot of arts opportunities and international cuisines.
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Louisiana State: 63.3%, A+ for athletics (#2 on Niche)
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Ohio State: 60.5%, A+ for athletics (#11 on Niche)
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U. of Alabama: 61.1% overall pass, A+ for athletics (#3 on Niche). Not a big city, but if he likes Ole Miss, then this is an obvious add.
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U. of Cincinnati: 45.3%, A for athletics (#102 on Niche). Cincy is known for its co-op program where students get a lot of real-life experience on the job market, which some students find very appealing.
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U. of Houston: 49.6% overall pass in 2018, A for athletics (#88 on Niche)
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U. of Kentucky: 57.5%, A+ for athletics (#24 on Niche)
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U. of Minnesota – Twin Cities: 66.4%, A+ for athletics (#43 on Niche)
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U. of Nebraska – Lincoln: 67.0%, A for athletics (#56 on Niche). Nebraska has a surprisingly large number of opportunities in finance (Warren Buffet and insurance companies).
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U. of Oklahoma: 59.1%, A+ for athletics (#5 on Niche)
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U. of South Carolina: 63.3%, A+ for athletics (#26 on Niche)
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U. of Wisconsin – Madison: 82.0%, A+ for athletics (#32 on Niche)
I realize the list above is pretty…extensive, but in reviewing some of the information it may help your son decide what things are more important to him than others with respect to his college experience.