No disrespect intended, but your parents are being silly. That’s just one student. If the tour guide had happened to be a poli sci major and talked more knowledgeably about that and related areas, then a potential theater major should write that they are put off from the school because that major wasn’t emphasized on the tour? Come on, please think this through. Look at their offerings in Econ and Poli Sci and decide if it offers what you want, and/or take the initiative and ask to be put in contact with a couple of people that are majors in those areas, rather than making a decision on the arbitrary selection of John the Actor as your guide instead of Samantha the Economist.
@Dustyfeathers I will contact Vassar’s career office for more information, thanks for elaborating. I still think Vassar is a more “artsy” school if that makes sense.
I tried to explain to my mom about that. Actually, in the beginning of the college search, I was already suggesting to her the benefits of a liberal arts education but she didn’t want to believe me. I even did research to support my thoughts with data. It took a couple months before she warmed up to the idea though. So I understand why she wouldn’t back me up on attending a women’s college, because that is very different from a traditional university. Of course, I’ve told her of the more leadership opportunities and possibilities and focus in areas where less women major at a women’s college (ex. Barnard graduates many women who go on into STEM careers). I think one of the reasons is she wants me to be around both genders rather than one.
I thought tuition for Baruch was the one I listed in my previous post? It is $16,800 for OOS, unless I’m wrong and Baruch has a different tuition rate. I’m not really looking into a gap year, but in this situation, I think I will pay the OOS tuition the first year, find an apartment and the rest of the three years live off campus.
Is Davidson College an option or should I scratch it?
I’m sorry that I don’t really have any info about Davidson. But it sounds like you have your priorities in order. Best of luck.
Though these colleges wouldn’t be considered underrated, they’d be very strong for the undergraduate study of economics, based on an analysis of faculty scholar publishing:
Williams*
Wellesley*
Middlebury*
Wesleyan*
Hamilton*
CMC*
Colgate*
Vassar
URichmond
Barnard
“Economics Departments at Liberal Arts Colleges,” IDEAS; Search for the full list for more suggestions.
*Also appear in a non-normalized ranking comparing all schools nationally (“US Economics Departments,” IDEAS).
There are very few colleges that could still be classified as “white, snobby, and preppy.” Affirmative action at many schools has eliminated the “white” part of it, snobbiness is something I don’t even see anymore, and preppy is more a style than anything else.
I would also be interested in people’s experience with econ and political science at Vassar. Seems like a great fit on paper, but references to a disproportionately artsy student body have me concerned.
In general, I feel LACs are very overrated for Wall Street. There is Williams/Amherst and a few others like Colgate, Richmond, W&L, and Claremont McKenna. However, the granola-hippie type LACs generally do not have good recruiting. You have schools like Carleton and Smith on your list which are good academically, but not schools with a notable Wall Street presence.
On your list, I would keep Colgate, Boston College, Richmond, Villanova, Lehigh, and Indiana. I would add the following as reaches: Georgetown, USC, Michigan.
For safer schools - I’d try Maryland, Penn State, Syracuse, Delaware, CUNY-Baruch, and Rutgers.
Carleton is less represented on Wall Street because Carleton grads aren’t beating a path to get there.
“In general, I feel LACs are very overrated for Wall Street.”
Sorry, I don’t agree. In my experience I know a great number of people with senior jobs on Wall Street and in the City of London who are from (just off the top of my head without even giving it much thought): Williams, Amherst, Middlebury, Wesleyan (lots from Wesleyan!), Trinity, F&M, Lafayette, Colgate and Holy Cross and even Carleton although the Carleton grads I know mostly are in Chicago, but still in prestigious banking or asset management roles.
Sigh. This is such an old trope. Yes, Vassar has a stellar theater department. Yes, Vassar has a stellar Creative Writing major and the Art History class has been famous for generations.
It also has the first Cognitive Science major in the US, has more Econ majors than anything else (followed by English, then Psych, then Bio), has outstanding grad school acceptances in med, law and various sciences, and a great undergraduate research funding program.
Dismissing Vassar as ‘artsy’ is lazy and misleading- check it out for yourself @Josh700.
LACs are not overrated, but I think the list by @timetodecide12 is not bad at all. Given the OP’s stats, Middlebury is another possibility.
I wasn’t dismissing Vassar - just asking those with experience to comment on the impression that was expressed in the thread. As I said Vassar looks great on paper.
@timetodecide12 Your list is great for trimming it down, but I don’t agree with the reaches you chose, only because of the fit.
I don’t know how many schools is too much. This is my list as of right now. The starred are my favorites:
Barnard* (ED)
Colgate* (ED 2?)
Carleton* (ED 2?)
Lehigh
Lafayette
Davidson
Union
College of the Holy Cross
Indiana University
Villanova
Still unsure about Vassar and Smith…I removed Dickinson and Boston College (Very popular school to apply to at my school)
Which school should I keep on my list: Vassar, Smith, Hamilton?
I also want to scratch Villanova because it’s not as diverse as I hoped when I visited. I also found it to be really WASPy especially with the church affiliation. But then it is “ranked as #1” for undergrad business.
I also got an update that I am ranked in the top 10%. I had previously thought I was ranked in the top 20% but I still think many schools are “reaches” for me.
Villanova is a Catholic school. How is it really WASPy, or do you not know what WASP stands for?
I’d recommend caution regarding the Villanova business ranking you may have come across. In my copy of US News, Villanova ranks in a tie for 61st in undergrad business.
@Zinhead sorry for the error but you get my point
Though your personal goal may not be to achieve an MBA, these colleges would appear to be more connected to successful business outcomes than others:
https://www.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/infographics/top-feeders-mba-programs
@penngirlpending If you are concerned about diversity (or lack thereof), then you should also be questioning many of the small LACs on your list, including some of your favorites as they are not diverse either.
@apple23 the infographic was helpful but do you know if they went for an mba right after undergrad? Or do they include people who’ve worked in between time
@itsgettingreal17 Yes but most are ranked around 50 or below. It’s not a major factor in deciding what college to go to because some colleges have a support system ex. Colgate’s ALANA center etc. http://www.bestcolleges.com/features/most-diverse-colleges/
I scratched College of the Holy Cross because I don’t know much about the school except they have some business majors and I never visited. I might scratch Union because on the FAFSA they have the most expensive tuition and average net price in comparison to the other colleges.
What are some schools with higher admit rates that have success with recruiting? If I scratch off Holy Cross and Union, I need a school to buffer the other schools.
Thanks for your help!
They would have included both @penngirlpending.