<p>I accidentally posted this same question on other student cafe, so will ask it again.
My son is interested in studying business/finance. He is a well rounded, average student. GPA is 3.55 unweighted, he has taken mostly Honors level courses, a few AP classes. SAT scores are really low-he has taken 2 prep classes and both times he has taken tests scores have been in the 540-560 range in both Math and Reading. He has never tested well and don’t think scores will ever improve dramatically.
We have visited about 15 colleges in Mid-Atlantic and New England. He is beginning to realize that many schools that he was interested in are totally reach (out of reach!) schools. Can anyone give us some input into some colleges with good business programs that an average kid would be considered. Thanks for any insight.</p>
<p>Welcome, septembermom. I have to say that your S seems better than “average” to me; that is a pretty strong GPA. Admittedly, the SATs are not stellar, and some kids just do not fare well with that type of testing. Although the test scores do complicate things, it is my observation that a kid who “outperforms” his SAT scores with a strong GPA is a better profile than high SATs and a lower than 3.0 GPA (“slacker” profile). Here are some thoughts:</p>
<p>First, are you familiar with the “test optional” schools? <a href=“http://www.fairtest.org%5B/url%5D”>http://www.fairtest.org</a>. I am not familiar with which of these schools have strong business programs, but there are excellent schools on this list of colleges which require neither the SAT nor ACT for admissions. This group tends to have more than its fair share of liberal arts colleges and so may be light on business-type schools, but you may find some.</p>
<p>Second, if he can stomach the idea of another standardized test, some kids do better on the ACT than the SAT. Worth considering.</p>
<p>Third, would your S be interested in University of New Hampshire? My step grand-S was admitted to the Engineering program (a pretty strong program) with a 3.0 and lesser SATs than your S (under 1000 total). I think they have a respected business program.</p>
<p>Next, how about Bentley as a possible? Its 25-75% SAT range was 1120-1280. Your son’s scores almost make that cutoff. It is a very attractive campus well known for its business programs. Other schools where those stats might work: Susquehanna, Hofstra, Syracuse, Providence College, Fairfield, Fordham. What schools has he visited that he really liked? We might be able to suggest substitutes which are similar but not quite as selective.</p>
<p>Finally :), I know you migrated over here from the student cafe. Most of us are too timid to wander in there :eek:. But I’m going to suggest you take one more step and post your question in the Parent Forum. In general, the Parent Forum covers all topics college/admission related. Then, the Parent Cafe is for fun/trivial/political topics.</p>
<p>Glad you found cc. It is a fantastic resource and there are parents here knowledgeable on just about any question you may pose.</p>
<p>jmmom, had some good suggestions. Just to name a few schools that may work: Susquehanna, Bryant, Bentley, James Madison, Marist, Quinnipiac, Towson, University of Indiana, Northeastern, Manhattan College, Fordham</p>
<p>Sorry, I did not read jmmoms full post. I see that jmmom and I have both listed some of the same schools.</p>
<p>BTW, I think that Providence may now have become SAT optional. Also, Susquehanna is SAT optional (I think they require a graded writing sample).</p>
<p>Christopher Newport is recently AACSB (business) accredited.</p>
<p>York had a great business program. (<a href=“http://www.ycp.edu%5B/url%5D”>www.ycp.edu</a>)</p>
<p>Thanks so much for your reply.
My son will definitely apply to UNH as we live in NH. It of course is not a 1st choice because for some reason NH kids think it will be just like high school. It is funny because when we visit out of state schools, all those kids want to go to UNH!<br>
Schools my son liked include Bentley and Babson (although it was a bit small for him). Will visit Bryant and Providence this fall. He liked Elon, Clemson, USC (South Carolina, not the other USC!), and Wake Forest. He realizes that Wake Forest is an out of reach and Elon will be tough too. We have told him to maybe consider transfering if he does fell his freshman year, as we have heard that transfer acceptance is much better.
Can’t thank you enough for the feedback. It is great to get the opinions of others during this whole process.</p>
<p>I think that Wake, Elon, and Babson are reach schools. I don’t know about where the other schools would fall in terms of match/reach. Also, if you want to look out of NE, you might also check out Ithaca (small business school, but they are building a new business school currently, and it has the AACSB accreditation). Also, depending upon major, you might also look into Hartwick. I have heard some nice things about their business program, but business majors may be limited there, and they do not have AACSB accreditation. Elizabethtown in PA also seems to have a good business program, but they also do not have AACSB accreditation. I am not sure as to how important this accreditation is, but I would prefer to send my kids to a school that has it, rather than one that does not have it.</p>
<p>If you like southern schools such as Wake, Elon, South Carolina and Clemson you might want to give University of Miami a good look.</p>
<p>You mentioned he didn’t want small, Miami is 10,000 undergrads and has an amazing campus, athletic teams and of course the location and weather are superb in the middle of February.</p>
<p>It will be a reach for him as applications have swelled to over 19,000 for just 2,000 spots and acceptance percentage is at or below 40%.</p>
<p>The 25-75% was an 1160-1350 so if he can get his grades and SAT scores higher he might want to give it a shot.</p>
<p>What is his waited GPA? I second looking at Northeastern.</p>
<p>His unweighted GPA is 3.55, weighted is 6.67. He really doesn’t want a school in the city though, although outside of Boston is fine.</p>
<p>6.67? o_O;</p>
<p>I don’t have a clue what it means. He has taken mostly honors level courses. I don’t know how it is calculated. Maybe someone can fill me in on it. Have called school to ask, but haven’t heard back. They ranked him 45 out of 280 kids unweighted, and 288th weighted.</p>
<p>What I’m familiar with and believe to be the norm, is that weighted classes classify an A as 5.0, B as 4.0 and so on, instead of A being 4.0 etc. But I guess the scale at your son’s school is different, I don’t know exactly what it means, lol.</p>
<p>My qx doesn’t really mattter, septembermom, as many schools recalculate the GPA anyway (since there are so many systems and weighting systems), but did I read you right? He is in the top 20% unweighted? And did you mean 28th weighted, so top 10%? (not 288th :eek:?)</p>
<p>Does your school submit a Profile with the transcript? That usually explains the weighting system.</p>
<p>I am confused also. Don’t understand how ranking would go down when classes are weighted. Called school to explain and waiting for reply. We are new to this whole process, so this forum has been very helpful. I will ask about profile also. I meant to type 45th unweighted and 53rd weighted. The coffee hasn’t entered system yet!!</p>
<p>ranking can easily go down when classes are weighted. it simply means that people took more classes that provide weighting than he did which will push them past him once the weight is added.</p>
<p>Thanks you for explaining that. I am learning more and more from you guys every day.</p>