Daughter looking for business program, sorority and big time sports in the South [NY resident, 90 GPA, <$45-50k]

Chance Me / Match Me
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Our daughter is a sophomore and is starting to mention colleges. She wants to major in some type of a business program, wants to join a sorority and go to school in the south. She wants a school with “ big times sports”- SEC or similar.

She attends a very competive high school on LI and has about a 90 average. My estimate is that she will score around 1200 on SAT. I would prefer that she attend a smaller univerity then 35-40k students. She has her eyes set on large universities but think that she thrive better at a smaller university with smaller classes. Any suggestions to add to our search. Getting in and out of NY area airports direct is a preference.

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The obvious choices are the big southern flagships. Some are in your preferred size range – Clemson, USouth Carolina, UMisissippi to name a few. You can easily find the number of students at any college and then determine if she is a viable applicant. If looking for something even smaller perhaps some private schools such as SMU, Tulane, College of Charleston (again, need to determine if she would be a good candidate for admission.)

BUT the bigger thing is that IMO sophomore year is WAY too early to be looking at specific colleges. Please do no spend a ton of time and energy researching colleges early in sophomore year. Take a breath. Right now your D has one year of a GPA, no standardized tests, no final tally of ECs, etc. And your D’s academic interests, desires for a college, etc. may well change over the next couple of years.

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Well I think she licked it!! You may not get a non-stop but here’s some thoughts - but have you thought about budget - because with those stats, she’s not getting big merit:

Let’s look at the SEC - with your stats:

Alabama - very big. The epitome of what she wants, but not you. Very good for business. It’s about 40K all in (grad students too). Culverhouse is a fine b school. Huge geographic diversity because for top stats kids, they buy them in. Over 2K kids from the NY/NJ/CT region.

Arkansas - similar to Alabama - in a better business area. I know they have direct flights. A tad smaller. Like Alabama, has a very good and up and coming b school. Walton is a fine b school.

Auburn - similar in size to Arkansas but tougher to get to - and for her, a reach but reasonable reach I suppose. Atlanta and a bit of a drive - I’m sure there’s bosses. I’m guessing a little bit quieter, etc. Fine B School - Harbert

UF - not happening with the stats - sorry

UGA - not happening with the stats - sorry

Kentucky - Lexington isn’t really South…it’s a fine school….basketball is king but football does well. Has less a rep than others but I don’t know if that should matter. Also large..in a proper city and has an airport - you can check on flights.

LSU - gorgeous campus, easy in. Likely have to connect or fly to New Orleans and shuttle. Maybe not as well regarded as the others but to most, wouldn’t care. Very large - but a smaller campus than some of the others (area wise).

Mississippi State - this is mom’s choice except not easy to get to - but an airport in nearby Columbus. Smaller, less flashy yet still in the SEC, great on cost. Up and coming. Still 20K large, etc but smaller than the others.

Mizzou - yep, it’s in the Southeast even though it isn’t…you’d fly to St. Louis or KC and it’s a couple hours. Easy in - a bit bigger than Miss State.

Oklahoma - gorgeous campus - likely flights to OKC which isn’t far. Lots of Texans here. Large.

Ole Miss - fly to Memphis and a drive. A smaller Bama…but more Bama than Mississippi State. I have a friend in Long Island…their kid was dying to go to Ole Miss for the sorority life.

U of SC - a high reach but not a UGA or UF reach - so I suppose worth a try - smaller campus (like LSU) but in the city (adjacent to downtown) - I don’t see her getting in. A lot of the housing is a bit away which we didn’t like. Very large.

UTK - like U of SC, a high reach, in a city, but while she’s not getting in, it’s more a reasonable shot than UF or UGA. The school is known for Supply Chain (within the B School which is fine - the Haslam School). You’ll likely have non stop and it’s not even that horrible a drive. Southwest is going to start flying there. It’s large….and more and more popuular.

Texas A&M - enormous and not happening

UT Austin - flights yes. A chance at admission - no.

Vandy - not what she’s looking for and she can’t get in.

I think she wants Bama.

I think you don’t love any but you want Mississippi State or maybe Auburn…but Arkansas due to the flight (which will be pricey - check XNA).

A happy medium might be Ole Miss - but it doesn’t have the flights you want.

And if you can convince her otherwise, to tone down all the stuff she wants, maybe a Miami of Ohio, App State, or Coastal Carolina could work.

Good luck.

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Thanks for the detailed response. What SAT score would be needed for UTK and UGA? Her 90 average is unweighted. I was hoping for 45-50k per year for tuition, room and board. Less would be better.

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You need to figure out her unweighted GPA. So go through each score - which is an A and give it a 4. Which is a B and give it a 3. She’ll need rigor.

And UGA is not direct admit - meaning she can get into the school but won’t know about business until later - so that’s a risk.

Here is UGAs student profile. She’s going to be far off.

1300 is the 25th percentile - and you didn’t talk about rigor, but she’ll need it for both.

The average SAT at UTK is 1283 - but there’s much more.

UGA and UTK would strain the budget - and less wouldn’t be likely :slight_smile: Bama a similar cost with that SAT but Bama is an in whereas UGA isn’t and UTK is unlikely.

Auburn isn’t happening but your MS schools would be good again - and you’d have to check the others.

What type of rigor does she have?

The Southern Schools take the test seriously. Perhaps she can try the ACT?

With a stronger test score, a school like Bama, as one example, could be low 20s. But in her case mid 40s - that’s how much they count.

There are “football schools” that would be less - and some (like Miss State) are in the SEC but there are others not in the SEC.

While I don’t know your GPA on a 4 point scale, WVU would likely be $30-35K as an example.

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Thanks for the info. She is in a HS honors program. Will have a better idea once she takes the PSAT this Fall about her standarized test score.

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One thing to remember when evaluating test scores as an OOS applicant is that the average scores are misleading for OOS unless you can get OOS specific stats. Some schools, UTK being one of them, have a direct path for in state students with lower test scores and is going to skew the averages significantly. While UTK has become a hot school nationally they are still prioritizing in state students. That said, if the stats are up there they are happy to take out of state money. But a TN kid is getting in with a 25 ACT and this makes the average misleading.

I believe South Carolina is in a similar position. I just see a lot of parents look at average test scores (even for more prestigious state schools) and think their kids are more competitive than they are as OOS.

My dd is in this position as we are on the GA border and by averages she should easily get in to UGA but OOS makes it more of a toss up.

Definitely look at the Mississippi schools and Bama.

KY isn’t south exactly but I think it is still easier to get in OOS and the kids we know that go there love it.

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ohhh - she doesn’t have a test. Yes, you need to wait til mid Junior year before you come back…if the desires even fit.

What you should do now - go see campuses of various sizes - large, mid size, small. If you go on a driving vacation, put a school visit or two in there - even if just walking around campus, to get a feel.

You’d be amazed - kids change their minds - on everything.

For now, keep up the school work, make sure she’s taking straining but not impossible classes and let’s see how the test comes.

Ultimately, for chancing, you’ll want a GPA on the 4 point scale - so you’ll have to calculate.

For a school like UGA, both grades and rigor will matter.

But you are pre mature.

Best of luck.

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Aren’t they test optional? And OP’s daughter is a sophomore and hasn’t taken a test yet so I don’t think we should be putting anything in the “won’t happen” bucket just yet.

OP, you should come back in a year with her more complete academic profile to get a better sense of what’s possible. In the meantime, maybe take some visits. A football weekend in the fall would be perfect.

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Good points on test scores.

You are right - living in Nashville, we more to Bama and UTK than anywhere but a few to UK and Miss State and you only hear good things about those. Both are nice campuses - but UK is urbanish - in downtown Lexington which is quite nice.

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hmmm - no

Many of the schools require a test - both UGA and UTK do.

Down south, we take our schooling seriously :slight_smile:

Some schools went TO but some, like the Florida schools, always required.

But they’ve come back - so you will need a test to come down here (maybe not all schools but UGA and UTK for sure).

As for saying, won’t happen - I agree. OP mentioned 1200 so I used that in the assessment…I didn’t realize it wasn’t an actual #.

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So a handful of schools require a test. My bad.

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Honestly, I don’t know the answer - I know UTK, UF, and UGA.

Do others - don’t know,

When mine applied to U of SC but that was 4 years ago, she submitted but if didn’t you could show AP scores.

So really have to check school by school.

I just looked up Arkansas out of curiosity and they’re TO but not really - so OP would have to look but they’re a long ways away and desires change. Plus, each year I imagine more and more will add back in the test requirement:

U of Arkansas Test Requirement below - if you want money, you need a test, etc.

The University of Arkansas offers a test-optional application for admission for students with a 3.2 GPA or higher.

Test scores are required for most scholarship opportunities, and the state of Arkansas requires ACT or SAT scores for Arkansas students applying for the Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarship and Governor’s Distinguished Scholarship.

All admitted new freshmen and transfer freshmen are required to provide ACT, SAT, Next Generation Accuplacer, or Classic Learning Test scores to the Office of Admissions for placement and enrollment purposes. Students admitted to the spring semester should submit scores no later than January 1, 2026. Students admitted to the fall semester should submit scores no later than May 1, 2026. Scores from state-administered exams, such as the Texas Success Initiative Assessment 2.0 (TSIA2), are not accepted for placement and enrollment.

If admitted test-optional, submitting test scores for placement and enrollment purposes will not affect your admission status.

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In addition to the schools you mentioned, other SEC schools that require test scores are UT Austin and Auburn (for the highschool class of 2027 and beyond). I wouldn’t be surprised if other Southern schools also return to test required. Op’s daughter is just starting sophomore year. A lot can change over the next couple of years.

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This list of schools at which sororities are popular may offer you further ideas:

https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/most-sororities

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Auburn basically requires test scores now. Less than 5 percent get in without scores, TN gotten hard to get into. Clemson is hard too.

look at TCU in Ft. Worth. Test optional, southern and CA. Has good sports. Not huge. Sorority is big.

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I hear sophomore from LI that wants sororities, big school, south, sports SEC and I wonder if they’ve spent way too much time on TikTok and influenced by Bama Rush. As she’s a sophomore, I really encourage you to have her take a broader look at schools. Maybe it’s where she will ultimately be happy, but she can change a lot in 2+ years.

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SMU and TCU are GREAT options that offer everything you both want. I may be a little biased because I’m from the area but truly I think these are great options based on what you’ve said.

ETA -

Your daughter wants “big time sports”, greek life and the South - check, check and check!

You believe she will benefit from a school that is smaller than a big state flagship and want easy airport access - check and check!

I will add that both school are in fantastic neighborhoods within dynamic cities with meaningful job and mentorship opportunities.

They are also expensive so important to make sure NPC shows that budget works. And there is definitely a “rich kid” element to the culture of both schools, which I think is common to many private schools.

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May not hit budget. OP hasn’t taken a test yet so there’s a long way to go. But if they are 1200, neither happening. And TCU has a substantial business cost addendum.

Good to look at tho - I agree. But the student wants big.

Direct air travel would be easy.

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Even if a school says they’re test optional, if OP’s daughter is coming in as an OOS applicant, she’s going to want to be as competitive as possible - so having a strong test score that she can submit would be a plus.

The big southern universities have become wildly popular with northeast applicants (NY, NJ, PA, MA, MD, etc.) and their OOS requirements continue to trend upward even, as another poster pointed out, if the in-state stats are lower.

I agree that you (and your daughter) are early to be targeting specific universities without a preliminary test score (but this thread has great info on what she may need to get into some of these places). At this point she can do some visits and get an idea of likes/dislikes. Note that the large southern universities can be quite a culture shock for a northern applicant. If your daughter is more of an introvert, she may be better off in a smaller environment.

Also note that some smaller colleges like SMU, Tulane, Wake Forest, Richmond, etc. will have a lot of wealthy students. Not a negative per se but if an applicant is on the opposite end of that spectrum, fit could be an issue.

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