Help needed for University shortlist for International student for 2025 fall intake (UVA, Kelley, BU)

Compare College Acceptances
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I am interested in Economics/Finance/Policy and allied areas. Not clear at this stage if I specifically want to do a Business major or Economics with an additional major or minor in any of these areas.

Also, not decided at this stage if I would want to directly continue with Grad studies or work in the industry for few years and get experience prior. And this could very well be in my home country (I am an Indian).

Some of the key considerations in my decision-making process include:

  • Brand and international recognition
  • Learning experience (program, campus, faculty), Education outcomes (internships, research opportunities at undergrad level etc., RA/TA roles)
  • Career outcomes for internationals (industry connects, placements)
  • Alumni network and global presence

The current top acceptances on hand:

  1. University of Virginia (UVA) - College of Arts and Sciences - Economics Major - no scholarship

  2. DA at Kelley school of Business (Indiana Bloomington) - 10K annual scholarship

  3. Boston University (BU) - College of Arts and Sciences - Economics Major - Presidential scholarship

Current thought process:

University of Virginia (UVA) –
Offers prestige, 1 to 2 years of Liberal Arts education which should help me develop clarity on my career goals and majors to pursue

What I don’t know is how flexible UVA is in selecting Majors. How easy or difficult it is to be able to do a double major or major/minor across colleges (e.g. LAC and College of data science for Eco with data science)

Also, realize if I narrow down on Business, McIntire would involve a secondary application and ofcourse not guaranteed. How competitive is this process?

And ofcourse higher cost. I don’t know if and what are the scholarships opportunities once I start and how substantial would that be?

Indiana University – Kelley School of Business –
Positive is strong industry connects and job placements. I have a DA at Kelley on hand.

Strong in Business and in some sense then I am ruling out other exploration options.

Boston University (BU) –
The scholarship is a big plus

Probably would offer more flexibility on selecting majors. My take and I could be off. How easy/difficult it is to pair Economics with Data Science/Finance/Policy .

Note sure about international repute.

Additional Factors:
While money is ofcourse an important consideration I still want to value based on above factors

Besides, I am into soccer for a long time and would want to continue this passion at the University at whatever level I qualify for. Hence, the soccer culture at the university would be important.

Other Acceptances:
I do have additional acceptances from George Washington, Northeastern, Wisconsin Madison, and Case Western. I have stacked them lower unless anyone thinks otherwise

Still awaiting a couple of RD decisions and yes that may impact the top choices.

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A degree in Business is very different than a degree in Economics. I would let that drive the decision. Also, a degree in Economics typically requires a Doctorate if you want to continue in the field.

If you want to study finance, accounting or marketing choose a business school like Kelley. Don’t count on transferring to McIntire or Questrom.

All three of your top schools are excellent. No bad choice here.

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Have you received a scholarship from Boston University?

It’s very likely you will need to return to your home country after you complete your education here….unless you can find a sponsoring employer which is getting more and more difficult.

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At the bare minimum, make sure that the degree is STEM designated by the school. For example, at UW Seattle, even an Econ is designated STEM, but for many others even Finance isn’t.
This is critical as an international applicant who’d need an OPT.

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To be accurate: any student can receive an OPT regardless of major and work for 12 months post-graduation. A STEM major allows the student to get a 24 month extension (for a total of 36 months).

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That’s right, but it’s still critical, so you have enough time to find an employer willing to sponsor your H1B and then try luck with the lottery system.
Not applicable to those who intend to return shortly after some work experience. OP intends to stay.

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You have scholarships - but UVA costs a lot more than Indiana, as an example.

Can you afford all these?

You like UVA for prestige. Does that prestige work in your home country?

IU is a huge school in the middle of nowhere - about an hour South of Indy. What business function would you major in - Economic Consulting?

UVA is a smaller but large school - about 2 hours South of DC - but also out there.

BU is uber urban - smack in Boston - without a traditional campus. Does that bother you?

I can’t speak to soccer culture (playing at each) - and you should check in each to see if they have intramurals or club teams.

All three are fine schools - but not necessarily the same options.

It’s really a fit here - and assume you are going home. Here all three names are equally great - but is that the case at home?? Don’t worry about things like IU places well (they all do) but you are international - so that isn’t likely to be the case for you.

As for GW, NU, Wisconsin, and CWRU - you can make a case for all certainly but most especially Wisconsin (another IU type) or Northeastern - because many like the co ops - but they are not assured and as an international, you might find yourself on the outside looking in.

I think you can pick any of the threee - but you should find out about soccer (especially BU as it’s urban) and figure out do you want to study econ or a business discipline. If ECON, eliminate IU and if a business discipline like finance, then you have your answer.

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S24 is a first year at UVA. It is a good 2 hour plus drive from DC (Reaga airport) and over an hour from Richmond. It’s a great school, but a pain to get to.

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OK - will update from the 90 minutes. thx

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Agree and this is the current plan

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Yes received Presidential scholarship which is 50% of the tuition fees.

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This is an important point. I will look up or directly check with the Universities under consideration.

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Why not fly out of Charlottesville airport and get a connection in DC, Atlanta, NYC, etc?

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Thank you for the detailed response.
UVA prestige internationally - I am not very sure. Probably need to do some search on linkedIn etc. Also, since no one in the immediate family is into Finance/Economics, the understanding or the network in the space is limited.
Kelley Major - Yes got into Economics Consulting. I do understand we declare Major at Kelley in the 2nd year from what is on the offer.
BU campus location - yes from what i hear IU and UVA offer far better campus environment. Maybe advantage with BU is the proximity to metropolitan area and hence internships etc maybe be easier to land into.
Soccer at BU - what i gather is that BU offers NCAA Division I opportunities and club/intramural soccer options. Not as dominant in soccer as IU or UVA. IU dominates in this space. But that should be fine as BU still has strong presence in the space.

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Possible but usually people avoid those small airports - similar to UIUC or Gainesville. But if money no object sure …

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Internshops are likely summer and I’d look at placement and specifically for international students at U.S. locations. All schools should be able to provide.

You’re likely to see a lot of this:

Note: Fidelity is not providing immigration sponsorship for this position

It may be everywhere will be tough. Then choose the one you want.

I wouldn’t say BU is not as good a campus environment. It’s not grass and a quad. It’s building after building and streets. Some dream of that. So it’s more a preference.

See who does best with international students but I suspect all will be a struggle.

Good luck.

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I am unsure about accounting since my understanding is that it could be very different back here. Also probably Finance would have considerable overlap with accounting. Please correct me if that is not the case.
Also, from anyone who’s gone through it first hand, how easy or difficult it is to transfer to McIntire if i decide to pursue Business in my 1st/2nd year.

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Any other thoughts/inputs folks that you’ll think I am missing.

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I believe they are going to a 3 year from 2 year program so perhaps it impacts the rate but here are stats.

But given you have two direct admit schools, why chance UVA ?

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As indicated, I am unsure about Economies-allied areas and Business as Major at this stage. I do have direct admit at Kelley. For UVA and Boston University I’d applied for Economics Major and I’ve acceptances from the School of Arts and Sciences. If I decide to pivot to Business then not sure how it’d span out at UVA vs BU. Choosing Kelley now limits flexibility for exploring other academic paths outside Business…