If you want to study business attend a school where you have direct admission. It sounds like you have that with Kelley. Most classes will be business focused but I’m fairly certain you’ll have some elective classes to explore other areas.
If you want to study economics attend a school where you have been admitted for Econ. This sounds like UVA and BU.
You could try to switch to business at UVA or BU but it’s not guaranteed. What would you do if this happened? If you don’t have a plan B that you like at UVA or BU then don’t attend. It looks like the odds are 50/50 at UVA. Call BU and see what they have to say about switching majors.
That said, it’s typically easier to switch majors from business to something else. Econ to business is typically more difficult.
Accounting and Finance are related but different. I would think Finance travels anywhere. Accounting could be different based on country specific laws and rules.
In my opinion, Boston might be the best college city in the US.
You might want to reconsider Case or Northeastern. They’re private schools and might be much more flexible with exploring and transferring majors. Assuming they’re affordable.
I have so much I want to share. Some of your acceptances overlap with my D25’s. Not only that, we are international as well. And my D21 is currently at UVA. From her, I gained a bit of knowledge about UVA.
UVA’s McIntire is very very very very hard to get in. My D25 is majoring in engineering. But her 1st year roommate and another good friend both didn’t get in despite stellar grades and activities. I don’t want to discourage you but if you have the mindset that it’s just a matter of applying and eventually will get in, that’s not the case.
Internationally, if you look at Times Higher Education, QS, Shanghai Index etc, UVA’s ranking is not high although nationally, in the US, it’s highly regarded. But my D21 loves her time there. My D25 got accepted to Arts and Sciences also but has not yet decided to commit.
Mind you, the UVA tuition is not the same for all majors. For Data Science and Engineering (you aren’t applying) are very expensive after the first year. Please check out their cost of attendance.
IU Kelley DA is also a school that my D25 is accepted to. Apparently, it is very well known. Tuition and fees are more moderate especially with the scholarship you are getting. If your ultimate goal is to go business school, Kelley should be on the top of your list.
I have not much input for BU, GW, NU. But do you think CWRU is worth it? International tuition and fees are exorbitant. For that reason, I told my D25 to withdraw the application since she was deferred on Dec 20.
Whichever school you choose to matriculate, I am sure it will be fine. My D25 is down to choosing among Purdue, UVA and UCLA. She is waiting for March 28 when the last two schools will announce their decisions. Like you, she will take her time to decide. And do watch out for virtual admitted students events and even in person events. You never know if their recruitment office will come to your area.
I disagree - you’ll take econ in the b school and it’s rarely/never hard to pivot from b school to outside. It is not easy to go the other way.
You can easily take electives and / or minor outside the b school. Conversely, you may be able to minor in business - you can see - school by school basis.
But in your case, IU would be better IMHO - start with the most difficult to attain path and then jump out if it’s not right vs. starting in the easier path and trying to jump into the most difficult.
In other words, if you go to BU or UVA, you may never get to study business if you decide you want to.
At IU, you’ll have no problem exploring other areas if you want to.
I know a UVA graduate who majored in psychology and got a job with Morgan Stanley. MS gave them an intelligence test.
My son is a recent Northeastern graduate with a combined major in Economics and Business (two different schools at NU). He enjoyed his econ classes more than his business classes. NU makes it easy to change majors or do combined majors and also fit study or work abroad into your experience. It is a co-op school, so it is different from other schools on your list. Good luck.
Thank you for the detailed response! This is very helpful. I and my family have now read through the messages on this thread a few times so indeed very valuable. I completely agree, I need to have a plan B if I end up with UVA or BU and be completely fine with it. I will also reach out to career services at BU and understand the chances of switching between majors across colleges (in my case Business).
A very valuable perspective you share here and than you for that! I will have this at back of my mind as I take time to mull over and make the final decision.
Thank you for such detailed response and some valuable insights.
Yes McIntire is not guaranteed so if I go to UVA, I will ensure there is a plan B (I am thinking Econ with data Science, maybe)
May I ask what major your D25 is looking at.
I am keeping fingers crossed for my last admission outcome as well end of this week.
I would lean on you for some further guidance and might DM if ok.
Folks, if I have to reach out to someone at any of these other Universities to understand the options, flexibility etc. who should I reach out to - career services/student guidance cell…who typically would be able to answer questions across colleges for transfer/dual major etc…and yes how do I find an email id to write to and maybe request some time
I would reach out to admissions to ask if you can get an appointment with an academic advisor.
You could reach out to the departments themselves and ask to speak with an advisor but some might not allow that. So start with admissions.