<p>The rankings and “who’s #1 and who’s #2” is a mute point and dumb, IMO. A #1 to someone may be a #9 to someone else because the gyms are nicer at one school than another. It’d be nice if people got off this subject…</p>
<p>OP: UVa’s a pretty darn good school, no one can counter that, which means all programs are going to result in a great education. The math program is strong, but not the best per say in the country, but a frequent poster on here (calling you Hazel!) can tell you all about the math program and her pros/cons. The econ program routinely places grads in great jobs or business schools. I knew quite a few econ majors who just graduated and all are really happy with where they are and feel that UVa prepared them very well.
McIntire is a fantastic business school, don’t let others sway you against that. So are the other business schools people have mentioned, so I suggest applying to them all. What sets McIntire apart is you spend your first two years in the College, then apply to McIntire. This process makes McIntire a better school, IMO, because it takes the best of the best. But, some see it as a risk because you’re not guaranteed a BS in Commerce afterwards (it’s called the McIntire School of Commerce…don’t ask me what the difference between that and business is ;)). However, most who don’t go McIntire go Econ and do fantastically.<br>
Another thing to think about is there’s a MS in Commerce opportunity at UVa for both Comm schoolers (what we call McIntire students) and those outside of Comm. It’s a year program (I think?) and you basically earn an MS in Comm after you graduate a 4-year program. They love taking UVa kids so it might be good to think about if you know you want an advanced degree.<br>
Also, Darden is our grad business school. If people say it’s not a great, great school, ignore them. I’m not even pro-UVa when I say this, it’s just a fact. Again, should it be #1 or even #2? Maybe not. But it’s in an elite group of really nice grad schools.</p>
<p>Are there “better” schools out there? Sure. But when you’re looking at schools like UVa, Penn, UNC, UCs, etc, it really boils down to which school YOU like better and which YOU think you’ll be happy at. Feel free to ask any questions, there’s quite a few current/past students on here. Don’t listen to people who are trying to sway you from applying to any school, these days it’s silly not to apply to a school because it’s not #1 or #2 on USNews Rankings. Find somewhere that you could get a great education and be happy at and click Apply!</p>