<p>My mother gets upset with my father because he suggested two schools my mother isn’t familiar with like Bradley University and Ball State University. My dad says these are two good reach schools for me to look into. My mother who’s an accountant does not like these schools because they are not ranked as University of Illinois or University of Michigan’s accounting program. My dad says that accounting is like math, you have to take the same courses no matter where you attend, just as long as the school is AACSB accredited. What advice could you give me, who’s right?</p>
<p>My advice is to visit your top choices that you are accepted to and then decide based on where you will be happy and do well in college. Explain why you made your decision and why it is the best place for you to attend college.</p>
<p>Apples and oranges. Bradley and Ball State are MUCH smaller than U of I, and UMich.</p>
<p>But I have to ask…if your dad thinks Bradley and Ball State are REACH schools…how would you get accepted at all to UMich or U o I?</p>
<p>Dont know about math, but accounting where you go college makes a big difference (IMHO, as a CPA). The more selective schools, such as U of I or U of M, will attract Big 4 recruiters. People may say, this only makes a difference for your first job, but Big 4 on your resume will be with you for life. That being said, what state are you resident in – generally an instate flagship will be fine.</p>
<p>Big 4 firms recruit at Bradley and many other similar schools…like Truman State.</p>
<p>The geographic location of your school may matter, too, especially in a field like accounting. What local firms hire from “your” school? If you really are interested in accounting, you should see who recruits and interviews at your schools of interest. Also, how easy is it to get internships?</p>
<p>D graduates in accounting from a Chicago-area school that has a lot of ties to the Chicago business community. (Her summer intern class had students from Ohio State, Notre Dame, and other Midwest locations.) She will start at a Big 4 firm this fall, and most of her accounting friends have jobs lined up after graduation. For them, actually being in the Chicago are was an important factor in their job search.</p>
<p>Ask your parents to make a dicision and present it to you. Why do you need to worry about listenning to one and then another another? Too much beakering about nothing. They have to present you their decision, the one that they produce together, not separately. For you personally, it does not matter where you go and you might even drop accounting. How do you know if you like it if you never done it? Many change their major and being at the place that fits your personality and wide range of interest (not just acdemic) is the most important. That will help you to be successful in any field of study and have great rewarding 4 years of life that propel you to future success. Again, saying that you will be aiming at some Big 4 firms is way too early. You might (and most likely) never apply to them for various reasons.</p>
<p>Your dad is more right. The Big 4 will hire more from the better schools but they still hire top grads from other schools too. Need a high GPA–3.5++</p>
<p>Like everything else, in my experience, the year one graduates makes a big difference. When the economy is not so good, the U of I and M kids will still get offers. When economy is great, all will. That being said, if OP gets very good grades and GMAT he can take his fifth year at a more prestigous school.</p>
<p>How is Ball State a reach school?</p>
<p>Thumper is right…if Ball State and Bradley are REACH schools, then it’s unlikely you’d be accepted to the schools that your mom wants.</p>
<p>What are your stats?</p>
<p>Your dad is right…any good accredited accounting program is fine. </p>
<p>Is the issue that your Dad wants to control costs and your mom thinks money is no object?</p>
<p>What state are you in? If you don’t live in Illinois or Mich, then attending UIUC or UMich would be super expensive. Does your mom know that?</p>
<p>What state are you in?</p>
<p>If you dont’ live in Indiana, then attending Ball State might be too expensive as well since it doesn’t sound like you qualify for merit.</p>
<p>Edited to add…</p>
<p>uw GPA-3.92
ACT-low 30’s
8 AP classes </p>
<p>You’re an Ill resident with the above stats. Ball State is a safety for you, not a reach. However, do you know what aid you’d get as an OOS student?</p>
<p>You mention needing aid and you’re applying to a lot of OOS publics. Are you aware that most won’t give much to an OOS student?</p>
<p>What is your ACT?</p>
<p>Thank you for your response, I am awfully sorry to confuse everyone about the reach comment, those two schools wasn’t my reach, and actually University of Illinois and University of Michigan were my reach schools. I reside in Illinois. My father in his sense of humor, call BSU and BU reach schools. He is more looking at the bottom line on what the schools has to offer in terms of merit aid and financial aid. So far I have received some type of merit aid from all the schools I applied to except Bradley University and Illinois State University. My dad will not know for sure until April, when schools start to send out there award letters, what will be the real bottom line. Here’s my stats, 3.92GPA UW, ACT Comp 31, and 8 AP’s, plenty of EC’s.</p>
<p>University of Illinois
University of Iowa
Purdue
Mizzou
Ball State University
DePaul
University of Michigan oos is really at $50k, I don’t think so! I know my stats isn’t strong enough to afford the out state COA.</p>
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<p>Believe it or not, the estimated cost of attendance for out-of-state students at UMich is $50,352 for 1st and 2nd year students, and there is very little aid given to non-residents. </p>
<p>[Office</a> of Financial Aid: Cost of Attendance](<a href=“http://www.finaid.umich.edu/TopNav/AboutUMFinancialAid/CostofAttendance.aspx]Office”>http://www.finaid.umich.edu/TopNav/AboutUMFinancialAid/CostofAttendance.aspx)</p>
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<p>Wait - I just saw that. Did you get merit aid from Michigan? Now I’m confused…</p>
<p>No, I didn’t receive any merit aid from University of Michigan; my stats are not strong enough. My statement was misleading, when I said all. Thanks for catching that.</p>
<p>These 3 all have very strong accounting programs…</p>
<p>University of Illinois
University of Iowa
DePaul</p>
<p>Graduating from any of these with good grades will land you a very good job.
OOS costs for Iowa after you have received their various scholarships may make it about the same cost as Illinois. </p>
<p>Did you apply to the Tippie scholars program and receive the scholarship?</p>
<p>University of Michigan oos is really at $50k, I don’t think so! I know my stats isn’t strong enough to afford the out state COA.</p>
<p>======================</p>
<p>Yes…UMich costs that much for OOS…and it costs even more than that as an upper-division student (junior and senior years).</p>
<p>I hope you’re not just looking at tuition costs…you have to look at the costs for…</p>
<p>Tuition (and how many credits it covers and how much overage credits cost)
University fees (activity, technology, rec center, health, etc, etc)
Course fees
Room (the dorm that you’d like)
Meal plan ( and include an budget if weekend meals aren’t included)
Books/supplies (roughly $1k per year)</p>
<p>How much merit did you receive so far from each school (per year…not total)</p>
<p>Hi, my merit aid count for half of the tuition for most of the schools for the exception of BSU, the aid was almost the same for instate tuition in Indiana. Purdue so far I received about $10K, if I choose their BOP program thru Krannert School of Management it will be $14k, but still it’s not enough to cover the COA or any the COA’s at any of the schools I applied to so far. I am an URM, my father is an AA and my mother is a PR, and I was raise in PR. Therefore I consider myself a Latina. Our EFC is $12k. I have not received anything from BU and ISU so far.</p>
<p>Your thread title indicates “…objects to MY school choice” but then your OP proceeds to indicate your father wants one set of schools and your mother wants a different set.</p>
<p>Which ones do YOU want?</p>
<p>Time to go for a walk with your parents (walking means you are side by side, so there is no dominance – if you sit at the table, there tends to be one person who dominates). </p>
<p>Then you say:</p>
<p>1) I find I get really worried and torn up when you two start fighting over my future. It’s very upsetting. </p>
<p>2) From what the counselors say, no student can ever guarantee a college acceptance. They tell me I should apply to at least three schools, including one reach and one safety. I’d like to do that and not argue about choice until late March (2012 or 2013) when I get the letters that tell me if I’ve been accepted. It seems really dumb to spend time arguing before then. </p>
<p>3) There’s lots of things to consider – one of them is quality of classes – but there’s also other things like campus safety (Ball State may be much safer) and campus atmosphere and affordability. I’d like to invite each of you to write down your top five concerns for me to consider as I work on figuring out a college choice. Let’s put those two lists on the refrigerator and I promise to keep your concerns in mind as I work through this process. </p>
<p>Hopefully you bring them in line, have concrete steps for them to take and save yourself from being a tennis ball in a killer match that goes on forever. </p>
<p>Good luck.</p>