University of Missouri, Northwest Missouri State, Truman State, Missouri S&T

College Search & Lists
1

I am a high school senior in Missouri and I cannot decide which college to go to! I am interested in getting a career in something to do with math that has a high salary, I will not settle for anything that makes less than $70,000 a year. I have thought about majoring in accounting, finance, statistics, economics, engineering, or even architecture. I might want to be an actuary.

Currently I have a 3.9 GPA and am enrolled in college calculus and AP Statistics. I’m getting an honors diploma. But I am a chronic procrastinator. The size and location of the school I go to mean nothing to me, I don’t care that

MU is huge or that Truman is tiny. Each school that I am considering has its pros and cons, but I just cannot decide which one’s pros outweigh the cons. MU has the most majors to choose from, which is great since I am still undecided. However, it is so expensive and it isn’t really prestige.

Northwest is very affordable and I will get a lot of scholarships, but they don’t have as many options as I would like, considering that I am still undecided on my major. Also, it isn’t super prestigious and it’s just a pretty average school. I want a school that will give me a top tier education. My dad went to Northwest and so did my cousins so it’s kind of a family school. They apparently are good at preparing students for finance careers but my cousin got an Accounting degree and did not get a job even close to that field. My dad went on to get another degree at another university and is a lawyer.

Truman is also affordable, but doesn’t have as many major choices as MU. It’s said to be really prestigious as well. They have a good statistics program but offer nothing in the field of engineering.

S&T only has the engineering and architecture options that I could possibly be interested in, but doesn’t offer anything in finance. The school is also highly ranked in the education it gives students I think. Their students also receive high salaries after graduation. But I’m not sure I would really like to do engineering or architecture. Also, their classes are said to be super hard during the first two years at least, and I’m not sure I’ll do well.

The most important thing to me is being able to major in what I decide down the line, getting a high quality education, and getting a really good paying job after graduation. If I do something in finance or statistics then I’ll probably go for my masters degree at a school other than these four.

2

I recently hauled my junior to visit Mo S&T. Have you visited?

Here is a link to their advanced math undergrad degree which could be a fit: https://math.mst.edu/academicprograms/undergraduateprograms/appliedmath/

However you may want to look into their business program which to me sounded somewhat unique: http://bit.mst.edu/business/degrees/businessmanagementsystems/

Graduates come out of Rolla making money - however - you might want to pull those numbers apart to take out the engineering degrees since that is not your focus. They were ranked nationally as one of the best ROI schools recently. As for their reputation for being a really tough school, I am not sure if these degrees are as intensive as their engineering programs. If you visit there, I would imagine you could meet up with some students in these programs and get a feel if they are ‘your kind of people’ and what the intensity of these degrees are compared to their engineering rep.

Every student I met had had summer jobs and co-ops that were degree related. There are also lots of student clubs that you get involved with for experience in your field or doing for fun. As a small school, it seemed pretty easy to get involved.

I really can’t analyze your other schools in comparison to S&T as I am not a native MO person. My son is all about engineering, so Rolla is our best in state public option.

Good luck!