Reply to A few questions about applying to undergrad business schools/majors

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Lots of experience with this and it really depends on the school:

(1) For schools with direct-admit undergraduate business schools (e.g., Penn/Wharton, Michigan, USC, UC Berkley, Georgetown, Cornell, Indiana, NYU, etc.), your child really needs to apply to the business school if they are interested in being in that program. It is very easy to transfer out of the business school into the school of arts & sciences, but it is almost impossible to transfer into the business program once you are there.

(2) For schools without direct-admit undergraduate business schools and that admit after the end of freshman year (e.g., UVA), you just apply to the college of arts & sciences, do well your first year, and hope you are selected for admission. This can be a good option for a smart kid who is unsure going into college.

(3) For schools without undergraduate business schools (e.g., Harvard, Stanford, Columbia, Brown, Northwestern, University of Chicago, UCLA, etc.), you just apply for admission to the University and you have the flexibility to major in whatever you want. This is what I would recommend for a child who is not completely committed to business.

As an FYI, the direct admit undergraduate business schools are wildly competitive. It seems like everyone wants to be a business or economics major these days. It feels like it is easier to get into Brown as a Classics major than NYU Stern.
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this is very helpful

So - if you apply to a school in category 1, are you only permitted to apply as a business major? So let's say you have your heart set on VA Tech, and don't get into the business school (but maybe you would have gotten in with another major). Are you just out of luck?[/quote]

Yes, unfortunately this is the case. If you apply into the business school and you don't get in, you don't get into the University overall. The vast majority of these schools do not allow you to pick a secondary/alternative school (e.g., arts & sciences).

Your child needs to be honest with themselves about how badly they want to be in the business program and what, if any, tradeoffs they are willing to make. For my child, they knew that for all of the schools in Category 1 (i.e., those with a direct admit undergrad business program), they only wanted to attend that school if they were in the program. Even though they could be an economics major in the College of Arts & Sciences at these schools, they would be competing with all of the business school students for internships, finance classes, etc., and did not want to do that. They felt like it would negatively impact their overall experience.

My child was also fine with being an economics major at the Category 3 schools since everyone else would be in the same boat with respect to being competitive for classes, internships, etc. Many of the Category 3 schools are also stronger academically than schools with an undergraduate business program. Most kids, for example, would attend Stanford or Harvard (that do not have undergrad business schools) over Indiana, NYU Stern, Cornell Dyson, etc. Penn/Wharton is arguably the only undergrad business school that provides the same level of opportunities as a school like Harvard, Stanford, Princeton, or MIT.

My child never seriously considered the Category 2 schools. They did not want to go through the whole college admissions process only to stress one year later about whether they would be accepted into the business program.

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