Originally Posted by
MarcusBrody
I have a couple of thoughts:
1. I would not be at all hesitant to apply to top tier private universities/colleges. They've got a lot of money and depending on your family income, they can end up cheaper than even state schools after aid. No guarantees, so you should try to avoid your daughter getting her heart set on one of them if it wouldn't be possible for her to go if she doesn't get a good aid package, as it can be a bit hard to predict.
2. Relatedly, I wouldn't be scared to take on debt getting a business degree at a top 25 program. The return on investment is very good. Lower tier but equally expensive schools are where the issue is (and majors with a lower RoI). If she happens to get into Stanford/Berkeley to study business, though, take on the debt. It's a rational financial decision.
3. Her GPA won't make getting into that level of school easy given the current scramble, so it's helpful if she has a hook. I'd look at elite schools with not so great athletics program and see if she is interested in any of those. How about Carnegie Mellon? Great school. Good tech-focused business program. Pittsburgh is actually a pretty cool town. I doubt their XC/track team is amazing. Or Caltech. I don't know where it's undergrad business program falls, but I suspect it's extremely good.
4. Relatedly, for someone who is good at STEM stuff but wants to do business, she might want to take a look at places with data science/data analytics programs. They provide some good skills that will differentiate students from the hordes of management grads.*
5. Elite schools will have nation wide cache, so I wouldn't worry much about where the school is vs. where I wanted to end up. Regional schools might give you an equally excellent education, but I'd be more inclined to factor in whether I'd like to live in that area for at least a few years post-college as their networks are going to be more localized.
*Disclaimer: I'm a data science professor.