McCombs (Average GPA & SAT) (Wharton: private schools, college, statistics)

[UnfairPark]

I was surprised to see average GPA (3.46) and SAT scores (1324), significantly lower compared to top business programs McCombs is usually compared against by UT folks.

https://www.mccombs.utexas.edu/Caree...t-Demographics

[aggie972]

I don't know what the scores are at other top business programs, but those scores look pretty good to me. What scores were you expecting? I also don't believe that the best business leaders are necessarily the ones with 4.0s. You need a good enough GPA (3.0+) to prove that you're a serious student and can manage your time effectively, but beyond that, soft skills are often more valuable than book smarts.

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by UnfairPark

I was surprised to see average GPA (3.46) and SAT scores (1324), significantly lower compared to top business programs McCombs is usually compared against by UT folks.

https://www.mccombs.utexas.edu/Caree...t-Demographics

That's not much different than UVA (3.50 and 1341) and what difference there is - is mostly explained because UVA's BBA-like programs are much smaller with a lower percentage of historical minorities.

The entire UT system is choking itself admitting so many otherwise academic non-qualifiers because they are historical minorities. Doing so kills UT's easily comparable metrics against many "similar" schools.

Historically Minority% by school - rounded/guesstimated as many school try to hide this info. in graphs etc.
UT - 26%+
A&M - 24.5%
Berkeley - 17%
Michigan - 14%
UVA - 13%
Minnesota - 7%
UNC - 18%
Wisconsin - 7%
Georgia Tech - 11%

[unexpected]

Dude, an undergraduate business degree is really not that relevant. The only Ivy league institution that offers a major in undergraduate business is Wharton.

[UnfairPark]

I don’t know. I was sort of expecting much higher stats as we keep hearing how competitive it is to get into McCombs.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by UnfairPark

I don’t know. I was sort of expecting much higher stats as we keep hearing how competitive it is to get into McCombs.

Why do you care? Do you have a kid at UT or something?

[aggie972]

Originally Posted by unexpected

Dude, an undergraduate business degree is really not that relevant. The only Ivy league institution that offers a major in undergraduate business is Wharton.

Ivy League schools serve less than 1% of the student population and the future college educated workforce. It's true that if you can get into Harvard, you can study Renaissance sculpture and still get a good finance job if you want it. If you go to UT or A&M and you want a good finance job, then you better study finance, network, intern, specialize, etc. A liberal arts degree from those schools (and every other non-Ivy) could make it very difficult to ever get a lucrative finance job in this day and age.

[aggie972]

Originally Posted by EDS_

That's not much different than UVA (3.50 and 1341) and what difference there is - is mostly explained because UVA's BBA-like programs are much smaller with a lower percentage of historical minorities.

The entire UT system is choking itself admitting so many otherwise academic non-qualifiers because they are historical minorities. Doing so kills UT's easily comparable metrics against many "similar" schools.

Historically Minority% by school - rounded/guesstimated as many school try to hide this info. in graphs etc.
UT - 26%+
A&M - 24.5%
Berkeley - 17%
Michigan - 14%
UVA - 13%
Minnesota - 7%
UNC - 18%
Wisconsin - 7%
Georgia Tech - 11%

I think to get into McCombs as a new student, you've got to be in about the top 2-3% of you class ranking as opposed to the top 7-8% you need for general admission. That doesn't necessarily contradict the point you're trying to make, but it's worth noting that not everyone who you consider to be an "otherwise academic non-qualifier" is actually being admitted to McCombs.

[UnfairPark]

Originally Posted by BigDGeek

Why do you care? Do you have a kid at UT or something?

We do volunteer work with minority students and they often have college related questions so I like to stay informed.

[numbersguy100]

Originally Posted by aggie972

Ivy League schools serve less than 1% of the student population and the future college educated workforce. It's true that if you can get into Harvard, you can study Renaissance sculpture and still get a good finance job if you want it. If you go to UT or A&M and you want a good finance job, then you better study finance, network, intern, specialize, etc. A liberal arts degree from those schools (and every other non-Ivy) could make it very difficult to ever get a lucrative finance job in this day and age.

I'd agree with this, although I'd broaden it to "very elite private schools" not just the 8 Ivies.