[Mirraya]

I think I made a big mistake when I allowed my son to tour Alma College this summer. To back up a bit, I used to go through the city of Alma quite a bit, and I always wanted to see what the campus was like. When we were deciding which campuses to tour this summer I put Alma College on the list. Long story short, we visited several universities, mostly public, and my son decided to fall in love with Alma.

He would like to major in accounting, and Alma doesn't seem to make anyone's list of top accounting schools in the state. Alma College also seems to have mediocre rankings at best in just about every other overall category. Worse yet, I also found a site that ranks Alma College as one of the worst buys in college education in the state, based on the tuition/starting salary ratio upon graduation. Alma disputes that ranking by pointing out that everyone gets financial aid on campus. Although my son would seem to qualify for a very generous financial aid package, it would still be more expensive to send him there than anyplace else in the state.

What really sold us initially on Alma (until I did my homework) was the fact that they seem to have very strong internship partnerships with the community, which would make it seem as though he could get very valuable work experience in his career field while he's at school. They also boasted that a very high percentage of their business school graduates go on to either get jobs in their career fields or enroll in top ranked graduate programs. (I take that with a grain of salt since I sometimes think kids go to graduate school because they can't get jobs right away.) Regardless, Alma College students also score very highly in SIFE and Model UN competitions year after year.

Financially, we could probably be able to afford to send our son to Alma, but it doesn't seem like we'd be getting that much bang for our bucks. We would much prefer to send him to a state public university. Is there anyone who can give us some positive information about Alma College before we break our son's heart? If we hear some really good news, we might change our minds and allow him to go there. Of course, if anyone has any criticisms of Alma College, I should probably hear that as well.

[finance500]

What other public schools in Michigan is he considering?

I'm not familiar with Alma, but I know a decent amount about Wayne State, UofM-Ann Arbor, Albion College, and Michigan State University. All of the schools I mentioned are recruited heavily by the public accounting firms, especially MSU and UofM.

Albion College does fairly well with the accounting firms, especially PwC, but I do not think it is worth the price tag. My guess is that Alma is not worth it either.

[belleislerunner]

All Big Four firms start out new hires at the same salary regardless of whether he went to Michigan, Mich St, Wayne St, Alma or Kalamazoo College. So as far as a "bang for the buck" perspective - you might be on to something.

However, your son only goes to college once and if he's smart - he can be the "top student" at Alma for recruiting events as opposed to a mediocre student at Michigan. Or said another way, for an overachiever, the more contrast between him and other students, the more he'll stand out.

Firms are limited in recruiters/capacity - so they tend to stick to the larger schools because they get a better return on investment per visit. That being said, often a partner or HR lead will have ties to a smaller school and also recruit there.

I have a great friend who works in audit for a Big Four firm in Detroit - who did her undergrad at Alma in accounting. If you send me a PM - I can give you her email address and you can get her objective opinion. My only experience with Alma - was going there for a National History Day competition when I was in middle school.

[Coldjensens]

Alma is not a highly regarded college. Not terrible, but it is not one of the better ones. If he wants a small expensive school, have him look at Hillcrest. Albion has some good programs too.

However the being a top student rather than a mediocre student at a more highly regarded school may have some appeal. Can he get into Michigan? A U-M degree is going to open more doors nationally (and internationally) than any other school here. However it is their graduate programs that really excell. He can go anywhere, get execellent grades and test scores and then go to U-M for grad school.

U-M is consistently recognized as one of the best bang for the buck deals in college education.

[Mirraya]

Thank you for your replies - you've all been very helpful. Nothing is off the table at this point. I'm sure my son can get into Michigan, Michigan State and WSU, though he would for sure be able to get all of his tuition paid for at Grand Valley State and Oakland U. He would actually prefer a smaller campus, meaning, smaller than U-M and MSU. We checked out Hillsdale but, to put it delicately, he would not be a good fit there. I've thought of Albion and Calvin College, but at this point I'm trying to stay away from private schools.

Belleislerunner, thanks for your generous offer. I'll PM you in a few minutes.

[finance500]

The large accounting firms recruit at both GVSU and Oakland, so a full-ride there is a pretty good deal!

I spent a year at Albion College before transferring to Michigan, and I just didn't think it was worth the price (my opinion). That being said, I prefer the atmosphere of a large public school to that of a small private.

I've also heard that for its size GVSU has a "small campus feel."

[Mirraya]

Finance500 - Thanks for the info. about GVSU and Oakland U! They're both on what would pass for my son's short list of schools. "Free" is kind of hard to pass up.

[belleislerunner]

If he has to choose between GVSU and Oakland - encourage GVSU. Grand Rapids is a great town - only a couple hours away, close to the beaches/outdoor activities. Commuting to Oakland isn't really much of a college experience.

[mofromcheboygankalamazoo]

I have to chime in a bit.
I did not go to Alma, but a LOT of my friends and people that I know did. All of them are gainfully employed. Although, none of them went into accounting. One friend is a nurse, another won cupcake wars and owns her own cupcake business in marrietta, ga, one is an administrator at a school, another just finished PA school and is a PA now, another is a dentist, another is a middle school teacher and coach, then another owns his own printing business in Traverse City and I am forgetting what the others do...these are just my close friends who attended Alma!

I visited them often, and everyone seemed to be happy there and the campus is very nice. Oh, and you are right about the whole internship thing...they all had some great experiences!!

Okay, just wanted you to know, it is not a bad school!

[teachbeach]

As a former high school counselor/teacher, I would encourage GVSU in Grand Rapids. The boom in industry and opportunities for internships in Grand Rapids and in the accounting/finance field will be available. It is a vibrant city and seems to be drawing in more young professionals.

If Alma offers anything close to a free education, I would still leave it on the table.