Taking Care of Business

by Dave Best

Following their dreams, students target colleges they aspire to attend. A successful college choice should be evaluated on many factors, including the ability to complete one’s target major.  For aspiring business majors the path into the undergraduate business school can be very challenging.  That is why direct admit business programs can provide peace of mind for qualified applicants.

Business is the most popular college major nationally.  Many students strive to move into the business school at their college for a major like business administration, accounting, marketing and finance.  Based on significant competition for a limited number of slots, many schools require students to meet strict GPA standards in college to enable a transfer into the business school.  This can often be a 3.0 or higher and successful completion of foundational courses.  Additionally the most competitive business programs might seek demonstrated leadership on campus. At the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor, 80% of its class is filled directly out of high school.

With the risk of being locked out of their dream major, high school students who know they want to study business in college should target direct admit business programs when building their college list.  Essentially this means high school applicants need to apply for admission into the business school. Direct admit business programs usually have competitive requirements that include target high school GPA and standardized test scores.

Beyond the assured admission into the business program, students benefit from integrating into the business school community immediately as well as early access to courses.  At many schools this can include enrolling in introductory business courses and other foundational classes in the student’s freshman and sophomore years.  This improves the probability that the student can graduate in four years which saves the potential expense of additional semesters of tuition and living costs.

Here are a few examples of direct admit business programs and their requirements:

1. Kelley School of Business, Indiana University Bloomington
   1. 3.8 weighted high school GPA
   2. 30 ACT or 1360 new SAT
2. Ross School of Business, University of Michigan Ann Arbor
   1. 3.90 high school GPA (average)
   2. 33 ACT or 1440 SAT (average)
   3. 20% acceptance rate
3. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University
   1. Middle 50% SAT 1320 – 1510
   2. Middle 50% ACT 30 – 34
   3. 7% acceptance rate
4. Tepper School of Business, Carnegie Mellon University
   1. 3.84 high school GPA (average)
   2. Middle 50% SAT 1420 – 1570, 33 ACT (average)
   3. 17% acceptance rate
5. WP Carey School of Business, Arizona State University
   (Meet one of four requirements)
   1. 3.6 high school GPA (unweighted)
   2. Top 8% of class
   3. SAT 1230
   4. ACT 25