Business of Choosing a Business College
A few choices to consider
Most families of Junior and Seniors in high school interested in business are Googling Forbes and Princeton Review rankings, sorting through the “Top 50 Undergraduate Business Schools,” calculating which ones they qualify for GPA and SAT wise, then applying to as many as they can, all in pursuit of the “best” school.
But when is the top choice actually the right choice? And when is it just a colossal waste of time, energy, and, let’s not kid ourselves, money?
There’s Value in a Strong Network; but There’s Also a Catch
Sure, powerful alumni networks and access to renowned professors can open doors. But doors to where? If your student is going to spend four years of their life (and potentially $120K or more) on a business degree, the question should be: What’s the vision?
Let me break it down into three kinds of business students.
Student A: The Money-Motivated
This student doesn’t care what they sell or do as long as it makes bank. They’ll gladly pitch toothpaste, market politics, or promote livestock. They’ve heard that pharmaceutical sales, CPAs, and the NYSE all pay well. That’s good enough. They’re not worried about work-life balance or job satisfaction. They’re climbing, and fast.
Maybe they get into a top 10 school, get a great internship, graduate, and move up the ladder. Flash forward 40 years: they’re the president of some regional fencing supply chain making $300,000/year with stock options and a corner office.
And yet, they’re miserable.
Because the job, and the life they built around it, has no meaning to them. Yes, we need people to run plumbing distribution companies, government contracted services, and oil corporations. But let’s be real: if you can make $300,000 doing something you don’t care about, you can probably make $300,000 doing something you do; if you're strategic about it.
Did you know there are business majors specialized in:
Luxury Brand Marketing
Sports Apparel Marketing
Hospitality Management
Ski Resort Management
Golf Course Management
Etc.
The people running high-end hotels and luxury brands aren’t broke. They’ve just chosen to align their career path with their interests. And that brings us to the real point: if your student has a passion like wine, fashion, sports, tourism, art, etc there is a business angle in that field.
But if they’re not deliberate about the industry, the school, and the professors' expertise, they may graduate and land somewhere totally random. It happens all the time. Just think about all the people you know….and how many of them are working in the world of business in a field they actually deliberately chose vs just an industry they found through an internship, friend, help wanted sign, or ad.
Student B: The Future Entrepreneur
This is the student with ideas. They want to start a business; they’ve got that “shark tank” energy. But they also need to know what they’re signing up for.
Spoiler alert: a lot of business classes are dry. Like, bone dry. Finance, accounting, legal studies; not everyone finds joy in profit-loss statements.
And some students, let’s be real, are “idea people.” They’re full of concepts but hate sales, management, or logistics. (Hi, that’s me.) We tend to burn out before launch. If this is your kid, the real question isn’t “Which business school?” but rather: Should they even major in business?
Consider alternatives:
If they want to run an animal sanctuary, maybe major in animal science and learn nonprofit management as a minor or through workshops and trainings at a nonprofit center locally.
If they want to open an Airbnb-style inn, hospitality management might be a better fit.
If they’re truly committed, maybe skip the four-year path entirely and use that $120K as startup capital to buy a franchise with the business details already turnkey , or doing some workshops and taking advantage of free mentors at the local Small Business Administration.
Or maybe they work in a similar business first, take classes on the side, and build skills practically.
What’s the point of studying business full-time if you never launch because you’re drowning in debt from that very education and one day when you get out of debit you have then lost motivation to start that idea.
Student C: “I Just Picked Business Because I Had No Idea”
This is the “default” business major. They're not into science; they don’t enjoy writing; they’re not artistic; and business just seemed practical.
And maybe it is. But that doesn’t mean it’s the right fit. Let’s not forget: college costs serious money. At $2,000 a class (conservatively), you should at least enjoy what you're paying for. Why spend money learning about auditing if you’ll never use it? Even if you decide business is the default major just to graduate it’s important to realize you probably don’t need a “top business school” and a community college or a state school is just fine. Did you know companies like Enterprise and Target and even the Clandestine Service from the CIA hire students with a Bachelor’s degree in anything for management Training and they will train you from the bottom up to lead and fill the roles in the company.
Practical Ways to Vet Business Programs
Here are a few of my favorite hacks for finding the right business college so you actually know you are sowing your money on an investment in what you will actually enjoy and succeeds in.
Print out the course descriptions from every school you’re considering in the same fonts.
Write a code on the back of each class.
Cut them into individual classes. Don’t look at which school they’re from.
Mic them up and spread them out and pick the ones that are actually interesting.
Flip them over. See which college shows up the most.
Not highlighting many classes? Try a niche business major or something anew altogether.
You’ll quickly learn most business schools are nearly identical, unless you find a niche program with specific industry alignment.
Also:
Check the professor bios. Are they publishing? Speaking at national conferences? Still working in the field?
Look for adjuncts or evening instructors who work full-time in industry. They tend to bring real-world knowledge into the classroom.
Check if classes are taught using case studies or real-time data. Not 20-year-old theories.
Look at the location. If your kid wants to work in sports, don’t send them to a school in a town without a team. If they love Disney schools near Anaheim and Orlando just make sense. Proximity matters when it comes to internships, part-time jobs, and networking.
Final Thoughts for Parents, Teachers, and Counselors
The goal isn’t to “get in somewhere good.” It’s to launch from somewhere right.
The “best business school” is the one that teaches your kid what they want to learn, introduces them to the right people, and opens doors in the right industries.
Bragging rights are short-term; alignment lasts a lifetime.
So please stop obsessing over rankings. Start asking what the best use if $120k (give or take can buy). Then help them reverse engineer the right college or alternative pathway.
Another day I will compare some top ranked programs to some state schools vs services offered by the SBA and we can do a blind read to see if we can tell which is which.
Very helpful. Thank you, Jamie!