Q. Can you suggest some colleges that would be good if I want to go into business?

A. I think I can think of a few colleges that don’t produce a lot of graduates that go into business, but I can’t think of many. I have visited some bible colleges that probably produce very few graduates that go into business. Maybe there are even some small music schools that don’t produce a lot of business-bound graduates. Otherwise, students go into business from almost all colleges.

I would guess that Babson College in Massachusetts might produce the highest percentage of students who go into business. St. John’s College in Maryland and New Mexico is as “liberal arts” as they come, but I am certain that plenty of their graduates go into business.

Bates, Bowdoin, and Colby offer an economics major, but not a business major, but most of their graduates go into business. College of the Atlantic, which is in many ways quite “liberal arts”, offers a Sustainable Business program. Unity College doesn’t offer a business major, nor does Maine College of Art, but with a degree in graphic design at MECA you are likely to be headed into . . . business. Almost all of the other colleges in Maine offer a business major and business courses.

So which ones would be best for you? You might have some ideas where you would like to live after college – where you would like to be working in business. A nearby college will often provide you with some valuable contacts. So, if you want to work in Bangor, the University of Maine at Orono or Husson or Beal or EMCC could all work well for you. If you would prefer Los Angeles, you might look at Whittier or Claremont McKenna or USC where you could learn how to, or how not to, manage a football program.

You don’t need to study business to go into business. In fact, a strong case can be made for studying something else. You may have a better shot at a job in a pharmaceutical company or an automotive company or an environmental consulting company if you know a lot about chemistry or automotive mechanics or environmental science. In any case, I encourage you to think about what you are good at and enjoy, because you will be more successful and happier in college and beyond if you are pursuing something you are good at and enjoy. If you are uncertain of this (you are not alone), I encourage you to spend some time reading about the content of courses that are offered at the colleges you are considering.

I haven’t answered your question. You can go to any college, even a Bible College, and become well prepared for business, but here are a few colleges that I like and Maine students often like that are especially well known for having strong business programs: Arizona State University, AZ; University of Arizona, AZ; Claremont McKenna College, CA; Pepperdine University, CA; Santa Clara University, CA; Stanford University, CA; University of California at Berkeley, CA; University of Southern California, CA; Whittier College, CA; University of Colorado, CO; University of Denver, CO; University of Northern Colorado, CO; Fairfield University, CT; Quinnipiac University, CT; American University, DC; George Washington University, DC; Georgetown University, DC; Florida Southern College, FL; University of Miami, FL; Lake Forest College, IL; University of Chicago, IL; Tulane University, LA; Assumption College, MA; Babson College, MA; Bentley College, MA; Boston College, MA; Boston University, MA; Curry College, MA; Emmanuel College, MA; Endicott College, MA; Gordon College, MA; Harvard University, MA; Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MA; Merrimack College, MA; Mount Ida College, MA; Newbury College, MA; Nichols College, MA; Northeastern University, MA; Springfield College, MA; Stonehill College, MA; Western New England College, MA; Worcester Polytechnic Institute, MA; Loyola College, MD; Andover College, ME; Beal College, ME; Central Maine Community College, ME; Eastern Maine Community College, ME; Husson College, ME; Kennebec Valley Community College, ME; Maine Maritime Academy, ME; Northern Maine Community College, ME; Saint Joseph's College, ME; Southern Maine Community College, ME; Thomas College, ME; University of Maine at Augusta, ME; University of Maine at Farmington, ME; University of Maine at Fort Kent, ME; University of Maine at Machias, ME; University of Maine at Presque Isle, ME; University of Maine, Orono, ME; University of New England, ME; University of Southern Maine, ME; Washington County Community College, ME; York County Community College, ME; Duke University, NC; Elon University, NC; Guilford College, NC; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC; Wake Forest University, NC; Dartmouth College, NH; Keene State College, NH; New England College, NH; Plymouth State University, NH; Saint Anselm College, NH; Southern New Hampshire University, NH; University of New Hampshire, NH; Acadia University, NS; Dalhousie University, NS; Saint Mary's University, NS; St. Francis Xavier University, NS; Clarkson University, NY; Columbia University, NY; Fordham University, NY; Hartwick College, NY; Hofstra University, NY; Manhattanville College, NY; Marist College, NY; New York University, NY; Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, NY; Rochester Institute of Technology, NY; Siena College, NY; Skidmore College, NY; Syracuse University, NY; The New School University, NY; Marietta College, OH; Miami University, OH; Ohio State University, OH; University of Western Ontario, ON; University of Oregon, OR; Bucknell University, PA; Lafayette College, PA; Lehigh University, PA; University of Pennsylvania, PA; Villanova University, ; McGill University, QC; Bryant University, RI; Johnson & Wales University, RI; Providence College, RI; Roger Williams University, RI; Clemson University, SC; College of Charleston, SC; Vanderbilt University, TN; Southern Methodist Univ., TX; University of Texas/Austin, TX; James Madison University, VA; Lynchburg College, VA; Roanoke College, VA; University of Mary Washington, VA; University of Richmond, VA; University of Virginia, VA; Castleton State College, VT; Champlain College, VT; Green Mountain College, VT; Norwich University, VT; Saint Michael's College, VT; University of Vermont, VT; University of Puget Sound, WA; University of Washington, WA; and the University of Wisconsin/Madison, WI.

Q. What should you wear for a campus tour and interview?
A. I have four answers.

1. Halfway in between what you want to wear and what your parents seem to be saying you should wear. Maybe that is because the admissions office staff is generally halfway between your age and your parents' ages. But, don't go anything beyond 50% of what your parents want!

2. You want to look as if you could fit on the campus and with the other students. True, college admissions offices are hungry for diversity, but they also want to make sure you will fit, and be liked and happy. So, if most of the students have green hair and earrings everywhere, you may want to leave your Rush Limbaugh t-shirt in the car. Let your dad wear his if he feels the need.

3. You want your clothes to go unnoticed. That doesn't mean see-through; it just means that the admissions people shouldn't even think about what you are wearing. That means that you don't want to look very uncomfortable and too dressed up. That also means that you don't want to look ragged. Don't try to make a statement with your clothes.

4. You want your clothes to be you. They may speak for who you are, but they should speak very quietly.

At most colleges, few boys wear ties to interviews these days. Some girls wear dresses. If you dress as you might if you wanted to look just a little dressed up for school tomorrow, that would probably be about right. Many students visiting colleges during the summer wear shorts. Ragged or wrinkled shorts don't work well. Some students wear t-shirts, but ragged and wrinkled t-shirts don't work well either. If you come from a simpler background, do not worry about trying to look wealthy. Simple and neat works very well. At most colleges, jeans are OK, but not ragged ones. A college education can be expensive; you don't need to go out and spend a lot of money on some jeans that look extra ragged.

You will probably ask why you can't just wear whatever you want. You can. But, some things may change for you over the next forty years. You may find that you have to adjust a bit; you may have to dress the style that your employer wants. At some point, you will realize that what you wear really isn't worth fussing about much. College interviews are a first step into the world beyond high school. After college, most people wear clothes to be warm, not to be cool.

Don't wear your iPod. And, as a college I recently visited advised, don't bring your cell phone into the interview. And don't answer it in the interview if you forget to leave it in the car. The student who did answer his cell phone in the interview didn't get accepted.