Hii yet another annoying hs senior :) Think Williams/Amherst, I'd have somewhere between 50k-150k student loan debt, is that an unreasonable amount? My other options are William & Mary or Penn State, which would be much more affordable but I really don't like them as much. I got waitlisted at penn non-Wharton but they take like 3% off WL so I don't think that's happening. Thanks in advance
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I think its pretty hands down LAC unless you hate small schools. in that case you could prob take W&M, crush it and just transfer to a proper target
Honestly I fw the small school.. but you don't think the debt is excessive? My parents aren't american and wary of loans in general lol
Targetish? Lol Williams and Amherst are 2 of the best schools in the country and if you get in, you go
Amherst / Williams are target-caliber schools and you would have a much, much easier time breaking into IB from those two schools than W&M or Penn State. You probably see more W&M / Penn State grads on Wall Street because of sheer numbers, but I think a higher portion of Williams / Amherst students who are interested in IB are successful at breaking in. Most Amherst / Williams grads are not interested in finance and will go down a law / premed / grad school path. Bonus points for IB chances if you play a varsity sport or rugby/crew at these schools.
Amherst / Williams / other top peer LACs also have fantastic aid programs and sometimes are grant only (no loans). You might be pleasantly surprised at the response if you just ask for more aid and cite the better W&M / Penn State costs - they accept only a small number of students and really want them to attend.
As an aside, Amherst / Williams are significantly stronger academically - you will be better off at Amherst / Williams than the other schools if you decide to not do IB.
Source: I went to a peer LAC and turned down W&M and large state schools without thinking twice about it. Can PM if you want to be more specific
This is along the lines of what I've been thinking, I honestly love the LAC and I'd go there in a heartbeat even disregarding IB prospects. I'm just kind of hung up on the loans, I was raised very anti-debt. I tried appealing and they gave me nothing but I don't think I could forgive myself letting an opportunity like this go. Thank you, it's reassuring to hear :)
If you haven't, I would explicitly tell them you are considering another school for cost reasons and show them the aid you would be getting. Doesn't hurt to ask twice, you're already in. More drastically, you could try to defer a year, work, and shave maybe 50-60k off of that number depending on what you do. You will show up more mature than a lot of your classmates, which is a big plus. You also could bluff doing that and see what they say.
In any case, try to get library desk jobs on campus during the evenings - they will pay you to do your homework.
Sounds like you know what you want, just a matter of making it happen. Best wishes.
You mentioned a target-ish LAC like Williams/Amherst.
If it's actually Williams College, that would be the choice without hesitation. Not only the # 1 LAC, but Williams College tends to be a uniquely special case, for a few reasons. Also, historically, it's been a feeder school to Harvard. You will find plenty in finance/banking from Williams College.
However, it's a bit in the middle of nowhere, and you have to be ok with the small school/small town feel..
Nowadays, student loans of $150k wouldn't be all that bad, compared to many others.
If it's not Williams College, then my answer might vary a bit, depending on which LAC. If you like a small school feel, it could be a good option.
Also remember, you can also transfer to a different school (if desired), but just make sure you watch all the relevant tranfer deadlines and banking timelines.
Good luck.
Is Amherst significantly worse than Williams for IB?
No. They’re the same.
100k will be practically negligible in the long run - Amherst and Williams are incredible schools in and of themselves as well as great for IB recruiting. Not a student there, just from observation and having friends at Williams.
Williams enrollment is 2,000 and Penn State is 40,000.... Penn State recruiting is fine enough so if it came down to only recruiting differences I'd say go there, but the student experience is VERY different and it sounds like you would much prefer the small school. Go to the school you will be happy and thrive at.
If it's Williams / Amherst I would go back and ask for more aid, but otherwise take it. If it's "comparable but not those schools" you should post the actual name, not all LACs are equal for finance recruiting
I'd also honestly visit the campuses... WIlliams and Amherst are actually quite different from each other (Williams is in a very, very small town while Amherst is in an actual city, altho on the small side - Williamstown is literally just Williams. W&M is in the middle of nowhere and about 3x bigger than the LACs and Penn State is obviously Penn State.
I went to school in Worcester nearby so know both Williams and Amherst areas well. If I had the choices you had, I'd pick Williams / Amherst 100%.
You said your parents aren’t American, are you an international student?
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