Bama Engineering Degree
Hey! I was accepted into some top private school but cannot afford them and financial aid won’t budge. My best option is Bama since I got the Presidential, Competitive Applicant, and Engineering Scholarships. I plan to major in an engineering discipline and minor in finance. I’m in the honors college and might even do a STEM to MBA program which would let me get an MBA and undergrad degree in 4 years. Is it impossible to make my way into IB from Bama…? I’m a hard worker and have a 3.97/4 GPA, 32 ACT, and have interned at a local university, won many regional science awards, and have over 600 community hours because I’m really involved.
I want to work in the tech sectors IB and I think I have a compelling story: financial hardship, which made me go to Bama and I want to work in finance (specifically in the tech sector) because I was born with a birth defect and wouldn’t have survived without someone investing in the biomedical company that researched my defect.
I’m also taking to classes at the London School of Economics this summer before I enter as a freshman.
So…Do I have a chance to make it in NYC?
Not sure if this is at all relevant but I’m a woman, so I might have a bit of better chances especially considering I’m a female going into engineering and finance.
I don’t particularly think bama is a great idea.
If you can get into an Ivy League it might be worth the loans
If not then you should focus on getting a top tier grad school paid for
Is an engineering degree really not valued just because it’s from Bama? I totally get what you’re saying there but that’s kinda crazy lol because engineering is a great degree but totally a GPA risk. I applied as engineering because I thought it would be a good fall back if I can’t break into IB from Bama because an engineering degree can take you very far. You really think I should just drop the engineering major/finance minor and go full finance/econ? I know someone in the UAIBA program who’s a ChemE major/finance minor.
Bullshit. Bama has great engineering. The catch is it will drop ur gpa and not rlly be worth it if ur trying to do FINANCE
Do not do STEM to MBA. Won't help you and I would echo majoring in finance from the other comments. Worst case scenario you do an actual top MBA once you get some work experience.
Should I seriously not do an MBA? I have friends in the program and they say the MBA programs are really easy and not a drag or a lot of work. I know you can only get one MBA but I could at least take the classes to look good as an engineering major? Would get an MBA and BS in 4 years
MBAs with work experience are useless and Bama's MBA isn't regarded as anything special. You want to use your MBA as a redo after some work experience especially if you don't land banking out of undergrad.
I would probably say it depends on your connections as of now. I actually went to a southern school for engineering and now work in NYC (quant not traditional finance). A lot of the people I know who went to southern schools and now are in NYC (very few and they were like GT, NC State, Emory...) already had connections to utilize for internships/FT (from up north and had MDs for parents).
I liked my route, but TBF I thought I was going to be doing Automotive Engineering somewhere in the south. If I had to do it all over again, I would pick somewhere that is more competitive. Bama doesn't have a great academic reputation, I would probably make it easier on yourself and go elsewhere. I'm sure it is possible to break into IB from Bama, but the odds are low.
Why wouldn't you apply for like a Michigan/UIUC or something?
I applied to those schools but they didn’t give enough financial aid and merit so it’s still expensive as an out of state student. My family has decent connections: my mom is a consultant but for an engineering and environmental group and does business in London, NY, Chicago and my uncle worked for JPM for 9 years then MLynch, now an independent firm. Friends dad also has works for JPM for 11 years. Also def a bunch of other connections because of my Mom’s job and friends. Here’s the breakdown of my applications:
Accepted: Michigan (no money given-80k/yr), Boston University (no money given-90k/yr), Maryland (Presidential Scholarship but would have to pay 45k a year still), Bama (full ride), Ole Miss (full ride), LSU (full ride), Tulane (20k but would still have to pay 75/yr unless I save 20k more by living at home), UCSD (no money given-80k/yr), Georgia (no money given-50k/yr)
I didn’t apply to any Ivy because they give no merit money and I don’t qualify for any financial aid.
I originally didn’t plan to go the finance route so I applied to schools for engineering.
Is there a better school on the list I should consider?
My brothers both do engineering at Bama and I have sorority connections so I see it as a decent and cheap fit. I do really like Tulane but that’s a giant risk because I’d probably have to take on debt because my college account doesn’t have enough to pay for it. With the current market, taking a risk on Tulane might now be the best decision.
I also get to keep my entire college account after college (minus 10% since it’s a 529 Plan) so if I went to Bama I’d graduate with almost 200k in my pocket, but if I went elsewhere I won’t have much left.
What do you think?
You have $200k to put towards a degree? Why don’t you go to the best school you can for what you want to do then. That is what the money is for and you won’t have that much in loans.
would your parents be willing to contribute more if you went to michigan?
i would say michigan is worth the price if you want to do IB/consulting/high finance. the next value options would be tulane, maryland, and boston university. bama, ole miss, and lsu full ride is certainly very impressive and im sure you're very capable but at the end of the day, IB is a networking game.
lastly, i know you said that you're a woman so you can utilize dei programs but a) dont count on it and b) most dei programs also have students from targets and semi-targets.
i'd also consider the overall experience as a woman in engineering at bama. it won't be easy to socialize within your classes. i don't think you'll find many female classmates targeting IB at bama either, and even the guys going for IB will be like an old school boys club. nothing bad, but do consider how many interests you'll have in common.
wait wait wait, you have 200k in a college account?
First of all, I know 200k seems like a ton (it is a good chunk of money), but you need to think longer term here. It is worth spending some money now to get in a better position to make more later.
I was being nice because I thought you didn't have 200k burning a hole in your pocket, but let's be honest here - Bama is an academically shit school. You will definitely enjoy yourself (I did too, southern schools are fun), but you will NOT be competitive outside of traditional Bama careers and companies. If your intention is to get into competitive fields: banking, law, medicine, computer science, ...., Bama will hurt your resume.
It is important to consider the money, but do yourself a favor and remove money for a second. What would your list of schools be in order? Where does Bama rank in that list?
I can't wrap my head around this tuition, Michigan is 80k a year??? Also think about from the institution side, why are they giving you money? Bama could be giving you a full ride because you are a caliber of candidate they usually don't see. Do you want to save money or challenge yourself? (this isn't a rhetorical question, honestly, everyone has different plans for their career).
The question you should ask is if the frat / buddy / old boys culture supporting Alabama recruiting path will be supportive of you for you to be one of 10 or so to break in.
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