NYU $$$ vs UW-Madison $
I'm currently a sophomore in community college in Wisconsin and just finished my last semester there and will be transferring in the Spring and I am trying to decide which school to go to for the rest of my 2.5 years, either UW-Madison or NYU. I have to decide ASAP and am very stuck on what to do. Neither school accepts spring admission for the school of business which makes it even harder, if it was stern I would instantly go. I currently have a 3.93 GPA and UW-Madison admission to the b school is hard but I'm fairly confident I could get in but Stern seems extremely hard and seems like I would be stuck with Econ major. The big problem is the cost because I get no aid, scholarships, or help from parents. UW-Madison costs $75k for the rest of my education and NYU would cost $220k. Madison I could virtually leave without debt vs NYU I would have massive amounts and the interest would rack on an extra $30k at least. I want to go into IB most likely S&T but maybe M&A and most likely in NYC. I know NYU would set me up perfectly for that but I just can't see how it would be worth that much money, it just seems insane. I know it's possible to get there from UW too, but much harder and I'm already at a disadvantage because of CC.
I'm just really hoping to get some advice on this, I really don't know what to do and have basically no time left to decide. My gut is saying Madison but I'm not sure. Some key notes are I've lived in Madison my whole life and kinda want to get out however I would have a much better social life and party scene at Madison. I also just don't know if being in that much debt for that long is worth a likely Econ degree from NYU. I know it has tons of opportunities but I really fear that I go there and I don't end up placing because I'm so far behind on recruiting, experience, and networking because of CC and end up with a ton of debt and not that great job when I could have done the same at UW for 1/3 the price. I think a good plan from Madison if I don't place would be work the best job I could for 2-3 years after graduation then NYU or better MBA and then go into IB or even something else in finance. However I would work my ass off either way to place.
Any advice would be very much appreciated.
It's tough because neither schools accept spring admission, which means you wouldn't be able to start recruiting until Fall 2024, which is really late for SA2025. I'd leverage your gpa to try and get into a school on the east coast by this upcoming spring semester which is prob going to be tough. if your already a soph, your in a tough spot for IB 2025 SA.
Yea honestly I've lost a lot of hope so I'm not really sure what to do anymore that's why it just seems like Madison is the right option, still a good school and not expensive. It makes me wonder if I should just go to NYU to hope I can still get something but it seems like to big of a risk. I also was accepted into ASU straight into b school but not really considering it because its ASU, but more notably I was accepted into Claremont McKenna College. I originally wasn't considering it because 1 its a liberal arts schools and I couldn't study finance 2 it's tiny and 3 because it doesn't seem to have much respect on the east coast and I'm not sure I want to work on the west coast. But I will consider it more if I get good aid.
For east coast schools I was accepted into Fordham straight into the business school at rose hill but they required me to finish in 3 years not 2.5 and I got $3.5k scholarship per year there so it really made no sense to choose that over NYU or even Madison.
Fordham allows you to delay graduation, which gives you the opportunity to recruit for SA 2026. Good option, but fordham is just as expensive as nyu.
if you could delay graduation a semester and recruit next cycle i would say do that and go to nyu just because 1. you could get into stern in the fall, which helps your odds a ton 2. you’d have a semester (presumably fall 2025 after you’ve gotten your offer) to work, network, and take a chunk out of that debt 3. you’d have more time to prep, network, get into good clubs, be involved on campus, etc. and guarantee a good offer that’d let you pay off that debt within 5 years of graduation
See I was thinking about doing this but at UW because an extra semester at NYU would cost me $40k. It also just doesn't seem that likely I get into Stern so I would be doing all that extra for an Econ degree. I don't know how hard stern internal transfer is but obviously it's quite hard and I wouldn't have that appealing of an application since I would only be there for not even a full semester so I couldn't have much involvement and all my classes they would look at would be from CC or midterms at NYU. Idk I'm just really nervous I go there and spend all that money to not place because I'm behind because of CC and then be fucked by debt.
well you wouldn’t do the extra sem at nyu you’d take a gap semester and get some IB/PE experience at a boutique and ideally put all your savings toward paying off that debt. Also, i think you’d have a good shot at getting into stern if you really killed it that first semester and have a good story (ie not just better shot at IB), which is totally doable because it’s not like you got rejected and are reapplying. Regardless, you can explain why you’re not in stern, and people will understand it’s because you were a transfer from CC — you’d still be held to high technical standards in interviews bc it’s nyu though. Finance is unique in that it cares abt prestige and also allows you to actually pay off the debt. I would reach out to the financial aid dept and see if they can give u a better package. there’s usually some wiggle room
Wait did you get accepted or are you just thinking of applying?
If the latter, consider some cheaper but similar tier schools if cost is a large consideration.
Yea I was accepted to both NYU and UW-Madison but couldn't apply to either business school. I also was accepted to ASU, FIU, SMU, TCU, IU (not Kelly same scenario as UW&NYU), Fordham, and CMC is anyone has thoughts on those. But pretty much set between NYU or UW because they are the 2 best academic options.
If you can afford it, I would take Claremont McKenna college. Most prestigious college on the list and likely places well on the west coast. You might have to delay recruitment.
coming from community college? Columbia General Studies my man, gonna be a big leg up on these options
What is the general studies program? Is that their arts and science program at most places?
I graduated UW 2021.
Do you know how much fucking money it costs to have a decent standard of living in manhattan? You aren’t just paying for tuition bub, you’re paying for rent/food/entertainment.. you go to UW so you probably like drinking.. there’s no Mondays serving up quad rails for 5$.
It’s really not hard to spend 120-130k of pretax money annually.. and you will still feel poor. NYU is ridiculous and living in the city is ridiculous if you don’t have income. Most kids at NYU or Columbia have tuition/housing paid for and their parents credit card for expenses.
You are going to graduate with 450k of debt that’s literally a mortgage, and you will be banking on getting an IB job. Seems pretty stupid. it’s NYU it’s not Harvard. Just work harder at the mid school we both graduated from.
Transplants talking about NYC COL is always a fun time lmao.
Families live here on less than 100k. Budget better.
Are you really going to call your own school mid? I get that for finance UW sucks, and it's embarrassing for the institution but I honestly believe it's because the business is small and underfunded. Other aspects of UW are far from mediocre; they rank among the top 10 for R and D expenditures and all the subjects in the College of Letters and Science are highly ranked. The economics department especially is one of the best and even bests Michigan is most regards (search in on Economics job market rumors for proof).
Between the two, I would pick UW Madison given the large cost difference. And I don’t believe NYU had an advantage over UW outside of IB. The risk/reward is simply not there. Additionally, the room and board cost of living in Manhattan need ti be factored in as well. The additional debt will eat you alive with no guarantee of payout. If you can get into Columbia as the above post said, then that would be a different conversation.
Yeah stay at UW. Not every school is going to be a great fit, everyone is different regarding their goals and should adjust accordingly depending on the circumstances.
You could compare UW Madison to far better schools like Dartmouth, Brown, Vandy, Cornell, WashU etc and come to a similar conclusion if you’re set on doing IB
NYU has a great business program but the school doesn’t offer much financial aid, so you tend to end up with kids who are either upper middle class who can afford the tuition after decades of saving, rich int’l students, and people who get a full ride through either financial aid or a full merit scholarship (20% or less of applicants receive this).
Finance has arguably the most elitist culture across any industry. Your educational pedigree is something that will follow you for your entire career. It's one of primary things people will see/remember from your resume. I know the extra $145k might seem like a shit ton of money now, but a prestigious brand will pay dividends throughout your life. Can you land a great offer from UW Madison? Absolutely. But a Stern degree will likely open up more doors.
Disclaimer - I didn't go to Stern, I'd give the same advice to anyone who's debating between a $ non-target vs. a $$$ target. Just my two cents.
This is unfortunate but very very true
if you can’t make your education elite at least make it distinctive or interesting e.g. a specialized engineer from state school
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