Undergrad college price affordability/value

Can't find any other relevant forums so I'm just gonna post here since it's the most popular.


I'm a current high school senior and was looking at Columbia as one of my top choices. I'd like to work in the finance industry, though I don't know what exactly (I'm leaning towards banking, equity research, and trading as my top fields). My issue is the high price tag: as an upper middle class family, we'd really have to pull hard to pay the tuition given the financial aid dead zone we're in. Parents are willing to pay the tuition but it's not gonna be easy. Otherwise, I'd go to my local state university and probably do computer science and economics, hopefully gonna try to break into quant or crypto through there (SWE is the backup option). So my question is: Is Columbia worth the price tag?


Disclaimer: My state school is not a tier one (Umich, UVA, UNC, Berkeley, etc.) , but a tier two state school (Think UW Madison,UWash, UFl, Ohio State)

 

Go to the top Ivy League, it’s worth it. You get 1 chance to go to college and having a top undergrad often gives you credibility far past your first job 

 

don't listen to this guy. I go to a peer school to Columbia. The age of prestigious schools is 100% dead. I went to an elite HS and our val went to like UVA when a bunch of test optional bozos went to HYP (some not even with legacy/poc). In the past top institutions carried serious weight, but the admissions process is so obfuscated today that talent is so far distributed. High finance is more non-target than ever. Know kids a year older at random LACs or state schools who are getting great offers. I really feel like the prestige-whoring advice given on this forum should be reconsidered.

 

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