Is NYU Stern Undergrad Worth the Price Tag?

TLDR: Is it worth going into $350k+ of debt for almost guaranteed six figures straight outta college?

Stern is known for its great IB placement and I feel like if I get recruited straight outta college into an IB salary then the debt is justified (since its going to be paid off in just a few years from the money i'll be making in IB?) Is there some variable I'm failing to consider here? Maybe the interest on the debt will fuck me? Idk. I'm young so I don't wanna make any rash decision too soon, but I'm still waiting on my decision from them, pretty sure I'll get in. 

15 Comments
 

Next best thing is Uni of Warwick and Uni of Bath in the UK. Both are more or less half the price of NYU, and in the UK/EU region. I'm actually not opposed at all to working there (in fact even prefer it), but I know NYU's opportunities are insane. Idk.

 

next best options after Stern? also consider: interest like you mentioned, cost of living in NYC, how much money will you actually have to pay down debt after living expenses and after taxes once you graduate?

 

Stern is mostly rich kids or insanely cracked kids with full rides. That much debt is 100% not worth it if you only want to go there to get into IB. There are spots for non-targets at the majority of top IB and even MFPE programs nowadays

 

Which are more difficult to attain because you aren’t just competing with students at your school; it’s about standing out amongst them, as well as every other salivating nontarget, and getting lucky. As someone who financed his education with debt, my unequivocal vote is for Stern. If you place well, that debt will be a rounding error in the context of a forty-year career. 

 

I am a non-target that’s going to an EB and it is not that difficult if you are someone that was smart / hardworking enough to get into Stern. An average non-target kid is a moron lmao not too hard to stand out against them. 

 

For every one of you, there are hundreds of equally smart, talented, hardworking non targets who are moving back in with their parents because they haven’t landed an internship. Congratulations on winning the lottery: if you are at all interested in buyside recruiting, good luck, because they weigh undergraduate names more heavily (unfair, I agree - delegating who gets what job to gender studies majors with C averages in admissions, but I digress). Just don’t make it look like what you have commendably achieved is particularly easy.

 

Yeah I don’t buy that. Don’t think you met too many of them. 95% of the “finance bros” in my school are absolute retards and this checks out with my friends from other non-targets.

Every year maybe there are only 5-6 ppl at my school that you can even consider are serious people (coffee chatting months in advance, grinding technicals since freshmen year, etc..) and they usually at least get into an MM

 
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I transferred from a firmly non-target state school to a top “prestigious” target. I knew many people (friends of mine) trying to place into banking from where I started: most went to Big4, local Wealth Management, or moved back in with their parents. The few who did land in banking snagged Raymond James or the like. The best of the best at non targets just can’t compete with the resources available to develop yourself as a candidate at top schools, and having a better name makes it easier to get early internships to stack your resume before recruitment. Just my two cents, not claiming my experience is universal. I maintain, you will have a harder time with buyside recruitment.

 

Go to NYU. Keep your grades up and intern during the year. Put as much money as you can aside bearing in mind any family support you might have and accounting for living expenses. You could conceivably earn enough to cover a substantial part of that $350,000 during your undergraduate career, and will most definitely be able to wipe out the balance once you’re full time (year end bonuses, etc.). Once the debt’s gone, you’ll be left with a Stern degree and the placement it nets you; for buyside recruitment and MBA applications, that’s worth a lot.

 

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