NYU Stern worth it for undergrad?

Hey everyone! I feel like this is an appropriate place to ask my question. I got off the waitlist for NYU stern, but they gave no aid, leaving my family and I to pay 80k a year. Is it still worth it? It is between stern and Rutgers (15k).

18 Comments
 
Most Helpful

This is very relative question. Is a $50,000 car "worth it" when a $20,000 one would suffice? The answer would vary given the purchaser's resources, just as the value of Stern changes with your family's resources.

I see many posts similar to this and people don't normally point this out, but I think it's an important question. The answer depends on what your future career is intended to be, what kind of connections do you currently have (if any), how likely do you believe it is that you will beat out the other 3,000 students at Stern who compete for banking jobs, etc. Also, what other options do you have relative to Stern?

Without knowing more about you, I would say that if you need more than 30k in debt to graduate from Stern- do NOT go there, otherwise it may be worth it if your family can afford the full cost of tuition (and I mean truly afford, not taking out debt themselves or leveraging their home for an education).

 

I plan on going into the finance field, but I’m not dead set on it. My family keeps saying that they’ll take out loans, especially for the first year because of covid. I still can’t see the return though, especially dishing out 320k for undergrad. do you think the same outcomes as a stern undergrad can be achieved by a Rutgers undergrad who goes into an elite mba program?

 

It depends on the situation that you are considering with the options available to you. Assuming $240,000+ at NYU and $120,000+ option in front of you, you should think about networking. This might take 5-10 years to pay off but it is the opportunity risk you are willing to take. You need to evaluate what and how much risk concerning how much uncertainty you are willing to lose. Do you want to go into debt for the higher degree or stay with a lower degree. It's a personal choice. I was $250,000+ in debt and I paid it off in 8-10 years.

"It's okay, I'll see you on the other side"
 

where did you go for undergrad? what exactly do you do in finance that you paid off your debt? I’m just curious so I can evaluate my own situation. thanks for the lengthy response.

 

I went to Harvard and decided to do financial planning at 22 after graduating and after three years, I went to REPE at 25. Investment banking was my dream but it didn't work out and went back to work and live in NYC.

P.S I realized Investment Banking is just Advanced Accounting Financial Modeling with Income Statement, Balance Sheet, Statement of Stockholder's Equity and Statement of Cash Flows along with Powerpoint Pitchbooks.

"It's okay, I'll see you on the other side"
 

That’s amazing! Thanks again for the insight, definitely still have to weigh the pros and cons of each choice. Also do you plan to attend grad school ( If you haven’t already)?

 

My family says that transferring to a better target school is highly unlikely. I also believe that transferring makes the most sense, but I hear it is highly unlikely to get in target schools as an external transfer. Thoughts? Thanks for the insight.

 
"Intern in Other"

someone’s getting jealous they failed in life lol. Stern didn’t want your dumbass I guess.

Why would someone be jealous they failed in life? What does that even mean? And what does Stern have anything to do with this? He's telling you to stop spamming forums. And you're the OP, why did you go anonymous? So many questions.

 

Voluptatum earum rem nulla harum dolor perferendis. Modi quos rerum voluptate magnam tempore odio. Aperiam assumenda aliquam architecto deleniti qui fugit aut. Nemo ea ullam cum est voluptates ad debitis. Sint sit ipsum qui. Sit et unde est harum dolore iste fugit.

Facere neque sint est dolorem sit. Qui consequatur explicabo et a veritatis. Asperiores ut minima rerum et cumque distinctio. Nemo accusantium ut eum laborum culpa voluptas laudantium numquam.

In dolor ut quia quidem quibusdam. Ad incidunt corporis id natus quisquam necessitatibus. Commodi voluptas sed harum voluptates illum. Est voluptas ea animi omnis laborum. Reprehenderit delectus nemo ratione voluptatum laudantium ut esse voluptates. Rerum odit et et voluptatem nam rerum sit. Dolor vel eum veritatis veniam maxime provident.

Dolorum pariatur labore ut et quo similique. Eos cupiditate necessitatibus similique est unde. At laudantium aut ut voluptatibus. Modi nihil sunt consequuntur ut aperiam sint. Numquam in quibusdam temporibus ducimus.

Career Advancement Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Guggenheim Partners 02 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 99.0%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (57) $264
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (29) $183
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (77) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”