Worth the Money
I have decisions to make for undergrad and need your help. I want to be a future investment banker. My parents salaries are at the border line for financial aid and I won't get any, plus I have two sisters who are also currently in college. That being said, my parents are willing to pay around 30k and being in state for Illinois the only school around that is UIUC. Should I convince my parents to let me go to Michigan, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, Duke, UNC, UT Texas, or even Indiana over UIUC? Most of those schools are 50,000-62,000 a year compared to UIUC being around 30,000. I would be willing to take out loans, if going to those "target schools" listed above helped me get a job right away. I still have senior year of high school to decide, but this has been on my mind. Thanks for any suggestions and help.
PS. Do many of these schools have honors programs I should try to get into? And don't hesitate to add any other schools that I should apply to and schools I should take out from my list.
My subjective answer is that assuming you are going to major in something that will make you employable, you should always take on debt, when necessary, to get into the best school you can. I read an interesting study the other day that said if you aren't rich by 35 there is a high probability that you will never be rich. While wealth creation shouldn't be the sole driver of your career decision making process it should be acknowledged that your first job will, in many cases, significantly impact your future career prospects. Best way to get a solid first job is obviously to graduate from a top program with a valuable skill set/major and solid GPA.
Plenty of contradictions to the above but generally speaking I think it holds true.
I agree with @"junkbondswap".
For undergrad, you want to go to the best school you can, even if it means taking on debt. And especially if they are target schools - as the debt you take on will be paid back in terms of the greater job opportunities available (summer internships and full-time recruiting in your senior year).
If for some reason you elect for the less expensive non-target school (personal reasons such as needing to be closer to family due to circumstances, being a caretaker, etc) then you will really help your job prospects for banking or anything else by majoring in something that will give you hard skills: business (economics is okay, but you're better off with an undergrad business program majoring in finance, accounting, marketing, operations, etc), engineering, computer science, or healthcare (not just life sciences, but programs such as physio & occu. therapy, nursing, etc).
I used to be one of those folks who believed in the "study what you're passionate about or intellectually curious about" - but that was back in the 1990s and earlier when the job market and demographics were very different. Right now, unfortunately I think you have to look at college majors and choice of college from an even more practical perspective (and you should still pursue what interests you intellectually, but it may be outside of school and not something you get a degree in).
Do you consider the schools I listed to be sufficient enough to get a job afterwards? And do these schools have programs that you must be in to get a job after. For example, to be an IB you have to be accepted into the IB Workshop at Indiana or you have no chance at landing a job.
I agree with both the other posters, but honestly as a high school senior I find it hard to believe you're so dead set on IB. You have some time to get to college to figure out the best career path, and so I'd advise you not to make any firm decisions until you get some more information. I could be wrong, but I doubt you've talked to many recruiters, former interns, or alumni at any banks yet (I'm assuming most of what you know is that it pays $$).
in IL there are only 2 choices if you were to take on debt - U of C and Northwestern. Depaul is unknown outside of IL, UIC is a joke.
U of Chicago would kill me because of the lack of social life. Need a big school where kids are not studying energy day. That being said, those geniuses going to U Chicago will probably be my bosses.
I'm at northwestern for mba, it's awesome, highly recommend you take the debt and come here.
While there are many factors to consider in "top MBA with debt vs ok MBA without" debate, I do think people should go to best school possible without concerning about debt. Several reasons:
Ea neque eligendi consequatur asperiores est odit. Aut qui perspiciatis adipisci natus deserunt sit.
Beatae alias sunt perspiciatis officia quidem labore sit. Iste suscipit quia expedita et ducimus accusamus et. Voluptas quis dolorem sunt enim ut veritatis nostrum. Iste atque sequi est aspernatur vel occaecati.
Et temporibus enim accusantium. Impedit hic nam voluptate quia expedita aut pariatur sint. Cupiditate ea corporis vel reprehenderit dignissimos. Consequatur aut tempore excepturi sint odit.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...