150k in loans for Columbia undergrad?
So I have wealthy parents and they will cover everything up to 150k. However, our income makes financial aid impossible. They are willing to loan me 150k (while also paying the remaining outright) at a 0% "loan" that I will pay back to them. Is this worth it for Columbia? I'm interested in either finance or tech and will most likely be majoring in CS or data science.
Thanks!
Yeah go to Columbia - it's a great school.
I'm taking about $150k in real loans for Columbia, totally worth it assuming you work hard.
I also have full tuiton at Vanderbilt. Should I take that instead? I'd probably end up with ~100k in my pocket plus full costs paid at Vandy with my parents help
Do you know what school culture you're looking for? A lot of people transfer out of Vandy because they really dislike the southern, frat-centered nature of the school. Columbia has frats but they're a much smaller part of the campus community, Columbia is also far more rigorous academically if you're looking to get something of a challenge out of college. Recruiting will be superior at Columbia of course but Vandy is plenty good enough to get job offers if you work hard. You're rich and plan to work in finance, money shouldn't factor much into this decision. I'd try to figure out where you'd be happier.
Full tuition at vanderbilt. I would end up with ~100k in pocket due to the money my parents would give me from my college fund.
tbh if you are at the top of your class at Vanderbilt you can 100% land BB IB/AM/S&T & Consulting. May be a tad bit harder than Columbia but it is totally doable. Depends on how much you care about the ivy name, but outside of a select few firms, if you are towards the top of your class at Vandy, many many doors will be open for you.
Of course Columbia would be amazing brand name and "high finance" or tech careers might make up the cost, but if you end up either not getting those type of positions or decide to do anything else, you'd be pretty far back financially. Guessing if you heard already it was early decision?
No regular is out for many schools. Have a few hs senior friends in the cycle.
Personally I would go to Vandy- rush a fraternity, party, and meet a bunch of hot girls (while maintaining a 3.8+ and being involved in ECs). I went to a different southern school, but it will give you friends and a network that will end up all over the South with some going to nyc. I guess it depends what you want your undergrad experience to be like. Getting into banking/consulting is 100% doable from Vandy but obviously easier from Columbia. If you're GS/MS or bust- go to Columbia. If you'd be fine ending up at like CS or equivalent knowing that you got to party and had way more fun than you would've had at Columbia, then go Vandy. Of course this assumes you find these things fun, I guess if your version of fun is more artsy or something Columbia would be a better choice.
Also- if I read correctly your parents would give you the money not spent on uni? 100K would give you a huge head start in life...
duke?
You might be right, I personally would probably have a lot more fun in greek life rather than going to the MET or something lmao. I'm definitely leaning towards Vanderbilt right now, but I still have more college decisions coming. Hopefully Wharton or Princeton or something makes the decision for me
Take Vandy’s full ride and lend me the 100k at 1% bi-annual interest so I can transfer to NYU... they gave me 5 grand fin aid when I needed 45😭😭 lemme go to Stern...
$40K isn’t that much to seek out to go to Stern. You got this.
He probably means per year. $160K is a lot.
Good advice here from the others...it really depends on the tradeoff you are looking for, so there's no one right answer.
Vandy no doubt. You can spend the rest of your career in Manhattan, might want to experience somewhere different for 4 years. (And Nashville is an amazing city btw.)
Columbia
The loans you take out will seem like nothing several years out in a high finance or high tech job post-Columbia. Columbia will give you better recruitment options. The first job you get out of college determines your entire career.
Best of luck!
Columbia > Vandy
If I were in your shoes, I'd take Columbia over Vandy any day. I decided to go to a cheaper state school compared to where I could have gone, and while I still can still get to where I want to be, it's more of a grind. I guess there is no right or wrong answer here, but one school is Columbia and the other is not.
Do you value the extra time spent networking at $200K tho
Well a loan from the parents at low or no interest is different than a normal 200k of college debt. So with that in mind, yeah I would value it at 200k.
Also just going to an Ivy has enormous brand value for the rest of your life. I know a partner at a large law firm that told me he got promoted ahead of some of his peers partly because he went to an Ivy and the other guys went to excellent state schools. I personally would value an Ivy League degree as equal to mid-high six figures if you're ambitious.
I cannot believe the number of people saying to take Columbia in this situation over Vandy. Columbia is nowhere near $100K+ better than Vandy. I would go to Vanderbilt over Harvard at that differential. If you go to Vanderbilt and get halfway decent grades and an internship prior to recruiting for an SA position, you will be just fine. Columbia would be worth $10K more, but certainly not $100K more. If you can't land an IB job from Vanderbilt, you are the problem, not the school. Hell, if my options were Columbia with a $100K premium vs Tennessee, I'd probably still lean the latter.
I think you hit the nail on the head here. If you go to Vandy, you will be just fine, but who wants to be 'just fine'?
Ivy League + NYC is where its at. Definitely more than 'just fine'.
Columbia is a great school, no doubt. But Vanderbilt is also top 20. $100K+ is a lot of money, and OP may or may not end up pursuing IB or CS jobs. It's great that the $150K loan he'd take from his parents is interest free, but the compounding effect of having $100K+ invested at 22 over 4-5 decades is massive (by the time he's 70 that could be worth $700K+ in today's dollars/real terms - ~$3MM+ in nominal terms), so it's not like there is really no cost. It also gives him optionality to pursue a lower paid career if he develops a passions for something else while at school.
I'm saying that whether or not he works at a top bank is not dependent on whether he goes to Columbia or Vanderbilt. We are not talking about some shit state school as the alternative to Columbia. If he puts even the tiniest amount of effort when attending Vandy, he will end up with the same opportunities in IB right out of school - and probably even more so if he pursues CS.
While I agree nyc is sick, I don't think he'd be enjoying nyc very much with 100k debt floating over his head while at school.
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