Help a HS Senior Pick a School for Undergrad

I’ve been accepted to a variety of schools but have narrowed it down to Northeastern, the University of Richmond, Rutgers, and Fordham. At NEU, I plan on majoring in International Business and Finance. At Richmond, I plan on majoring in Business Administration with a concentration in Business Analytics. At Fordham, I’ll be majoring in Applied Accounting and Finance. And at Rutgers, I'll be in the BAIT program (business analytics and information technology).

NEU will cost me 59k/year but has a great co-op program. Richmond will cost me 48k/year. Rutgers will be 33k/year. Fordham is 20k/year and I was selected to be in the Global Business Honors Program, a selective group of 20 business students who travel to various parts of the world. I'm not in honors programs at any other schools as of now.

I haven't heard back from UF and Bentley. UF would be free provided that I become a National Merit Finalist (I'll find out in a week). My top choice right now is Fordham, but I need some advice. Which one of these schools would be my best bet if I wanted to go into consulting? Is it worth saving money in undergrad to go to a better grad school in the future? I know these schools aren't targets, but I've heard that they have decent placement rates. Thanks!

 

I’d probably pick Fordham. Northeastern does have good internships. UF seems like a party school - it would be fun. Free is nice.

I think you should jump into one of these and possibly transfer to a better ranked school. Even if you don’t end up transferring you could get into consulting still, but it might not be top 3 (MBB).

Just focus on getting a 4.0 from the start in every class and you’ll have options. You might have to retake the SAT to get a better score as well to pull off a good transfer.

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
 

icm9823

You won't be better off at any one particular school. Just bite the bullet and pick one

I disagree with this - Northeastern has strong internship hook ups and Fordham provides the opportunity to intern and network in NYC

But, I still think a transfer should be attempted. 

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
 

100% NEU. Their internship program pipeline is top notch if you put in the work. They're connected with some great firms throughout the NE.  If cost is a really severe factor then Fordham would be a solid backup.

"The obedient always think of themselves as virtuous rather than cowardly" - Robert A. Wilson | "If you don't have any enemies in life you have never stood up for anything" - Winston Churchill | "It's a testament to the sheer belligerence of the profession that people would rather argue about the 'risk-adjusted returns' of using inferior tooth cleaning methods." - kellycriterion
 
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UF as in the University of Florida? Free? That would be the greatest single decision of your life. This will be super embarrassing if by UF you mean some other school, but Florida? The school is well ranked (#30 overall national university, which is pretty high up). The girls are mind-numbingly hot there--like, it'll make your eyes bleed. Join a fraternity freshman year, enjoy the sports, the girls, the lifestyle, and a lifetime of contacts, not just from UF but from your fraternity's national brotherhood.

Looks like you are highly motivated so you'll probably push a 4.0 GPA. UF isn't a target school for Wall Street, but at every, say, top 100 school the best students who are interested in finance jobs can easily get placed with investment banks or similar (I went to a much lower ranked school than UF and got placed into an IB position, as a point of reference). Consulting would be even easier to get into unless you're talking about McKinsey. Add on the zero cost and it's not even a decision. The decision is already made.   

Array
 

Fordham. It's greater because it's not far from Manhattan, has a great reputation (smaller acceptance rate each year), has a strong alumni network, bars are great and a quick walk, beautiful campus (go to Rose Hill more to offer and the Lincoln Center one is lame), and they have a big London study abroad program which is a great city for business in Europe. 

I'm saying all of this because my sister recently graduated from there and landed her consulting job at Deloitte by participating in the company's case competition they held at Fordham. Also have a friend there that got accepted full time at Accenture. Highly recommend and it clearly can set you up for a consulting gig after graduation.

 

Nope, my stats are good but I honestly don't think I'm T20 material so prestige doesn't matter much. I also can't afford a lot of top schools and I don't want too much debt. I'd rather try to transfer once I'm in or just attend a better ranked business school for a master's.

 

cluelesssenior

or just attend a better ranked business school for a master's.

When you get to college, don't just do well in your classes. Get perfect grades in college. It will help you in job prospects and MBA apps. 

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
 

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