Recently admitted into one of HYPS, but need to take out near 200k in loans to attend.
Hi guys, high school senior here recently admitted into one of HYPS. I am dead set on a career in finance and hopefully eventually landing a gig on the buyside after a stint in IB. My parents make a lot on paper but have almost nothing to contribute towards my education and as a result I will need to take out almost 200k in loans. Are these loans worth it for a super target? Thank you!
Was admitted through a likely letter.
200k is literally nothing in comparison to what you will take home in your first 5 years out of school through the IB exits you will have. Also don't forget the tuition tax credits you'll probably have to help you as well. Don't be stupid, if you have a chance to go to these schools, don't look back - you're lucky to even have it.
The people around me are just telling me I should take the full ride at my state school and are all acting like taking out these loans will ruin my future. I want to justify taking out these loans so bad but I feel like a stupid 18 year old making a decision that will cripple me for years to come.
I will add that while I did not have an acceptance to HYPS, I did choose a full-ride at a state school over a decent private college because a loan that huge is most definitely a scary thing at 18. but school name still does matter for IB (can vouch my alma mater was absolutely useless for getting into IB). and I will also add that while it's great you're focused on finance, people in college change their minds on a career all the time. being at an Ivy essentially gives you first priority (or at least a way better shot) at pretty much any other industry/career you may decide you want.
These people are jealous and trying to drag you down to their level. The HYP yields are almost 100% and the small fraction who choose not to attend go to other Ivies, Stanford, or MIT for fit purposes.
Compare $200k to how much you’ll make over a successful career. It’s pennies compared to how much you’ll make in high finance, consulting, tech, or a dozen other high paying professions that you’ll have access to. Think about it this way, you could be roommates with the next Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg and be his/her co-founder. What’s $200k of debt to them?
There are so many benefits to going to a top school including the alumni network, smart/hardworking/wealthy/connected friends, a positive environment to development, branding, and the outcomes. All of these benefits last an entire lifetime.
If you find yourself struggling to gain traction in a couple years, I’m happy to help out. I know you won’t need the help though. This will be the best return on investment you will ever make.
They're probably envious that you got in to HYPS and they didn't. PM me if you want to speak candidly. I went to a state school and 2 of my best friends went to Ivys. I'm a current first year analyst at a decent bank and despite that success from my nontarget, if I had to do it again I would've chosen an Ivy if I had the opportunity (wasn't accepted into any).
What kind of peasants do you have around yourself man?!
Lose those fuckers as soon as you can. Coming from a fellow high school student.
For most people taking out 100k+ in student loans is a bad decision versus the next option. But for someone who has the ability to go to a top school and wants to get into finance (which to do a degree from a top school is unbelievably advantageous), it makes all the sense in the world. If you wanted to get into marketing, your state school vs. HYPS probably doesn't make a difference.
If you get into IB (a lot of kids in top schools still don't get in) student loan repayments on ~200k will be $1,600+ a month on top of rent in a HCOL area and all the other expenses that come with working in IB. Imagine doing that on a normal starting salary of 60-90k, honestly not possible unless OP moves to a LCOL area.
Tuition tax credits are negligible compared to the cost of college and go to OP's parents, only $1k in interest can be written off on taxes
Take the full ride
Could you tell me why I should do that in your opinion?
so you can get rejected from all banks and he has less competition
Reasoning?
HYPS itself won't automatically open the doors that you want to open, but it definitely gives you an advantage. In my opinion, the moment you enter the job world - internships, full-time jobs and laterals, it's ultimately all about proving that you're worth. Unfortunately companies don't want to spend tons of money and time into putting you under the microscope and they need ways to weed out the CV pile. The easiest (and in my view, statistically superior) way to do this is based on your academics. 'Chances are' that if you are from Harvard or if you have a 3.9 GPA, you're more likely to be smarter and hard working. Yes, there are Ivy league students who are absolute morons who will fail at everything because they are so entitled, but just ask yourself who you would hire between a HYPS graduate and a state school graduate (given this is your alternative from your above comment), all else information equal or inaccessible.
Now, the question is 'is 200k a fair price to get the above competitive advantage'. I say yes. I come from a similar background and I've already seen so many benefits - apart from job applications, the idea that people's 'default' assessment of you will be 'the smart guy' is a major benefit. This effectively means that unless you actively prove otherwise, you'll be respected as the intelligent one in most groups. I think for most people this gives a good ego boost (sense of accomplishment and pride), which then leads to a positive cycle. Sure, I agree that ideally you should have this confidence and pride regardless of which school you are from, but we are all humans and it's much easier to do this when you can identify as an alumni of one of the best schools in the world. The reason people want to go to these schools is not just because of the quality of courses offered - another major benefit is the network. If more grown ups down the road are paying similar amounts for a 2 year program to buy networks, 200k for a 4 year program where you actually gain knowledge and campus life compared to drawing 2x2 matrices makes much sense to me.
Also, apologies if it's just my perception, but I think I can safely assume that if you are an overachiever who is driven enough to actually make it to these school, you will likely hate yourself for not taking the HYPS route should you give it up and choose the alternative route. Not because all the people you'll see in a state school are 'low quality' or anything, but just that you will see what I meant above through time and will think that you should have taken it. The fact that it would have cost you 200k won't give you too much comfort then as you wouldn't hesitate to change your mind and travel back in time.
Even if you don't land a finance job - easy exercise you can do is take the median salary of HYPS graduates (should be available online) and do a realistic calc. Take out rent (also available online), basic living expenses etc. and see how long it takes for you to pay it down. Do 3 calculations - 'upside case' (you make it to IB / PE)', 'base case' (you make it to a reasonably well paying firm)' and 'downside case' (either it takes you longer to get a job or your job doesn't pay much. Maybe do 20% less than median)'. This is how banks / funds do everything anyways. You'll then be able to see a more realistic picture. If you're driven and dedicated, chances are that you'll get a job above the HYPS median. I think it shouldn't hold you back for too long in that case.
Hopefully you'll make a good decision for yourself and congratulations for your achievement!
Thank you so much for your reply, this was extremely insightful!
Thank you so much!
This is the best take on this thread and I don't have much to add. The general consensus on the thread is to take on the debt for HYPS and I would fully agree with that. UF is a solid school and if you went for free and excelled there, there is a decent likelihood that you could end up in a similar role post college at a BB Investment Bank. The key difference lies in the branding and lifelong network that accompanies a HYPS degree. The network is expansive and strong and will likely open up opportunities that you can't even imagine yet. Your peer students will also likely be motivated and well connected, which is also a huge factor in your learning/success during your formative years.
You're a smart kid and you have an awesome opportunity in front of you. Unless you had a very significant life altering decision that split you between HYPS and UF (something like caring for a sick relative, needing to be in Florida, etc) I think you'd ultimately regret not going to HYPS. Outside of career and purely from a life perspective, you'll likely having a more enriching life and educational experience by going to a HYPS type of school. Good luck with the decision.
I would, without a second thought, go HYPS. I don’t mean to downplay $200k in debt, but (especially with recent pay increases), you’d be amazed how quickly you can save / pay off debt in finance. I had a full ride to a state school but I saved $200k plus within a couple years of graduation. The point being, you could pay off your debt somewhat quickly but you’ll have your degree forever.
Unfortunately, so many top industries are so focused on prestige. S&T is probably the least so, but banking and any buy-side jobs are so caught up in it.
Also, think about the peer network and alumni network you will have at a HYPS vs [insert state school]. I used to work at one of these schools endowments, and we would take meetings / invest with school alumni all the time (as an example of one benefit of the network)
A lot of people have a tendency to just plug these inputs into a spreadsheet to see if it’s worth going. But good luck capturing all of the intangibles and long-term benefits that attending would have.
So go attend HYPS and send me a thank you gift basket when you’re a rich man
I'm going to be the party pooper and say it depends on your alternatives.
If you got a full ride to Duke (or whatever), then you would still benefit from a lot of the same signaling, but not have the pressure to land a decent paying job. A lot can happen in 4 years due to changes in priorities, mental health, etc. Assuming everything goes to plan, you are also able to buy a house a few years sooner.
If your alternative is the University of Michigan or UVA, then some of the robots on here would tell you to go to the state school, work hard, and save some pennies. But I would argue even at this quality, the intangibles make the 200k worth it for all the reasons described above.
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I would rate those schools in a similar tier. Personally, students I have talked to from Berkeley and Georgetown seem to have had a bit more fun than Northwestern.
I think if you like living on the west coast choose Berkeley, but if you want to recruit for NYC choose Georgetown.
If you really don't care, I suggest Berkeley
Which state school gave you the full ride?
University of Florida
Thanks. I think that makes giving advice a little easier. While I think you'll have fun at UF, it comes down to the opportunity cost involved. What is a free ride worth relative to what you want to do in 4 years? It's more than possible to break into banking from UF, but you will have a higher likelihood of success from Harvard. Part of the issue here is showing your parents what the cost/benefits are. 200K in loans is a lot of debt to take on. Put together a good argument as to why Harvard is the better decision. Show them career outcomes and statistics that back your point up, and don't just focus on banking. As I said, you have a higher likelihood but no guarantee of making it into banking graduating from Harvard. Being able to show the potential outcomes across multiple career lines is key here to help make the argument.
Also, and this is something to consider - are you sure you want to do banking? I'm not trying to dissuade you. If you're not sure, you need to look at the alternative if UF gives you a better path to what you want to do and aren't sure if Banking is the right choice. Any argument you make is going to have to be backed by the conviction that you want to follow this route for a reason.
Please for the love of god go to one of those schools. $200k in low interest loans over however long you feel like paying it off is not a lot of money relative to what you’ll be making should you choose to go to IB. IB will be muuuuuuuuuuuch easier from those schools. You said the alternative is Florida State, you will not be working in investment banking if you attend there. In life it’s important to look at the rule, not the exception.
Not necessarily, know some people that go there and they apparently have a club called Noles On Wall Street that only takes a couple kids a year and it is starting to shape up for IB placements. That being said still go to a top school will make life a lot easier and as everyone has said 200k in loans won't seem as scary when you're killing it in high finance.
Are you at all reading what I said: “be the rule, not the exception.” A few kids a year? That’s irrelevant.
UF is not FSU. UF has much better placement.
r/MBA is a good resource, loads of these questions pop up every day there.
Please go to HYPS over UF. 200k is nothing in the grand scheme. Had a similar situation; these networks are invaluable and stay for life.
It is easier to get a UF guy to invest in you when you went to HYPS, much harder vice versa.
I took loans for my MBA and for my undergrad. It forced me to get extra work experience to pay for my loans and forced me to learn how to invest wisely in the stock/crypto market. This has only helped me in my career.
I had a similar situation and didn't receive financial aid. It worked out in my favor... my parents wealth grew significantly over this bull market while I was borrowing at 3-6% interest from the government. I'm glad they did it this way. My parents may pass a larger sum down to me vs. if they paid cash for my undergrad
Clearly, your parents have a decent net worth hence why you didn't receive anything in financial aid. You will receive your parents money eventually while it grows, don't stress.
Thank you so much for your reply. It’s reassuring hearing this from someone who had a similar background.
No one can make the decision but yourself, but echoing the comments here that you should go to HYPS. You're a high achieving young person dead-set on finance. $200k in debt is a lot of money, but maybe as soon as one year out of school, you'll be making close to or more than $200k all-in. A few years out, that could be $300-$400k and after that and beyond, who knows what. All this is to say, you won't be poor. You'll be just fine (more than fine probably).
The other thing is, you might be dead-set on finance straight out of school, sure. But in 2029, 2030, 2030, who knows what exciting opportunities there will be, what the world will look like, and what you'll want to do then? The HYPS alumni network and just general brand will help you open so many doors (I've seen it as someone in my 30's now from friends who went to HYPS).
Lastly, I wish these decisions could just boil down to an ROI calculation but they don't. It seems like you're drawn to the HYPS experience, but cost is the only thing holding you back. There's so much more to life than maxing out dollars (of which you'll do just fine). Go grab the experience you desire with no regrets. You've probably worked so hard to attain it.
Good luck to you!
Thank you so much, and yes you’re right about many things. Since freshman year I’ve dreamed of attending one of these schools and I worked my ass of every single day to make it to one of these schools.
First of all, never say 'super target' ever again -- I'm tempted to laugh you out of the room
Secondly, 200k or even 250k is a pittance to what a good buy-side career will get you. I made 120k in AM straight out of the gate and eventually in 2-3yrs will be making north of 300k....in 10yrs if all goes well it should be mid-6 figures. Against a one-time expenditure of 250k, this is a no-brainer. IB / PE would net you even more (albeit for much higher hours). Regardless, it's worth the investment
Thanks for your insight! If I may ask, what’s wrong with “super target”?
It is an unnecessary qualifier that hints to people you are uncommonly prestige-obessed.
Go to HYPS
Let me put it this way, if I could pay $200k right now to have gone to HYPS for undergrad instead of a state school, I absolutely would.
Keep in mind - $200k in loans is nothing to scoff at. Much of your income (and maybe even mental energy from thinking about the overhanging debt), will be spent towards paying it down. You'll make decisions based on that debt instead of based on other serious goals / aspirations / life-improving factors. If you're prepaying heavily you may miss out on unique investment opportunities. You'll likely be handcuffed for 3-5 years, to which people may say, "that's not bad given career earning potential." But still, you'll be handcuffed to a career and industry you haven't even started.
University of Florida
Go to HYPS because the "brand" is priceless and will follow you forever. PM me if you have any questions because I go to one of the schools
Maybe if you live in some dump in the midwest, but billionaires and hundred millionaires in the tri-state area send their kids to Ivies or at the very least top 30 schools. You can quickly google some big names to confirm.
As someone who didn't even consider applying for HYPS (not assuming I would have gotten in) due to a locked up full-ride to a state school, please take on the debt and go to the target. I was able to break into AM out of undergrad due to sheer luck but it was the exception, not the rule.
You will be thanking yourself for the rest of your life. Worst case scenario is you change you mind about finance and you are stuck working in banking for 5 years to pay off loans and then you can fuck off and do whatever you want. You are paying for optionality and it is a more than fair price.
lol I know I’m 18 and young or whatever the fuck but I’m not a moron. I’ve been laser focused on school since freshman year trying to obtain this goal.
I'm happy to give concrete steps. They are the same steps that everyone else takes to make it from a non-target but I got lucky that my boss found me off cycle when he happened to be hiring for a junior analyst/associate. I was a member of my school's student investment fund, got involved with the CFA Research Challenge early and took level 1 of the CFA prior to graduating. I then following that up with passing the next 2 levels of the CFA as quickly as possible.
All things you could have done and landed a job that paid a lot more than my first job in AM if you would have went to a target.
The moral of the story is that the expected value doing these things from a target is much higher than from the expected value from the shitty state school I graduated from.
From a purely expected value proposition, I would have chosen a $200k target over a free state school undergrad 100% of the time. It is a good business decision.
$200k is 1000000% worth it for HYPS. You automatically set yourself up for not just your career, but all the girls given your higher social status. There's an aura of intellect and "higher society" that's only associated with HYPS. You now have access to it.
It'd be foolish not to take this acceptance, assuming you don't piss away the tuition money and goof off. As somebody said above, take it and don't look back - you'll be fine. Also, check out scholarship owl and send some applications out for grants and such.
Full ride. If you're dead set on finance, just aim to get internships from Yr.1 and you will get in to finance when you graduate in any case.
Why do you mention mathematical/STEM ability in so many of your comments as if it is a requirement to succeed (or land an SA/FT IB)? I continuously see a lot of people with liberal arts backgrounds in higher positions on company's websites across various banks and funds.
Go to HYPS
I transferred from a no-name state school to a semi-target near where I lived, and the difference was night and day. At the latter, students were more ambitious, more clubs/events to join, the career resources (including OCR) were phenomenal, and the alumni network unbelievably powerful (still comes in handy to this day, btw).
Remember, I went to a SEMI-target; I can only imagine how robust a target school experience must be.
Also, you're not getting any finaid? Must mean your family is well to do, because you're not stupid (or are you for asking this question?). In my humble opinion, you have plenty of runway (i.e. years to work) to get an attractive ROI on your education. And if you go to HYSP, I'm in the camp that you may potentially be able to FORGO an MBA if you're not up for it (different discussion). If you go to a state school, you will most likely need to consider grad school-- but ivy for undergrad is always more impressive.
the ROI on a full ride is infinite
Still rather have 4,000,000/200,000 than 2,000,000/0.
think about this decision monetarily, not emotionally. 200k is not chump change especially when you are an 18 year old lol.
there are also kids going into a huge amount of debt to just go to a state school, or kids who have to do community college for 2 years then transfer to a state school to finish because they don't have the full ride that you have. see the position that you are in as a blessing regardless of what you are going to choose
that's normal. people take out 200k for Alabama State. schools in US have no shame. they like to rob kids amass and then teach them how good socialism is and how we should help poor and take care of minorities, but first pay 200k.
to summarize your options:
1) go to HYPS, take 200k in debt, get a job in IB, pay back 200k within 2 years, make multiple $M's over the next 10 years, retire and bang chicks all over the world staying in cool AirBnBs and having fun for the rest of your life
2) go to University of Florida, graduate without any IB offers, flip burgers at McDonalds for $10/h, get yelled at by homeless and crazy people on the daily, never get laid (girls don't fuck burger flippers), be unable to see a doctor when needed (healthcare is only for rich in US), work for the rest of your life just to pay for rent.
do you now see which option is better? or are you still not sure?
schools charge these ridiculous amounts because they can. because they give a chance for a happy life. and this chance is priceless. I won't be surprised if schools charge like a mil USD for their degrees in the near future and people will still attend - cause what else do you do, flip burgers to pay for rent and be unable to cover health insurance?
UF is a respected state school. The typical exit for a business major interested in finance at UF is F500 FLDP, which is $60k/yr in a LCOL city. That’s much better than flipping burgers. And most people never try for IB.
I'd argue that finance roles are quite limited, whereas there are a lot of people aiming for them. I'd even bet that there are more Econ/Finance/Accounting/Business grads at top 30 US schools than there are openings for fresh grads in IB+Consulting+F500 FLDP every year (and in addition there are a lot of Math/CS/Psychology/etc. majors from top 30 schools applying for them at the same time), so if you're studying finance at top 200 school, the chances are very high you ain't gonna work in finance and will need to do minimal wage jobs.
Remember there is a lot of cyclicality in the industry, the moment you change to a humanities major the debt becomes a double-edged sword, and bad financial state of the economy before you graduate is also a worrisome factor but nonetheless, as long as you go to HYPS and grind hard you are safe
Go to UF. Yes, NYC BB placement is almost non-existent. But if you’re fine with MM firms or regional placement, then UF has a lot of options.
UF places several into WF, Truist, RJ, RBC, Evercore and various regional firms every year.
Look into the UF MSF and Gator Student Investment Fund. These are best the recruiting pipelines for IB, and what you will want to get involved in early to get the highest chance of good placement.
Besides academics, UF is fun. Being at a large state school just a few hours from the beach is definitely a blast.
In case you don’t get into IB, most people who aren’t trying for IB end up in F500 FDLP. That’s a solid path to six figures in a LCOL city.
$200k is a lot of money, and while maybe you could try to build a financial model to see which one is better think about things such as the debt locking you in to IB/PE instead of being able to take a 9-5 if that’s what you want. Your life right after graduating won’t be as fun if you have to spend thousands a month on student loan payments.
seething
My parents make a lot on paper but have almost nothing to contribute towards my education?
Thats pathetic.
Nothing?
Congrats. Those are excellent schools. UF is also an excellent school. I am writing to give you an honest non-biased prospective so take it with a grain of salt.
You will have to make your own decision, but I personally could not justify spending 200k on an education. Even an engineering degree. Some people on this site over estimate the ease your finance/banking career will be if you go to a target school. Yes it is easier, but many get rejected from banking. The people on this site make it seem impossible to go from a non-target to IB and PE, though we have seen many non-targets break into the industry over and over again. In fact schools like Villanova and Indiana have entered into the semi-target space. My concern is what if you do not like banking or volatility happens and you are stuck with 200,000k in debt. H/P/S/Y/W are amazing schools, but a degree from there will not prevent you from getting fired, downsized, having a miserable work environment, etc.
The fact that you think you want to do banking/PE this early is already an advantage. Where the target schools have the advantage is when the students becomes interested in banking as second semester Sophomore. It gets much harder for a non-target at that point. That is not your issue being that you have interest in IB/PE. Florida has plenty of financial companies in the Jacksonville, Tampa, and Orlando area that you could pick up early internships at.
Yes you would have to network a bit harder and early than a target school student but that is not a bad thing. Learn to network when you are young before you truly need to so you can be a pro at networking when it is absolutely a necessity. PE is a relationship business/sales job, so to move up you must be good at networking , bringing in new business and maintaining current business.
Other advantages of being at a non-target that is rarely discussed is that you have other back-up careers that could lead you to the same goal such as Big 4 Accounting, FLDP, Big 4 consulting, and a good quality middle office job. People have moved to IB and PE from those routes as well. Linkedin has several examples. Many people from non-targets think that they would have had an easier time coming from a target but it could have been just as difficult, but a different experience. It is this grass is greener mentality. I went to a non-target and my biggest regret is not learning how to network at an early age. When I was laid-off in 2009, no amount of prestige would have helped me. I had co-workers who graduated from Columbia and Princeton who had to leave the industry and move back with their parents. What would have helped me was my ability to network. Learning how to network in your late 20s when you need to pay your bills is frightening. You are learning how to network in panic mode.
My advice to you is to choose the school you gel with the most, but please be objective and look at both sides. I hope this helps.
Go to hyps. The network alone is worth the debt. You will break into high finance from one of those schools if you apply yourself.
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Sorry you are getting abused by a bunch of idiots. If these were real bankers (Not students or headhunters pretending to be bankers), they would be telling OP to take the free ride, go to a FLDP program and avoid IBD like the plague. A real banker would not be promising millions because a real banker knows the odds of getting there are slim due to volatility and instability of the business.
Can’t tell you what you should do, but happy to discuss what I would do now that I’m over a decade done with college.
I’d take the $200k loan and go to HYPS. While $200k is objectively a ton of money even for my income level today, it’s something that I can make in a reasonable amount of time / not life changing. HYPS on my resume and the network I could have built there? Never getting that shot again. Is that life changing? Hard to say, but depends on the kind of life you want to live and the doors you need open. Working in a tier 1 city for tier 1 firms in IB/PE/HF, I think it does matter/help you get into the door.
The one thing I’d note about this “purchase” is that you’re buying a fairly large part of your identity. Who do you want to become? No disrespect to the guy with full ride at a state school. Would you take great pride knowing that you went to a HYPS? Will you look at this decision when you’re [ ] years old, making $[ ], leading the life of [ ]? Only you can answer that one. But objectively, don’t be scared away by the price tag alone and what those “wiser” folks around you might say to push around your future. It’s your own goddamn future. Not saying fuck them all (OK, FUCK THEM ALL), but it’s your call and you gotta own that call, whichever way it is. All I can say though is man, congrats, can’t go wrong!!!
Sources to back this, T30 alumnus?
go for it
Everyone saying take the debt, its a not a big deal with ib/pe pay are missing a major point. OP may HATE banking. Like he might be one of the types that have to quit after 3 months because his mental health is sending him to a dark place. I've seen it happen.
He may do the summer internship and realize he hates it with every fiber of his being and loves teaching or public policy work and now CANNOT pursue those paths and is forced to grind in IB due to his insane debt load.
What if he decides to be a lawyer or doctor? That another 200k of loans he can't afford to add on.
He gives up so much optionality in his future by doing this. You better be damn sure you love ib/pe if you take this debt load op. I wouldn't do it.
U florida is a decent school with better weather and hotter girls. We have hired several UF people at my bb. Honestly no one wants to do banking anymore so state school kids are becoming common.
Go to UF and enjoy the freedom of choosing what you want to do with your career.
Is it true 200k is nothing if you hop on the IB/PE track? Yes.
If you hop off that track? It's a LOT of debt to deal with.
There's a concerning comment above I need to address too:
"There's an aura of intellect and "higher society" that's only associated with HYPS. You now have access to it. "
Want to know why there's an aura of "higher society" with those schools. Because many of the kids are wealthy. OP is not. Going there will not change that and in fact, he will only be less wealthy if he attends (200k in the hole). Not worth accessing this "high society" when you won't actually fit into it.
If he goes to UF (which is honestly a great school, if he said U IOWA or something I might be giving different advice), he can start building wealth immediately.
OP may also decide, "You know what, I hate the Northeast, I just want to move back home to Florida and be close to family." I have seen SO many people do this.
In Florida, UF is the flagship school. He will be able to join and access whatever "high society" networks there he wants.
If your parents "make a lot on paper" but can't help you at all then you have not seen a household with proper financial planning. The debt will only hurt you in the long run - you will just continue the poor planning cycle that you grew up in. Go the state school route.
OP, as someone in his 30s with kids to take care of and a mortgage, let me offer some advice.
I cannot really hop off the high paying corporate track. I'd be disrupting my kids school/friend situation. I'm not in debt or anything, but it would be tough to take a 50% paycut right now. In a way, I've been golden handcuffed. I made this decision though for my kids. I'm an adult now that is lying in the bed he made along with millions of other Dads that take the metro north and subways everyday to support families.
I would hate for you to come to this same moment of self reflection on life and work at age 21 when you are just trying to find yourself, fall in love, and see what the future is for you. Having to "suck it up" to pay off that debt is not something I think a 21 year old should be pondering/reflecting on. You will have a lot of that in the future to worry about.
First, I commend this poster for owning up to this. It's not easy to be in this situation.
Second, realize that a lot of people are in this situation. It's basically The American Way to become house-poor (among other things) and end up with "golden handcuffs", as the poster above puts it. Do not end up like this; we see a lot of threads on WSO about people who hate their jobs/bosses/clients/whatever. I'm convinced that this is rooted in being in a job that you have to be at, versus one that you could leave at any time.
If you want more on this topic, start with "The Millionaire Next Door".
Don't underestimate the power of your network and name brand. The internet nowadays and your work classmates might claim that brand doesn't matter, it's the same education etc. but from the perspective of having taken supplementary courses at a state school, I can add the perspective that state school just isn't the same.Also, the name brand will carry you for the rest of your career. So long as you hit graduation with a good plan like banking, consulting etc you'll be fine and better over the long run.
Alternate take:
This isn't specific to IB, but those who get into ivies but turn down the acceptance make similar earnings in the long-run. This is because they know how to use their resources. UF is a great place to have a full-ride. This is even selling you short, but if you're good enough to get into HYPS then you're good enough to have a year of credits coming into undergrad. Ivies don't take credits. You can start applying for internships instantly which will set you one year ahead of the competition. Employers would take a great internship over a kid who is HYPS-smart any day.
This is the path I decided to take + I have enough to get my CPA in only 3 years (2021-2024) for Big 4 acct/consulting internships---a GREAT place to get a stepping-stone internship into IB. You can delay your graduation by taking on another major or taking less credits for a chance to get a better final internship before graduation.
Ha, you seem really passionate about this topic. Speaking from personal experience or passionate about common-sense college decisions?
I agree. The type of kid to get into a top 5 school shouldn't have any issue getting a BB IB job in NYC after graduating from Florida. I would lean towards taking the money and putting ACT/SAT score on the resume which is presumably top ~1% and noting the full academic scholarship. It'll require a bit more hustle, but not $200K worth of hustle, and protects OP's downside if OP doesn't end up in banking.
Unless OP has compulsive need to go HYPS -> GS -> KKR or Pershing Square, I'd lean Florida and enjoy the shit out of an SEC school with hot women.
Thanks for supporting my point, and I agree, this is what I've done although it's just one line under the awards/honors saying what I did to get the top award. I actually find it cool talking to analysts who went the excel at state school route because those are the ones who would have the most wisdom (unless, of course, related to an MD).
And yes, hot women.
poll on linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6911716332493234176
I say don’t do it. Having those loans will be a cloud over your head. You’re going to want to buy things like a house or pay for a wedding. I go to a “non-target” with tons of alumni on the street who will absolutely go to bat for me. That being said, I still go to an expensive school (>$80k a year). I will have $80k in loans which is still a lot for me, and I regret not going somewhere I had a full scholarship at (SEC school). I would have made it work there too sans a buttload of debt. Also, I know so many people that go to those schools who are super miserable. I go to the happiest school in the country:)
OP do tell us what you end up deciding on. Think we’re all curious.
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