Affirm or deny the value for the cost of a Georgetown (business) education/degree

<p>(Also posted in the Georgetown specific board)</p>

<p>I'm looking for informed or experience-based insights regarding our situation.</p>

<p>I'm a parent of a GU admittee, not yet committed to attend. My daughter has been hell-bent on GU since she attended a local info session in our home state, and her subsequent research and campus visit this past summer. She intends to major in business. She's bright and motivated, having got early acceptance to GU.</p>

<p>She's been accepted at other schools, notably Boston College and, locally, the University of Minnesota, Carlson School of Management, a fairly strong business program, as well as a couple of other in-state private schools.</p>

<p>My question regarding "value" comes down to dollars for education and job prospects. With GU's need-based aid approach, we got a nice sized award package, but we still have a notable family contribution, comparable to the total cost of attending the University of Minnesota. However, even if my daughter is awarded additional outside scholarships, the GU cost for us remains the same, given the university's approach to deduct such awards from the school's aid package offering. Alternatively, those outside scholarships could be used to reduce the cost of attending the U of M, or perhaps the other private colleges (I'm not sure about those yet).</p>

<p>I'm a product of two private, catholic colleges, but I am playing the devil's advocate within my family and at least raise the question of the added value of the GU education and degree in light of my daughter and us needing to make some serious sacrifices and take on a big chunk of loans to make that possible.</p>

<p>Thanks for any input and insights!</p>

<p>I didn’t know Georgetown offered a business degree. I guess I would consider if going to U of MN means she’d have more local area connections which could help with internships and job offers.</p>

<p>Majoring in business or economics? GU advantages would be for politics, IR, history majors…</p>

<p>If having one of those majors and then pursuing an MBA might lead to more lucrative job opportunities.</p>

<p>And what is your definition of sacrifice for your EFC? Is this a doable amount or would this choke your family’s budget and finances?</p>

<p>What does your daughter think of her decision financially?</p>

<p>Does she have any skin in the game? What will her financial contribution be and/or debt amount?</p>

<p>Has she been awarded any monies at your state option and if so how much?</p>

<p>Kat</p>

<p>Georgetown has significant prestige in the Business community.</p>

<p>Donald Trump’s son went there for his Business degree if that makes any difference to you. Not sure if that was undergrad or grad. (Obviously they can afford anywhere)</p>

<p>I also suppose it matters where your child wants to be after college, jobwise. What about going to lesser expensive Univ and to Georgetown for grad work?</p>

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<p>That’s meaningless. If you want to support your statement, you need to find something other than what some celebrity did with his own kid.</p>

<p>So did Ivanka Trump before she transferred to Wharton in her jr. year.</p>

<p>If spending your EFC is not a problem, I suggest Georgetown which has a national reputation.</p>

<p>First a disclaimer:
I am a proud Gopher parent, D is junior at UMN with major in Strat Comm-creative track (essentially advertising) and minors in Art & Sports Management; we are WI residents and have reciprocal tuition. </p>

<p>MANY of her UMN friends are CSOM and even many many more from her HS years WANTED to be but didn’t get in as every year only one graduate on average from D’s HS gets into CSOM(only about five get into UMN- HS is about 1600 students, accredited, award winning, etc.) . While I love GU, I have come to the conclusion that UMN in general and CSOM specifically are vastly under-rated monetary value-wise by WI & MN residents. Especially in uncertain economic times. </p>

<p>Can’t go wring either way but I’d stand UMN happily next to GU as value for money and opportunities for jobs, internships, etc.</p>

<p>*that is supposed to be “wrong” not wring. :)</p>

<p>I do believe that private colleges have a lot to offer, and provide additional value over publics. And GU offers a lot of other stuff, if for no other reason, its location. But whether that value is worth 2-3x cost is a personal decision.</p>

<p>With the exception of Wharton (and perhaps MIT), I’m not sure that any UNDERgrad biz school is national in scope, or travels very far outside its region. For example, Cal-Haas does very well in the west, Emory does well in the South, BC in the NE. Mich-Ross grads tend to do well outside of Mich bcos they have to – few jobs in the local state. NYU-Stern does very well on Wall Street (in its backyard). Mid-Atlantic schools like GU and UVa also do well on The Street, but not so well on the Left Coast.</p>

<p>D1´s 3 best friends from high school are at Georgetown, and graduating this year. I think they all majored in economics. All three have jobs after graduation, 2 in IB, and one in Teach for America. They all enjoyed their 4 years there.</p>

<p>It is an urban city in that most kids go to bars in the city or to each other´s apartments to party. They tend to spend more money than students going to more of a college town schools (like Cornell, Dartmouth).</p>

<p>You mentioned that cost of attending GU is almost the same as UMinn, except for the additional outside scholarship. How much could that be? 10K? If your daughter wants to go into business, I would vote for GU if the price difference isn´t that big.</p>

<p>Unless working on Wall Street is a priority UMinn is just as good. GU has much better NYC placement. Mostly a prestige thing.</p>

<p>Being in DC is an added plus, especially if she hopes to do international business. But it really comes down to how much the monetary difference. Is Georgetown a good business decision based on its cost being X times greater? And, no, I don’t think the employment opportunities coming out of Georgetown’s undergraduate business program are going to be significantly greater, though obviously internships in the DC/East Coast areas will be easier to come by.</p>

<p>If you have the money, and aren’t planning to spend it on other stuff, there’s nothing wrong with Georgetown. But there’s nothing wrong with Carlson either.</p>

<p>Good point about my post, pizzagirl! :)</p>

<p>I should have followed up with my reason…Donald Trump seeks out the best of everything. He and some of his children went to Wharton. If his son Eric went to and graduated from Georgetown, there must have been something there…the excellent programs, professors, whatever.</p>

<p>Depends on what the OP’s D wants and the family can afford! Also, with top business programs such as Wharton and Georgetown, the education is so top notch, that many corporations will take the employee with a Bachelor’s and that may be enough! Maybe even pay for them to go back to grad. school eventually!</p>

<p>Business Week ranks Georgetown’s undergraduate business program 23rd, with a median starting salary of $60K and job placement grade of A+. It ranks Minnesota 67th, with a median starting salary of $50K and a job placement grade of A. Perhaps cost of living differences account for part of that salary difference.</p>

<p>If finances aren’t a huge issue, I would pick Georgetown over UMN. While she can get a solid education at UMN, Georgetown’s business school is nationally known. Business/finance is one of those fields where name/prestige does matter, and many of the east coast i-banks/consulting firms only recruit from certain named schools. While it’s possible that she may want to end up in a business job that’s not in IB or consulting, there’s no reason to close that door now; even if she wants to return to MN upon graduation, the Georgetown degree will help her stand out, since there won’t be many grads from that school in the area competing for the same jobs.</p>

<p>If you really wanted prestige for a good value and a Catholic school too, it’s too bad you didn’t consider Villanova. That’s very high ranked, #2 I think, after Wharton. There’s also Notre Dame.</p>

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<p>Or maybe Trump was offering donations and Georgetown was the only school that would give him a quid pro quo and admit his kid. I don’t know. The point is, what Donald Trump’s idea of “the best” is is rather meaningless given that he’s a tacky, showy, tasteless egotist. You’d have a point if you were naming a celebrity who was known for having quiet, impeccable, thoughtful taste that was worth emulating, or an academic who knew what quality was.</p>

<p>Tom Hanks and Meredith Vieiera send their kids to Northwestern. That doesn’t “make” Northwestern a better school than any other choice – it just is where they send their kids. </p>

<p>I just don’t get what a celebrity’s choice has anything to do with anything - and especially a trashy one. It’s about as relevant as Snooki’s choices!</p>

<p>“I should have followed up with my reason…Donald Trump seeks out the best of everything. He and some of his children went to Wharton. If his son Eric went to and graduated from Georgetown, there must have been something there…the excellent programs, professors, whatever.”</p>

<p>Donald Trump is an expert in bankruptcy. He has become an expert in using the government to protect his own financial interests, while leaving financial concerns (and sometimes communities) in ruins. An association with Donald Trump is hardly a recommendation.</p>

<p>With apologies to the OP for taking up time on your forum…thank you for your viewpoints, pizzagirl and mini. And that’s what they are, your viewpoints!</p>

<p>I certainly am not intending to get into an argument or even a heated discussion about this! I cetainly do not follow what Donald Trump does or does not do, or what he’s an expert in or what people think of his ego but I do know he sent one of his sons to Georgetown, so I’m guessing that they must have a great reputation in their Business School. That’s MY viewpoint! The OP will take everyone’s posts and hopefully make up his/her own mind as to what direction would be better for their D and their family financially.</p>

<p>Pizzagirl: If you honestly believe that a graduate of Wharton Business school and his subsequent real estate career are even in the ballpark as “Snooki”, that is ridiculous!</p>

<p>The OP was asking how relevant a degree is from Georgetown versus other schools on their list and I made a point to tell him/her that Georgetown is prestigious in the Business community! Move on please!</p>

<p>Snooki’s probably wealthier.</p>