I have invites at both ASU as well as the Univ of Kansas for the BS in Business program (planned concentration in MIS). Net 4-year cost after scholarships at both schools is approx 123k at ASU and approx 95k at KU.
Is the additional 28k worth it for ASU’s higher ranked W.P. Carey School of Business or would KU’s Business program yield the same internship and career opportunities right out of school?
Any input would be appreciated.
Are you from Kansas?
Have you been invited to the Barrett Honors college at ASU?
How much of a financial burden is 28K to you/your parents?
I am out-of-state for both … the reduced costs are on account of merit scholarships, but that still leaves the 28k differential between the 2 schools.
Also, mine is a regular (non-Barrett) admit - so no Honors program in either school.
28k will be a stretch but doable - but only if it is really going to contribute towards an increased likelihood of internships and better job opportunities right after college. I’m not really looking for the brand name/prestige aspect as KU is a perfectly respectable institution in my opinion, even though it might not have the glamor that ASU has (again, in my opinion).
OK. I don’t know enough about the business field to make a recommendation. @sbdad12 might.
Unless somebody tells you that the 28K difference is definitively worth it, I would default to the cheapest option.
@Tughlaq , $28K is not a small amount, but it isn’t large either. At the average student loan rate of 3%, it is about $155/month for 20 years. For me, I would draw the line at about $50-$60K. You could pay off a student loan of $28K pretty quickly (2-4 years if it’s a priority).
For that amount of money, I would look to ASU. It is ranked #12 by US News for undergraduate MIS. Rankings tend not to mean a ton to me, but that’s a very good ranking and likely to have a number of companies recruiting on campus.
Recruiting on campus tends to be local, except at the highest ranked schools. I went to Minnesota for my MBA (a top MIS school) and the largest MIS recruiters were companies like Medtronic (local company).
If it is local, Phoenix is a fast growing town (fastest growing in the US), and I’m sure a number of California companies also come to campus. I know Silicon Valley has a lot of ASU CS students. (it’s Top 20 according to Business Insider) KU’s biggest local metro areas are KC and STL, which aren’t exactly IT hotbeds. I think of MIS, vs CS, as a corporate vs startup job. Looks for the number of large corporations with headquarters or a large presence in a nearby metro area to determine your employment or internship opportunities.
It should be noted however that we are talking about an additional 28K without knowing how the first 95K are financed.
@Tughlaq can you pay the first 95K out of pocket? or would you have to borrow for that in the first place?
@sbdad12 - That is an incredible amount of detail. Thank you so much.
@NJEngineerDad - The 95k will come out of my parent’s savings. We will likely need a loan for anything over 100k. And, thank you for tagging @sdbad12!
Just curious - and not to add to the confusion and you don’t list stats. But why ASU and not U of A which has always been elite at MIS and has great merit aid. ASU is known for supply chain, not MIS.
You’ll be fine at either school - Kansas or ASU - but to me, espeicaly if cost is involved, U of A is the much stronger choice for MIS - and they have the new Honors dorm which is FANTASTIC!! Are you making a decision for this Fall or next year?
2021 Best Undergraduate Management Information Systems Programs | US News Rankings
Thanks for your input.
It was a toss-up while applying between ASU and U of A since I was casting a wide geographical net while applying and did not want to apply to both - the 7k OOS tuition difference (pre-aid) tipped the scales in favor of ASU. While U of A’s 4th rank in MIS is great, I felt ASU’s 12th wasn’t bad either.
I accepted the offer from ASU (vs. KU) and it looks like we are most likely going to be able to manage without loans. Looking forward to landing in Tempe in a couple of days!
Depends upon the strength of each school’s MIS concentration. I do not know the answer as to which school offers the better major in this area. (FWIW If it were the University of Arizona and not ASU, then UA would be the clear choice for your major.)
ASU has a massive enrollment & is located in a large US city in the desert. The University of Kansas is located on the prairie in a classic college town setting. (39,000 undergraduates at ASU versus 23,000 undergraduates at the University of Kansas.)
They are both solid academically. IMHO neither is worth going into debt for. You could certainly earn $7k/yr working part time.
Spend some time on and around both campuses, talk to some students and I bet the choice quickly becomes clear.
For me, ASU is too big and the weather is too hot. But, I’m not you.
Follow your heart and don’t look back.
Good luck
A concern about both schools is that you were not admitted to the honors college at either school. Business is a popular major at both universities. Priority registration for classes goes to honors college students, upper classmen, then everyone else. I wonder whether or not it might take longer than expected to enroll in all of your required and/or desired courses in your major. This could result in having to attend for an extra semester or year if you do not take advantage of summer term courses.
ASU has it worked out where they hold class spots so students who register in July have access to all required classes, just as those who register for classes in May. I’m told that as long as students follow their major map, graduating in 4 years is taken care of, at least as far as getting into required courses is concerned.
Everybody says this about ASU but keep in mind that, while the summers have scorchingly dry heat, from October to April the weather is very very nice. There’s a reason snowbirds flock to Phoenix in the winter.
OP made his decision. Let’s support it instead of second guessing.
Phoenix is gorgeous…Camelback Mountain is great to hike - and ASU is a fine school with lots of opportunity.
Best of luck.