Bama Full Ride or UNC Chapel Hill at a cost

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Any opinions on this. I have been accepted to the University of Alabama on a full scholarship- tuition, fees, board, plus a nice stipend. I have also been admitted to Chapel Hill, no invite to scholarship day. I am pretty sure I am out of the need based aid category so unless I get some last minute merit from UNC, its full cost.</p>

<p>I want to study Business. UNC obviously has a superior program, however Alabama has a decent one. Both schools still have a great atmosphere- sports, partying, etc., im just worried about prestige and what people think when they hear alabama (for job purposes).</p>

<p>I would prefer Chapel Hill, no doubt. Im sure my parents want me to do as I please. But if I do go to Bama, they promise to finance my MBA down the line. </p>

<p>What should I do!? Will my undergrad from UA be a big enough difference in the business world from UNC to fork out the $30k a year for the better name?</p>

<p>any input would be much appreciated</p>

2

<p>Go for the full ride at Alabama. $120k+ is a ton of money for undergraduate education.</p>

3

<p>I'm guessing the NMF scholarship at UA. Pretty sweet deal, I think you should take it.</p>

4

<p>Saving money on your undergraduate degree to pay for your future MBA is a very practical thing to do. Quite frankly, once you have a graduate degree, the "name" on your undergraduate degree is much less important.</p>

<p>In the interest of full disclosure, however, I have to tell you that I made the same offer to my son: go to our State university (or even a second-tier private school that offered merit aid) and I'll give you the money saved to put towards grad school. He opted instead to go to the very expensive top-40 private school where we are now paying the full load.</p>

5

<p>I agree with Worried Mom. Save the money now; shell out for a big-name MBA later. An MBA from a top business school will open many more doors!</p>

<p>I had a similar decision -- go to Emory, ranked #18 on the U.S. News list, with NO aid, or go to a good second-tier LAC with a full-scholarship. I chose the full scholarship and now I am at a top Ph.D program in my field...people here secure jobs during the first semester of their last year. Your undergrad matters little if you plan to go on to graduate school.</p>

<p>Personally I'd go to Bama, do well, get a job at a nice firm at graduation (they have a pretty good alumni network especially in the South), get some work experience for 2-3 years, blast the GMAT out of the water, and then apply to top schools.</p>

6

<p>Go for the full ride :)</p>

<p>Congrats!</p>

7

<p>I'm going to start suggesting this to all of these "full ride or more prestigious school"? posts. In full disclosure, I am a first-year graduate student. I'm coming up on the one-year anniversary of my college graduation. When you are first going into school, $120,000 doesn't seem like that much.</p>

<p>Finaid.com has loan calculators that help you understand what $120,000 really means. If you took out the full cost of a UNC education at a 6.8% interest rate (which is what the Stafford loan percentage is, most private loan rates are higher and you will definitely need private loans for that much) and 2% loan fees (I'm using my rate, it's typical), and you have a 10-year repayment period (which is typical as well):</p>

<p>You'll end up paying $1,408 a month.
Over the lifetime of the loan, you'll pay almost $50,000 in interest.</p>

<p>Even if you got a 30-year extended payment plan, you'll pay $798 a month and your interest will be over $167,000 over the life of the loan.</p>

<p>In the first scenario, UNC would have to give you the potential to make more than $16,000 more a year than Bama's potential will. In the second scenario, the salary difference would need to be at least $10,000 in UNC's favor. And that's ONLY to recoup the cost of the loans; that's not giving you anything extra. What I'm saying is that graduating from Alabama debt-free with a job that pays $50,000 is essentially the same as graduating from UNC with $120,000 in debt with a job that pays $66,000 a year, at least for the first 10 years.</p>

<p>After 10 years of work experience, your past experience will matter much more than where you got your undergrad degree.</p>

8

<p>I am very familiar with this type of situation. And I suppose there are specific instances in which it would make sense to spend the money to go to the "better" school. However, based on what you've said so far, this isn't one of those instances. I agree with julliet and the others. Take the scholarship and make the very most of it. I sincerely doubt you'll have any regrets.</p>

9

<p>Wow, julliet, I've never thought of it that way. That will definitely change the way I view my schools once I get my acceptances and financial aid packages...</p>

<p>It may not be as nice to say that you went to that Alabama over UNC but if your family can't afford it, I'd go with Alabama. It's not a bad school and if you go well in graduate school it won't make much of a difference.</p>

10

<p>Take the money. Go to Alabama. There is no one perfect sch. You will prob. have a great time at UA, come out debt free and be very glad you did.</p>

11

<p>I'm going to assume that Bama will get you better networked than UNC. Networking trumps the difference between good Research University and really good Research University every day of the week.</p>

<p>I don't think future employers will see a large difference (yes, a small one) between UNC and Bama. That differnce will disappear entirely as soon as you utter the words "full ride merit scholarship".</p>

<p>Plus your parents will not only appreciate the financial assist (even though they <em>could</em> afford it), they'll get to beam with pride every time <em>they</em> say "full ride merit scholarship" as well -- or they just might play it up a bit and say "Yep, my kid is so smart Bama is PAYING him to attend!... and of course he's just like his parents :)"</p>

12

<p>I look at this a little differently and would need to know your career goals to render an informed opinion. In business, school probably matters more than in any other arena. To get into a top MBA program, a great job for 3-5 year prior is necessary. Great jobs are usually predicated upon where you went to school.</p>

<p>So if you tell me your career goals include staying in the South, especially Alabama, it's a no brainer, take the full ride.</p>

<p>But if you tell me you want to be an ibanker or international consultant or plan to work in NYC, the analysis changes.</p>

<p>In terms of MBA earnings, the spread is huge between those who attend the top 15 programs and the rest. The type of spread where the difference in cost would be made up in a couple of years.</p>

13

<p>Postscript: I do think the equation equalizes with a Top 10 school, but only equalizes... doesn't tip in balance in favor of the Top 10.</p>

14

<p>hmom5 -- how would UNC be viewed materially differently on Wall St. or Boston than Alabama Full Merit. In my view the Full Merit makes the Bama offer far superior to a generic UNC.</p>

15

<p>DunninLA, in 25 plus years on Wall Street, I can't recall running into anyone from Bama. While UNC isn't a key target school, it's represented on The Street.</p>

16

<p>hmon5 -- they learn to keep that on the down low :) And I agree UNC and Bama are both sort of non-starters in street recruiting. In either case a strong networking relationship would be required.</p>

17

<h2>DunninLA, in 25 plus years on Wall Street, I can't recall running into anyone from Bama. While UNC isn't a key target school, it's represented on The Street.</h2>

<p>Even if they get an MBA from a top school?</p>

18

<p>Bama, and worry about the MBA after you graduate with no student loan and can AFFORD to go to grad school.</p>

19

<p>Sure, an MBA from a top school would suffice. My point is I know no one I've hired in 25 years at a BB firm went to Bama and I know none of my fellow MDs attended, though I've seen quite a few from UNC.</p>

<p>Top colleges are disproportionately represented at MBA programs.</p>

<p>Also keep in mind that way fewer who get WS jobs following college leave to get MBAs anymore.</p>

<p>I get that conventional wisdom is to take the free ride. But different kids have different circumstances. This kid says he doesn't qualify for aid and that his parent's are OK with either choice. He's not poor. If he's in state for UNC, we're not talking about a fortune. We're also talking about a 4 year college experience with a different range of peers. Sometimes these decisions can be penny wise and pound foolish.</p>

20

<p>Is it just me or did the OP state in his post that his parents will pay for his MBA if he opts for the full ride? If that's the case, should we not assume that his parents can, and will, pay for college if he opts not to ask them for money for graduate school? In that case, I would say the OP's choice is not as easy or clear as some may think. It would really depend on the OP's long term goals. </p>

<p>Under most circumstances, I would recommend he go for the full ride at Alabama. That applies if he wishes to go for a PhD, Medical school and even perhaps Law school. </p>

<p>However, in some cases, the OP's best course of action would be to have his parents pay for his undergraduate studies at UNC. For example, as hmom aptly points out, major companies on the East or West Coast, as well as in the Midwest, are more likely to recruit at UNC than at Alabama. If he wishes to work for a major company in the South, Alabama shoould be fine, but anywhere else, I would say UNC has a decided edge. So if the OP is aiming for Wall Street or Silicon Valley and then, a MBA, I think UNC makes more sense.</p>

<p>Let us remember, when and where possible, it has traditionally been the case that parents pay for undergraduate studies and students pay for graduate studies. The reason for this is quite reasonable and rational if you ask me. 1) Undergraduate studies are a necessity, graduate studies are a luxury. 2) Most graduate programs that cost a lot of money tend to also have great earning potential and as such, are less risky to the student in terms of loan payments. </p>

<p>Of course, that's assuming his folks can actually pay for college. If they cannot and he must take out a large loan to attend UNC, then I say Alabama all the way.</p>

<p>Another, far more methodical, scientific and thoughtful way to settle this debate is to have the OP ask himself the eternal question: Football or Basketball? Once he figures that out, the answer should be quite obvious. Of course, in the event he likes both sports, a coin-toss may be his only recourse!</p>