35k a yr for Bentley vs 5k at Umass. Leaning toward Bentley but not sure if it’s worth the price gap. Hoping to become an actuary. Where should I go? Please help.
30K a year is a lot – that’s 120K in total for four years. Have you talked to your parents about financing this gap? If so, are they willing (and able) to do it? I’ll vote for UMass – more so if you have post-grad plans that may require more financing. Why are you leaning towards Bentley? And specifically, what is it that Bentley has that isn’t there at UMass?
They told me to not worry about the money and just go to wherever will be the best for me in the long run. Although Bentley might provide slightly better opportunities and education than UMass, I don’t know if it would make an actual difference.
What are your post-graduation plans? Do you want to go straight to employment, or pursue an advanced degree? A good proportion of actuaries have advanced degrees. If you want to go to grad school UMass might be the way to go, since extra years of schooling can mean a lot even if your parents aren’t worrying about the price tag now.
What sort of ‘slightly better opportunities’ do you expect at Bentley and not at UMass? Is it the alumni network, or career placement? I’m not familiar with actuarial programs at both schools, but what do you think is the biggest selling point for Bentley?
I’m playing to go straight to employment so I won’t be pursuing a grad degree. I don’t think I would have a problem finding a job after graduating from Bentley, but I’m not sure about UMass. I have searched on linkedin before and the ratio of actuaries graduated from Bentley is significantly higher than that of UMass.
I have visited both schools and although I do like the college town atmosphere at UMass, I feel like I would be able to concentrate on my studies more at Bentley because it would be less distracting. I’ve wanted to go to Bentley over UMass so I don’t want to regret going to UMass just because it’s cheaper. I don’t know if I’m too naive but I wouldn’t mind paying more for Bentley if the overall experience is worth it and I could pay back the debt in a couple years after working.
@bbhjnn What kind of debt? Would your parents just give you 120k if you went to UMass? Or even 60k? That is a down payment on a house. I think it will take you more than a couple of years to pay back anything over 30k