Columbia GS or Fordham PCS

Hello,

I’m a military veteran that was recently accepted into Columbia GS and Fordham PCS. I am a transfer undergraduate student looking to attend graduate school in the future for law or a Master’s program in business or psych. Fordham PCS’ tuition is covered completely under the Post 9/11 and Yellow Ribbon–so there’s no out of pocket costs there. However, Columbia GS’ is not. Is paying out of pocket for an Ivy League education while assuming some debt worth it? Or, should I just attend Fordham PCS and not worry about the potential financial burden?

Hi happilygilmor, I am in the same exact boat you are. While I can’t offer any insight on your question, I was wondering if you could elaborate on Columbia’s tuition not being paid for. I was under the impression from the info sessions and resources on their website that between the post 9/11 and yellow ribbon, GS’s tuition would be covered. I, like you, just want to make sure I don’t set myself up for some serious student loan debt. Could you elaborate on how much you are looking to pay out of pocket and why that’s the case? Thanks!

definitely GS. I suggest you to visit Fordham. Fordham staff (etc. Dean Bravo) are young and rude.

From speaking with vets and looking at profiles in LinkedIn, you’re better off attending GS. Fordham has a good veteran network (it’s growing) but Columbia’s network (military and non-military) is solid in wall Street. Even if you can’t network worth a damn, the Columbia name will set you apart along with your military background.

@happilygilmor It depends on how serious you are about law school. If you’re quite sure of your decision to eventually attend, then Fordham is almost a no-brainer. It is a reputable school and will put you in a good position to get into some prestigious law schools, assuming you do well there and study hard for the LSAT. You’ll notice on a recent thread that I had this discussion with a Columbia GS graduate, whose argument was the same: Columbia GS will only be worth the cost if you plan on working right out of undergrad.

This post is a year old though