<p>Yes, I am a transfer student. Thank you for your replies.</p>
<p>Now I understand your dilemma. </p>
<p>“I am interested in working for a top financial firm in LA, NY, or Miami.”</p>
<p>An economics degree from LSA at Michigan, while being a strong program, is not going to be nearly as helpful in obtaining a job in finance it those cities as one would be from Ross. If you only need two years to obtain your degree, then I would suggest you check out job placement statistics and determine which school would serve you best. It might very well be worth it to pay a premium for Columbia since it would only be for two years. Personally, I would not pay a premium to attend Emory over Michigan for an economics degree.</p>
<p>From what I am understanding, the consensus here is that Columbia, Michigan and Emory are the frontrunners? Or does anyone see the other schools I was admitted to as contenders?</p>
<p>Based on your comment rjkofnovi, it seems that if my goal is to work at a top financial firm in LA, NY or Miami I should attend Columbia or obtain a finance degree at Michigan or Emory instead of economics, which will take 3 years instead of 2 years.</p>
<p>Is it worth attending Columbia based on my plan or should I take an extra year and pay substantially less to obtain a finance degree at Michigan or Emory?</p>
<p>Ross is a three year program. It appears to me that Michigan would take you another four years to graduate from if you went that route, since you aren’t into Ross currently. Goizueta at Emory is a two year program. That might be a better way for you to go.</p>
<p>“From what I am understanding, the consensus here is that Columbia, Michigan and Emory are the frontrunners? Or does anyone see the other schools I was admitted to as contenders?”</p>
<p>It seems to me that a degree from a “continuing education” program would not carry the same cache in finance as one from the other choices available.</p>
<p>So you think of all the schools, I should go to Emory?</p>
<p>This could help in providing you with a rough sketch of post-Columbia GS job placement: <a href=“http://www.careereducation.columbia.edu/sites/cce/files/2012_gss--gs.pdf[/url]”>http://www.careereducation.columbia.edu/sites/cce/files/2012_gss--gs.pdf</a></p>
<p>Thank you Tsar. Does anyone here think I should attend Emory. They want their $475 enrollment deposit immediately. Or do you think I should pass?</p>
<p>It appears that Emory will take two years at a total cost of around $36,000 (excluding cost of living); Columbia, if the FA matches the NPC, will take <em>about</em> two years at a total cost of about $90,000 (again, excluding CoL); and Michigan will take three years at a total cost of about $30,000 (ditto).</p>
<p>Columbia is a great school - and it’s definitely the best choice out of the three for finance/working at top financial firms in New York. My husband and I both attend Columbia - I’m a grad student and he’s in GS himself - and the campus is crawling with financial firms in the fall. I advise undergraduates and many of them get interviews and end up working at these top finance and consulting firms; they get jobs by December, so they already know where they are going and spend the spring hunting for apartments. This applies to GS graduates too.</p>
<p>But $90,000 is too much debt to take on. I think the recruiting situation at Michigan is also pretty good. Michigan has a HUGE alumni network and there are many of them in New York (many of my grad school friends went to Michigan for undergrad. Seems like everyone went to Michigan or Penn State!)</p>
<p>Here is employment data at Ross:</p>
<p>[Employment</a> Data - Stephen M. Ross School of Business](<a href=“Which MBA Format is Right for Me? | Michigan Ross”>http://www.bus.umich.edu/EmploymentData/EmploymentOverview.htm)</p>
<p>Of BBA graduates, 81% of foreign nationals had an offer by the time they graduated and the median base salary was about $63,000. The top hiring companies include big New York financial firms - Deloitte, Accenture, Goldman Sachs, PricewaterhouseCoopers, J.P. Morgan Chase - as well as some other ones like AmEx, Bank of America, Citi, etc. Most ended up in the Midwest, but 34% ended up in the Northeast with a median salary of $70,000. In short, it seems like Michigan is a fine and - to you - affordable place to go and end up in top finance firms in the Northeast.</p>
<p>Emory is a great BBA program, too. It’s slightly more expensive than Michigan, but it shaves an entire year off the program (theoretically) - which allows you to earn a financial career salary sooner. If you look at their BBA recruiting page, they’re in the top 5 BBA programs in the country and was named #1 for employment by Businessweek. The top 5 hiring cities are New York, Atlanta, and Boston; 43% of the students end up in the Northeast (probably mostly New York with a dash of Boston) - so if you want to end up in New York from Emory you certainly can. The median salary is $66,000 for financisl services, but that’s likely skewed downwards by the large number who end up in the South/Southeast (the overall median is similar at Michigan when all graduates are included). Top BBA employers included Deloitte, Citi, Ernst & Young, JPMorganChase, Barclays, Bank of American, Wells Fargo, Bain…and so on. 91% had a job within 3 months of graduation.</p>
<p><a href=“http://goizueta.emory.edu/careermanagement/recruit/BBA/bba_statistics2.html[/url]”>http://goizueta.emory.edu/careermanagement/recruit/BBA/bba_statistics2.html</a></p>
<p>So honestly, it looks like you can end up where you want from both schools. Michigan’s tuition is slightly cheaper, but with the knowledge that Ross’s program is a 3-year program, the total cost of Emory is probably lower - you’ll have to finance a full extra year at Michigan (which can cost around $20,000 total). You’ll also be earning more quickly at Emory - so that third year, while you’ll be spending money and not earning much at Michigan, you’ll be actually making money since you’ll have graduated from Emory.</p>
<p>Emory and Michigan’s business schools are similarly ranked. So given the extra year you’d spend at Michigan, personally I’d choose Emory. (I also have to admit a slight bias because I am from Atlanta and I absolutely love the city - a lot of people who go to Emory fall in love with Atlanta and end up staying, hence the large amount of BBA graduates who end up at PwC and in the Southeast in general. But even without that, I would say Emory is the more practical choice - assuming it is only 2 years.)</p>
<p>Thank you for the detailed response, it was very helpful. Considering my goals, do you guys suggest an economics or finance degree?</p>
<p>One of my fears was turning down Columbia and then ruining my chances for an ivy league MBA</p>
<p>By the way, I noticed that no one has really discussed NYU SCPS, NWU SCS, WUSTL SCS, nor SMU. Does everyone here think my best option are either Columbia, Emory or Michigan?</p>
<p>You won’t ruin your chances for an Ivy League MBA if you go to any of these schools. The Harvard MBA class of 2015 has 126 domestic colleges represented. Dartmouth’s had 159. There are only 8 Ivy League schools, so the vast majority of those students went elsewhere. The class profiles don’t always release this information, but you don’t have to go to an Ivy for undergrad to go to an Ivy League for an MBA. (Besides, there are great MBA programs outside of the Ivy League, like Stanford, MIT, Northwestern, Chicago, Berkeley, NYU, Duke, UVa, Michigan, Emory, Carnegie Mellon, and Wash U. There are only 4 Ivy League schools in the top 10 business schools, and only 6 in the top 25.)</p>
<p>As for economics or finance, I don’t think it matters. I looked at the top business schools and they admit similar percentages of economics and finance majors. By proxy, that also means that similar percentages of economics and finance majors had the kind of fast-paced business jobs needed to get admitted to top business schools. Economics and finance are different in terms of what you study - economics is a social science and will be more theoretical/abstract; finance is more practical/applied. But in terms of getting jobs after - that will depend more on your internships during college and the kind of quantitative skills you have. You can build strong analytical skills in either major.</p>
<p>I would eliminate SMU from the running, because any financial aid you’re going to get is unlikely to beat the offer from Emory or Michigan (even if it’s a bit cheaper). It’s hard to recommend the other options when you have no financial aid information yet. Also, I’m not familiar with the continuing education programs at any of those schools. I know from experience that GS students are well-integrated into the fabric of the school, take almost all of their classes with regular undergraduates and are placed in the kinds of jobs you want after graduation. Schools of continuing education vary a lot on those metrics.</p>
<p>University College is not Olin; Northwestern’s SCS is not Kellogg; and SCPS is not Stern. NYU SCPS doesn’t seem to offer a major in economics:</p>
<p>[Undergraduate</a> Programs](<a href=“http://www.scps.nyu.edu/academics/degree-programs/undergraduate.html]Undergraduate”>http://www.scps.nyu.edu/academics/degree-programs/undergraduate.html)</p>
<p>They do have a major in leadership and management studies.</p>
<p>I just received my Columbia University financial aid award. Total cost to me is $54,000 a year to attend. I will have to find outside private loans or scholarships to cover $40,000 per year, the rest is Federal loans.</p>
<p>Is Columbia worth the money for the prestige, job prospects, internships, career advancement opportunities, education, location, etc? </p>
<p>I will study financial economics. I want to work in investment banking, hedge fund management, or a private equity firm. I am transferring 55 credits so most likely it will take me 2 years to complete. </p>
<p>I am also considering the University of Michigan which will cost me $10,000 per year and I am admitted to study economics or Emory University which will cost me $18,000 a year and I am admitted as an undeclared major. </p>
<p>Which is the best option for me? Columbia costs significantly more but I am wondering if I can pass up on an Ivy League education in NYC with all the opportunities it will provide. I also want to increase the likelihood I get into a great graduate school for an MBA. </p>
<p>Also, considering my career path, is it better I get a finance degree or an economics degree? If I get a finance degree, I think it will take me 3 years at Michigan and Emory, instead of 2 years at Columbia.</p>
<p>That’s a lot of money to take out in loans AshleyE for an undergraduate degree. What are you going to do?</p>
<p>I don’t know what to do yet.</p>
<p>You can’t borrow that kind of money on your own. You would need a co-signer or a parent who is ready willing and able to take out a PLUS loan.</p>
<p>Graduating up past your eyeballs in debt is not a smart move. Michigan is the best deal here. Go there. Get good grades. Don’t look back.</p>
<p>Listen to happyMOMof1 AshleyE, she knows. I just can’t see spending that much extra money to attend Columbia over Michigan or Emory to get a similar undergraduate degree in economics. I’d say go to Michigan, do very well, and get your MBA from a top school. Btw, if you are younger, Michigan will be an excellent social experience for you as well.</p>
<p>Thank you for the advice. If I decide to go to Michigan, should I go the quicker way and get the Economics degree or get the finance degree?</p>