Hello,
I got into Columbia as a community college transfer and will be studying financial economics. Even after getting some scholarships, I will still have to pay around $120k intuition to get my bachelor’s degree. Is it worth taking the loan to attend Columbia?
Thank you!
What will be your total debt at the time that they hand you a bachelor’s degree?
What are your alternatives?
If your total debt will be $120,000 this seems like too much to me. Do not forget that you will also need to pay for room and board, books, transportation, and probably other expenses. New York City is an expensive place to live.
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How could you even get a loan of that size?
You should seek out affordable options.
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No…unless the degree says M.D. next to it, it’s not worth spending $120,000 on a degree, much less a bachelors. That’s financial suicide.
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Or JD or MBA.
Hi
I live in NYC so I am not considering the living cost and transportation since I will have to pay them anyway. I expect to be in a debt of around $100k-$120k by the time I graduate.
My options are I got into Brooklyn College and Baruch College. These are CUNY schools and since I am a resident of New York, I will be paying around $10k to get my bachelor’s.
Note: I got into Columbia and all the other schools as a community college transfer.
It sounds like you were accepted as an undergraduate transfer to Columbia? I assume Columbia College or GS?
The maximum that a dependent undergrad student (years 3 and 4) can take in federal loans is $7500. Above that you’ll have to take private loans, and will probably need a parent co-signer. If you are independent of your parents, then the amount rises to $12500. But this is still far short of the $60K per year that you’ll need. Do you have someone that is willing to co-sign for the remaining $45-50K per year?
Hello,
Yes, Columbia GS. I am 27 years old and independent.
I live in NYC so I am not counting the living cost. After getting a $20,600 scholarship for the first year, I will still need to pay around $45k presumably $110k till I graduate with an economics degree. I am just not sure whether it is worth paying this much money to go to Columbia whether it’s a private loan or a loan from family.
Not worth it.
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Its good that you’re in GS. They allow part-time status, and you are able to major in the same things that the CC/Barnard students do. Graduating from GS with an economics degree will be highly valued. Even better if you were to do something like CS.
You might want to contact the Columbia Career Center (CCE) and tell them you’re an accepted student and wanted to know what were career outcomes and starting salaries for econ majors. They post some general statistics on the website (see below): Data & Statistics | Columbia CCE
But I’m still unclear on how you are going to pay $45k per year for it. Thats a lot to take out via private loan, unless your family is willing to co-sign. But if you get a good job after college you’d be able to pay that back fairly quickly.
Thanks for your response!
I think I will be able to borrow some money from friends and family and take out a private loan for the rest of the amount.
However, my concern is if it is worth the massive price tag to study financial economics at Columbia GS.
I also got into Baruch College as a finance major and waiting for the decision for UVA’s McIntire School of Commerce.
As of now, I am confused between Columbia GS and Baruch’s Zicklin School. At Baruch, it will cost me max $15k to get my bachelor’s whereas at Columbia that’s around $120k.
I plan to apply to Harvard Kennedy School and Oxford’s MBA to pursue MPA and MBA respectively. Will I get an edge over other candidates when applying to top schools for grad school or Baruch will do the same?
Yeah! This is a very good school. It is a CUNY and you live in NYC so it should be very affordable.
Save your money. $120,000 in debt is too much.
Columbia University is a very good university. My wife got her master’s degrees there. It is not worth $120,000 in debt for a bachelor’s degree.
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I agree that $120K is a lot. But I guess it depends what you type of job you’d like to get. If your goal is something like investment banking or consulting, then a Columbia degree will help get the interview. It won’t guarantee the job however.
Some IB firms only recruit at “target” schools. Not sure if Baruch is a target. But UVA probably is. You’d also need to get a good GPA. There are plenty of GS alums on wall street. Consider reaching out to some of them on LinkedIn and ask what they think.