<p>When I was looking at schools a few months ago, I had really liked NYU but I crossed it off my list. I simply didn't think I would be able to afford going. I found out, however that I got a 30K CAS scholarship and 3k work study opportunity in my financial aid package. My family and I have a reasonable amount of money saved for college, though not enough to cover the entire difference in total costs.</p>
<p>My question is: If I wanted to dual major in economics and art history, is NYU worth it to take out student loans? Additionally, how much might I expect to pay on miscellaneous costs in NY, things not covered with tuition and room and board. Would I be able to appeal my financial aid package for a little bit more money?</p>
<p>You got a very top financial aid award for NYU. Economics (CAS) will open a lot of doors for you. You can participate in many of the clubs that Stern has, but NYC employers often will ask you why CAS and not Stern. Nevertheless, the job prospects for you will be outstanding, and it is likely that you will pay whatever loans that you get within 5 years given the size of your award and college savings. Take a look at this thread:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/new-york-university/1110913-congratulations-incoming-nyu-freshmen-now-time-get-down-numbers-cost.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/new-york-university/1110913-congratulations-incoming-nyu-freshmen-now-time-get-down-numbers-cost.html</a></p>
<p>You basically got one of the largest possible aid packages here. If you’re interested in econ, CAS econ won’t get you as far in business (specifically finance) as Stern would, but our econ is ranked nationally and very competitive.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t appeal if I were you. Normally I’d always say, “Yeah, ask for more, what can it hurt,” but at this point you’ve already gotten SO much compared to others that I don’t see it playing out favorably for you.</p>
<p>To me, NYU (Stern) is worth it, and I’ve got less aid than you and no parental assistance. The earning prospects right after graduation are lucrative enough that I’m willing to bear the loans.</p>
<p>The reason I’m interested in CAS economics was mostly because I still want a liberal arts approach to my education. I thought it was important to have the quantitative skills and also some creative skills.</p>
<p>It’s just really frustrating. I know I wouldn’t be carrying the “horror story” NYU debt, but just the idea of being indebted scares me at 17 years old. I realize how lucky I am to receive such a package and to have some amount of money saved with my family, but it still seems like such a stretch. I think cost-of-living expenses are another uncertainty in the big picture.</p>
<p>I’m in the same situation. I applied knowing that my family can’t afford the high tuition, but I was just being hopeful about the financial aid. I was so happy when I got accepted but then reality sunk in when I remembered the costs and fees. I’ve decided to go to a state school instead. I don’t know if I want to spend 10 or so years paying off a debt when I also want to go to grad school which is going to cost me even more.</p>
<p>Higher ED is first and foremost a business. NYU may have name recognition and it may help you get interviews for entry level positions but nothing is guaranteed. You have to ask yourself if, given the absurd price, a NYU college experience is really worth it. I mean, if you like NYC then you can always get a decent degree in a State school then move there to work. I have many years of job experience in a white collar career and know that the college you attend does not really matter that much. What matters is your intelligence (emotional and mental), work ethic and personal integrity. NYU is not going to give you that! Good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice everyone. I’m still waiting to hear back from places, so I’m not ruling out any possibility yet. The state school route might be better. It’s just hard when you’ve wanted to go somewhere so badly.</p>
<p>Again, it depends on what you want to do. While I’m not discrediting Pnw’s advice, recognize that not all white-collar careers are the same. What he/she does may be very different from where you go, and even as a current student, I have to disagree with their comment about your school’s name being irrelevant.</p>
<p>Over the past 6 months I absolutely immersed myself in the recruiting process for finance: got accepted into a fairly competitive professional development panel hosted on-campus, networking events, corporate info sessions, program presentations, recruiter-in-residence events, and then the accelerated recruiting interviews with major banks (Goldman, Morgan, BarCap, Citi, etc.). You have no idea how many doors are opened for you simply with the Stern name behind you. It’s not on the same level as HYPW, but the simple fact is that when you’re in the upper echelons of education, it’s easier to get into the upper echelons of certain industries.</p>
<p>I know you aren’t explicitly interested in finance, but the illustration is the same. NYU will do a lot more for you in both the present and the future than a state school. Alumni base, career opportunities, extracurriculars, and the mere location factor are all huge pluses that you’ll have a hard time beating.</p>
<p>Your mental and emotional intelligence <em>are</em> absolutely integral to your success, and I’d argue that you’ll further your development in such a stimulating environment like Manhattan more than you will at a public school out in a state. Work ethic is critical; you’ll learn to hone it better here, what with the constant distractions and pleasures the city can offer you. Integrity is fundamental; you’ll learn through trial by fire as you enter a very adult world far earlier than most. I’ve found that I’ve done more growing in a year and a half than I have in a decade and a half, and I credit that to the challenges I’ve had to face here.</p>
<p>I understand the cost can be daunting. Trust me, I know. I’m handling it entirely myself. But the payoff stands to be huge. You’re investing in yourself; why would you want to shortchange that?</p>
<p>@hellodocks
I agree that NYU’s proximity to Wall Street is a major advantage for those studying finance. But I would question the future of the industry given the fact that GS, Citi and JPM are virtual wards of the State and almost totally dependent on the political good will emanating from Washington DC (not sure how stable that is). Besides, Finance has played a disproportionate role in the economy the past 20 years or so. I think a major decline is at hand. Other areas such as engineering, high tech and healthcare will probably offer much more opportunity (even in the NYC area) in the future as our Nation, by necessity, moves more towards a production versus a consumption based economy. In most of these areas, if you can get into a top notch public program, you are just as likely to succeed as somebody with a degree from NYU. But if you have the money and want the whole NYC Greenwich Village experience then by all means go for it! I’m just saying that most people cannot afford such luxuries and there is no shame in that.</p>
<p>I agree with helldocks, name recognition does carry you far and the alumni networking is really helpful. Proximity to Wall St is fantastic and while GS, citi and Chase may be wards of the state, it still is what it is.
Noname22, you received a fantastic scholarship.</p>
<p>30,000 CAS scholarship+5500 stafford (assumption)+2400 Perkins (assumption)=37900
Are you eligible for any outside scholarships?
Can your parents come up with the 15000 between, savings, a parent plus loan and maybe your work from a current or summer job?
Work Study is not deducted from your bill. You have to find a job on campus and use the money towards whatever.
Seems like a great opportunity.
Good luck.</p>
<p>I would work a job for work study if I attended, I was aware it wasn’t simply knocked off my bill. My parents only have a certain amount of savings budgeted for me, however, they’ve stated that they would take out loans in their name, or just pay the difference and have me pay them back.</p>
<p>Pnw, I think you make great points, but I wouldn’t call an NYU degree a luxury expense. I’ve worked hard personally, my parents work hard, and there’s still some sacrifices that might have to be made. I’m merely considering that making a little stretch could be worth it. It’s nothing that we could normally afford without my CAS scholarship. I had to completely erase my like for it until I found out the cost would be less stratospheric. I just don’t feel that the extra cost is exactly frivolous.</p>
<p>@milkandsugar, yes I have a few thousand saved from a summer job also and a smaller year-round job</p>
<p>Future of the industry? Let’s think for a minute. What did people say in 1930, 1950, 1980, 1990, 2001, 2008, and now 2010? “Finance is dead,” “It can’t ever come back,” “Smart people won’t want to work there any longer,” “Regulation will kill this beast,” etc. etc. Guess what. It’s still here. Agreed that it’s accounting for a disproportionate part of our national GDP at the moment (8.4% or so), but you’re painting far worse a picture than is actually the case.</p>
<p>And, at the end of the day, while I agree completely with you on the fact that engineering and tech are becoming the new vogue, the simple fact that an engineer can leave school and make double in finance what he would in the actual field of his degree will continue the trend of brain drain we see. I’m with you, I’m not a fan of the aggrandizing talent acquisition we see in finance, but it’s a simple fact. (See this article for more: [Friends</a> Don?t Let Friends Get Into Finance](<a href="Friends Don’t Let Friends Get Into Finance | TechCrunch) )</p>
<p>The future of the industry? I’m far too young to say. But I do see banks repaying TARP, and despite the hubbub last week over the Supreme Court upholding the right of the public to see exactly who borrowed how much and when, I don’t see that causing too much of a disturbance in the industry. And if you knew just how cosy banks’ lobbying interests are/were with political regulators, you’d know that sadly, TBTF banks will continue to be just that, Too Big To Fail.</p>
<p>You referring to a top-notch education as a luxury strikes me as a bit far-fetched. If there’s one thing today worth not skimping on, I’d imagine it’d be an undergrad degree. In a world where a Bachelor’s is necessary just to get the most basic of jobs, the quality and name brand of that degree often becomes the deciding factor in how far you can go without a graduate certification. In my mind, opting blindly for the short-term cost-effective route of a state school leads to a worse situation in the end. You leave school with less or no debt but watch your earning potential plateau far sooner. To me personally, it’s a better risk graduating with close to or with six figure debt knowing my all-in compensation will be more than that in my first year than it would be taking a free ride and being stuck with a job at half of what I could be making.</p>
<p>Just my $0.02.</p>
<p>@hellodocks
You bring up some interesting points. This topic is of particular interest to me and I would love to debate it but this is not the right blog for it. Anyway, from a practical point of view, I think that a Finance degree from Stern may be worth what NYU is asking but that is probably one of the few programs in the school that is. For name22’s situation where he is doing Art History with an Econ minor, I personally do not think the ROI is there. Personally, for my D who wants to enroll in CAS, I do not think the tuition is worth it. NYU would have to pony up some serious grants for me to even consider it. IMHO, I think studying Liberal Arts at NYU is a luxury for the vast majority of Americans as there are plenty of reasonable ways to obtain that sort of education for a much lower cost. Good luck to you and everyone else on continued success and making this important life choice!</p>
<p>You must have misread me. I am dual majoring Economics and Art History. I was also considering doing the Mathematics-Economics joint major with an Art History minor. I would never major in only Art History at a school like NYU. I agree that would be wasteful.</p>
<p>noname, I’m in a similar boat, sort of. As of now I’m largely undecided, but strongly considering majoring in econ. possibly doubled with Psych, but again I’m largely undecided. I was only able to receive a 20k CAS scholarship, but to continue the debate posted here, I think the NYU name on a degree will prove to be a nice bargaining chip in the near future, as will any top tier degree. With more and more students being qualified to get into these ultra competitive schools, and the schools themselves becoming much more competitive (NYU apparently only had a 20% acceptance rate this year), I feel that the extra tuition would end up being quite well spent. Either way, the debt still scares any young 17/18 year old (like myself), so can anyone comment on how one could go about squeezing a few extra coins out of NYU’s piggy bank? ;)</p>
<p>Well, from what I read on the boards, if you call the admissions office and request more financial aid, you will get around $1000 to $2000 being the most.</p>
<p>:/ It’s unfortunate that one of the richest private Universities (to my knowledge) can’t toss their accepted students a bigger bone. 10k is pocket change to them.</p>
<p>true crook15. NYU has a large endowment, but consider how many undergrads attend there. Harvard, for example, has a large endowment but so few students that the interest from investments can provide for most of its students financial needs.</p>