<p>If i go to BU, i will be 200k in debt when i graduate. I plan to get a cpa so i probably dont need graduate school. I could go to umass and graduate with about 70k in debt and then get my cpa. However, would BU provide me with more opportunities in regards with jobs and internships? Isenberg is a good school and all, but will it help me get a good paying starting job?</p>
<p>Big 4 recruiters will take notice of the fact that you had the drive and dedication to make it through a tough curriculum at Isenberg and were even willing to shoulder debt. I’m not going to lie and say that your payments won’t be pretty steep, but I think that it’s well worth it especially if you’re going to into a prestigious and lucrative field like accounting. Unlike some other fields (acting, theatre, etc) you don’t need to be the best of the best and be really fortunate in order to succeed. If you are a skilled accountant and graduate in good standing from BU, there’s no question that it’ll be well worth the effort and the loans (which you will find will be more than dwarfed by your median salary after a few years paying your dues at a Big 4 firm). </p>
<p>Compare that to the kids who took the easy way out at University of Massachusetts and will pay for that with sharply limited job opportunities and less active recruitment offers during their junior and senior years. I would go to BU, regardless of what they ask of you.</p>
<p>Bedouin, why do you think a kid out of BU’s school would get more/better job offers than a kid out of Isenberg (UMass)? The question is the relative marketability of these kids and unless you are a recruiter or know that a BU degree is worth more than a UMass degree in this field (and I doubt this) as a person who knows people out of both programs, I don’t know what you are saying.</p>
<p>indycarkid, if you were stuck between Harvard and BU/UMass, and you wanted to go into IBanking, there is no doubt that Harvard is the way to go even if Harvard costs $50K/year and BU/UMass were free. This is because Goldman and their ilk recruit exclusively from the school ON CAMPUS.</p>
<p>As far as I know, BU kids go to accounting firms just like UMass kids do for interviews.</p>
<p>You might consider calling up some CPAs and asking them what they think their firm would make of these 2 degrees. Maybe I’m wrong and the BU SMG? degree is really 10 times better than the UMass Isenberg degree.</p>
<p>You cannot afford to go to BU if you have to borrow $200K to do so.</p>
<p>The monthly payment on $200K is going to be around $2,300. Your monthly non-mortgage debt payments (student loans, car loan, credit cards) should be less than 20% of your monthly gross income. So assuming that you only have the student loans, you need an annual income of $138,000 to be able to afford to borrow $200K. Even $70k in debt is really pushing it. That’s a monthly payment of $800 and you’ll need an annual income of $48K. While that’s not an unreasonable salary for a first year accountant, it doesn’t leave you a lot of “wiggle room.” What if the economy stays week and unemployment remains high? </p>
<p>The statement “Big 4 recruiters will take notice of the fact that you . . .were even willing to shoulder debt” is ludicrous. First of all, the recruiter won’t know how you financed your education. More importantly, taking on $200K in debt without the means to pay if off does not indicate strong financial management skills - which is something I would be looking for in an entry level accountant. </p>
<p>I’m sorry if this sounds harsh, but I work in the collections industry and have seen the disastrous consequences of kids (and parents) borrowing huge amounts of money to pay for college.</p>
<p>A business student / CPA wannabe should run the numbers. Go to UMass and save your cash. Do well and you’ll be fine. It’s never the name on the degree; it’s always you.</p>
<p>I understand what you guys are saying, but I love BU so much. I know for a fact i will be happy there. Umass is a very nice campus as well but i am not big on the party and drinking scene. I know i can avoid it, but it would be a lot harder. Does anyone know anything about interest? will it build up or do i just keep making monthly payments?</p>
<p>Who is cosigning your loans? In order to borrow that much, you MUST have parents or somebody willing to sign for the money, so that if you ever default (don’t pay your loan), the bank will have someone to chase down for the money.</p>
<p>The person who cosigns must also have good enough credit and a decent income/assets in order to be able to borrow that amount of money. </p>
<p>The interest will build on the principal (amount of money you borrow) but the accumulated interest will not add to the principle until you graduate and start repaying.</p>
<p>I will be graduating with 80-90k in debt, and even that is a **** load of debt. Be careful what you’re getting in to.</p>
<p>You can defer payments on interest until after graduation, though if the loans are not subsidized, they will still rack up interest. You can also pay off the interest accrued through monthly payments or whatever. Honestly, the difference is $130k and you cannot ignore the fact that it will ruin you when you graduate. Though I love BU just as much as the next guy, I would not be willing to pay that much for the school.</p>
<p>Seriously, you’ll still be paying student loans when all your friends will have already owned a house.</p>
<p>Honestly, $80 to $90k in debt isnt that much better than $200k in debt. I would have still to recommend the school that is the best fit for you (BU). Yes, it’s tough, but there are incalculable benefits to going to a school where you’ll be happy instead of a school where you will be distracted or miserable for all 4 years. Not only is Boston University at least 20x more prestigious and well-respected than UMass within the financial sector (include finance, economics, and accounting!), going to the right school can mean the difference of getting a 3.5+ gpa and getting below that. According to academic studies into college fit, rigor, and grades, students who went to the school that was most in line with their needs (including academic rigor, social life, physical location, and other factors such as well-regarded programs) had an average final grade point average of approximately .5 percentage points above both the national average and the gpa of students who were in similar majors at different schools. It’s not all about rankings; the same correlation was found even among students who were induced by their parents to select a more rigorous or higher-ranked school than the one that they were best fit for. It’s true that employers aren’t as prestigious conscious in accounting as they are in law or medicine, but they definitely take into account your college gpa when hiring for internships as well as for your first job out of undergraduate work. If you are interested in masters-level accounting, it can be even more invaluable. </p>
<p>I would definitely reconsider listening to the nay-sayers here. They are not the ones who will help you find a job once your graduate. The negligible savings of going to a lower-ranked state school will be outweighed by the strain of finding a job with a lower-ranked degree, graduating from a poorly-rated state school with a lower than average industry gpa and limited internship and alumni contacts. Taking that kind of risk with your future is simply not worth it. If you have the financial wherewithal (cosigners, etc.) to attend Boston University, then that’s where you should go. Don’t let a debt load like that scare you. With the money that you’ll be earning upon graduation, you’ll work that debt off and be well on your way to fulfilling career while your mates who went to an inferior school are still struggling to find jobs months after their first Stafford payment has come due.</p>
<p>Bedouin, you said “They are not the ones who will help you find a job once your graduate.”</p>
<p>So will you be helping the OP pay off the extra trivial $110-120K loan?</p>
<p>indycarkid, take everything you read here on these forums with a grain of salt. No one can OR wants to make this decision for you. You should simply get as much information as you can. Once you think you have all the information you need, sit down with your parents and discuss this decision with them as an adult.</p>
<p>Either way, enjoy the next 4 years! I’m sure they’ll be a fun and rewarding time no matter what! :)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Oh please…here we go with Bedouin’s “prestige factor”. Give me a break. I have a kid who is a Boston University graduate and he got an excellent education there…but we were fortunate that he got decent merit aid. He also only graduated with the Stafford loan debt because we could AFFORD to pay his college bills for BU.</p>
<p>U Mass is a fine school. Of course we love BU…but honestly, if you are looking at significant debt…why not consider BU for grad school…only 2 years instead of four.</p>
<p>Bottom line…you have to have a way to pay your bills and $90K in debt is a huge debt burden for an undergrad…even a finance major.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Um … I hate to break it to you, but I grew up in Boston and it is just a huge college partying town. If you are worried about being affected by the party scene at UMass, you may well find yourself facing the same temptations around BU and the adjacent Kenmore Square and Allston-Brighton areas.</p>