Hi, I’m a white male from CT and I’m deciding between UConn Honors and UVA for Finance. I could go to UConn and graduate with no debt, or go to UVA and take out $25k in student loans. I plan on getting a Masters degree later on; either an MS in Finance, an MBA or both; so not having that debt would be helpful. However, I can see myself in IBanking, in which case UVA (and McIntire’s) name carries MUCH more weight. Both schools feel about the same to me, so “fit” is about equal. What I’m really wondering is: Will I be significantly disadvantaged going into IBanking or another Finance-related field if I choose UConn over UVA? Another one of my concerns for UVA is I would have to apply to McIntire as a second year. If I don’t get in…I’m screwed.
Thanks so much for your help!
If you can get a quality bachelors using only federal Stafford loans, that is very reasonable. UVa may also offer low interest federal Perkins loans. If you need also high interest rate private loans or PLUS loans, that is more problematic.
The question you have to assess is: is a UVA degree worth 1k a year more than UConn? I think so.
Actually, his numbers come out to 6.25 K more a year to attend UVa, plus interest. Most students over 4 years can take out $19K of federally subsidized Staffords and $8 K of non-subsidized Staffords, for a total of 27K of loans. For some students, UVa is able to substitute federally subsidized Perkins loans for the unsubsidized Staffords.
The feds give you 10 years to pay them off. You don’t need to make payments on your undergrad fed loans while you are in grad school with a close to full course load. You can calculate the payments online.
You also would need to figure in any additional travel expenses. However, that might be off-set if Connecticut has a higher cost of living and higher housing prices than Cville. If you live in the northeast US, Amtrak is a very efficient way to get to and from Cville. Join AAA and get a 10% discount, and buy your tickets early to save money.
In the event you don’t get into McIntire, you can still be an econ major and can take several McIntire courses.