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Don't engineering MBA's make a lot of money?
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As an engineering MBA, I make a comfortable living, but I'd rather not be saddled with $150k student loan debt, if I can avoid it.</p>
<p>Keep in mind, with the current bank credit crisis, student loans are harder to come by and interest rates are quite high (especially for private loans).</p>
<p>Igor, I have indeed you should definitely visit Wisconsin. I think you would approve. </p>
<p>And yes, patent lawyers (or most lawyers who work for large private law firms) earn enough to pay back a $150k debt. But that's the debt you would have to take out to attend three years of Law School. So for your undergrad, try not to get into too much debt.</p>
<p>Please keep in mind that many of us here have rather extreme biases about various schools (I wear mine on my sleeve, or at least in my screen name. Others do not). Your mileage on any internet forum will vary! Be sure to personally contact the financial aid officers at any university you would like to attend to determine the best possile situation for yourself, and work with your parents/guardians/families to figure out how things will work out.</p>
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I wear mine on my sleeve, or at least in my screen name. Others do not
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Oh, I'm quite guilty of that myself...;)</p>
<p>UCBCEG - it does make it rather easier for people to get a sense of where we might be coming from.</p>
<p>In my case, I think on this forum, Alexandre is now synonymous with Michigan. Actually, I think it has been for quite some time.</p>
<p>Thanks a ton for the advice, guys.... Go to Madison, huh? Maybe....</p>
<p>What people say about going to Minnesota for a year and then transferring to Duke to save like $40,000? Is it worth it?</p>
<p>What do you think Duke will offer you that Minnesota can't?</p>
<p>I guess it's just that I'd be happier at Duke; it really has nothing to do with prestige.</p>
<p>Duke's students are all really smart, I happen to know, as well as diverse in most aspects. I really want to be exposed to all of that, and having been at the Minnesota for a long time (I take classes there), I don't think I'll be exposed to all of that stuff as much.
With a much smaller undergraduate body, I'd get more individual attention from professors and have tons more opportunities. I'd especially like to travel abroad, and Duke is better in that department, I believe. Also, research opportunities are bigger at Duke for undergraduates, and there are many reasons I'd like to do that.
Then there's all the other reasons, like that Duke has somewhat better facilities and is really good at BME and could help me with job placement and what not.</p>
<p>The weather's better at Duke, and I just like the atmosphere there more. Duke is just a great place to be at, and I don't think that I'd be that happy at Minnesota.... Maybe I just have a grudge against this place for not giving me a full ride....</p>
<p>igor - definitely make sure that you are not motivated by "a grudge." Much of your enjoyment, wherever you go, will be based on the attitude you bring to it. Minnesota is a terrific school and a person who chooses to go there can really have a strong, rigorous, and fun college experience. But only if he or she wants to :)</p>
<p>I understand that you want to get away and explore...Duke would definitely provide you a refreshing change of scenery. But, look at it in the context of an investment, which is what you are doing - that's the correct approach. Duke is great, but is it worth $150k or more in debt? In my opinion it's not worth the premium over Minnesota. I say this for the following: </p>
<p>Since you're interested in an engineering career, Minnesota is a highly respected program. Engineering is a very market-driven field in terms of salary and compensation. You will not get paid more as an engineer graduating from Duke vs. Minnesota. If you were interested in Wall Street careers, Duke would have the benefit over Minnesota and it may be worth the premium. </p>
<p>You're obviously a very bright and motivated person to get accepted to the schools you did. You'll likely be a top student at Minnesota. Don't just think of the next 4 years...the Duke experience could be quickly washed away under a tidal wave of student loan debt. IMO, the amount of debt you're considering taking on to go to Duke would be a huge drag on your post-graduate/career dreams.</p>
<p>Bottom line: for engineering, you won't see a big return on your Duke investment like you would on the Minnesota investment...for that reason, I would go to Minnesota.</p>
<p>unless i missed you saying something.. why not think about wisconsin. more "high regarded" than uminn and would only leave you $40,000 in debt after college. i totally get programs confused all the itme but i think it has a great engineering program? anyway many kids choose it over other top schools and theres even a good amount of OOS kids.</p>
<p>otherwise i would go to uminn.. $150,000 in debt is just too much to shoulder IMO. if you HATED it after a year you could always transfer and wind up $110,000 in debt</p>
<p>hey so im kind of in the same situation choosing ucla or ucsd for bioengineering. do u guys think it would b a safe hoice to go to ucsd cuz of its rankings or does that really not matter? also i believe ucsd would have more internship opportunities in that area vs ucla so any suggestions on the choice between the two would b great.</p>
<p>ps- undergrad ucsd is ranked4 and ucla isnt in the top 30 for bioeng</p>
<p>The difference between EAD and UCBChemEGrad is this: the former is a Duke student possibly living off parents funds and insanely biased towards Duke while the latter is a prof engineer that makes his own money and has the common financial sense to know what 150K debt means! UCB also went to a top engineering program and if he says it's tough to pay that debt off as a prof engineer, you'd better take his words for it...</p>
<p>It's between Minn vs Wisc if I were you. There's always one-year master program in biotech at other schools. Also, if you didn't even think about IB before, chances are you are not the type of person that likes IB, which by the way, is not the same thing as "finance". Heck, a lot of people that are aspired to be IBs can't survive it (IF they get the positions at the first place). Also, IB positions are competitive and not easy to get even for Duke students. EAD was exaggerating the ease of getting them.</p>
<p>I agree with evetrything Sam Lee said, although in fairness to EAD, I don't think any college student can possibly comprehend the burden and intense stress that a debt of $150k can be on a person, regardless of how much money they earn. I particularly agree with Sam on how tough it is to land a job in IBanking. And even if one lands a job as an IBanker, there are no guarantees one will earn a huge bonus. </p>
<p>Minnesota would make the most financial sense, but if you want a slightly better university with a hipper and funner campus/college town, you can go for Wisconsin and incur a $20-$30k debt. That would be manageable. </p>
<p>You can always go for a top 10 university for graduate school.</p>
<p>"the former is a Duke student possibly living off parents funds and insanely biased towards Duke"</p>
<p>"insanely"? Wow.</p>
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"insanely"? Wow.
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<p>DukeEgr, read some of his other previous posts from other threads, especially those threads about Duke vs. other schools like Uchicago, Cornell, etc. His bias level is off the charts.</p>
<p>And, I agree that OP should go save the money. Duke is good, but I am afraid this will put too much financial burden upon graduating.</p>
<p>patlees88 - so, you believe "insanely" is an appropriate way to categorize EAD?</p>
<p>^well...I wouldn't use that kind of word. But, it is obvious EAD isn't so factually oriented when making cases for Duke compared to other schools that his bias comes out to seem extreme many times in favor of Duke.</p>
<p>So - sorry to be blunt - yes or no - "insanely"? Because that, specifically, after all, was that to which I referred.</p>
<p>Beyond that, how would you categorize, in general, bias for or against schools with respect to college confidential? Because, honestly, I don't think EAD is more than a sigma away from just about every other post I've read in the X vs. Y category on here of late.</p>