It’s time to make my final decision, and the application process has not been very good to me. I am left with two schools to decide from and i know for sure that i need to major in business. I could’ve applied to ASU and been a direct admit there, and I would’ve probably been a direct admit at Ohio State (but with no scholarship money). My options are:
University of Iowa (Admitted as Pre-Business :/, cost about 35k per year)
DePaul University (Invited to Strobel Honors Accountancy program, there is no “direct admission” to finance major though. About 35k per year)
Marquette (Direct Admission, cost 39-40k per year)
I have always thought of myself as majoring in finance, but i feel like the strobel honors would be a good opportunity and actually makes me feel worth something. The U of Iowa gave me a 5k/year scholarship, but the business school did not give me direct admission just for having 1 point too low on the act…I have no idea what to choose, but I know I like the atmosphere and campus at Iowa much more than Depaul. One big problem is, if I wanted to major in finance at depaul, i would have to meet certain gpa requirements, which would make it just as difficult as transferring into Iowa’s bschool. I am torn between these two because I basically have to decide between accounting and finance, and I’m not sure which one I like at this point. If anyone can give some guidance, suggestions, and tell me any experiences with business at either of these schools, it would be greatly appreciated.
Can they still fill it out?
There’s no 'taken out some other way". FAFSA allows you access to the federal loans (stafford, and, when relevant, perkins), plus if your parents need to, Parent PLUS (not recommended). In addition, it makes you eligible for work study (ie., an on campus job that is scheduled around your classes).
Can your parents pay any of these universities “out of pocket”?
I have not attended any of these schools but Iowa has a great repuatuon, both academically and in terms of being an awesome college town. Sounds like you like the atmosphere there. I see more pros with Iowa than with DePaul given your situation and feel for the atmosphere.
Honestly I think if you like the atmosphere better at Iowa, that’s where you should go. Lots of students have to get admitted to b-school after their freshman year and do so successfully, and even if you don’t, there are lots of other entry points into finance post-college - you don’t have to major in it. Besides, if you were only one point too low on the ACT, you can probably do the work necessary to get admitted to the program in your sophomore year.
The two schools are wildly different with different student personalities and social lives. If you prefer Iowa, go there. The accounting honor is nice, but not critical to your success or happiness. You won’t know until you take your first accounting class if it’s for you. So, don’t paint yourself into a box.
Thanks for the advice guys, I’m just worried because at DePaul i would get a business degree (if i didn’t make it into finance there, i could still switch into accounting or econ) but at Iowa, i either get into the business school or i don’t (with no possible business degree). And i agree about the schools being different, that’s what makes this decision so hard