<p>Basically, as it stands right now, I'm signed up to attend both the Joint Program between Columbia University (GS) and the Jewish Theological Seminary (List College) AND the University of Texas at Dallas in the fall.</p>
<p>List College is my dream school, but it's insanely expensive and I worry about the job prospects of two liberal arts degrees (especially after reading about the realities of Columbia GS vs. Columbia College, proper). My parents are willing to pay for it (so I'll escape debt free), but anything else I want to do as regards my education is on my own.</p>
<p>UTD is the practical choice. Thanks to a full ride and then some, I'll graduate with 70,000+ dollars in my bank account afterwards, which will help with anything I want to do afterwards.
At UTD, I'm signed up as an Accounting major.</p>
<p>It’s a really tough choice. Since I’m a very practical person, I would probably in the end choose University of Texas at Dallas, but it’s not the best choice, per se. If it was at Austin, eh, that’s understandable.
But Columbia can help you make some very, very important connections later in life. Having an Ivy degree is prestigous and helps you meet very important people; however, you can always go to an Ivy grad school.
It’s a very tough choice. I would pick UTD, but I can understand that you may regret that later.</p>
<p>Yeah. If I could go back in time, I would have applied to UT McCombs instead of COLA first choice. Also, I would have fallen back on UT Austin Liberal Arts Honors instead of UT Dallas. But… too late now.</p>
<p>Well, I’m converting this summer, so while I would love to get all the Jewish education, I also fear the possible stigma I could bear as a convert.</p>
<p>Not necessarily. If you are sure that you’d gain admission to UT Austin, you could take a gap year this coming year and then apply next year for UTA. You’d want to find out from the UTA folks if this is possible. </p>
<p>What would you like to do after undergrad? If you are considering a finance major for UTD, I’m guessing you’re looking towards an MBA program eventually. Having that big chunk of money for graduate education is appealing. Have you seen where people from either program (Columbia/List vs UTD) end up after receiving their undergrad degree? That knowledge could help with your decision, as well.</p>
<p>For what it’s worth: your upcoming conversion (an early mazel tov, and welcome to the mishpacha ) does make me wonder if UT Dallas is the right choice. There is one Hillel for all of the colleges in Dallas, and I see no signs that UTD has a significant Jewish community. You know yourself best, and I am assuming you’ve visited UTD to see if it would work for you…but this west coast Jewish parent is worried about how the school fits you. Getting a college degree is a practical matter, but it’s also four formative years of your life. I can’t put a cost on that for you, but don’t sell yourself short on what those four years may mean in the long term. </p>
<p>My D1 faced a similar choice to yours: go to expensive much-loved school with understanding that any grad school will be on her dime, or go to less expensive not-as-loved school and bank the difference towards the future. Jewish community is important to her, and both schools offered that. She went for door #expensive Again, not necessarily the choice you should make, just saying that others have stood where you’re standing now. </p>
<p>Good luck thinking this through. You might want to post on the parents forum for more advice.</p>
) does make me wonder if UT Dallas is the right choice. There is one Hillel for all of the colleges in Dallas, and I see no signs that UTD has a significant Jewish community. You know yourself best, and I am assuming you’ve visited UTD to see if it would work for you…but this west coast Jewish parent is worried about how the school fits you. Getting a college degree is a practical matter, but it’s also four formative years of your life. I can’t put a cost on that for you, but don’t sell yourself short on what those four years may mean in the long term. </p>