Hey y’all, I’m slowly starting to get my decisions back from the schools I applied to (Fall 2017 transfer applicant). As far as financial aid is concerned, I had a FAFSA EFC of $291, and my parents don’t particularly want to contribute to college costs. They don’t have all that much money, but they’re self-employed small business owners so that can change on a whim. The first financial aid package I received has maxed out my government loans and grants, and I’m trying to get a grasp on how much debt you think is reasonable for a Business:Finance major. I imagine depending on the school, I will be spending 2-2.5 years finishing my undergraduate degree there (but if a school wants me to spend anymore time than that it’ll probably be off my list). I am also factoring in whether a school will let me take GE requirements over the summer at a community college to bring down costs. As for graduate school, I only plan on attending if 1) it’s financially viable and 2) if I’m not getting enough job fulfillment with just an undergraduate degree. But I don’t have big future plans of med or law school that I need to worry about.
Obviously, the ideal amount of debt for a degree will be zero. But the schools that would end up being that cheap for me, will probably net me a lower salary than some of the more prestigious schools I applied to. I’m a very motivated student with a 3.8 GPA at CC, and I don’t mind the long hours that come with a finance job, so I’m setting my sights for at least the median/average salaries that the graduates of a school are getting, but realistically I think I’d be able to get more given my work experience before/during college.
In any case, how much debt (including housing and food) do you think an undergraduate finance degree is worth? If it makes it easier, I can give some examples for schools I applied to:
Reach: BC, Northeastern, NYU
Match: Bentley, UDel, Drexel, TCNJ
Safety: Bryant, URI, Temple
Thanks in advance for any/all responses.
PS: Housing costs will be split with my girlfriend and therefore much cheaper, and I will be living off campus.
What is your net cost at each of these colleges?
Don’t know yet.
NPCs are only for freshmen, and I’ve only received responses from URI and Drexel (both accepted).
URI only told me I’m getting a $6,000/yr merit scholarship but I won’t get my full award for a bit.
Drexel gave me my full award and I calculated out that after grants my net cost would be about $45,000 to be covered by loans (my parents are prepared to cosign if/when needed). However, during co op I would earn around $15k if I use the average finance co op salary. So that would bring it down to $30,000 (total for 2 yrs). And that’s assuming my parents contribute zero.
BTW I do have a car worth around $10,000 that I can sell if I decide I don’t need/want it during college.
Actually my net cost for drexel will be a couple grand lower because of the way they structure out quarters, co ops, etc. I was under the impression that when I have co-ops I don’t get federal grants but because technically I’m enrolled in 16 co op units I am still going to be getting my full federal grant.
I don’t know anything bout the finance program at Drexel…but the opportunity to co-op should not be underestimated. It will give you real experience, and some work experience on your resume. Sometimes co-ops lead to employment as well.
$30,000 total,debt for your undergrad degree is doable, in my opinion.
I think 30k would be doable. Especially if I end up with no kids like I’m currently planning. For me, I think the ultimate dilemma is going to be whether a degree at a more “targeted” business school like CSOM or Bentley would be worth more than the co-op experience at Drexel. At the same time, I know Boston is roughly twice as expensive to live in as Philly, and neither are NYC when it comes to finance anyways.
I can’t believe you have NYU on your list.
NYU is $72,000 a year…plus. They don’t give much in aid to transfer students. To be honest…I personally think $140,000 in debt or more is excessive.
Aren’t you a CA resident? Surely there are in state schools that are affordable for a transfer student with a $291 EFC. Why not get your undergrad in CA and go OOS for grad school?
@“Erin’s Dad” & @thumper1 NYU Stern was a reach but I applied for the Jack Kent Cooke transfer scholarship and they like to see you reaching high. I wouldn’t want 140k debt for undergrad anyways.
@austinmshauri I’ve lived all over CA all of my life and I just really wanted a move. The best places in CA for finance are SF & LA and I didn’t want to get internships, jobs, etc and get stuck there.
In any case, I’m not looking for a re-evaluation of my life choices lol just trying to gauge how much people think should be spent on a finance degree. Drexel is sort of a benchmark for me. For example, lets say I got into BC or NYU, how much do you think a degree from higher tier institutions is worth? 50k, 75k, 100k?
I don’t think your asking the right question. The right question is how can I maximize my lifetime earnings with a finance degree. Borrowing $140K to attend Stern, but getting into a track that a few years down the road pays over a million a year, would be worth it. Borrowing $140K to attend Stern, but becoming a life insurance salesman, probably wouldn’t. Borrowing $35K to attend Stern the first year and figuring out whether or not you have the chops to be near the top of your class to get a fast track position may be worth it. If you find that you don’t, you can transfer to University of [your state here].
@ClassicRockerDad Stern costs $72,000 a year. The likelihood of it only being a net cost to a transfer student of $35,000 a year is…in my opinion…LOW.
To the OP…you do understand that there are CA college grads who get jobs in NYC. You do NOT have to graduate from an east coast college to work on the east coast.
Did you apply to any of the CA schools? Or did you eliminate them, because of the false notion that you would never be able to work in NYC if you attend a CA college?
I’m well aware. But like I said. Not many public universities in CA have finance degrees, and even less of them are in places I want to live.
I agree that it is unlikely Stern (for a transfer student) would be 35k a year. I don’t think I’m quite impressive enough to get a significant merit scholarship there, and they are notorious for not offering good fin aid. For me it was the thought of: If I can get JKC to cover the 40k max a year (if I got it) then it might be worth it to attend. At full cost? I don’t think so. Going into 30k debt for Drexel is not really significantly more than I would end up with in CA - and housing costs in CA in any place worth living in are expensive anyways.
I’m not sure you need a degree in “finance” to get a job in finance.
It helps to have a degree in finance or accounting to work in finance but do the cost/benefit and SWOT on taking on that much debt. Leverage increases risk and for the many non-million dollar paycheck people in finance, personal debt is to be avoided. Better pay and opportunities come with graduate school. Don’t cripple yourself in undergrad expenses.
I’d rather do finance> accounting and given my educational break I’m not quite math-savvy enough to get the degrees for the more quantitative finance careers (math, statistics, etc). I don’t think 30k would really be crippling anyways. Plus I’ve been taking classes towards a finance major so I’m not about to waste time/money switching my major.
Also, not everybody ends up needing to get a graduate degree. It all depends on where you end up after undergrad.
Hey @philbegas I remember you from posts either on the Bentley threads or the Bryant threads. Getting close now on the Bentley results.
The general rule of thumb is to not borrow more than your first years starting salary. To me that would be an absolute max limit for most situations. In reality, the max gov’t limit on student loans is most practical and I see others have mentioned the $30K amount also.
The thing that makes it so difficult is one needs to have a clear idea of what they want to do. As @ClassicRockerDad mentioned, if one will be working on Wall Street, then paying more for an education is worth it. But if one simply wants to work for the Big 4, then probably not. You have no experience when you leave college and the Big 4 all have pretty hard numbers for starting salaries to a recent grad. Coming out of NYU or CUNY Bing will not make much of a difference. Same with finance in many ways. The vast majority of jobs are not in Private Equity and other super sexy firms. These tend to go to IVY league school grads anyway. Again, just talking in general terms for a conversation.
If you are already on your own for the most part, then let the government limit be your guide and do not take more than that. You may not have the safety net of moving back home with mom or dad to couch surf for a few years.
Best of luck to you.
@MassDaD68 The 30k amount was a reference to my net cost at Drexel I believe, which I think is a reasonable amount. Because of Drexel’s co op system I’d be borrowing a little more than the government limit my first year (all 4 quarters in school) and then less than the gov’t limit the second year (only 2 academic quarters the other 2 would be paid co op).
I definitely don’t want to work in accounting. I’m setting my sights for some sort of Banking/PE, but I’m mentally prepared to fall short of that. I know it’s an elite group fed mostly by Ivy Leagues and Ivy-League equivalents.
I do want to say I already have experience though. Not specifically in investment banking but I worked for my parent’s real estate investment company on & off from the age of 14 (not even sure if it was legal lol). I got a lot of good experience as far as financing and real estate were concerned. I also worked for the warehouse of a start-up (Spoonrocket) so I got to see a bit of how VC worked. Currently I work full-time doing accounts payable, vendor relations, and permit compliance for a company that owns around 40 gas stations so I’m getting some valuable experience before even graduating university.
If I use the 1st year salary rule, then that comes out somewhere between 50-65k for an average finance job, but a lot more if it’s a WS job.
Yes. $50-$65K is a very reasonable estimate of your starting salary in 2021 for those professions. That being said, it is not a lot of money and owing over $30K will put a dent in things. Your an older person so you have a better handle on the cost of things. Your loan payment could be around $350/month for 10 years. Not huge but after paying for everything else it does wear on you. Remember you still need to save for retirement. Shaving 10% off the top would be a min. There are lots of stresses on your paycheck when your older.