<p>I admire your confidence man (really, I do…not being sarcastic). That’s definitely a great quality to have, and you’ll need it to survive on the street. As I said, you have to assess your own abilities and make a decision. If you think you’ll be in the top 5-10% at Ross, then DEFINITELY go there. It WILL pay dividends in the long run provided you make it and take full use of the resources there.</p>
<p>Also, again, I hope you don’t think I’m some random tool on the internet doubting your abilities, because I tried (and I hope it was apparent) to say that only you can make a reasonable guess as to how well you’ll do, not anyone here. So if you think you can be the best at Ross, then go for it. Just realize that it won’t be easy, and that in a way you might be taking a slight risk, although there are tons of advantages you’ll have as well. Good luck making your decision.</p>
<p>^Thanks. I hope I don’t come off as a cocky high schooler. I think I’ll do really well, but college is a lot different from high school, although I do go to one of the best high schools in the state. I might make the top 10%, but I could also be around 30%. I can’t really tell how well I can and will do because people at Michigan will be smarter than kids at my school.</p>
<p>Well one last thing I’ll say is that if you have your heart set on Ross, go there. Go where you really want to be. Not only will that help you do better GPA-wise since you’ll be happier (it does make a difference), but you won’t live with that “what if” feeling for the rest of your life. This is kind of an aside, but in high school, I never applied to some reach schools, and now I’m left with a “what if” feeling which will haunt me forever unless I do well in grad school admissions, especially since people I’m better than (no e-brag) got into some places I was looking at. You do not want this feeling; it really does suck. If you feel Ross will give you more opportunities, then go there, because if things don’t work out at Alabama, it will make you sick to your stomach thinking about what could have been at Ross.</p>
<p>Even if things don’t work out at Ross, you can eventually pay off any debt provided you aren’t completely negligent with whatever earnings you receive and how you manage your money, but the education (even if it doesn’t lead to investment banking or HBS), the experience, and the peace of mind (read no “what ifs”) is something you CANNOT put a price on. </p>
<p>Just my $0.02, but go with your gut on this one, be confident in yourself and what you can do, but also be reasonable in your assessment since everyone has different abilities/potentials. Good luck and GO BLUE (yes mich fan)</p>
<p>Lol. Thanks a lot cream. That’s one of the big things I’ve been thinking about. But there is the chance I’ll be in debt and wish I had money. I think the first scenario is worse though.</p>
<p>Besides the job prospects and prestige. The experience with smarter people in general and the education is like cream said very important factors to consider and is worth the money.</p>
<p>college is definitely more than just prestige. like i said, finding a job is important, but the 4-5 years of your life should not be spent entirely on it. </p>
<p>i would agree with taxguy that one shouldn’t spend an excessive amount of money to go to a better school. the key word for me though, is excessive. i still think it’s worth paying a little more to go to a much better school. how much is a little and how much is excessive is really kind of a judgment call.</p>
<p>look, jrt336. there are many smart people that decide to stay in their home state for college, primarily to save a buck. there’s nothing wrong with that. however, we don’t get to see it the other way around where less-than-average students have the option to pay the $ to go to top schools, do we? </p>
<p>with the talent that you have, you simply have more options than most to decide for yourself what’s right for you. a lot of people don’t get to choose which college to go.</p>
<p>one time i asked this guy in my program why he wanted to go to michigan out of all other places. he simply said, “because i can!” </p>
<p>i just want to wish you good luck with getting a good amount of fin aid from ann arbor. the experience i had from ross was amazing, even at a time when they were constructing the brand new building. hope you get to have an even better experience! GO BLUE!</p>
<p>A Bachelor’s degree is not too hot of a commodity right now, it makes no sense going into debt for it, especially if you want a Masters. In addition, nothing is guaranteed regardless of what you choose.</p>
<p>Plus, imagine the advantages you may have not having to spend a dime on your undergrad; being already 100k ‘in the black’, you could spend that money to prepare for the perfect GMAT score; in fact you very well could attempt to obtain an internship (or work experience) in any city you like because you would have the money to pay for rent and travel. The advantages are innumerable.</p>
<p>I know I’ve argued for and against each school in this thread, but if I was in your shoes I would just go to Michigan. Think about it, you have in-state tuition at a school thousands of kids would pay thousands more to attend. I consider myself lucky because in-state tuition at Texas was only about 8k/year so it was a no-brainer and I’ve met a lot of people who came from all over the country and even the world to attend McCombs and pay three and a half times as much as I do for out-of-state tuition to be here. As an out-of-stater from Chicago said when I first started “you don’t know how lucky you are to just have an amazing university in-state. You pay DIRT to come here”</p>
<p>It’s not as clear-cut for you, because in-state at Michigan is still pretty pricey, but I definitely know how easy it is to undervalue your in-state situation (not just the discount, but even to take an awesome opportunity for granted) and you should think twice before passing it up.</p>
<p>Not many kids are paying more than 25k/yr by themselves. Their parents pay it. No kid can afford 45k or whatever it is out of state to UM. If my parents were paying anywhere from 20k on up of my college, I wouldn’t think twice about going to Michigan.</p>
<p>Another option that hasn’t been brought up is do the 4 years at alabama and using the money saved to get a masters in something (finance, accounting, economics, etc.) at a more prestigious university directly after graduating. </p>
<p>Not recommending it, just throwing it out there as an idea to consider.</p>
<p>The problem is, aside from the MAcc, which Alabama is actually pretty decent at from my recollection, there are only a few Masters in Finance and Masters in Economics programs that are worth going to, and they are VERY, VERY competitive, especially the finance programs at places like Princeton, MIT, etc. They accept only the absolute brightest, so I wouldn’t bank on getting into those no matter how hard you work.</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s too hard to get into UM’s MBA program. But usually you have to have work experience. And it costs like 70k/yr. I want my employer to pay for that.</p>
<p>From what I have read (which isn’t all or this thread)the comments have been mainly about $$$ at the end of 4 years whether to be earned in future salery or saved in college cost. I expect that many students who choose to attend competitive schools could get into a different school that would offer them significant $$$. The choice is not just about what happens at the end but also the experience along the way. The question is, will one school experience make a student happier for the 4 years and will one bring them closer to the person they are working to become. This is very individual. For some the security of being debt free will provide significant happiness, for some the stress of debt will negate the advantages of the name brand school. For some the peer group and degree of challenge and opportunity will make the name brand school the best choice, while some students will find the opportunities in a less competitive school and enjoy being at the top. The point is this is individual and should include consideration of the journey as well as the outcome. I have no evidence to support this but i expect a student going to Alabama could end up doing as well as one from Michigan… I would also guess it would have everything to do with how each student functioned in each school environment for the 4 years they were there.</p>
<p>Some food for thought, the reason I am planning on transferring out of state but because I want want to be challenged with more rigorous coursework, access to better internship opportunities, better student organizations, better on campus recruiting, and lastly to attend class with people who just as bright and motivated as myself about studying business. As 18^3 mentioned above, you could go to Alabama but the overall experience and opportunities for learning will not come close to what you would experience attending UM. Try comparing course catalogs, student organizations, student services and support for business majors, job placement & recruiting surveys, etc. to get an idea how much of a difference there is between the two.</p>