<p>The CEO of PricewaterhouseCoopers is an alum of Alabama as is Bernie Madoff.</p>
<p>“The CEO of PricewaterhouseCoopers is an alum of Alabama as is Bernie Madoff.”</p>
<p>what does this mean? go to bama if you want to be the next madoff?</p>
<p>Actually, get your fact right. It is my understanding that although Madoff started off at Alabama, he transfered to Hofstra University, which was where he graduated from.</p>
<p>How likely it is to get into a top business grad school if you do well at a good public undergrad school? eg. from UofW Madison to UPenn</p>
<p>I am a student at Ross.</p>
<p>Seriously, go to UMich. It is a good investment. The number of top firms that recruit here is amazing. And besides, 25K per year is pretty good (full cost is 50K/year). If you manage a decent gpa (3.5) at Ross, you have all the top banks and consulting firms to choose from. And besides, the caliber of students and the amount of resources this school offers is just great. Go for it.</p>
<p>I think Taxguy mentioned:
</p>
<p>Check out the Ross Employment profile: [Employment</a> Profile - Stephen M. Ross School of Business](<a href=“http://www.bus.umich.edu/EmploymentProfile/]Employment”>http://www.bus.umich.edu/EmploymentProfile/)</p>
<p>Look at the left column and open up the PDF file. That’s data for 2009, which was a RECESSION year. And you don’t even have to be in the top 10% to land those top jobs. Even if you’re in the top 40%, your chances are pretty good. </p>
<p>Doubt Alabama can beat that. And besides, you’re not just paying for the better business program and career resources. You’re also paying for a better collegial atmosphere and networking opportunities with really smart students.</p>
<p>Mightynick, you may be right. However, you need to check out the job placement of the top 40% of Alabama grads. Simply citing Michigan statistics without resorting to any comparison is worthless.</p>
<p>Also, even with your citation, does that apply to all Michigan grads regardless of majors? For example, I would highly doubt the the political science, and classics majors have the same employment track record as computer science folks. Thus, some comparison must be made my major.</p>
<p>What the hell do you mean by “better collegial atmosphere”?</p>
<p>I once overheard a senior from UMich who was applying to med schools saying that she wished she had gone to a less competitive school because it was so difficult to maintain a high GPA to get into med school. HBS takes students from many many schools, not just the top schools.</p>
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<p>Aren’t we talking business here? So it doesn’t make sense to compare UM’s political science and Asian Studies majors with students majoring in Finance and Accounting at Alabama. And I highly doubt that the top 40% of Alabama’s b-school students are as well placed as 70-80% of Ross students. I’m telling you - around 40-50% go into corporate finance, 10-15% in accounting, and 20% in consulting. The rest are either internationals that have visa sponsorship problems, and the rest are just applying to graduate schools/starting their own business. That is pretty amazing.</p>
<p>I decided to do some research and NOT give you visceral answers.</p>
<p>Here is a listing of state universities showing median starting salaries and median salaries for mid careers </p>
<p>See: [Top</a> State Universities By Salary Potential](<a href=“http://www.payscale.com/best-colleges/top-state-universities.asp]Top”>http://www.payscale.com/best-colleges/top-state-universities.asp)</p>
<p>NOTE, University of Michigan vs other places. For example, although University of Michigan only averages about $2,000-$3000 more than University of Alabama, Tuscaloose. The tuition differential more than makes up for the difference in tuition. In fact, there are a number of cheaper schools than Michigan that have even higher average salary potential, such as UC San Diego. I will say it again. prestige is nice,but economically, it won’t necessarily be worth paying a lot more for it in the long run over a number of other less expensive alternatives.</p>
<p>In fact, if you take the $200K that will cost parents to send their kid to Michigan as an out of state student vs. paying little for instate ( with probable scholarships), the time value of the money almost always makes the free tuition a better deal! Remember this. You are shelling out at least an extra $100K-$200K more at Michigan than if you got a full ride somewhere such as at Alabama. The interest on this money is worth at least $6000-12,000 per year or more! Thus, unless the salary differential is much more than this interest savings, which is the case for most places, you are NOT better off at a prestigious school and paying full freight!</p>
<p>Now before you answer me, Yes, I do understand that Michigan grads median salaries are better than many other places at the bottom of the list. However, my main point is that there are much better, less expensive alternatives that provide as good or almost as good a salary than that of Michigan for a LOT less money, especially when you factor in the lost interest.</p>
<p>Also, I do remember that you transfered from a decent state university with an amazing GPA ( 3.9+) to Michigan after I counseled you against it, and now have about a 3.4, if I can guess. You probably don’t have the same GPA at Michigan, which will be detrimental to you in the long run. I can assure you that 3.9> 3.4 even taking prestige into account when you apply for grad and professional schools. If I were you, I would stop trying to justify your decision. You did what you did. Hopefully, it will turn out well for you.</p>
<p>Always better off at the more prestigious school. Way better jobs that give large bonuses that probably aren’t included in those figures. Definitely goto the better school, it’ll make getting a Top MBA easier. I’d have to agree with the better college experience. When everyone around you are going all out, it automatically raises your standards vs mediocre students at a low ranked school. You’ll get used to seeing higher caliber students 24/7.</p>
<p>Dawgie, Did you see the url that I posted in post number 92? Did you read over the statistics noted? Did you read over my $200K future value analysis?</p>
<p>Also, how do you know that admission will be easier attending a prestige undergrad program vs. one that isn’t as prestigious? I have found that the GPA and test scores are the main ingredient for admission, unless you can show research to the contrary.</p>
<p>Don’t get me wrong, I would certainly pick prestige U over purdunk U if the difference were only $5,000-$10,000 per year. However, if the difference was full freight at Prestige U vs. Full ride at good state U, I would recommend the full ride all day long, especially if substantial loans were involved in order to attend prestige U.</p>
<p>3.9 GPA in the first year or so isn’t the same as 3.9 GPA in junior year. Also 3.9 GPA doesn’t mean crap if management consulting firms or IBanks don’t ever come on campus.</p>
<p>That future value analysis doesn’t mean ****. It’s such an insignificant amount of money once you get into the big leagues. You are forgetting about the intangibles once again. Lower ranked schools are a bunch of slackers who think hard work is actually hard when its a joke. Not to mention they are dumb as hell. Take it from me I’ve transferred 3 times from progressively better schools.</p>
<p>taxdad, I’m not even going to answer that stupid question. Prestige and rigor of an undergraduate program is obviously considered. What you think admissions people have down syndrome and think a 3.0 here is the same as there?</p>
<p>You’re comparing apples to oranges taxguy. Compare Ross bba salaries to Alabama bschool majors salaries. Avg salary at ross was 59k last year + 2k avg signing bonus. That is pretty damn good. </p>
<p>And yes my gpa here might not be as good, and I am definitely below avg here grades wise, but I still ended up getting a pretty good job. And most Ross (not Michigan) grads end up getting jobs that are quite respectable</p>
<p>Mightynick, You seem to be a good guy. I am glad that you got a “pretty good job.” I wish you well in your endeavors.</p>
<p>I’m a strong believer in prestige for undergrad business, not just for the name in job opportunities, but just the networking opportunities you will have a these top schools will be invaluable in business. There’s no denying that the people you meet at Ross or Wharton will be on a different level than a state school, and it will be more useful networking with these people. That’s just my opinion though.</p>
<p>Intangibles need to be considered besides just looking at chump change and average starting salary which I’m sure doesn’t include those decent year end bonuses that the better jobs receive. Not to mention earnings potential.</p>
<p>The data on payscale.com is practically worthless because they don’t include the pay of anybody who has an advanced degree. No lawyers, MBA’s, master’s degrees of any kind.</p>
<p>From their website:
Methodology
This chart is based upon PayScale Salary Survey data for Bachelors graduates without higher degrees who are full-time employees in the United States. These results may not represent all attendees of these colleges. Salary is the sum of compensation from base salary, bonuses, profit sharing, commissions, and overtime, if applicable, but does not include equity (stock) compensation. See full methodology for more.</p>
<p>bthomp1, however, the discussion didn’t center on graduate degrees. The question is whether attending a prestige undergraduate program over that of a lesser tier program with a full ride is worth it? Yes, getting a graduate degree is usually better. PayScale’s survey does compare apples to apples when it compares salaries for those that get jobs as undergrads. Admittedly, however, PayScale’s survey does have its limitations. For example, maybe many grads from a school like Alabama take jobs in a lower cost of living area such as Alabama. This would certainly make it seem that they provide lower salary, yet the cost of living can make it much better than it seems. As you noted that PayScales does take bonuses into account but not stock options, which is also a limitation. However, for what it tries to do,it does provide a reasonable yardstick for comparison.</p>