Is UMichigan right for me?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Michigan
1

Right now, among my choices, UMichigan is my top choice, but I have some doubts that need reassurance.

I plan to get a major in Industrial Engineering and a minor in Econ or Business or do the Ross program sophomore year and do a double major in Industrial Engineering and Business Adminstration.

My goal is to either work for Google, Disney, the government as an investigator, or start my own company. I want to get a MBA and go to graduate school. I want to try to live as debtless as possible, but I know that by committing to UMichigan, I’ll be 100-120K in debt. My parents and I have talked about it, and despite my reluctance to be a financial burden to them, they said that they want me to be academically and socially challenged in the real world.

What do you think of this? Do you think that I could pay off the debt in 5-7 years? I plan to join a company after graduation that will pay for my tuition to get a Master’s Degree? Is that viably possible?

Every adult that I asked for advice from said that Michigan is the best choice. My other choices include Case Western Reserve (80-100K in debt), Northeastern (100-120K in debt), and Rutgers (50-60K in debt).

As for the college that I’m looking, I want a college that has great opportunities for me to study abroad, get internships, and have a great social life with a diverse community. I’m a sports fan, so Michigan takes the cake in that category. The only competitor that Michigan has is Northeastern. Northeastern has great co-ops and is in an amazing city, Boston. Does Michigan compare to it? Michigan’s huge. Am I going to get lost in all of that chaos? I’m an outgoing guy, and I have great relationships with my teachers. Is that going to translate well at Michigan?

Also, after graduation, I plan to move to California, and get my master’s degree over there as well as getting a job there. IS that possible with a Michigan education?

In the end, is UMichigan right for me?

I’m sorry for the long read and I sincerely appreciate any advice or comments. Thank you.

2

Is the Michigan debt for 4 years? Remember that it will be almost impossible to graduate in 4 years from two different schools (Ross & engineering) each has pretty specific first year classes. Some of those overlap, some don’t.

I’m biased as I will be attending Michigan in the fall but I think you won’t have a trouble getting a job in CA after graduation.

3

@96blue Yeah, the debt is after 4 years of undergraduate education.

4

Do your parents’ opinions change when thinking 5 yrs? Are you willing to choose either Engineering or Ross to make it out in 4 years?

5

@96blue I’m willing to choose either one and graduate in 4 years. I can always get an MBA instead of 2 Bachelor’s. I’ll put Engineering in first.

Any advice?

6

Maybe it’s doable if you are willing to keep living like a college student while you do it. Remember you can’t borrow that much, so it will be your parents. Can they make the payments while you are in school? How much would the monthly $ be vs. expected starting salary? Say you have 100k and want to pay it off in 5 yrs. That’s 20k a yr before accrued interest or $1666/month. That’s a lot.

I get the Michigan thing, I really do. I’m lucky to be in state and not have to make the choice. I did apply to some out of state schools (UCLA & Berkely) but decided they weren’t worth it over Michigan and the huge cost difference.

7

Did you apply to the dual degree Ross/Engineering program on CommonApp? They added that option since last year.
Getting an engineering degree and then an MBA looks a more reasonable path. You are over planning as you have not even started college yet. For your career goal, having just IOE degree would be sufficient. Whether you will be hired by these firms is another question. The cost should be your major concern. Don’t forget that you need to pay $2600 more per semester at CoE once you have more than 55 credits. That may add $10-$20k to your estimated cost even if you graduate in 4 years.

8

@billcsho I applied to Ross Preferred Admission and was rejected, so I have to go through the regular route. I forgot about the extra costs. In the end, is it the UMichigan education worth going in about $110K debt?

9

Unless you come to Michigan with a heap of credits, your best bet to graduate in 4 years would be a double major in IE and Econ or a major in IE and minor in Business from Ross. A double major from the CoE and Ross will take 5 years.

I do not see a major difference in the debt levels between CWRU, Michigan and NEU. Between those three, considering your academic interests, Michigan is the obvious choice. But $100-$120k debt is very significant. I am not sure it is easily justified. Then again, even Rutgers with $50-$60k in debt is hard to justify. Are your parents unable to help, or are you unwilling to accept their help? Generally speaking, $20-$30k in debt is acceptable. Anything over $50k in debt is very hard to manage.

But to answer your questions:

  1. Ann Arbor and Boston are not comparable. Ann Arbor is a college town. It is mid-sized with a sophisticated and educated population. Boston is a large city with a
  2. Engineering students do not usually find the time or pretext to study abroad. The same is true of all the programs you are considering.
  3. Engineering students at all the univerities you are looking at have ample opportunities for internships.
  4. You will not get lost at Michigan. It may take a little longer to adjust to it, but then again, Ann Arbor is easier to adapt to than Cleveland or Boston. And I would not describe Michigan as chaos. The University is well organized.
  5. Since you are outgoing, you will have a great social life at Michigan. The University is large and diverse, so you will find your niche if you make an effort.
  6. Michigan IOE majors are in high demand. The odds of finding a good job upon graduation are very good, but you will probably not have the luxury of choosing which state you work in. You may find a job in CA, but then again, you may not.
  7. Not all companies pay for graduate studies. In fact, most companies today do not. If you really wish to return to university for graduate school, consider your lowest debt option (Rutgers).
  8. Paying off a $100k debt in 7 year is possible, but with extreme difficulty; you will have to make payments of $1,700/month. Your next monthly salary with probably be $4,000/month. Rent and transportation costs will likely leave you with $2,000/month. You would be left with virtually nothing after your monthly loan payments. Paying off a $120k debt in 5 years is virtually impossible. You would have to make payments of $2,500/month.
10

The difference in cost was NOT worth it to our family (~$80K, possibly more) and we can afford Michigan with no loans. My son, who was accepted EA to Engineering, chose our state flagship (UIUC - business), because he felt he could end up in approximately the same place post-graduation. He felt this way for mainly 2 reasons. He wasn’t looking to go into IB and he is confident in his abilities.

Fortunately he had a much more affordable option. (Sorry, I know very little about your choices.)

Two things I would consider is your likelihood of success at U of M (GPA and internships) and your willingness to live post-graduation with such a financial burden.

The first one I will assume you have covered. The second should not be under-estimated. Imagine yourself having to wait longer to buy that first house, take the nice vacation, or simply build wealth compared to some of your peers.

We talk about the time value of money in our house. My husband and I did not come from affluent families, but we made choices that allowed us to get a jump on investing. In hindsight it was an excellent call. In your case, I simply cannot fathom taking on that much debt.

11

That is a lot of debt to accure, and it’s gonna make your life extremely hard after graduation. Ross and IOE is def out of the window(financially speaking). If you have a lot of credits, you can maybe pull off ioe in 3 years and save a big chunk of money