Michigan State/No Debt VS. NYU/Debt; Please Help!

Hi all,

I am currently studying economics at NYU and am a sophomore. I attended Michigan State University my freshman year and made the transfer out here.

There are infinite pluses and minuses to each experience I have had, and my question is more regarding debt.

My parents gave me a bit of an ultimatum: they’ll pay for 2 more years at MSU or 1 more at NYU.

If I continue at NYU, I’ll have anywhere from $50k-$65k in debt upon graduation.

I did love MSU, but came to NYU for the opportunity, especially in a field like economics. Both experiences have been rewarding - the city has taught me a lot, given me some great connections and opportunities as well. MSU is close to home and has a great finance program I would transfer back into, and most importantly, I would graduate with no debt at all!

There are a lot of moving parents to this decision socially, internship-wise, finance-wise.

Can anyone advise me either way or shed some light on the situation? I want to finish off my final two years of undergrad with no regrets.

Some additional details:

  • I am a fraternity man at both schools
  • I play club hockey
  • I had a 3.8 at MSU and a 3.33 at NYU first semester
  • from northern MI, which is very close to MSU
  • I think that MSU is very much the more “fun” school, but don’t want to think too hard into that!

^ bump

Tough, but I would personally go with MSU…
No debt is a big plus… Also, it sounds like you enjoy your experiences at both schools almost equally and the economics programs appear to be comparable as well. I’m not quite sure what kind of return you’ll get on your investment in NYU based on your job prospects, but $50-65k is a ton of money to shell out.

Since you said your question is mainly about debt, MSU would be the way to go in that department. Of course, you could always do that thing where you flip a coin and make one school heads and the other school tails, and then whatever the coin lands on you determine if you are happy or sad about the outcome.

I don’t get it. If you will have to finance the entire Senior Year at NYU yourself, where will the over $55K in Tuition/Room & Board come from? IMHO, this back and forth makes no sense. This type of analysis should have preceded you transfer from MSU to NYU. You are currently at NYU, having transferred from MSU. If you can come up with the $55K-$65K in funds, I would suggest that you stay at NYU and finish your degree.

You you plan on working in NYC after graduation? Would a Degree in Finance be more marketable than a Economics Degree, given your long term career goals?

Bump.

you are an Econ major: do the ROI!

Second vote for considering Ann Arbor at instate rates. NYU is only marginally more preftigious than AA.

Finance at MSU isn’t the same as economics. Can he do finance without being in Ross at UM? Anybody? He doesn’t/wouldn’t want to do the econ at MSU.