Money vs. Merit

<p>I have been accepted to a wide range of state public universities including Wisconsin-Madison, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, University of Georgia, and University of Alabama. Right now I want to major in economics and possibly pursue a career in investment banking or some financial job. I'm also still slightly interested in doing pre-med. I wanted to get some opinions on what people thought about what I should do. Michigan, which is obviously a top rated university would cost around $30,000 than Alabama. I toured Alabama and Georgia this past weekend and I will be going up to Michigan and Wisconsin next month.</p>

<p>If University of Michigan is 30 grand more than Alabama, I would attend Alabama. 30grand * 4 years = 120 grand. A lot of money saved.</p>

<p>I messed up on the price difference. It is actually around $15,000 a year, if that would make any difference.</p>

<p>Michigan will only cost you 15k a year including room and board etc… that would be the cost of in-state, how much will Alabama be? I would seriously consider University of Michigan and University of Wisconsin. Georgia and Alabama are also great schools.</p>

<p>Michigan without any aid would be $47,000 and Alabama with my $3500 scholarship per year would be $28,000.</p>

<p>Oh wow, I would suggest to look into more universities and don’t settle on one just yet.</p>

<p>What state do you live in? Is your state flagship a possibility? I don’t see why you’d go to Alabama over your state flagship.</p>

<p>OP great schools your considering, here could also be financial safety schools:[National</a> Universities Rankings - Best Colleges - Education - US News and World Report](<a href=“http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/national-universities-rankings/state+TX]National”>http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/national-universities-rankings/state+TX)</p>

<p>Coolbrezze…what the hell?</p>

<p>If money is an issue, or if you intend on going to Medical school, there is no question that I would recommend Alabama or Georgia over Michigan. $80,000 over 4 years is a lot of money. </p>

<p>On the other hand, if financial concerns aren’t a real issue and your parents can afford Michigan without too much hardship, and assuming you intend to make the most of your education (i.e., actually study hard) and intend on working in Wall Street when you graduate, Michigan is worth the extra money. So it really depends.</p>

<p>^What about for me: I want to major in business, probably finance. Alabama and Michigan have a 100k difference over 4 years and Texas A&M is 75k cheaper over 4 years. I have to pay for all of college myself. What would you do?</p>

<p>I would go with either Alabama or Texas A&M. Michigan is significantly better than both, particularly in Business, but no college is worth getting $100,000 into debt for.</p>

<p>^I already have 30k in the bank. So it would be no debt and some $ left over if I went to one of those two, or 60k in debt from Michigan. Does that change anything?</p>

<p>^
Not really, its a lot of money. The average debt for college grads is probably between 25k-30k. Yours would be double that. If you think its the best choice including financial reasons then it may not, but if you think otherwise… and Texas A&M at least for undergraduate will be better financially ( you have intentions on attending graduate school, even there you would have high chances to get a job on wall street, if thats what your aiming for).</p>

<p>Think about… Would someone who went only to University of Pennslyvania for Ba get hired or is one more likely to get hired considering that they attend (example) Texas A&M for Ba and University of Pennslyvania for masters… probably the UPenn candidate.</p>

<p>$60,000 debt is way too much. I still say go for Alabama or Georgia…unless you are 100% sure you want to go into IBanking because Michigan, particularly Ross, is a major hunting ground for IBanks. </p>

<p>But even then, remember that IBanking as a career is very risky. First of all, getting a job with an IBank, even from one of Wall Street’s top 10 hunting grounds, is not guaranteed. Secondly, even if you land a job with an IBank, the odds of succeeding aren’t great.</p>