<p>Accepted to both. Which one is a better deal taking into account the cost of tuition.</p>
<p>NYU Stern: approximately $55,000 per year ( I would need loans of about $30,000)</p>
<p>Penn State Smeal: approximately $30,000 per year</p>
<p>Will the "prestige of NYU" pay off in the long run? And how much debt is too much debt?</p>
<p>Depends what you wanna do. Do you want to work in investment banking/trading/other high finance? How motivated are you to study hard, keep a high GPA and network to get those jobs? Or do you want something like Big 4 accounting or a corporate finance job? If its the former, go with Stern as the investment will pay off. If not, go to Penn State. You will still have a shot at Wall Street if you go to Penn State and work extremely hard (join the Nittany Lion Fund, network, maintain solid grades), but chances are just better at NYU. Either way, look into what you want to do by researching different fields and then decide. </p>
<p>I personally think 30K in loans is way too much for a year, and tuition increases every year. I’d go with Smeal in your case and work hard.</p>
<p>Stern would be a much better investment IMO. But like Nick said, it depends on what type of person you are. Do you want a “normal job” or do you strive to “go big?” Also, how much in loans would you need to take for PSU?</p>
<p>I would think that Stern would give you much better job offers, thus letting you pay off your debts faster. Stern seems like the better long term investment here.</p>
<p>If it’s 30,000 for 4 years, then I’d take Stern for sure.</p>
<p>Since you only need 5k a year for penn state…I would choose Smeal as you can cover that with the government un-subsidized loan (up to 5,500 a year). Better than being in ridiclous debt after you graduate. The difference between Penn State and NYU is not worth the amount of debt you are going to incur</p>
<p>I’ll give you an additional perspective (I went to PSU then transferred to a top 5 undergrad business school that is a target for the major banks)</p>
<p>If the 30K loan is for 4 years then take the risk and go to Stern. If not, then you will absolutely hate yourself if you go to Stern and don’t land a high paying job. Just want to say this though: Going to Stern will improve your chances of getting a high paying job in Finance, but it doesn’t guarantee you one. You’ll face much stiffer competition from your peers and will need to stand out in order to compete for those jobs. You have to be prepared to land that “normal” job that doesn’t pay you as well while paying off those loans.</p>
<p>a 200k loan means you gotta pay back 1.5-2k a month after the 6 month grace period on a default payment plan of 10-12 years. This is about 24k a year for 10-12 years. ridiculous.</p>