I am busy deciding on what college I should go to. I have been accepted into NYU Stern but that is the only good business school I got into. My parents want me to do engineering so I applied for engineering to the majority of schools I applied to. I am now deciding between NYU Stern, UC Santa Barbara engineering, and UC Davis engineering. I really want to go to NYU but I don’t want to be $200k in debt. I’m in-state for the UCs so they’re much cheaper and I’ll probably have no debt after the 4 years.
Is it more worth going to NYU, majoring in finance, and then going into IB or going to a UC, majoring in engineering, and then doing an MBA from a more prestigious school? Is NYU Stern undergraduate worth $60k a year even if I go into IB or HF?
Keep in mind that very few people, even at target schools, break into large IB firms, and even fewer get into HF. It’s completely up to you, your interests, and your values. If you’re really going to be $200K in debt, I’d probably steer away if it’s “IB or bust” especially if you don’t know if you will actually enjoy it as a career option (most don’t).
I’m attending Stern because I’m lucky enough to have gotten a large enough scholarship and have fairly high-earning parents who could afford to make the sacrifice and pay out of pocket every year for me to go.
This should really be something that you discuss thoroughly with your parents, since even if you are the one who will be paying, it is your parents who must sign off on the loans.
Keep in mind that:
-IB/HF/PE/Big 4 Consulting/etc. is difficult to break into, regardless of what school you attend (but may be impossible for most schools)
-Going to a more prestigious undergraduate college makes it MUCH easier to get into a prestigious MBA program
-Undergraduate debt is something most people tend to try to avoid
-Even if attending an undergraduate B-school, most employers expect you to get an MBA after several years of working
-Not everything is about money; find something you are passionate about and find the most lucrative path from there if money is high on your list of priorities
It may be very tough to go to an engineering school at a graduate level if your undergraduate major is non engineering. UPenn has a Wharton-engineering combined program but I don’t think NYU Stern does. And it is usually the opposite way. Many people major in engineering and go on to a business school pursuing MBA.