Is NYU really worth the price?? I would debate going there if I got into Stern, but I highly doubt that would be achievable. The real question is whether CAS is worth it or not. My other option would be Swarthmore, the private liberal arts school. This school is very small and I don’t know how I feel about it. I’m thinking of majoring in business or go pre-med, not completely sure yet.
I don’t think you’ll find Swarthmore any easier to get into. Personally, I’m not a big NYU fan and wouldn’t pay the cost. But that’s a personal preference.
Sounds like you really want a business major. You know Swarthmore doesn’t have a business major, right?
Have you researched both schools?
1)They are very different schools.
university v LAC
urban v suburban
no distinct campus v campus
2 )If you want to study business at NYU you need to apply to Stern not CAS. Swarthmore has no b-school (as far as I know).
3)It is important to understand that economics and an undergrad b-school education are very different majors. Economics is a liberal arts course of study and gets theoretical at the upper levels. In contrast if you go to an undergraduate business school you will take a business core with introductory classes in subjects such as accounting, finance, IT, marketing etc. and then you will major in one of those disciplines. I’m not saying that one path is better than the other, but they are different. I would take the time to look at the coursework (can be found online) for both paths and see if one is preferable to you.
Economics is Swarthmore’s most popular major and they place “okay” at the NYC banks. If business is your true goal, go straight to the highest rated business school you get admitted to.
@NJWrestlingmom I’m getting recruited for volleyball at both schools and have gotten an offer at Swarthmore. I don’t think NYU would be worth it for any of the other majors they have.
@circuitrider I would be able to take classes at Penn, so I would probably do Econ.
Do you mean economics at Swarthmore combined with select business courses at Wharton?
Swarthmore is every bit as competitive to get into as Stern and more so than NYU in general. You can hardly have schools with more different vibes, bucolic very small LAC vs a “non campus” the middle of the Village area.
By the way, going to an undergrad B-school program is fine if that is the subject matter you want to study, but aside from possibly Wharton, I don’t see it, at least in the area of finance, being such an edge over doing well in any major that has a quantitative component, including at traditional liberal arts schools. Having been part of the hiring process at a major IB, a STEM major got you more points than a business major, and non-STEM liberal arts majors with good quantitative backgrounds were not at a disadvantage. We were going to train you how to do the analysis and work we were going to require of you. We were interested in people who could work with numbers, digest information, problem solve and and write effectively.
You can only take electives at UPenn. You also cannot take anything that is regularly offered at Swartmore.
Two very different schools. NYU is urban and one needs to be independent and excited about living an independent, city life (there will be no hand-holding and little guidance). Swarthmore is an elite liberal arts college with a traditional campus; classes will be smaller, you’ll have more direct contact with professors (many of whom you’ll get to know by first name), and there will be a stronger sense of campus community.
I would choose Swarthmore in a heartbeat (assuming you get into both), but I am an LAC fanboy, so perhaps I’m not to be trusted (I’d also choose Swat over the Ivies, Stanford, Duke, and so on). BTW, most of the Ivies and other elite colleges do not have business majors. Economics is the classic entry major for those looking to go into business for grad school or for those going directly into the workforce.
You need to check on the current situation with Penn. When my son was at Swat, you could only take Penn arts & sciences and engineering classes, not Wharton or the nursing school. Things may have changed–suggest you ask.