So, I am a high school junior from Wisconsin. I am considering a business major. I’d like to focus either in international business or finance or a combination of the both. NYU is a dream school of mine but it’s super expensive, however it has a great business school and I love the idea of being in New York city, which is one of the largest business headquarters in the world. I think there would be more opportunities, internships, jobs, etc. for me there. However, since I’m in state for Madison, I’m also considering it because I’ve heard it’s business school is pretty good and it would be quite cheap for me. Nonetheless, I hate Wisconsin, the general culture of the place, and the weather. I’m also not a huge fan of sports, drinking, or college towns, which is literally Madison (both my brother and sister went there, thus I know). Which one would be better for me? Opinions? Thoughts?
STERN/NYU is better, if you can afford around $65~70K/year
Depends on what your family can comfortably afford.
My family only pays for housing and what loans and financial aid doesn’t cover. We could afford it, however it would be a setback (my family’s annual income is ~$100k), however they aren’t a huge fan of it, nor am I a fan of having huge loans when I graduate.
Are there other colleges that may be better for me?
That all depends on your budget. The selection is endless. What exactly your family can afford? And your stats? EC’s?
If your family’s income is 100k, NYU is unlikely to be affordable - they do not “meet need” so they may admit you but turn you down in reality by offering too little financial aid.
If you give us your stats (GPA, test scores, APs or equivalent: DE, PSEO, IB, AICE…) we can help you find schools that would match your interests and scores.
Note: it’s not necessary to major in business in order to work in a business. What matters is your skillset, as well as your internships.
Thanks for all of your advice!
UW GPA: 3.8
W GPA: 4.2
I’m taking the ACT in a week, but my practice tests and my PLAN have been predicting a 33.
I haven’t taken any AP tests yet, but I will take the AP Lang test in May, and I plan to take AP Stats, AP Calc BC, AP Psych, and AP Lit next year.
I have college credit for Precalculus, with a grade of A from my local college, as well.
I’m in all honors classes (Spanish 4, French 2, Biology, History, band, choir, College Precalc, AP Lang), as well.
Extracurriculars are Vocal Jazz, Madrigals, Pep band, Show band, student court, and church worship team.
I have about 400 volunteer hours, from freshmen year to today.
How did the ACT go?
I got a 30 composite (33 English, 31 reading, 29 math, 26 science) and an 8/12 on the writing. I’m taking it again in June because I didn’t use a calculator on it and I feel that if I bring up my science score, I could get a higher score. I didn’t really study for my ACT much, I only did one practice test, so hopefully with some studying it will get better.
I don’t know why you seem to have narrowed yourself to two already. You obviously have considerable contempt for Madison so going there will likely not turn out well for you. But NYU is not the only other school in the country 
If internships are a factor for you, maybe consider schools within commutable distance of NYC. Or just generally research places you might be interested in.
Those aren’t the only two I’m considering, but there definitely in my top choices (for different reasons; Madison, cost, NYU, campus life/career outlook). I’m also considering McGill, UCLA, USC, University of Washington, and Marquette as a safety school.
- Not using a calculator on the ACT is stupid. Get the biggest baddest graphing calc the test allows.
- Now that that has been addressed: Unless you get a significant merit scholarship, spending ridiculous amounts of money on a Bachelor's degree is dumb. It's a financially loosing choice. I'd pick Madison, at least for 2 years. NYU is a lot of money for a slightly above average school.
hillme, unless you intend on working as a FA at an IBank, I do not think NYU is worth the extra cost. And while I can understand why you would not appreciate Wisconsin in your youth, I can assure you it is a perfectly fine place to live. Also, while Wisconsin is definitely a football and drinking school, it is also an elite university located in a very sophisticated and intellectually charged college town. You can easily carve your niche at a university like Wisconsin. If you wish to avoid the football/Greek/drinking scene, you may do so.
As others have suggested, do not limit yourself merely to Wisconsin and NYU. You should check out other universities.
UW-M is 200% better. I wish I lived in WI in order to go there and get in-state tuition.
With the whole calculator situation, this is pretty dumb of me, but I brought my graphing calculator with but then my friend told me that type wasn’t allowed, so I left it in my locker and then it ended up being allowed. So, I will definitely be using it this time. The math wasn’t hard for me, it just took me longer doing it all by hand and left less time for the harder problems at the end.
I’m not exactly sure what I’d like to do as a career specifically. Right now, I’m stuck between finance or economics in addition to my international business major. I could see myself doing investment banking. I just feel like NYC is one of the biggest business centers in the world and I’d have a better career outlook there, as well as I’d love to live there.
UW-Madison just repels me. I’ve lived in the dorms for a few weeks for a summer camp and I don’t like the campus nor the city. It’s too midwestern and doesn’t have the big city feel I’m yearning for. However, I’m still considering it because of the high academics and cheap tuition. It’s just not my first choice, I suppose.
However, as I mentioned in my previous reply, I am considering a few other colleges (McGill, UCLA, USC, University of Washington, Marquette). McGill right now is definitely at the top because it’s fairly cheap and in a good location. If anyone has any suggestions as to other colleges, that would be appreciated.
@hillmel000 Have you looked at Syracuse University?
I’ve gotten emails and mailings from them when I took the PLAN, however it doesn’t seem very urban to me, which is one of the biggest factors for me. It also seems pretty expensive.
^^
Syracuse seems pretty expensive but NYU doesn’t? Both are private schools and give good merit-based aid.
Especially if you want better weather, which I can tell you you WON’T get in NY (I live here). It’s a bit better than WI but not tropical.
Just search “top business schools”. I’m sure Stanford, Yale, Wharton (UPenn) will come up but the more realistic and opportunistic ones will be public and/or non-ivy privates (i.e. NYU, Syracuse, USC).
I agree, both are expensive, but I think that I’d rather pay quite a bit for a college that I’d thoroughly enjoy (meaning campus life, location, etc.) would be better than paying quite a bit for a college I wouldn’t really enjoy.