I have been accepted to Michigan State University (MSU), University of Arizona, Warwick University, UK.
I need your help on deciding where I should go. Some details about me. I am a high school senior and want to do some thing in Economics or Finance. In the future, I want to work as a chief economist for some good organisation or an investment banker. I have been accepted in the Economics department at Warwick University and University of Arizona. On the other hand, I have been accepted to the business school of MSU for the course of Economics with a 10 grand scholarship for studying abroad. Please help me choose one university as I am really confused. Any help is really appreciated. Thank you very much!
The first question is how affordable each of these schools is to you. If you have visited them all and don’t have a clear preference then why not go with the one that costs you least? Make sure to include travel costs.
Net Cost
Number of Undergraduates
Faculty Student Ratio
%of students that live on campus
How big is the department for your major? If you are majoring in something that only has a couple of professors, that does not bode well.
Housing- do they offer all 4 years? freshman only?
Urban/rural/suburban
Cost of Living
Is this a commuter school? (do students go home on weekends)
Surrounding area - what is the nearby town/amenities like?
Transportation - how would you get home
AP Credits - can you get credit for AP tests you have taken
Male/Female ratio
Greek life - what % of students are in greek life
Parking
Diversity
Safety
Sports
Jobs - what happens to seniors after they graduate
Internships - depending on your major, is it easy to get internships?
…and whatever makes sense for you
You might not care about, say, greek life. but if 50% of the kids are in greek life and you don’t want to be, that is something to know. Or you may want a big time sports scene or you might not want one. Grade them from 1-5 as they make sense to you.
Then look at each of them and see which makes sense for you
Almost all US colleges require you to prove you have good health insurance coverage at the college location, or else you are required to purchase a plan through the college. Typically they cost between $1500 and $2,000 per year, but I have see more expensive ones. Google the college name and “health insurance”, and you can probably find info on the college website. It may not be very detailed, so you may have to email the college if you aren’t sure whether you can get the coverage waived or not.
@DNddddddn I wouldn’t bother with rankings in this case as they aren’t wildly different quality schools. These are incredibly different environments, however. I’d pick Arizona for the sun but if you prefer cold then Michigan State has plenty of that. Warwick is very different yet again.
I’d go for whichever one you feel would be the best fit for you. Being happy once you get there is really important. This is 4 years of your life we are talking about!