Hello,
I am a transfer student coming out of Brookdale Community College. I am hoping to gain some insight into which school to attend. I am pretty torn over my options. I only applied to two schools- Rutgers New Brunswick and Columbia School of General Studies. Rutgers was my #1 school and my cheapest option, and I had the mindset that, if I got into Columbia, I would go depending on financial aid. In reality, I wasn’t expecting to get in.
Getting into Columbia GS was a major surprise. Now that I’ve been accepted, I have a big decision to make. Columbia’s aid is terrible. The total cost of Columbia, with aid, is $60k the first year, and around $80k every subsequent year. The total cost of Rutgers, with aid, is $27k per year.
Additionally, Columbia likely won’t accept 23 credits of mine that were taken online, which sets me back almost a full year. In total, I will be spending around $81k at Rutgers and between $240k and $300k at Columbia.
My ultimate question: Is there a chance that Columbia is worth it- both in the connections and networking/reputation and career options? Paying an extra $200k is a lot, but is there a chance it will be a worthwhile investment? Will I realistically recoup an extra $200k in my career by going to Columbia over Rutgers?
My major is going to be liberal arts- leaning towards philosophy/classics/economics for majors or potential minors. As of right now, I have no idea what I want to do-perhaps go on to law school, but I’m also really into entrepreneurship and want to start/run businesses. Is there a chance that I will meet many potential partners/investors at Columbia, who may make the tuition worthwhile?
Any insight/tips/advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.