UC Santa Barbara vs. UC Davis vs. NYU Stern

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Santa Barbara
1

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?

2

I personally have more respect for someone with a technical background who then goes into the business side of the field. I’m also in favor of saving $200K. However, if you have absolutely no interest in engineering (you didn’t say which area of engineering) then another option is to go to one of the UC schools and transfer into an econ program, and take a lot of business electives. Then work for a while and go back for your MBA when you’ve figured out how you plan to use it.

3

Check out UCSB’s Technology Management Program. It may interest you as an add-on to an engineering degree.

4

It sounds like you have little interest in engineering. The dropout rate from engineering is over 50%. Without the determination to get an engineering degree no matter what, a lot of kids see their friends having a heck of a lot more fun and free time and switch. So that part of the plan seems less likely than you might think.

Second, to get an MBA from a prestigious program they expect a few years of work experience. On the flip side of the coin Wall Street firms have recruited engineers for their math/analytic skills so you could think about that before the MBA, although their is no guarantee they will still be as interested 4 years hence and also they tend to recruit engineers from name brand schools like the Ivies and Cal.

You can’t sign up for that much debt without a cosigner such as your parents. The max on your own is about $20K. Are you sure they are onboard with the plan?