UIUC (37k/year) vs Rutgers (14k/year) for Business (Finance)

Hey guys, as you know, most college decisions are out by now, and I’ve narrowed my choices down to UIUC and Rutgers (in state). I also got into Maryland and Indiana-Kelley but I can’t afford to attend either (barely any grants or loans).

UIUC (50k tuition) gave me 13k in grants and the rest (37k) in loans, so ultimately it would cost me more than 37k a year to attend

Rutgers (27k tuition) gave me 13k in grants and 9k in grants, so it would cost me more than 14k a year to attend.

UIUC is definitely a better school than Rutgers, and if money were not an issue, I would go there in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, money is a pretty big issue here. Do you guys think it would be worth it to deal with the debt from Illinois and go there instead of Rutgers?

Thanks for all the help in advance.

My daughter same exact situation as you but different major.(engineering) But here is my perspective from someone who works in large company business/accounting area. We have a few people and executive who are Rutgers grad, some business MBA types, some accounting. I spoke with then to get their feel of Rutgers and they thought highly of the program. So my point here is rutgers is a decent program for business.

Conversely, we work with a few consultants from EY and Pwc, and a couple are UIUC grads. I asked them about the school. Their comments were, Uiuc is top notch in engineering and accounting, not si much business and their MBA program.

So my suggestion is, if your business major, seriously consider rutgers, save your money, get in the workforce for 3 to 4 years, , then go to a top ranked MBA program. Remember, an MBA program with work experience already, may allows you 2 things, change career or shoot you up the executive ladder in the same career.

Thank you for your response. What is your daughter leaning towards?

Both schools are great, and Im almost in the same position as you: UIUC (in state) or Emory for pre-med, UIUC being the cheaper option. Emory being the obvious choice (better pre-med, and overall a better school), except for the fact that it costs almost 20k more than UIUC does (per year). Im choosing UIUC, because in the end, its not the name of college that gets you a job, but rather what you do at that college. Plus, it’ll be harder to be successful in life leaving undergraduate school with tons of debt. Also, it beats having to adjust to a new area, being 12-14 hours driving distance of your parents sucks (meaning you can’t see them on the weekends) . I recommend you go to Rutgers, its a very good school (I visited it, and its awesome).

Best of luck

Sounds like a no brainer. ~$100,000 difference over four years.