Hi all, this is my first post here but I’m a long-time reader of this site.
I am a sophomore at a really small school (MacMurray College) and I am going to be transferring at the end of this semester to go to a College of Business. My major is accounting and I am currently hoping to go into the Big 4, but I also want to leave my options open for other areas related to finance. I have already applied to the University of Iowa and the University of Illinois, and I would like to hear your opinions on which one I should choose, or if there is another school I should look at.
I have already been admitted to the University of Iowa’s Honors program and into their College of Arts and Sciences (there is a separate application process for Tippie that I will have to do if I choose this University). The University of Illinois says that I probably won’t find out about my admission until April.
Info about me:
-3.88 GPA (while MacMurray isn’t terrible or anything, they do have somewhat lower standards compared to other schools so I’m not sure how that would affect admission decisions by Illinois and elsewhere)
-70 hours of transferable credits by end of semester
-Eagle Scout and lots of other volunteer/leadership experience
-Illinois resident
Please let me know your opinions on my odds of getting into Illinois and where you recommend I transfer to
what are your parents saying about the cost? How much will they pay at new school?
How much do they pay at MacMurray?
Transfers rarely get good aid. And UIUC gives poor aid to instate students, and it’s not likely that U Iowa
UIUC is about $33k instate.
U of Iowa is probably about $40k instate.
Do you get any aid at your current school? Unless money is not a concern, your current school may be your affordable school.
Do not cut ties with your current school until you see the AID package at your new school… That means registering for classes at your current school for fall, etc.
MacMurray is about $16,000 a year, so either University would be about double my current costs per year. There isn’t any recruiting that accounting firms do at my current school so it would be very difficult to land an internship and job, especially since MacMurray doesn’t a very good reputation for business. My family does have some money set aside for college for me (I think the account has about $40,000 by now), so I’d just have to do loans or work-study to pay the rest. From what I’ve been told instate at Illinois is about the same cost as out of state Iowa.
What is your in state flagship and its costs? (Although it may be late to apply). Woops - I see it is IL. If you can get in there and find a way to fund without a lot of debt , that is a great option as iL is viewed at the very top for Accounting and is recruited heavily. Good luck!
