Emory will cost about 6k more for my parent’s than UT and I’ll be in about 22k in debt vs 15k at UT - really not too bad. My asian mom really wants me to go to UT because it’s close to home - she thinks that Emory isn’t “prestigious” enough like Northwestern or UPenn to warrant leaving the state and paying extra money. Pretty dumb tbh. Exactly how “prestigious” does Emory have to be lol?
Emory Pros:
- I really do feel like I’ll have no trouble fitting in here - a lot more people at Emory seem more similar to me and align to my interests. There’s kinda like this intangible feeling I get when think about Emory that I love.
- Gorgeous Campus
- Unique opportunity to explore liberal arts for 2 years before going into B-school. Honestly I’m not 110% if I want to do business.
- Opportunity to finally get to leave Texas and maybe get out of my comfort zone? - was never really a fan of TX tbh
- Goizueta has 30%+ people place in NYC, although it might not necessarily be for prestigious IB/Consulting roles.
- MUCH smaller class sizes/ manageable campus/student body
- idk my friends were impressed I got in I guess.
- 58/42 female-male gender ratio AYYYYY ( jk haha )
- Frat scene is less intense here than an UT so I might actually try it out
Cons:
-Need a plane.
- Disproportionately wealthy - might be harder to fit in with that group
-Might be more competitive/harder to stand out
- Honestly not any more intellectual than UT is - very pre-professional.
- Austin>Atlanta
- Absolutely need a car to get ANYWHERE
- Higher frat percentage ( 30% ) - In case I don’t like it can be kinda hard to avoid it Freshman
- I don’t know ANYONE there
- Costs 6k More
- Recruiting isn’t necessarily stronger than UT
- *** No (or extremely slim) opportunity to transfer into BHP at UT which will have significantly better recruiting.
- Parent’s don’t want me to go here very much
UT - Austin (non-bhp) Pros:
- Chance to transfer into BHP which will offer amazing recruiting that Goizueta simply can’t match
- Extremely diverse/eclectic campus might make it easier to find my niche
- Known for being one of the most fun schools in the nation
- Very Walk-able; don’t really need a car
Cons:
- The culture just doesn’t seem to fit me as well
- The competition will definitely be easier than at Emory
- BHP is extremely difficult to transfer into
- Kinda hard to explore majors and stuff at UT - I have to be a B-school major all 4 years
- Huge emphasis on athleticism and sports here; don’t really have a serious interest in being a huge part of school spirit
- The campus isn’t that pretty to me - although I could probably learn to like it
- Extremely Big - Might be harder to find long-term friends with so much people to deal with
- Extremely Large Classes
- Frat scene, while smaller ( 18% ) is EXTREMELY intense and I would for sure try to avoid rushing at all
What would you pick?
Have you already been accepted to both?
If I were you, I’d choose UT; the lower debt and proximity to home will be worthwhile alone in the long run. However, you really can’t go wrong with these two… I believe UT has better recruiting, but it really depends on where you want to work/which area of business you’re wanting to major in.
Also, in case you haven’t heard, no classes at McCombs on Fridays 
Outside of the class size argument, which has some value, most of your pro Emory list is about fit and feel. With McCombs ranking and affordability, there are no substantive reasons to choose Emory.
Don’t be afraid of Texas’ size. It gets smaller fast.
I think your Mom put it well. There is nothing so outstanding about Emory that it would be worth the extra debt. If you did switch to Liberal Arts, this point bears even more weight in the decision.
What is the COA for each school per year?
Sounds like you would do fraternity at Emory but not UT, have you factored that into the cost difference? Have you factored the transportation (car/plane) cost into Emory?
I don’t get why to agonize over this if you haven’t been admitted yet. Emory is ED and UT is out right now. If you know that you were in at Emory, wouldn’t you needed to have already accepted?
@google98989
Care to elaborate why?
@ClarinetDad16
They really aren’t staunchly against Emory. It really is just a preference; in fact my dad LOVES the idea of me going to Emory, it’s mostly my more pragmatic/cautious mother that would rather I go to UT… I do see what you are saying though…
@thenoah6624 @OrangeSpider
So Emory managed to reduce my parent’s cost to only about 1.5k-2k more than UT, and slightly reduced my debt fom 7k more expensive to only about 5k more after 4 years.
The only thing that irks me is the chance to transfer into BHP. I feel like if I go to UT and I don’t get into BHP, I would regret not going to Emory. However, if go to Emory and I would’ve gotten into BHP at UT, I might regret going to Emory. Also idk, everyone on CC seems to tell people to choose a college based upon fit.
Not going to lie though, at this point UT really does seem more like a pragmatic decision, while Emory is honestly entirely based upon fit and the opportunity to finally get to “start over” on a new leaf. It just seems like my personality better fits a private school… Paying a similar price for an extremely expensive top 20/21 private school than I would at a (albeit very good) state school seems like a really good opportunity… Who knows, maybe I’m deluding myself
Just going to put this out there… With or without BHP, McCombs will give you better opportunities due to larger alumni network and more recruiting (UT is def ranked higher than Emory for undergraduate business on EVERY list). So don’t let the honors program determine your decision.However, I understand your want to ‘fit in,’ as that is exactly how I felt about Duke a few months ago (rejected ED 
). If you truly believe you won’t fit in at UT, don’t go… But keep in mind, Austin is one of the most laid-back cities there is and I’m sure you would enjoy either college; problems like yours are good ones to have.
I was just addressing on another thread the importance of evaluating the opportunities a school provides vs a student’s expectation of being more qualified based on his or her school. Whatever your choice, what matters most is your increasing motivation to take advantage of the opportunities presented to you by the school you attend. Michael Dell will be the first to tell you that he saw an opportunity where he was…and turned it into a successful company years later. Many examples at many schools. All awesome.
The difference between UT and Emory are significant–public/private, culture, city, sports, all those things. But for you, where do you want to create the amazing YOU? At Atlanta, you have the resources of the high tech and business center of the southeast to take advantage of (growing manufacturing center of the US), potentially access to Wall St jobs in finance. In Austin, you have the big T (TEXAS) as well as the West Coast and energy/aerospace/high tech industries on your doorstep. It will be up to your motivation, not the school, to take advantage of the opportunities.
UT also is recruited heavily for Northeast positions, especially finance ones. Once again, providing what major you’re looking to do will help greatly with our insight.
@TwixVegas Post this on the Emory page and see what responses you get. It’ll give you other perspectives
Hey all, I decided to go to Emory. I simply just think my fit there far exceeds UT. Turning down an awesome university like UT down honestly hurts, but I just think it’s the right decision.