<p>I was accepted into UT Austin for accounting... but the price tag is so steep. I didn't get any scholarships - so my question is whether or not it is worth it to go to UT Austin even though it's more expensive, or if a cheaper school would be better for an Accounting major?</p>
<p>At this point, it’s all about which other schools/programs you have as your options, i.e., which other schools/programs you have received or are going to receive an admission offer from.</p>
<p>Go to the best rated school for business that you can afford. If you can’t afford Ut then it is not worth having a lot of debt at the end of 4 years. and if you are planning on law school or graduate school, it really doesn’t matter where you receive your accounting degree.</p>
<p>If you’re a Tx resident go for it. If not consider that accounting graduates make $50K a year (if lucky), which doesn’t leave a lot leftover to pay off student loans? Go to the best college that you can go to in your home state. GL</p>
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<p>Plans can be fickle. Just because you want to go to law school at age 18 doesn’t mean you will at age 23. Having an accounting degree from UT would be a major asset, and an excellent fallback plan if you decide law school isnt for you. And from an ROI standpoint, an accounting degree is a much better proposition than law school unless you manage to get into the absolute top tier of law schools.</p>
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<p>That’s plenty to service the student loan payments. And $50k is a starting salary. UT accounting graduates are highly recruited, and if they work hard, they’ll be making a fair amount more than $50k by the time they’re 30, and before they come to the end of their loan repayment period.</p>
<p>UT accounting is number 1 or 2 most of the time. If you are instate, I would say consider it seriously.</p>
<p>Vyse: $50k after taxes, house, car, etc, etc doesn’t leave much. But the biggest factor is success. The big accounting firms are notorious for cutting people after a couple years? Let’s hope for success but only without the debt.</p>
<p>I’m 25 and a few years out of school, making a little more than that and servicing student loan debt from a public school (A&M), but close enough to feel like I’m living the scenario we’re debating. I’ll will admit school was cheaper when I went than it is now (feels ridiculous to be saying that, because I’m 25, not 50!). I’m also not getting any money from my parents, so my budget is my budget. That said, in my experience, making the student loan payment is not that hard. I did live at home for a year after graduating, and 6 months after getting my assignment at work, I used my savings to pay cash for a used Corolla, and I got a modest apartment (but in a safe, well located neighborhood). I don’t have any debt, and am up to almost 20k in my retirement accounts.</p>
<p>And the reason there’s so much attrition at the big accounting firms is because the schedule is such a grind. But its not like the people who work there a couple years end back up at their parents house unemployed. Most of them find jobs in industry working for the clients they audited. On the client side they have more reasonable hours. That’s just the big 4 business model. You do your time as an associate and if you’re a real go getter and love working long hours, you move up to partner. If not, you join industry. But its good to “pay your dues” in big 4, the experience is a bright spot on your resume.</p>
<p>Thanks, everyone, I appreciate the feedback. I am an out-of-state resident, unfortunately. I think I am going to go, despite the good-sized chunk of debt I will have to take out, even though it’s still really scary to have to do that. It does sound like the ROI will be worth it though.</p>
<p>I know people who consider UT engineering to have a high ROI despite an OOS price tag but not certain if accounting does. Have you discussed the finances with your parents since they need to sign the loan papers outside of stafford loans.</p>