So here’s my dilemma…I am right now deciding between two amazing schools for business. WashU is only 15 minutes away from where I live, it’s campus is beautiful, it has a mix between a classic college campus and a bit of city life (in fact, a city I know well), its dorms are great and spacious, and I am also invited into the Annika Rodriguez scholarship program. On the other hand, NYU has the urban setting I want in the city I’ve always wanted to experience, its dorms have unique character, I would be close to places like Broadway and Rockefeller, I would get discounts to shows and museums, and I mean it’s STERN. The issue I’m having right now is about financial aid. While I’m not going to say what I was given, all I’ll tell is that WashU gave me a greater amount than did Stern. I’ve talked to my counselor and one of my teachers who wrote my recommendation, and, surprisingly, they both told me to go chase my dreams at Stern (as did many other teachers they talked too). So my question is: Is NYU worth the cost and should I pursue an education there? Or should I play it safe and go for WashU where I would get a great education, but always wonder “what if”?
There are several posters who I am sure will say NYU is too expensive and not worth it as they always chime in with the same comments when NYU is in question. However, I say to go New York City! This your shot to live in one of the greatest cities in the world and experience all it has to offer! Not to mention Stern has excellent internships, job placement etc. Congratulations and good luck!
Graduating with debts, however, is not fun. As a business student you will learn about debt and compounding of interest. You could always spend a summer or a semester in NYC as an intern or co-op or attend summer school there.
Do you mean UWash in Seattle or Wash U in STL? Need to clarify before make recommendations.
Besides Olin is more of an engineering school, what subject you are going to pursue?
@artloversplus: WashU’s b-school is also called Olin.
@artloversplus It’s clarified already. Wash U’s business school’s name is Olin.
@artloversplus sorry if I didn’t clarify but yeah, I was referring to WashU in STL. Also thank you for the responses! @GWTWFan that’s exactly what my teachers have been telling me! I want to do it, but it’s going to be a lot of debt, that’s for sure.
bump
IMO it becomes a matter of the degree of loans needed and what you plan to do after graduation. NYU is notoriously bad about financial aid. It is easy for your teachers/counselor to tell you to go ahead to NYC – it sounds exciting, Stern is a great school, and they won’t be paying off your loans. Keep in mind that if you go to Olin you could always study abroad or another major US city for a semester or a year to get a different experience and you can always work in NYC down the road. It is important to keep the long term in perspective in making these choices.
Here are my questions…
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How much debt will you have when you graduate from NYU? Is it a manageable amount (ex. under $20k for 4 years) or will it be a level of debt that will impact your decisions for the next decades? I would not take out a debilitating amount of loans to attend NYU over Olin.
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What are your plans after graduation – do you want to work, go on to some type of grad school etc. If you are planning grad school, then you may want to go to WashU if it is materially cheaper.
I can’t believe teachers would tell you to go into debt. How much debt? Are they willing to chip in to pay that debt off?
ADDED: I see where you said in post #6 it would be “a lot of debt” to attend NYU – if that is the case, I’d go to Olin. A ton of debt will handcuff your for years and years after graduation.
@artloversplus - Same Olin Family. I believe the father has buildings on more college campuses named after his than anyone else. The foundation couldn’t buy enough buildings in line with their mission, so the founded the engineering school in MA. Interesting place…but that’s another thread…
@Zotero99 I work in the financial district in NY, and work with dozens of Stern grads. The “mafia” around Stern really forms in grad school. You can be a soldier, but in order to be “made” you need the MBA from Stern. NY isn’t going anywhere, and unless the financial differences are immaterial, I would stay close to home. Save the money, move to NY when you graduate, get a job and have a company pay for your grad school.
Bonus advice: get an internship in NY the summer of your junior year. You’re likely to get a full time offer upon graduation.
@happy1 (1) Well, it would cost me $40k a year to go, but I think I would only be paying around $5,500 a year. However, I really don’t want to put my parents in that much debt. (2) I plan to go to grad school thereafter.
@suzy100 They were just being encouraging, but I know what you mean. It’s just that NYU has been my dream school since as long as I can remember and they want me to pursue my dreams. They still understand about my financial state though.
@EyeVeee So you’re basically saying to maybe try for Stern fir my MBA?
@happy1 basically NYU gave me half-tuition. I know they’re really bad with financial aid, but apparently that’s a really good scholarship for them. Which makes me wonder…
@Zotero99 Nothing against Stern undergrad, but if you’re stating that you want to go to grad school…I would save your money and get a really good education at WashU…then go to NY and Stern for grad school. The grad school contacts you make will likely be very valuable…it will be people across NYC in dozens of financial (and non-financial) firms who will be leaders in 10-15 years.
All of that is based on you being torn between the two schools to a point where you just don’t know. If you truly feel NY is where you want to be now…go for it. If you stay in St. Louis, just make sure to get internships in NY, especially Junior to Senior summer. We make offers to 75% of our interns for full time work after graduation, so NOT coming to NY before you graduate and then hoping to land a full time job will be difficult. If you can land one earlier (first two summers)…the road gets that much shorter. Good luck.
Parental debt is still debt. How much would they have to take on?