What would be the best option for someone who wants to do Investment Banking potentially.

College Search & Selection
1

NYU Stern: No financial aid
IU Kelley School of Business: ACE (Basically business honors program) and Full ride (fry scholars)
Cornell ILR Garaunteed transfer sophmore year. (unknown aid)
USC Marshall transfer assistance Marshall Pathways Program

My parents have basically ghosted me on money they can offer towards college and NYU was my dream school so I have no clue what to do. (this is undergraduate btw)

2

Also how much debt is NYU stern worth in your opinions?

3

I’d go with IU Kelley Fry. Stern is one of the best schools for prospective Ibankers, but IU Kelley’s IB Workshop covers a lot of the gap between the two schools, assuming you get into that.

4

But what if I don’t get into IB workshop?

5

@TheBlackSamurai

I am not familiar with how admission to it works, but I am guessing if you are a Fry Scholar, you have the chops and will have the mentorship/guidance to help you get in. Hopefully someone more familiar with the program can address that concern for you.

6

Whatever you decide, no bachelors degree is worth a mountain of debt no matter how prestigious the school may be. If you have a full ride scholarship, I would take it and be happy. A business degree has literally thousands of prosperous career paths.

7

I recommend joining the community on Wallstoasis (WSO). It is the CC for banking (and consulting, RE, Corp Fin, etc.)

A couple of points:

  1. Although minimizing debt is always a good idea, IBers will make significant money out of UG and could easily pay off a reasonable amount of debt quickly (depends what you consider reasonable). Stern is among the heaviest recruited schools for banking (location). The IU program is also heavily recruited but not like Stern.
  2. IB (that's really what most are gunning for) is a grueling, somewhat toxic environment. It's not for everyone. I have some friends that have done quite well and they are definitely a different breed from other friends that have done well in industry. Your life is not yours for at least a few years. Not everyone is wired to do that (80-100 hours per week of grunt work. That's why they get paid so much). It may sound glamorous but it's not, at least not until you make it to VP or Managing Director. The burnout rate is huge.

I mention all this not to dissuade you but to suggest you approach it with open eyes and be open to the idea that you may not like it and therefore want to do something else. If that were to happen, Stern (although a great school), loses it’s leverage over IU.

8

@rickle1

Careful, once you enter WSO you never come out the same.

9

Since you cannot borrow more than $5,500 without them cosigning, they have basically vetoed all of your choices except for the full ride.

10

^ That’s funny and I know what you mean. I’m a 54 yr old investment adivsor who has played many roles in the investment / insurance brokerage world, ranging from sales rep to VP to owning my own business. Have learned a lot of life lessons along the way. Interesting to here the perspective of college students and young IBers who think they know it all. My previous comments are taken from what I glean from the general consensus of young iBers on WSO and my personal friends who did quite well (2 in the 8 figure space per yr prior to “retiring” to a life of non profits and sitting on boards).