oink?

Time for college apps 's

I was talking to Mikey about it a couple of weeks ago, but I'm still pretty scared about it.

Basically, I can stay in California and go to a public UC (if I can get in?) which is probably $20k tuition+books+food+room+board max. or I can go to a Private in-state or out of state and spend an average of $50,000 for everything per year. That's a pretty big difference in price.


I've got around 10 colleges on my "list" and 7 of them are private and the other 3 are public U.C. schools. That's why I'm feeling a little imbalanced.

I guess my main dilemma is how important the Undergraduate school I go to will be if I am planning to go for a Masters later, probably Business..

What do you guys think?


EASY NOTES: George is applying to colleges soon. How important do you think an undergraduate education is if he is probably going to a graduate Business school later? A big factor is the price of admission for a private vs. a public college for the name and prestige?

 

IMO if you are going for an M.D. or Lawyer school prestige is a priority but if you are just going for a B.A. in business private school shouldn't be necessary.

 

I don't think what school you go to really matters (as long as it's not lame Internet program that I keep getting junk mail for).

In fact, I think it's even less of an issue if you're planning on doing your grad school (which grad school you go to will matter more then, which undergrad school you attend is really just a stepping stone to getting there).

 

I was really thinking about Wharton School at UPenn or Haas at Berkeley as they are some of the top undergraduate business schools in the nation.

Then again, I am very interested in Northwestern because of the suburban setting. Evanston seems like an amazing place.

I am going to go play some cello and get some of this college choosing frustration out!

 

Let me know if you decide to go to Northwestern. We can hang out some times.

Seriously though, I'm not sure if you'd be that much better off enrolling in one of the prestigious schools over the UCs. It'll give you and edge when you are doing grad school applications, but that's pretty much it, IMO.

I'd just go to a UC (and use the money saved to buy an S2000 ).

 

George:

I'm still a bit jaded from college, so take this with a grain of salt.


You're better off going to a good undergrad school, getting a 4.0 (should be reasonable for someone as smart as you) and having a litany of activities (water polo, cello, etc) than you are going to a "great" (and I use that loosely - most great schools aren't that much better) school and struggling (say, a 3.6 GPA). When you start applying to grad schools, they'll look at (in order):

1. Degree from accredited Uni
2. GPA
3. Activities (well rounded students > bookworms)
4. Undergrad prestige

I consistently had students from lesser schools with high GPAs and a couple activities get placed above me despite their education being pathetic compared to what I had to endure (and I do mean endure).

Also, consider this: Most places, when hiring you, won't differentiate in salary between someone with a UC undergrad and a premier private undergrad. If you finish school with $50k in loans, that's about $500/month for 10 years. If you finish with $100k in loans, that's about $1000/month. Your salary will be $100k/year annual either way.

Also, something to think of - with your GPA and activities, you may very well get a couple offers for full academic scholarships. Even if the school isn't the greatest (say, your 9th choice) going to a good school for free is always better than going to a better school on your own dime. Apply to them all and see if you can get a free ride. When you're 25 and finishing your MBA, you'll be thankful.

 

WSB:

I was thinking about applying to schools that I might have a chance to get a full ride for, but I can't find any information on any. All of the financial aid and scholarship site I went to still goes on 1600 SAT scale, which means it's at least 2 years old. The only current one I could find was one for Boston College, and I have to apply there early (binding) to have a chance at their presidential scholarship. But I'd really like a chance to get a full ride merit scholarship somewhere. But none of 10 schools I'm looking at applying to are likely to give me any scholarship at all:

1. Wharton business undergraduate @ UPenn
2. UC Berkeley then apply to their undergraduate business program
3. Northwestern (their early entrance acceptance rate was 50% last year...)
4. Stanford. I hear I have almost no chance of getting in.
5. Columbia. Just because of location (Wall Street, business district)
6. UCLA is alright. Toured the campus a couple of times but it didn't feel like a place I'd like to be. I'll have to go some more.
7. Dartmouth. I'm looking at crossing this one off my list. I love the rural location of the college, but other than that, I think public schools will give me more for the money.
8. Brown. Crossing this one off probably to make room for some other schools.
9. USC. I'd like to go there, but it is expensive. 50k vs 20k. I'll give it a shot though.
10. UC San Diego... seems like a more scientific institution so this is my last choice, but I am definitely applying here, if at least for a backup.

So of those, it seems like Brown is for sure out, possibly Dartmouth and Stanford to make room for more affordable schools. I'll have to figure out the new schools.

I'm trying to limit myself to 10 but now I feel like applying to more. I'm not sure how smart that is.

I think the most efficient choice on my current list is Berkeley. My sister went there so my family is familiar with the city already, and tuition is only a total $3,899.75 per semester... I'm just not so sure about the environment yet. It is a bargain compared to the privates though.

I still have some time to think about it (and what will differentiate me from the other billion people applying to the UC system).

Thanks for the kick. I'm really looking into saving money now, and not the absolute prestige of the school.

 

I will be sure to hang out if I go to Northwestern... Chicago seems like a really nice place. Plus the Bulls are starting to get good again.

 

One thought additional:

If you're planning on going to an elite college for your MBA, with a high rejection rate, be aware that you'll be going up against hundreds (if not thousands) of kids with 4.0 GPAs from good colleges w/ lots of activities (including slave-labor internships). The prestige factor will come into play. If you plan on going to a above average college for your MBA, you'll probably be a leg up on most.

As far as full academic scholarships, the most likely schools to give you those are state schools in your home state: UCLA, UCB, etc.

 

I assume you've seen these...

http://bwnt.businessweek.com/bschools/unde...ate/06rankings/
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/r...progs_brief.php