Should I take on 100k in loans to go to Emory?
Background info:
I'm a high school senior with an interest in investment banking (especially healthcare/pharmaceuticals) who was admitted to Emory and UNC (I am not a North Carolina resident nor was I directly to Kennan-Flager Business School), which are both semi-targets from what I gather. However, I would be full pay for both of these institutions. If I were applying to college a couple years ago, I would've gotten much more aid, but my parents have both gotten significant pay raises since. While this increased my cost of attendance, they simply haven't had the time/ability to save in order to pay this much.
Emory and UNC are going to run ~90 and ~60 thousand per year, respectively. My parents are able to pay up to a maximum of 65 thousand per year, which means that I would have to take ~100k in loans for Emory. While UNC is more affordable, I think I am statistically far better off going to Emory (they seem to place a similar number of people at BB/EB firms, but UNC has way more students). Moreover, the competition to get into Keenan Flagler as a non-direct admit looks far more intense (and, resultantly, less guaranteed) than to get into Goizueta at Emory (which I don't think even has a direct, high school admissions process). On top of this,
The only thing I can think of to do to save some money at Emory is to graduate a year early. This should actually be pretty doable, given that I have a bunch of AP/Dual Enrollment credit that they take, so I would be coming in with half a year's worth of classes completed. However, I know there is a process to getting summer IB internships, and I wouldn't want to cut a summer if it meant risking getting a lower-paying job. Moreover, this would only cut 25k of debt, not 90k because my parents can only afford 65k per year, regardless of how long I am in college. I don't think this is an option at UNC, given that I would have to follow the 4 year path to get into and graduate from their business school.
Alternatively, I have full rides from some non-prestigious state schools. As far as I know, none of these schools have any pipeline/history of placing students in BB/EB. I've seen a couple make it to Big 4 Consulting, but none at MBB (at least without an MBA). However, making this choice would allow me to fully fund my MBA using my college fund later on in life. If I go to Emory/UNC, my college funds get totally depleted.
Couple additional things to consider:
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I was admitted to both Emory's Atlanta (main) and Oxford campuses. If I were to go to Emory, I would go to the Atlanta campus.
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I'm an Asian guy, so I don't think I have access to any diversity programs or anything of that sort.
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One of my parents used to work at Goldman Sachs, but they were in a back office role and it wasn't in Atlanta/NYC. They were a Senior VP when they left a few years ago, but my family remains close with some of their ex-colleagues' families. I'm not sure if these connections help, given that I don't know anyone at GS in a front office role or anyone at the New York/Atlanta (where Emory is) branches.
Questions:
1) Should I go to Emory (at ~90k per year, taking on ~100k in debt)? If I go there, should I try to graduate early (making my debt 75k, instead but taking away one of my summers that I could potentially get an internship during)?
2) Should I go to UNC (I wouldn't need to take on debt, but I would need to get into Keenan Flagler and I wouldn't have any money left for an MBA)?
3) Should I go to one of the non-prestigious state schools (and use my college fund for an MBA)? If so, should I still try to target banking jobs after undergrad but before MBA?
Ignore this; can't figure out how to delete a comment
None of these options are great.
If you have to choose between these two schools, I think the 100k delta for Emory is worth it. Paying 65k for a UNC degree feels horrible, doubly so if you aren't in the business school. That being said, I have several Emory friends and have been told the finance community there is on the relative decline.
Secondly, you're 18, planning for an MBA now is just stupid.
If I may suggest a fourth option, my recommendation would be to attend the your best in-state state school for free and transfer after 1 year to a target school. Duke, Columbia, Dartmouth, Brown, Georgetown, Chicago, Penn CAS, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Vanderbilt, and Cornell, just to name a few, are transfer friendly target schools. If you keep a 3.9+ GPA (ideally 4.0) and get involved in extracurriculars, this should not be a challenge.
Is transferring actually doable? I applied to every one you listed except Dartmouth and Notre Dame, but I got Waitlisted at some and Rejected by others. I was under the impression that it was significantly harder to get in via the transfer process than as a high school senior.
I have not transferred myself. However, I know people who have and to me the process always seemed much more doable and formulaic than high school admissions. From high school, the process seems like a black box and often ends up being a crapshoot with people getting undeservedly admitted/denied. I think transfer admissions is much more numbers based. Get a good GPA and some involvement on campus and you should be set. I think there are just less qualified people trying to transfer compared to first-time admissions which makes the pool much less competitive. This may be completely wrong but it is just my perspective.
I have a friend who transferred into my school and he was rejected first time. He said the transfer subreddits were very helpful, perhaps it may be worth checking those out to get a sense of what the difficulty looks like.
edit: https://www.reddit.com/r/TransferToTop25/
Personally an Emory transfer student who’s starting at an EB/BB as an SA. Transfer admissions process is even more of a black box bc there is no set profile. You don’t know how they evaluate GPAs from different schools and what the minimum stats are. From HS, the SAT and GPA percentiles are well known. There is very little data online about the transfer admissions profiles of admitted students. It’s like lateraling for a job; there are less spots available and who knows what they’re looking for to fill those (diversity quotas, different demographics, etc) Transferring is also tough socially; adapting to a brand new school is difficult. I’d bear that in mind. Otherwise, Emory is fine for recruiting. Almost every interview is within reach. But I certainly think other schools listed here (Columbia, Dartmouth, etc) are undoubtedly better for recruiting.
I don't know where anyone said that the finance is on decline at Emory. Its gotten stronger. You'll be in a very good spot at Emory and can definitely achieve a great outcome. Obviously the other schools AN1 PE said are very good and have an advantage over Emory except Vanderbilt which is basically the same as Emory. This is all to say that you don't need to transfer at all and you would be fine without it
Transferring is definitely doable. Have few friends transferring from similar tier schools as Emory and UNV to UChicago.
I transferred from a complete non-target to a complete target (>5%). If you perform well at your school it is 100% doable and there are certain schools (Columbia, Chicago, Dartmouth, NYU) that are actually easier to get into via transfer then direct admit due to less people applying. Additionally, you can try and broaden your schools second time around, Vanderbilt, UVA, etc
Some of you lie so easily on here. Emory is in decline but Vandy is a better option??? Like so transparent
Sorry that you got so butthurt over me casually mentioning vandy above in the transfer school list. To clarify, I think both Emory and Vandy fucking suck and OP should pursue better transfer options than Vandy. It’s hilarious how insecure you are though. Your entire post history is defending Emory and you have a post going back 9 months with the sole purpose of arguing Emory is better than Vandy. It must hurt not having gone to a top 20, let alone top 10 school. Emory is a great school and I know great people from there but you are not one of them. Some of us try to give actionable advice instead of ranking colleges on here.
Bro stop being the Emory warrior. I see you fighting ppl on every post that mentions Emory. Get off WSO and go live your life. All you’re doing is making us look bad
90k/year for college is absolutely bonkers. You're better off taking your parents $65k/year, go to a decent other school that's $20/yr, keep the difference, and outshine the rest, network, and crush it with cash in yo pocket.
From my perspective I would avoid taking on any debt. I went to a complete non-target city school in NYC and landed at an EB. While going to a target school can certainly up your chances it is all going to come down to your work ethic and networking ability come recruiting. Save the money if you can college is a scam
I guess my question here is how would I go about networking coming from a nontarget? If there aren't many alumni at investment banks, I'm not sure how I could make the relevant connections.
are you sure its 90k? That sounds too high. I just googled the tuition for Emory online and it says that it is 83k
Yeah, but I am going to be in school for 4 years. Tuition/Costs will increase year to year. 90k per year is my estimate for the average cost per year.
If you go to Emory then try to graduate a semester early. I feel like if you appeal aid enough, they should give some to you because Emory is one of the richest schools in America apparently even richer than Cornell, Brown, Dartmouth. So you wouldn't really lose on recruiting/social experience too much. This really comes down to how much money you want to spend. I don't think 20k per year is crushing debt with your profile but it is something so I would evaluate that
Don't go in debt to go to Emory. Bad idea. It's a nice school but not worth 90k a year.
Unc at 60k is stupid but at least it doesn't put you in debt. Brother you might hate IB when you do your first internship and realize you want to be an elementary school teacher....good luck paying off 100k in loans for that.
Unc is a decent enough school and will have hotter girls too.
Is there anything instate you can attend for less money?
Given your interests in investment banking and the statistical success rates associated with Emory, it may be worth considering this option. However, it is important to carefully weigh all financial aspects and potential benefits. UNC may be a more cost-effective option, especially if you can get into Keenan Flagler without having to take out loans. It will also provide you with the opportunity to study an MBA without the need for additional funding. Going to non-prestigious public schools and using a college fund to earn an MBA can be a smart option, especially if it will help you avoid significant debt.
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