Hello All - I’m guaranteed admission at UT Austin as an in state resident. Tuition + Board will almost be fully paid for combined with other scholarship sources. My PSAT score basically guarantees more money as well through National Merit Scholarship.
Given how good already UT Austin is as an effectively free option, would it be worth paying full price elsewhere? My parents believe that unless I get into HYPSM or Wharton (and possibly Columbia or UChicago), it’s not worth the sticker price.
I’m interested in quantitative finance or data science/AI/machine learning as a career and would likely major in CS with a Statistics/Applied Math/Machine Learning double major. I’m also open to a minor in accounting/finance.
Is it feasible to get onto Wall Street or one of the major private equity or hedge funds in Greenwich, CT without going to a top 10 school? Would going to college in a more urban area like NYC, Chicago, Boston or Philly be advantageous for getting work experience as a student - either co-op or internship? Concrete examples are always appreciated.
Yes you can achieve your professional goals from UTA. That is one of the top public universities in the country. For details on how UTA could help you find the internships you’d like, have a chat with the career center there and with the specific departments you might major in. They will be happy to tell you where their star graduates have ended up.
If your parents truly are ready, willing, and able to pay full price for an HYPSM-level private, then you are well within your rights to thank them profusely for such a wonderful gift, and accept it with gratitude for their generosity. But it also would be a true kindness for you to first ascertain that they would not be sacrificing their own long-range plans or retirement security in order to cover those bills.
On a related note - I found this article that looks at income of students by age 34 at lots of top universities. Look for “Median student income at age 34” toward the bottom. Those numbers across the board seem kinda low. Are these numbers accurate?
It is not clear what effect attending graduate/professional school has on these students. MBA/law/medical school.
Might be more interesting to check back in at age 45, rather than at age 34.
I agree with your parents, that unless you are admitted to Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Penn-Wharton or Princeton, the University of Texas for free is a better option.
Where are all of your anticipated scholarships coming from? I know a top 10/700 National Merit finalist (with ACT 34) who got $0.00 from UT Austin. He does have some local and regional scholarships that are definitely making UT cheaper, but not 100% free for sure.
Also to the OP---- your PSAT does not guarantee you “more money” for UT Austin. Other than perhaps the what…$2,000 from NMS? That’s not much. UT Austin will not care one second about your PSAT score even if you are a finalist. It might be a feather in your cap for admission, but beyond that and as far as money is concerned, you will get no $$ for your PSAT.
For computers or technology, UT is already a top program, and Austin is one of the hottest tech hubs in the country. If you have an opportunity to go there debt free, you would be far better off going to UT-Austin.
How good is Wall St recruiting from UT Austin? Most reports on the internet mention that it’s almost a requirement to come from the Ivies, Stanford, MIT, Chicago, Duke, etc?
University of Texas-Austin is a target school. Always best to check with UT placement/careers office regarding specific industries & employers interviewing on campus.
Has the OP already had admission offers from UT Austin CS and HYPSM on hand trying to decide or this is just a hypothetical question? If its the latter then I don’t think getting into a HYPSM, Wharton/Chicago/Columbia can be assumed. Why not trying to get admitted first before worrying about narrowing down options.
Your interests might be one of the few cases where going to a few specific schools like HYPSM+NYU might be worth it though you’ll be fine at UT.
Have your parents done the NPC at Princeton? You might be surprised at the results or maybe not.
Also check out the ORFE major at Princeton: https://orfe.princeton.edu/undergraduate
it might be exactly what you are looking for and other schools have similar offerings.
Well, it is no longer a requirement for those who becomes CEOs at Fortune-500 companies. In fact, the university that produced the most of these CEOs was UW, and as many went to UT as went to Princeton
