You need to find out if the school’s economics major is listed as “econometrics and quantitative economics” for this purpose, since “economics, general” is not considered a STEM major for this purpose.
(Financial) ROI cannot be calculated if you do not specify the cost of each school (the I in ROI).
uiuc - 67k
uc irine - 72k
northeastern - 85k
Are those prices affordable for your family? Is cost a concern?
Also, I was just looking through your post history to see if I could be more helpful, and it looks like your interest is in IB?
I see this post in the UIUC EA thread,
and the reply by @Mwfan1921 that references this post by @Catcherinthetoast stating IB will not be an option for international,
and the more recent post of yours in the UIUC RD thread and the replies,
I’m concerned that it sounds like you are still looking for IB, and it doesn’t sound like the OPT program is going to be a good fit.
Do you have any options in your home country to study what you want?
although I would still prefer IB, I am okay with any finance sector role which gives me a best shot at getting a visa. eventually I would like to move onto IB. Also, if the us doesn’t work out as a job, I would be okay moving towards the Middle East. as for the OPT, I am trying to find out if either econometrics and quantitative economics is good enough to give me an opt extension. if not I will try for data science with finance in order to extend my opt. as for the universities, northeastern is expensive for me, therefore I wont be considering it. however I need to choose between uiuc and uci. I am interested in knowing which uni is best suited for jobs in the financial sector and gives me some chance in getting a sponsor. also although uiuc living conditions aren’t appealing to me when compared to uci, I am willing to let go of it, if that means a better program and school.
It is my opinion this will be a challenge for a job in the finance sector in the US for someone who isn’t a citizen. @Catcherinthetoast
UIUC should be the front runner.
You’ll be busy 24/7 and if you miss skyscrapers too much, Chicago isn’t far.
UIUC is the premier university for its region. UCI isn’t. That affects recruiting for prestige internships.
You’ll have to be on a straight and narrow path BTW - no drugs, under age drinking, etc.
I’ve known internationals who got Finance internships and OPT (none IB) but they had to go through a background check. Small mistakes that would be forgiven as “Aww shucks college students” can block the process.
No a 100%, I am only going to work and study but coughing up 65K a year, I need to anyways save money
What does this mean?
I don’t intend to get into anything unethical, my only aim is to study and work as much as i can.
Will you have loans for your undergrad degree?
I’m still not clear on what school/major you are accepted to at UIUC? Were you accepted to Gies?
Generally, it can be difficult to change schools and sometimes majors at UIUC…for example, I am not sure if all students who complete the requirements to transfer into econometrics in LAS are granted admission, or if it’s competitive. You should contact the school and ask these questions.
General intercollegiate transfer info:
Specific Econometrics major requirements to declare major:
Students must have completed ECON 102, 103, 202, and 203 (at least one of those taken at Illinois), MATH 220 or 221 with a B- or higher (proficiency or AP credit is acceptable), and a 2.67 GPA in all Economics courses taken at Illinois.
Effective Fall 2024: Students must have completed the following courses with a C+ or better in each course: Econ 102, Econ 103, Econ 202, Econ 203, and Math 220/221. At least one of these Econ courses must be taken at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
I was admitted to gies. As for econometrics and economics, if u wanna transfer, I need to clear those classes. I am an A level student, so I have more than half of those requirements already done for which I will get credits.
Around 50-60K in loans yes. Also since I am a Cambridge A level student, I am positive I can graduate early because of half of my freshman’s requirements already done.
As an international student, you will need to complete a certificate of finances to get a visa to attend college here. This will need to include that you have the full resources to pay for all four years of your schooling…full cost of attendance.
This can include already approved loans and already awarded financial aid.
It cannot include future potential sources of funding.
I have more than enough money to show for 4 years, I am taking loans just to have a sense of responsibility to work hard. And I am not too worried abt the F1 visa process, I have a private counsellor that will help me with it.
Do you have any EU acceptances? Those might be better for your career goals because you can easily get a visa in the EU if you graduate from an EU college…lots of finance/IB opportunities in the EU.
Also…graduating early in the US may be a negative when trying to get a job. You won’t have the internship experience of other candidates, companies may not think you are ready to work in X job and/or have general maturity level questions. Not saying it’s a no go, but something to think about.
If you do not need these loans, do NOT take out these loans. They will not help you in terms of getting jobs in finance here.
I am yet to decide my course of graduation and stuff. But I have this option, in case I want to save money. And since it’s already very evident that getting a job is going to be extremely hard, I might just completely scrap of the idea to try a us job, and instead move towards the Middle East ( saving money will be more wise if I do this ). And I have good contacts in the Middle East, so getting a job hopefully won’t be that hard
Loans do not give you a sense of responsibility, only interest to pay back on top of everything 
Either you already feel that sense of responsibility… or you don’t. It sounds like you do, so minimize loans as much as possible.
Btw large loans can be considered a liability by employers.
I concur that graduating early is not a positive in the US - you can always use a semester for a co-op (UIUC is good for those, you’re paid, and it doesn’t count against OPT months) and see if you can spend a 1st one (pre co-op) on “study away”, for instance a semester in Chicago.
My main inclination of an American degree is the fact that, oversees its valued a lot when compared to local universities, so I hope to have an edge when finding jobs, and I do plan to do an MBA from a prestigious B school.