Please help me decide on an undergraduate school

Parents Forum
1

I’ve narrowed my options down to these schools:

UNC Chapel Hill - This school meets full demonstrated need, and according to them, I have no need this year (my EFC at this school is $53k). However, once my little sister enters college 2 years from now, my EFC will decrease by half (I emailed the FA office). The best case scenario is that I will be able to graduate in 3 years (I have a lot of AP credit) and pay a total of $113k (opting out of the university health insurance, not buying the university meal plan, and living very frugally), worst case scenario is I stay for 4 years and pay $140k. My dad said that he will pay $120k total for my undergraduate education, no matter what school I choose, although some of that will be in loans.

USC - Similar financial situation as UNCCH, but I am already accepted into Marshall.

Boston University - $28k grant/year, $1.5k work study. COA for 3 years: $99k. COA for 4 years: $132k. I will be more likely to graduate from BU in 3 years though because I am already accepted into the Questrom School of Business, whereas at UNCCH, I have to apply into KF sophomore year.

Baruch College - Full tuition scholarship, $7.5k summer stipend, Macbook Pro. Macaulay Honors. Estimated COA for 4 years: $50k (for housing, food, and transportation). My dad will give me $70k after I graduate.

Temple University - Full tuition scholarship, $8k summer stipend. Temple Honors and Fox Business Honors. Estimated COA for 4 years: $40k. $80k when I graduate.

My goals:
If I go to UNCCH, I would apply into KF (~50-60% chance of acceptance). If I get in, I would be a business major with a concentration in finance and aim for investment banking. My biggest worry is that I will not get into KF and have to major in Economics.

If I go to USC, I would major in accounting and aim for investment banking or corporate finance.

If I go to BU, Baruch or Temple, I would major in accounting and aim for a big 4 firm.

Job placement:
I could not find undergraduate job placement information from Baruch College.
The undergradate job placement information for Temple University is very ambiguous. It does not give the percentages for students who found jobs after graduation, but only the percentage of employed students in each sector (ie: 13% of students who found jobs are working in accounting).

If I become an accountant at one of the big 4 firms, my starting salary will be around $55k plus bonus since I’m only considering major metropolitan areas. However, I’m worried that I won’t have as good of a shot if I go to Baruch or Temple. Temple’s MAcc program has a 96% job placement rate, with a 50% placement rate at the big 4, but I don’t know anything about their undergraduate job placement. All of the big 4, along with Grant Thornton and McGladrey have OCR for Zicklin Grad, but again, I don’t know anything about OCR for undergrad.

Boston University http://www.bu.edu/questrom/files/2011/02/Undergraduate-Class-of-2014-Employment-Report.pdf
UNCCH http://www.kenan-flagler.unc.edu/~/media/Images/undergraduate/Student%20Outcome%20Statistics%202013-2014.jpg
USC http://students.marshall.usc.edu/undergrad/files/2014/10/Recruiter-Brochure-FINAL-2014.09.03.pdf

Finance majors at all 3 schools have similar starting salaries, but UNCCH’s job and internship placement look amazing - 91% of rising seniors have paid summer internships with the average comp being $9.6k, and only 6% are unable to find jobs within 3 months of graduation. 22% are able to find jobs in IB or S&T, which I think is pretty impressive considering how competitive it is. Of course, this is all contingent on me getting into Kenan-Flagler. Also, I hear amazing things about USC and UNCCH’s alumni networks.

So basically, my greatest considerations are whether it is worth paying more at UNCCH or USC for a shot at IB or S&T, a higher starting salary, better job placement and networking opportunities, and a strong alumni network. I know it will be near impossible for me to break into IB from my other 3 options. I’m also worried that it will be significantly harder for me to find a job at a big 4 accounting firm if I went to Temple or Baruch instead. Sorry for the extremely long post but this is something I’ve been agonizing over for the past 3 weeks.

2

It seems like you would love UNCCH or USC. Have your consulted with your dad? Have you visited? Don’t count on graduating UNCCH in 3 years. You may need an extra Semester to complete courses in major. In my day, I went to summer school so finished quickly (in Mexico, another college town), but these days, internships are better route.

3

What is your total cost at USC? Did you get a presidential scholarship?

4

My dad said he will pay $120k no matter where I go, and USC gave me some small scholarships that brought down the cost to a few thousand dollars more than UNCCH.

5

Tough choice - USC Marshall, UNC and even BU are in a different league than Baruch or Temple, notwithstanding the cost difference. However, USC has a tough financial aid formula compared to other schools, so don’t assume your EFC will go down once your sibling hits school - if your dad can pay $120K, it is likely that you have other significant assets, including equity in your home which USC basically assumes you’ll drain for college costs (check out the USC forums, it was a financial aid bloodbath this year).

Given the risk of getting into Kenan-Flagler, I’d actually pick BU - it is a way better school than Baruch or Temple, and probably worth paying for compared to the others. If you can get out in 3 yrs, dad has you covered, and if you don’t, you will only take on deminimus debt. That said, starting out in life with $80K is pretty tempting…

6

Baruch ranks extremely high for Big4 positions in NYC.
The reason you don’t find any stats for undergrad placement in accounting is that in order to work as an accountant, you need to do a 5th year, which most students complete as a one-year Master’s.
This being said, I’d go with UNC-CH. You’d be 20K in debt after your father has paid for your schooling, and considering your scholarships you probably have high stats, indicating a better likelihood of making it into Kenan Flagler. Because UNC-CH meets need, you know costs would decrease once your sister enters college, unlike at USC. In addition, if you don’t make it into Kenan Flagler, major in Applied Math and minor in PPE or Entrepreneurshipand you’re good to go, with better odds at IB than from your other choices.
http://math.unc.edu/for-undergrads
http://ppe.unc.edu/
http://www.unc.edu/depts/econ/undergraduate/entrepreneurship.htm

7

I heard back from my financial aid appeal for UNC Chapel Hill and I’ve received a revised financial aid package that has made the cost for Chapel Hill very manageable for my family!

Grant: $13.3k
Work study: $2.7k
Perkins loan: $5.5k
Fed. subsidized loan: $3.5k
Total: $25k

which leaves ~$22k for my dad to pay out of pocket for this year :smiley: I can’t wait to see how my financial aid package will change once my little sister enters college! Now I don’t feel so stressed about getting accepted into Kenan Flagler since I’m not putting a big financial strain on my family.

8

Do not mistake loans for free money.

9

I didn’t. My dad is going to pay off part of my subsidized loans in a lump sum 6 months after I graduate using the balance from the $120k allotted for me. So I will be able to study for 4 years and still graduate with minimal debt. Although if I found a job with a starting salary of at least 60k, I’d be willing to pay off most of my loans myself.

10

Sounds like a great plan, and you get to attend your best choice! Congratulations!