I only have a couple days to decide, but I am stuck between the following.
Georgia Tech - Industrial Engineering
Accepted (last week)
#1 for ISyE in the country
Since I am in-state, my tuition is fully covered. I would only pay for room & board.
Close to home
vs.
Northwestern (ED) - Economics
Full-pay
I have legacy
I have been obsessed with Northwestern for a while and I frequently listen to the Daily Northwestern Podcast and Digital Diaries.
Far from home (good thing honestly)
While tuition does not matter to my parents or me, I still wanted to include it for context. With ED decisions coming out this week, I am conflicted between the two and need to know which one would help me more for setting up a career in management consulting/breaking into MBB. Personally, I still love Northwestern, but some of my friends are suggesting that I should move my Northwestern application to RD. The more I hear about Georgia Tech and the ISyE pipeline for consulting, the more nervous I get about this decision.
That’s why I want to hear from people who probably know better than me: do you think Northwestern would set me up for a better career in consulting?
Don’t second guess yourself at this point. Nerves are normal
As far as moving ED to RD, if the college decision has been made, which is likely the case for most universities releasing ED decisions this week, you’re will probably be unable to affect a change.
Interesting. I have heard from many people that I can call the admissions office and ask them to move my application to the RD round. Is that not usually the case? I can’t imagine them forcing me to keep my application in ED.
Well I guess that is up to the admissions office. However, circling back to my question, if I did have the option to move it to RD, do you think I should? Which option do you think, in your opinion, is better for someone wanting to get into management consulting?
You can’t say the costs - but then say they don’t matter.
Farther from home doesn’t matter. If you want to be away from home, then don’t go home.
Econ and ISyE are not the same. Which has the curriculum you want?
I’d go to Georgia Tech because saving a quarter of a million is a lot of money.
But you say it’s not important even though you included it.
I’d withdraw my ED NU.
But if it really doesn’t matter (money), then I’d look at curriculums.
It’s a lot more than - which will get me into consulting - because there’s no assurances and many consultants go back to school or leave the industry - and there’s so many types of consultants.
Sorry that you feel bothered. My point was that my parents can afford both, so it is not a money issue. I just included them both to give context about the value of each option.
With all due respect, that is your opinion. Not every household works that way.
Thank you! I will start comparing the curriculums. I agree that there are more factors so I will keep researching tonight.
The bigger question is what could/would they or you do with the savings. The difference is huge. Invested, it will be millions of dollars different.
If you get into Northwestern ED, you can always turn it down based on the financial difference. Finances are really the only legitimate reason you can pass on an ED acceptance.
Many Northwestern graduates get recruited to consulting firms like MBB. I’m sure many other universities send their graduates to those firms as well. Major or school may not matter as much as you think. I know a former student majoring in political science who was recruited by one decent consulting firm (not MBB).
If cost is not a big concern, I think it’s more important to consider which environment would nurture your growth more suitable to you.
I’m a high school teacher. I’ve heard many students loving or hating this or that university for various reasons. The most recent feedback was from one student who had been obsessed with NYU, got in, and is hating it; and another one attending UT Austin because he “had to” is now loving it so much that he thanks Cornell for putting him on waitlist.
Not as a full pay student who signed a contract agreeing to the cost of attendance. If OP had applied for financial aid and received less than the NPC or pre-read, that would be grounds for breaking the ED contract. Not because there’s a cheaper option available now.
It bothers me in the sense that - you are saying they can afford it - but do they want to afford it? Is that why you are asking? Otherwise, why would you have included - there is no context if it doesn’t matter (which tells me maybe it does).
For me, it’s a HUGE factor but I’m not you.
I’m a full pay family too - but I chose not to be. Ask your parents - are they 100% ok sending you to NU when they could save $250K - that’s what I’m getting at. That $250K can buy you grad school, a house, savings or retirement to them…or maybe they are so wealthy it doesn’t matter - to which then I wouldn’t have included it - was my point.
Can afford, willing to afford and want to afford are three different things. Where do they sit on this?
As for distance from home - some kids go 10 miles away and never go home. They don’t allow their parents to come or they set rules - like one dinner a month. Others go 1000 miles away and are flying home every 3 weeks. So it doesn’t matter - if you manage it to how you want it to be managed. So families are all different - but that’s up to you, as an 18 year old adult, to set expectations and to live within them.
You are looking at consulting - and most at your age don’t know what that means - and there are so many different types - from duties to travel to hours to functions to you name it. Even as a working professional who deals with consultants (we hire McKinesey and Deloitte), I don’t know all the types…but neither school or degree is an assured - or better option - vs. the other.
ED is not a contract. It is not legally binding. No student is required to do anything with their ED until after their acceptance and they know the total financial obligation.
It could be considered unethical to bail on an ED application, and a student could be rejected from both schools if they ED to more than one, but no one is forced to enroll at a school they ED at.
It’s germane. From a pure ethical perspective, you’re absolutely right. They should drop to RD unless they are 100% sure they would choose Northwestern. Regardless of the fact that it might not be legally binding, ED isn’t for students who are equivocating.
Both can get you a job at MBB, but the statistics suggest that since you won’t end up there, you shouldn’t use this as a decision criteria. The odds of ANY single student getting an offer from one of the three are very, very small. The only silver bullet out there is to become a Rhodes scholar (where virtually every Rhodes winner gets at least one offer from the three).
If you want to expand your professional goals to include Deloitte or EY or any of the top 50 consulting firms-- then my advice still stands. You can get to one of them from both schools, or can flush out during round 1 and never get back on track. Except you’ll get a second bite of the apple if you go to grad school.
So-- what do you want to study? How interested are you in the two majors you’ve listed? Pick the one you are really excited about. That will help you in three ways-
1- Studying what you love- nothing better for a college student.
2- Doing well at it- usually goes hand in hand with loving what you are learning.
3-Sets you up well for whatever the next chapter is- grad school, consulting, or something else which you don’t even know exists right now.
So tell us what you’re actually interested in (not what you think McKinsey wants you to be interested in) and go from there.
A big question here is, do you want to study Industrial Engineering? Northwestern offers this major also, so it seems to me you would have applied to it at both schools if it were really what you’re interested in studying.
You made the decision to ED, for Northwestern, and you are aiming for Economics there. You are obsessed with it, to use your words, and are willing to pay(or your parents are). You have specifically mentioned the option of consulting in the future. Based on all the details you have presented here, including the VERY late date of your second thoughts, I strongly think you should stick with ED Northwestern.
Actually, I think people can cancel an ED app anytime before decisions are released. I don’t know though if he can request to move to RD before decisions are released, at this late stage.