UofT or UMass Amherst for Business?

jmc512
Sun, 28 Apr 2013 15:35:10 +0000

I was born in Canada, but have resided in Massachusetts for the majority of my life.

Background information of my capabilities as a student: rank 24/326, stellar extracurriculars with leadership positions inside and outside of school, competed in business competitions taking home awards, regionals to science fair. Got into NEU, BU, BC but have to pay 30k+ to attend.

I got accepted into UofT to study Economics, and UMass Amherst in the Isenberg School of Management (not in the Honors College despite by good gpa – I will try to get in during my second semester/year if I go here though).

Here’s the issue. My family is considered middle class, so I don’t get any reduced fees for lunch or for college applications. At UMass Amherst, I’m expected to pay ~10k with loans. At UofT, I am still waiting for my financial aid package to come in. I do’t think it will come in by May 1. I am estimating 15k-20k with loans (hopefully).

I am planning to get my MBA in management at one of the top schools in the States (Wharton, Kellogg, etc) with a lot of hope and hard work of course haha. The thing is, I’m not sure if I should go to UofT or UMass Amherst for my undergraduate. My parents are willing to pay 40k for my four years of undergraduate, where I will pay off the rest through loans when I graduate. Reputation wise, I know UofT is a better school compared to UMass Amherst. There are many kids who attend my high school that haven’t worked half as hard as I did and are going to UMass Amherst too. Kind of a blow to my self-esteem and waste of hard work.

Or perhaps I can just stay in Canada for my MBA too. But then I feel like I would end up settling in Canada and I really haven’t thought that far.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! I’m kinda rushed because I only have 2 days to put a deposit in for UMass Amherst. I am going to give a call to UofT tomorrow about my financials.

Thank you guys so so much.