I think that if the grandparents aren’t willing to put the money aside it would be off the table for me. What if they’re in a car accident tomorrow? Are there other siblings, grandkids, earmarks to their estate that would preclude them from fulfilling this promise? If their retirement is so robust they can afford this, they can put it aside. If it’s robust and their refusing, it’s a massive red flag. If it’s not robust it’s a massive red flag.
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Personally, I would highly encourage the scholarship. If it’s a honors program, even better. Graduation from such a program would look especially good on a resume. I wouldn’t pay triple the cost for the sake of prestige, especially for twins 
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Twins are the only grandkids but they refused to open any accounts…
And the parents aren’t concerned about this?
The grandparents sound spirited.
What if the kids have a bad semester? Switch majors? Dye their hair a wrong color? Would the grandparents change their mind? Demand concessions? What if their health changes? Too many variables.
I’m dealing with an elderly parent that behaves like a 5 year-old sometimes. I’ve seen families do rug pulls too many times to think this is a good idea. I hope it works out if that’s what they choose.
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Put another way, IU and UT have a lot of risk and unless the kids are swinging for a cut throat career and I don’t think they are, there is little, if any reward.
In most cases, UIUC or UF will bring an identical role.
Be careful when basing decisions in part on career outcome reports. They need to be carefully reviewed since the data can be skewed for many reasons. It is discussed here :
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Part2.
Reviving this thread.
Twin 1 landed in UT Austin with last minute scholarship, so COA is 45k. Committed. Done.
Twin 2 is now the problem. Visited UFL and did not get excited.
Since Twin 1 got scholarship and goes to Austin, Twin 2 feels that going to UFL or UGA is not fair…
Grandpatents and family are pushing for UI Kelly for 55k COA, but twin 2 wants now UNC for 65k.
Here 2 catches… Twin 2 does not have direct admit to business school. Grandpatents say they would pay only for 1st year for twin2 for UNC. Twin 2 feels that since some money freed from Twin 1 there is a hope thay family will cover UNC. Also thinks that working during summer and year can earn difference between UI and UNC.
Is UNC business so much better that IU?
Since there is no guaranted admission for business, twin 2 thinks that ECON major is plan B after year 1. But twin2 is sure that they can make business school at UNC.
Twin 2 does not want to be stuck in midwest…Twin2 wants finance/private equity/consulting.
If we remove money from equation should twin2 consider IU Kelly more seriously vs UNC without business school guaranteed? Should twin 2 still consider UFL business honors?
If the price were the same I’d recommend IU-Kelley over UNC. I have a big preference for direct admit programs. UNC is a great school but has no advantage over IU in terms of prestige, opportunities, etc. UFL honors certainly can be considered if the student likes the school.
FWIW I would not expect grandparents to funnel more money to twin 2 based on the scholarship twin 1 received. They are being generous to offer any financial support.
Glad twin 1 is settled and hopefully twin 2 will happily commit soon.
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Yes to IU Kelley, UNC KF is not more prestigious, nor does it lead to better outcomes. Why take the risk of the secondary admit…which is holistic (meaning not entirely in the student’s control…even straight A’s won’t guarantee and admit). Also re: economics…that is a difficult (for many), mathy major so twin 2 would also need a plan C if UNC KF doesn’t work out.
IU Kelley students are not ‘stuck’ in the midwest.
I agree, I find that quite entitled. This is but one consequence of this situation (which may go on ‘giving’ for a lifetime) and why I said above if I were one of these parents we wouldn’t be taking any $ from the GPs.
I also would consider UF honors.
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I’m fairly certain that a degree from Kelley is portable. Twin 2 would not be stuck in the Midwest. Are UNC grads stuck in North Carolina?
Earning the difference in costs with summer jobs and internships is wishful thinking. It can be done but most businesses look at juniors first for summer jobs, internships and co-ops.
I speak from experience that an Econ degree is not even close to a business degree. People mistakenly think they’re interchangeable.
Just curious if Twin 2 visited UGA or South Carolina?
Grandparents are already putting conditions on going to UNC. Again, politely decline their offer. Good lesson for Twin 2 about accepting money. There are always conditions. Also, that life isn’t “fair”.
It sounds like prestige and rank is top priority. Kelley direct admit seems like the best option if that’s the case. Good luck.
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The very best young accounting grads I’ve interviewed in the last few years have come from… drum roll- BYU.
The debate around which of these colleges are going to prepare a kid for a career in PE (MORE competitive than I-banking, not less) is ludicrous IMHO.
Kid number 2 should figure out a college which the family can afford without the “so many strings attached” help from grandparents and call it a day. Kid may switch from finance to marketing- then what? Kid may switch from finance to poli sci- then what? Kid may end first year with a 2.6 GPA and have the advisor kindly suggest a change of major to something else- anything else. Being dependent on grandparents for a specific school and a specific major and a specific outcome is just illogical. Stuff happens.
Country is either going into a modest or severe recession. I would not be counting my eggs (i.e. predicting a career path) for a current HS kid’s post- grad earnings, trajectory, employment prospects.
Remember those “sure thing” majors in E-commerce who graduated in 2002? How did that work out for them? Not well. I was part of my company’s task force to try and see if any of the young grads we’d made offers to could be slotted into different roles and the answer for most of them was “Do you want to move to Stansted?” (most said no). Our UK operation could have used them in a different capacity but the shiny careers they had expected in NY or Silicon Valley had evaporated.
This kids first major business decision is going to a fantastic way to understand risk management, cash flow, and uncertainty. Any of these options which are affordable without help sound fantastic.
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Depends on the program and the employer. S, who is at a bulge bracket, has colleagues in client facing jobs who were non business majors from schools like Duke, UNC, UVA in addition to the traditional Ivy and LAC feeders. If it were UNC KF or IU Kelley vs Econ at Podunk U, yes there is a huge difference – UNC is not Podunk U.
When I was part of hiring in IB (may be dated or specific to me), unless it were Wharton, Ross or Stern, coming from an undergrad business program was not a “bonus plus”. I may in fact have preferred Econ, Physics or Engineering majors because I knew they had rigorous quantitative problem solving experience.
I think Twin 2 means going to school in Indiana and is not excited about that. I think you are asking for a bad outcome anytime a kid is “forced” to go where they don’t want to be. How well you do in school is the bigger driver of job outcomes vs equivalent schools.
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Yes, Twin2 visited UGA.
Do you think UGA businesse better than FL? They are ranked the same. UFL has more online classes.
Concerns about IU. Business school is very big. IU is not very selective. Getting to some workshops and securing internship can be a challenge with such huge class.
That is exactly the situation. Twin 2 hates Indiana. Wants only UNC and said that doesn’t care about UF or UGA at all.
Family is very worried about such attitude and potential outcome.
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Twin 2 can fully close the $10K funding gap by taking the student loans ($5.5K first year/then $6.5K/$7.5K/$7.5K) and working in the summers (business related job not necessary) and during the school year.
Twin 2 will need to compete from Day 1 trying to get into KF…meeting with advisor early and often, applying for the ‘right’ clubs (some are highly selective), being active in the clubs they do get into, including leadership roles, and getting all A’s in classes…does that sound like Twin 2’s personality? (you don’t have to answer here.)
Will grandparents continue to fund UNC if Twin 2 does not get into KF?
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Well, granparents refuse to pay for years 2, 3 and 4 currently… Grandpatents only agree to pay for Indiana…
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Ugh. What a situation (I won’t qualify that with an adjective, but I can think of many!)
Then, Twin 2 is back to going where it’s affordable without the grandparents money, so UNC is off the table because it is unaffordable. Not to mention the secondary admission risk, so Twin 2 might not be able to study what they want.
Are these still the affordable schools for the parents?
IMO it would be a tremendous mistake for Twin 2 to go to IU if they ‘hate’ IU. Not to mention the issues with the money, family, and the grandparents. That is a NO WIN situation for everyone. I would expect this situation will come up at every family gathering for the rest of these kids’ lives.
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The most “fair” solution would be to cap expenses for twin 2 at what twin 1 is paying at UT. 45k? Period. Done. Have the parents and grandparents agree. They created this mess.
After Kelley and UNC I would put the other schools as about equal for finance. Personally I would rather spend 4 years at UGA, South Carolina or even Lexington than UF but that’s just me.
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That’s another kettle of fish. We all want the best outcomes for our kids, but long term, we can’t enable unreasonable privileged attitudes. I like the idea of giving him a flat budget, but you have to be prepared to stick with it or no lesson will be learned.