VT Industrial vs UCLA FMA [OOS]

tsbna44
Tue, 01 Apr 2025 16:10:54 +0000

A rank is no assurance of anything. It’s something US News decided. In fact, there’s an entire thread on that you shouldn’t trust career data.

Question one isn’t between these two schools - it’s budget. What can you afford - or more importantly, what are you willing to afford?

Then you pick schools based on that.

So if $90K is out of budget, that school shouldn’t even be considered - and another less expensive should be found in substitute.

But then the second question is - what do you want to study? Why did the student not apply for the same major at both schools?

So -

Figure out what you want to study.

If it Financial Math and Actuarial Science but you cannot afford to pay $90K, then it’s back to the drawing board to find a school still taking apps where you can do the major.

From this statement, it seems like he prefers the UCLA major - but then you make it seem like maybe it’s too limiting (primarily leads to roles in the financial industry). So I’m confused.

"He is a strong qualitative thinker, articulate, and highly interested in financial roles. We are facing a difficult decision, as UCLA is a top-20 university, but the program is heavily math-focused and primarily leads to opportunities in the financial industry. "

But to choose UCLA because it’s a top-20 university is not the right reason to choose it - especially if he’s interested in actuarial roles.