Which program would be better for me: NYU BPE vs. Stern vs. any other program?

College Majors Business Majors
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Your list is very reach-heavy, and I would say some of what you have as matches and safeties are not, especially as an international student. Furthermore, a number of these are not likely to meet your budget even if you get in. I would put Boston University and Northeastern as reaches for an international (overall admit rates for business are in single digits for these two). I would class UMD as a match, not a safety, on an admissions basis, but they don’t provide need-based aid to internationals so it won’t meet your budget. GWU is need-aware for admissions so that pushes it more towards being a reach or low reach than a match for admissions, but they won’t meet need for internationals and I don’t think their merit scholarships even if you get one, would be near enough to bring the cost down to your budget. I don’t know enough about the others to comment specifically but in general, your financial need combined with the other match/safeties on your list being either need-aware and/or not providing full if any financial aid to internationals probably means your chances are lower than you’re estimating.

Have you run the NPCs on all of them as an international? I suspect not, because I just did a very rough UMD based on some numbers you gave above (obviously I don’t know all your family details so you need to do it yourself) and it came out with an estimated cost of attendance of $52k. Furthermore, it only has instate/out of state so I suspect the ~$5k it estimates as aid is federal aid that you won’t be eligible for as an international.

FYI, at our school where they recommend around 10 applications for the average student, the recommendation is 2-3 reaches, 5-6 matches, 2-3 safeties. Using that proportionally is why I say your list is very reach heavy. And that is even before you factor in that your specific financial need effectively bumps up some safeties to matches and matches to reaches (apart from the 2 that I think should have been listed as reaches right off the bat as mentioned above). A true safety is safe both for admissions and affordability.

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42

I see a lot of programs here that you’d likely hate (based on what you’ve posted about yourself and what you DON’T want to be studying), so I won’t bother commenting on where I think you could or could not get admitted to.

If you don’t want to be studying finance, then Wharton is just the wrong place for you. Study Political Science at U Penn in the School of Arts and Sciences- that makes sense to me. But to be in a program where your classmates live and breath finance- ugh.

Etc. So I think some retooling is in order. If you really want to be studying global policy, how countries alliances and strategies have evolved over time, the economic implications of living in an increasingly globalized world, what diplomacy can and cannot do on the global stage, then IMHO you should go study that. Or if your true interest is in Behavioral Economics– a really fascinating field IMHO, go somewhere and major in econ and minor in psychology. But that would be in the School of Arts and Sciences– again- and not in a Business School/program.

So I’m as confused now as I was when you posted initially. Your list seems very random, and candidly, filled with colleges you will not be able to afford even if you are accepted (and boy, that’s a LOT of reaches….)

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43

UMD is probably not a safety for admissions. IF you are admitted, then UMD is not a safety for affordability.

My best guess is that none of the universities that you have listed as “safety” are actually safeties in terms of affordability. If you are admitted and cannot afford to attend, then being admitted will not actually help you very much. Also, if you are admitted then you will need to demonstrate the ability to pay for your education in order to get a visa to study in the USA.

It is possible that there might not be any universities in the US that are actually safeties in terms of admissions, and affordability, and having the programs that you like. It might be a good idea to also apply to a few universities in your home country.

That is a lot of applications to fill out. Also, in general your chances for admissions at any selective university in the US may be helped if you can explain why that university is a good fit for you. However, this requires that you learn as much as you reasonably can about the university. It will be quite a bit of work to learn about 20 universities (or possibly more than 20, if some of the universities that you check out turn out to be ones that you do not end up applying to).

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I know there are several universities on my list that aren’t very generous with scholarships (like Maryland). However, even without a scholarship, they seem like a perfect 10/10 to me in every other aspect (location, co-op/internship opportunities, program, etc.). That’s why I’m keeping a few of them—if I happen to get a good scholarship offer by some stroke of luck, great; if not, so be it.

It’s true that my list is quite reach-heavy, so I want to add 3 safety universities (it can be any university as long as the program aligns). At the same time, for many of the reach universities, I had to stretch things a bit to match my program (since “International Business” wasn’t directly available). I would like some advice on whether I should drop those and instead increase the number of safety and match universities on my list.

I used the NYU net price calculator, and here are the results:

  • Cost of Attendance: $93,184

  • NYU Grant Aid: $77,400

  • Estimated NET PRICE: $15,784

  • Parent Contribution: $1,350

  • Student Contribution: $3,500

  • Estimated REMAINING COST: $7,434

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NYU meets need for all students - though it is need aware for internationals - so that result is comforting but not surprising. Now you need to do that for each school on your list, because they all calculate it differently.

Can you explain what “stroke of luck” would result in, say, a $50k scholarship from a school that doesn’t give aid to out of state or international students (example of UMD)? Is there some foundation in your home country you can apply to?

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46

I would encourage you to revisit this. There will be no safeties for you among US colleges…those that are highly likely for admissions are unlikely to be affordable. Have you looked at any colleges outside the US and Bangladesh?

I don’t understand this NPC result as $15784 less the parent and student contributions is not $7434. Regardless, is $15784 PLUS travel/books/incidentals PLUS health insurance (NYU’s around $4.5K per year) affordable for your family? It seems potentially problematic based on the $45K annual income you reported.

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47

OP- I hate to be a broken record but just reviewing the NYU numbers you’ve posted….given the work restrictions you will need to follow per your student visa, how are you going to meet the student contribution of $3500?

And take a look at the actual requirements of the programs you intend to apply to. There seem to be a LOT of the types of courses you claim you aren’t interested in.

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I tried to point this out by posting the curriculum of the BPE course …or possibly OP just doesn’t realize how reading- and writing-intensive some of those courses will be.

OP should be able make up the student contribution IF they can find an on campus job and work close-ish to the maximum. Competition for on-campus jobs seems to vary by college - at some it seems quite hard to find openings. Of course, many domestic students want to do these too even though they can work wherever they want.

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English Translation

Their demand is $15,784. My family can contribute around $15k–$17k from their end, but the university expects $1,350 from my family. Anyway, I don’t think I will face any financial issues as long as I receive the scholarship amount they initially promised. But is there any real possibility that NYU’s actual scholarship matching their stated estimation, or do they usually not provide it in reality?

I will also try for several universities in my own country. I plan to apply to both the US and Bangladesh. I do have relatives in a few other countries besides the US (like Canada, but job opportunities in Canada are terrible outside of Toronto, and most of those places have severe winters), so I don’t really want to go there.

Blossom—when I said “I don’t like finance,” you probably thought I wanted to avoid technology-based courses. However, I actually like technology and math, and I even like finance as a subject. But I do not like finance as a career path—and that is exactly why I don’t want to major in finance.

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Where did they promise ANY scholarship? You haven’t even applied, nor been admitted, let alone been granted financial aid.

Please, please, please take some time to understand how the US higher education system, financial aid, etc. works.

And I have no idea what a “technology based course” is in the context of the subjects you are discussing. The curricula of the various programs you are applying to range from VERY math intensive to less math intensive, and VERY reading and writing intensive to less so. I’m not sure where technology comes into this. I think you need to carefully read through the course sequences, the course descriptions and the pre-requisites of any program you are considering. I don’t think they teach what you hope to study.

But based on your timeline, you do not have a single promise for a single dollar of aid so do not get lulled into thinking that many of these schools will prove to be affordable for your family.

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Job opportunities are not a good reason to go to the US. I’m not reading back now, but didn’t we discuss the problematic situation around foreign students trying to work in the US? And quite a few of the places on your list already have pretty severe winters.

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52

Why does this post say English translation? Are you typing in another language and then using a translator to post here? If you need to do that, how do you expect to take a full course load of classes in English?

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53

The university is expecting $15784 from you and your family, based on what you showed us from the NPC estimate. Parent contribution plus student contribution is $4850…where is the remaining $10,934 coming from? Does the NPC estimate detail that? Does what I am asking make sense…that there is $11K unaccounted for in your math/what you are showing us? And I agree with blossom…NPC estimates aren’t promises, they are estimates and based on today’s FA policies and the data that you entered.

In addition to the $15784 you will have to pay for travel to and from Bangladesh several times per year, plus books/incidentals, plus ~$5K for student health insurance. So…that is likely closer to $25K all in, per year. Does that make sense?

Exactly. As we have mentioned multiple times OP you will be able to spend a max of 3 years post undergrad…IF you major in something STEM approved and IF you find a job with a willing sponsor company. If your major is not on the stem approved list which I linked above, you can only work in the US for 12 months post grad.

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On the jobs subject. I have seen a few articles lately, and OP can google - the shift in H1B policy is enough that it is leading to significant housing market effects in Texas cities including Dallas, Austin and Houston. Think what that means: H1B holders who are already established enough and earning enough to buy houses are being pushed out. If that is how hard it is for existing H1B holders, imagine how difficult it will be for new people to enter the market. This is even apart from the issues I mentioned earlier like the 4:1 weighting in the lottery in favor of more experienced people - so even if you find an employer willing to sponsor you the chances of actually being selected in the lottery are now much lower - and the possibility that new entrants are shut out entirely because their salary might not meet the minimum new requirements.

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Yes, English is not my native language; my native language is Bengali. It’s not that I don’t know English at all, but I struggle a lot with spelling and speaking. To avoid these mistakes, I write in my own language and translate it.

It is quite natural that you cannot learn a language smoothly just by reading books or watching movies unless you use it in real-life communication. (For example, if you don’t come to Bangladesh and communicate in real life, you will never be able to learn Bengali smoothly while sitting in the USA, because you won’t have a place to apply it). Anyway, I translate just to avoid mistakes, and I apologize if there are any errors here.

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56

This does not sound like you would be successful at a US/English instruction college. Are you currently taking English classes? Is your HS instruction in English?

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Honestly - if you are having to do this to post on the internet, I would worry about your ability to be reading and writing sometimes complicated academic writing, or engaging in discussions in class. An intensive degree program is not the place to start learning a language “smoothly”. You don’t want to be struggling to understand just the language in the texts as well as trying to understand the concepts and material, or struggling to express your understanding of the latter.

Have you taken any of the English language tests yet (TOEFL, Duolingo etc)?

Do you study English as a second language at high school?

For reference, this is what NYU says:

We don’t have minimum score requirements, but competitive applicants will receive:

  • 100 and above on the TOEFL iBT taken on or before January 20, 2026. 5 or above (overall score and subscores) on the TOEFL iBT taken on or after January 21, 2026.

  • 135 and above on the Duolingo English Test

  • 7.5 and above on the IELTS Academic

  • 70 and above on the PTE Academic

  • 191 and above on the Cambridge English Scale

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No, I haven’t taken any English proficiency test yet. And yes, I am currently studying English as a second language.

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59

Ok, so maybe this is all a little premature until you know for sure you can achieve an English proficiency test score that enables you to attend any of the colleges on your list.

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You are an international student with limited income, using a translation service to post on a website.

You’re assuming you’re already guaranteed admission to NYU.

You’ve misinterpreted the net price calculator/ NPC, assuming it’s a “promise” in funding.

You’ve made a lot of assumptions about your future living and working in the US.

Now I understand why you didn’t use the “chance me” template. It’s because you are relying on translation software to interpret the posts on this site.

From my limited exposure to your post, it’s clear that you don’t have a grasp on the English ability that you will need, to attend a university in the US.

Several of the posters have repeatedly made the same request: use the “Chance me” template, and you’ve avoided the use.

This tells me that

  1. Your software isn’t translating that terminology
  2. And/or you don’t understand the need for the “chance me” template.
    Plus,
  3. Basic addition and subtraction isn’t checked or edited on your part.

I am a second language speaker, as are several posters. Once in a while, I will use a translation dictionary to see what and how terminology and sentences are translated to English. Sometimes the translations are pretty accurate. Sometimes they’re horrific.

If you are using a translation service, that means you’re not nearly ready to study at a US university.

In the US, many universities require refresher GE (general education) coursework and that means Math, English, Science, History, and Arts courses, before you begin studies in the major.

During freshman and sophomore year, those courses will be the crux of your time. They are required for a diploma. Some AP courses, depending on the score, may get you out or waived from those courses. Even at the very best colleges, you still are stuck in a Freshman English class.
The US has approximately 4000 colleges and universities. In order to have paying “customers”, they have to be good. So in freshman year, these students are sitting in Freshman English learning English reading and writing at a very rapid rate.

The universities want to make sure that their graduates can conduct themselves as well-rounded, well-read students and future employees.

Additionally, the rate/speed at which some professors speak, with regional US accents, can be confusing for even the best domestic English speaking students.

My advice to you is to stop using the English translation services and try to read and write English more extensively if you want to be accepted to a US university.

US applications require answers in English. If you have to use a translation service for that, it’s not going to work out well for you.

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