Admitted to Columbia Business School: Class of 2013

Hi Josiebella,
I completely understand why you're torn here, and I have a friend who may have to make this decision if she gets into a Consortium school with a tuition full ride after just having gotten into her #1 choice, Sloan, without assurances of scholarships yet. And if it's the difference of $100K, it's not a decision to sniff at. Most importantly, I don't think there is an absolute clear cut and/or right answer here.

There are few things to think about. First, think purely in a cold-blooded, financial way. Which option is best financially, long-term, after all is said and done. Of course, there is a whole lot of uncertainty with determining this, since all you really have is the average starting salary of both schools. You could build a DCF off of that and see if there's a difference. It's really hard to figure out exactly what the Columbia brand vs. the NYU brand is worth. However, I'm a big believer that for business school, the brand you have, the network you develop, and the first job you'll be able to get out of school (usually impacted by the first two) end up being the three most important things you'll gain from attending. In this case, I think the Columbia brand is worth more than the NYU brand, but I don't think anyone has quantified what the long-term value of that is specifically.

I also think you have to take a very long-term view of this situation. It's not enough to wonder how you'll feel 2, 3, even 5 years after you graduate, and I wouldn't be surprised if you feel bad if you accept the more expensive option since your day-to-day life will be impacted quite a bit with let's say an additional $500/month in loan payments for the next 10 years or so. This is where I think the non-financial decision comes in. If you believe that you'll always wonder "what if," I personally think you have to go take the financial hit and go with your top choice. Remember, this isn't like buying a pair of cheaper jeans - there are no returns, and there are no second chances. If you're not the "what if" person, then I think you may want to go with whatever your financial calculations say to do.

Best of luck with this tough decision - I think (and I know you know) both are pretty good choices.