GMATT73 wrote:
TimeSquareDesi wrote:
I like the topic of this thread - debt is something very very serious to consider. For the few people that I know that went to Stern/Cornell, they did not take out loans. Either their schooling was paid in cash by their parents (paying with checks per semester) -OR- their company's funded them -OR- they had very high-paying jobs and paid for school themselves. None of these three scenarios that I know 1st hand took out any loans of any sort.
I think you have to judge whether or not you CAN (keyword: can) get a high paying job after school. It also depends on the city you want to live in / work in.
If you have an idea that you'd like to work in NYC after school, chances are that your job will be paying you much more right out of school than a smaller city/town. This is a given but I mention this only because you have to consider what you want to do after you have the degree...
If you are in a small town or small city, and you want to stay in that area after school, then be open to the fact that your pay is definitely going to be much lower than in a big city.
food for thought,
- timesquaredesi
True, but one must also consider the higher cost of living typically associated with the biggest urban areas. Some people have no choice but to reside in a mid sized city because of family, lifestyle and/or other personal committments. I disagree with the notion that one must work in a large metropolitan region to be successful, unless the only measurement of success is the value of that individual's annual income.
Personally, I'd rather make 100K and have a spacious home for my family in the burbs than slave away for 200K to "survive" in a cramped downtown Manhattan apartment.
I agree with what you say 100%. In terms of success though, I would think that the reason why most people are aiming for GMAT scores north of 700, why people are applying to elite schools, etc, is to earn more money. If that wasn't the objective I think people would be "satisfied" by going to a local school and getting their MBA there.
You're absolutely right though about making 200k a year and living in a cramped apartment. You can definitely live in a small town, make 100k and be successful. But I think if someone is aiming for very high GMAT scores and want to go to an elite university, out of school, they would want to earn the most money they can to pay off loans and other things. Why be 100k in debt after school only to make 100k a year out of it? And generally speaking, large cities like NYC are home to the largest companies in the world - the companies that can pay top dollar for good talent.
But as you said, I honestly am looking at this from the income point of view. I know several of my coworkers have near "mansion" sized homes outside of NYC (one commutes frmo Philidelphia daily!!!) and they work in Manhattan. They are earning much more in NYC and living very comfortably with that money in another state.
I'm just rambling
Sorry if I'm veering off topic.