Iowa ($$$) vs. BYU

Question

Given the two options what would you choose?

BYU 
No scholarship (may come, but don't know anything yet)
Tuition $10,600 per year. 
Ranked mid 30s
Average Salary: $90,000

Iowa
Full Tuition Scholarship (plus health insurance)
Ranked mid 40s
Average Salary: $80,000

I attended BYU for my undergrad. I'm a Mormon so the BYU honor code isn't an issue for me. I will be studying Marketing.

TonyMontana896 · Answer

I'd say go to BYU. The cost of attendance is low even without a scholarship, and salaries are higher which will make up for the additional cost pretty quickly.

ballen · Answer

Thanks for the input.

GMATNinja · Answer

I would definitely choose Iowa, but that's only because I really, really love corn. :food

In all seriousness, you're in a great position--congratulations on the admits and scholarship offer! At this stage, I wouldn't worry at all about the cost, since the two are ultimately so similar in your case, and an extra $20,000 is a rounding error when you think about it over the course of your career. And I wouldn't obsess over the average salary data or the rankings, either. You could argue that BYU maybe has a slightly higher profile nationally, but the differences in salary and rankings aren't all that huge. I'm not an expert on BYU or Iowa's business school, but I have a very positive impression of both places in terms of the quality of the teaching. I don't think you can go too wrong with either place, but I'm willing to wager that you'll encounter substantially different environments at the two schools, and there are definitely differences in the curriculum, culture, and types of firms that recruit on each campus. Honestly, I think you should focus on the qualitative differences, and don't worry so much about the data from US News or Businessweek. Go wherever you think you'll have the more enjoyable learning experience, and you'll be fine. But maybe it all comes down to whether you want a change of scenery, since you already did your undergrad at BYU? Have you been to Iowa City? It's roughly the same size as Provo, but the similarities pretty much end right there. I like Iowa City, and it's a great place if you want a good, solid, tight-knit, Midwestern-type community. But if you plan to stay in Utah or somewhere else out west, then BYU might make more sense. Sorry, I'm rambling. Good luck with the decision, and let us know what you decide to do!

ballen · Answer

Thanks for the insights. My only real concern with BYU is that it is the same school as my undergrad. I graduated from a different program in my undergrad so my network at BYU will still be mostly new, but does it look bad/weird to a potential employer to have both degrees from the same school? I have heard that this can be a negative, but I'm not sure how much of an impact it would really have.

GMATNinja · Answer

I don't think that attending the same institution is inherently a negative in the eyes of employers. If anything, there might be a few people out there who think that your loyalty is endearing. The only real issue is if your potential employers aren't familiar with BYU--or if they aren't particularly impressed by BYU for whatever silly reason. I think that might depend on the industry and the region of the country, to some degree. If you're at all interested in living in the Midwest or if you're interested in working in, say, agribusiness or insurance, you might as well diversify and go with Iowa.

Otherwise? If you think you'd be happier at BYU, I really don't see much of a downside. And the skiing in Utah is way better than the skiing in Iowa. :-D

Iowa ($$$) vs. BYU

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards