Hi Friends and Experts,
Greetings!!!
I am happy to announce that I got admitted to Boston College MSF and Ohio State SMG for Fall 2023 intake. Boston has offered me a scholarship of $15k and an assistantship of $6780 (working 12hrs a week) for the duration of the program, while I got a scholarship only from Ohio amounting to $20k. Accounting for the remaining tuition, living expenses, and other costs, I will have to take a loan of 60K+ for Boston and 50K+ for Ohio. I am in huge dilemma on choosing between these two programs.
I am concerned about whether I will be able to get a job to repay the loan within 3 years. Will I get a job that pays 80K even if I go into corporate finance roles or as a Financial Analyst, though my dream is to work in Private Equity? Will I even get a job in the first place? Being an International Student with no hardcore finance experience, I am really concerned about getting a decent-paying job, especially because of the loan.
Further, I am also worried about the student visa, because I come from Nepal, and in my view taking a loan of over 60K would suggest my intent to stay back in USA. The pay is very less in Nepal, I won't be able to pay back the loan anytime soon, and the Embassy know that. How much will the loan affect on the student visa? (I don't have any source of finance other than Mpower or
Prodigy loan). On the top of it, I will have to pay a non refundable deposit of $2500 before getting an I-20 from Boston, while $500 in the Ohio State.
Further, the program says that the length is 10 months but we can complete it within 12, what is the actual length? And can we do an internship before completing the program in Boston MSF?
Meanwhile, I could not find in detail on the structure of the program and the detailed employment statistics of the MSF graduates on the website of Boston, while its so explicitly mentioned in case of Ohio. I could find a lot more alumni in top companies in the Linkedin for SMF from Ohio than from the Boston. Also, I don't know if I will be able to specialize in one core area with Boston MSF as compared with Ohio MSF.
Also, do the employers come to the campus where we can network physically with the industry professionals in both, and is there any advantage to being in Boston? How will becoming a Financial Analyst in the Boston area be different from being a Financial Analyst in places like Ohio in terms of salary and career growth?
All in all, in your opinion, which program should I choose, taking into consideration my status as a international student, career prospects and degree reputation, ease of finding jobs and internships and all the factors above?
Thank you so much.
Best,
Mck2023