Hypothetical Matchup (UNC vs BU): What would you do?

Question

Hi,

Hoping I can get some feedback and opinions of what you would do in my situation.

I had a great interview at Kenan-Flagler and have a good feeling going into Feb. 1 due to my unique profile and general vibes I got from the staff. So lets say I get in net week. This is my issue. I applied to Questrom (BU) as a backup and was admitted with a very generous scholarship that would allow me to pay for the balance of tuition out of pocket. As for my career goals: I want to go into healthcare marketing/ consulting and eventually move into a social impact startup a little down the road. Though both have focuses in these specialties I know that UNC is a MUCHHHHH better program overall and within these concentrations. That being said with the option of going to school for free versus incurring 120K in debt on top of previous 50K undergrad/ masters debt the "free ride" becomes very appealing. Also both schools have similar starting salaries (100K vs 105K). SO is it worth the 120K? I visited UNC and know the resources available and the amazing opportunities that can present by attending a program of that caliber bring value but once again I am hung up on the debt part.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Lastly im posting this because I will find out Feb.1 from UNC and only have until Feb. 3 to commit to BU. So there is a very small window.

ayiratak · Answer

Hi,
College 'brand' always matters. Don't be short sighted and go for the option that benefits you in long run i.e. UNC. Debt pressure will be gone in 3-4 years but you wont have a regret about it.

Hope it helps!

Skadoodle · Answer

Keep in mind that as a UNC student you can take electives at Fuqua, which has an awesome health focus. So it's really BU vs. UNC with a dash of Fuqua.

Skadoodle · Answer

Additionally, I reread your post and saw that I missed the social impact startup. In my opinion, UNC's entrepreneurship program is better than entrepreneurship programs at higher ranking MBA programs. They have great networking opportunities like the Adams Apprenticeship and classes that look at entrepreneurship at different angles (investor, founder, growth professional). UNC's entrepreneurship program really punches above the program's overall ranking.

So basically, you would get a lot of additional value out of the program because UNC has good resources in both of the areas you want to specialize in. Did you take cost of living into account for starting salary? 100k for workers on the Northeast is a lot less than 105k for workers in the South.

I'll admit I'm biased since I also applied to UNC. Best of luck.

Edit: UNC has low yields on their admissions offers, even though scholarships are attached. If you don't get a scholarship off the bat, there's still the option to check in again with the admissions office after people have begun turning down scholarship offers.

Alcort · Answer

thanks for all the info. Feb.1 cant come any sooner

Alcort · Answer

I did also get into Olin but I dont see the enormous advantage to BU unlike UNC.

Skadoodle · Answer

I don't know much about Olin, but that makes sense at least according to the Bloomberg rankings... (https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2015- ... s-schools/)

The U.S. News and World Report ranking methodology uses metrics that I don't think correlate with program quality, so I think Bloomberg's rankings are more helpful in that regard. As you can see, Bloomberg ranks Olin much lower than U.S. News and World Report.

bb · Answer

Hypothetical Matchup (UNC vs BU): What would you do?

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