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Pay: $53k for Purdue or only $3k Oklahoma State

Pay: $53k for Purdue or only $3k Oklahoma State

  • Purdue $53k

    Votes: 4 18.2%

  • Oklahoma State $3k

    Votes: 18 81.8%
  • Total voters
    22
  • Poll closed .

JackAshley

Joined
3/23/11
Messages
3
Points
11
I want to stay in the midwest which will most likely put me in Chicago, or possibly working for the giant oil/energy companies down south who always need quant types. I don't care if you don't like either school, just which would you pick out of paying almost no tuition for OSU (with research assistantship) or $50k+ for Purdue. What do you think? Please respond as if you are actually taking on all of the student loans and help me decide between the schools.
 
I wouldn't take on a student loan that big without knowing what I'm getting myself into. What are the job situation at these places? You can't count on "giant oil/energy companies down south who always need quant types". It's like home owners counting on the value of their property always going up.
You gotta give people more info from your own research, Jack.
 
I assume this is per year.

53k/yr is more than I paid for Caltech.

Think about that.

I have no idea what justification you could have for paying that much to go to a school that's not even in the top 50?
 
Oklahoma State - they're both not top schools, so increase ROI by decreasing the actual investment amount...
 
Purdue is a pretty good school, but 53k is steep. Schools out east or west that are better are going to cost that much. I'd pick OSU in your case. If you are wanting to stay in the midwest, I'm guessing it really won't matter much which school you go to.
 
Thanks for all your opinions, for the record those are the approx 2 year prices. From a pure dollars and cents standpoint, the main justification for even considering Purdue is that over a whole career $50k is not that much and could be worth it if it could result in a higher salary of ~$2k per year (in today's dollars). Dallas and Houston do have opportunities within banks/energy though obviously not nearly as numerous as NYC, but you are right Andy that it is very important to do proper research before making such a big decision.
 
Nothing wrong with OSU, by the way. At least compared to Purdue. It's not CMU or Cornell, but it's not a dump either.
 
Wait, you are talking about graduate school/CF, right? And a terminal Masters rather than PhD, right? If that's the case, then I'd lean towards OK with the assistantship. As biased as I am towards Purdue (since I'll be likely starting there this year), I would be extremely uncomfortable about having to pay to go there (I'm not) to pursue only a Masters (I'll be on a PhD-track.)
 
Ok, let me modify my statement.

53k is roughly what I paid for 2 years at Caltech. Think about that.

If you want to work in TX, you should note that companies have stronger ties to local universities. OSU might be a better bet in that case. I went to one of the CFA dinners in Dallas (I grew up in Dallas) and the guys talked about how they recruited from TCU.
 
Rice, UTA and U Houston are where most of the Texas based energy companies goto recruit. There is also recruiting at SMU, TCU and local universities but not at the same level as the big three.
 
Yike Lu said:
If I had to guess, I'd put A&M ahead of UH.
Click to expand...

Actually I forgot to put Texas A&M on the list. Yes, it is up there. U Houston seems to get more due to there focus on commodities trading and risk management courses/research in their business school.
 
I would put UT Austin ahead of all schools in Texas/midwest. Of course, I am biased...
 
I currentily attend Texas A&M for Industrial Engineering ranked fifth in country. I can tell you the education here is a great value (8k tuition in-state ). The faculty in my program are real knowledgeable and approachable. The class sizes in my program are small (25-40) & placement is great. Several students recieve assistanships here which can vary to 50% to full tuition.

Univeristy of Texas has a top ranked Risk management/MBA program. UT's tuition to me is high $30k a year ( for in state) & 45k out of state, but its the Best MBA program in Southwest tied with Rice. I have friends who have graduated both and talk highily about both schools.

UH has a mba program with energy risk management certificate, but placement is not as good as going to Rice or UT.

Recruitment for companies in Texas:

1)UT/Texas A&M
2) Rice
3)SMU
4) baylor
4) UH/TCU
 
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