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Which school should I go

Joined
3/2/20
Messages
35
Points
18
Purdue wants me to pay the deposit by this fri but I'm not sure if I should wait for other schools (below) in the hopes of getting a higher scholarship (not sure if it's rare). In addition, I applied for a Singapore local scholarship for UCLA but not sure if my government would select me. I would like to go UCLA but it's too expensive. Should I pay double deposit, or just Purdue, or just UCLA? Don't want to waste money :(

Accepted: Purdue MSF ($25k scholarship), UCLA MFE,
Pending response: CMU MSCF, Washington MSCF, UIUC MSFE
 
Business schools and finance programs rarely give generous scholarships to students and the programs you listed are all competitive. If you really have limited budget, I would recommend paying the deposit to Purdue as have give scholarship. The living expense is also a thing to consider, Purdue is not a bad choice. Living in California is extremely expensive!
 
Deposit is premium for a call option on the 25k scholarship. Most schools are flexible w deadlines, so kind of weird for them to play hardball.

if you can get financing, then the cost of tuition is a small part of the present value function. Future salary is a much bigger part. In your case, difference of future salary among programs. If Purdue salary is 25k less than UCLA, you’re Trading 25*#years tomorrow for 25 today. post-program comp is a fairly good indicator; there are significant differences among programs.

I’d consider:
1. Do I want to stay in SG or US after school? How much do rankings matter, and would salary justify difference?

2. how competitive am I? If I might get into a top tier program, then I’d be likelier to not pay the deposit.

fwiw, I did pay a deposit at one school as a hedge while waiting to hear from anotherschool. there is a value to such an option.
 
Thank you guys for the good advice.
Well, the thing is it's not really about the deposit, it's that is UCLA worth being almost $100k in debt that I have to pay back for the next 10 years. :(
I want to stay in US so badly, as I'm pretty much done with my home country and dont want to go back ever.
I think UCLA's career services seem to be better and that's what the premium in cost is for.
But I get that Purdue is value for money :)
 
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