UVA with Jefferson Scholarship vs Harvard

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How much is the different? 300k?

If you have it saved up for college, yes Harvard is worth the difference given your kid is a go-getter and takes advantage of the opportunities presented by Harvard.

If its loans, how much loan? $100k may be reasonable if your child is majoring in CS, but not reasonable at all if wanting to go to graduate school or majoring in the humanities with no interest in consulting or finance.

And by opportunities presented at Harvard, I don't mean networking with future politicians or titans of industry. Those doors are generally entirely closed to anyone other than the wealthy and already well-connected. I'm talking about practical benefits like recruitment from elite finance/consulting/tech firms. Tech is more meritocratic but Harvard brand still holds quite a sway, especially in algorithmic trading firms.

A student at Harvard with a 3.0 in History with no impressive extracurriculars would get invited for elite consulting/finance firms while the same student at UVA would need a 3.8+ GPA from McIntire to even get a preliminary interview. Many elite firms don't even recruit at UVA.

I still say pick Harvard, but I think the part of about jobs is overrated. The Comm School has fantastic job placement rates. (I say this as a UVA grad).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, but what is Mcintire?

Is this a joke that no one knows UVA? If this is a serious question, the it is one of the short names for UVA's undergraduate business school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:UVA Business is not guranteed

For a Jefferson Scholar it is all but guaranteed. Being a Jefferson Scholar is a very big deal at UVA

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How much is the different? 300k?

If you have it saved up for college, yes Harvard is worth the difference given your kid is a go-getter and takes advantage of the opportunities presented by Harvard.

If its loans, how much loan? $100k may be reasonable if your child is majoring in CS, but not reasonable at all if wanting to go to graduate school or majoring in the humanities with no interest in consulting or finance.

And by opportunities presented at Harvard, I don't mean networking with future politicians or titans of industry. Those doors are generally entirely closed to anyone other than the wealthy and already well-connected. I'm talking about practical benefits like recruitment from elite finance/consulting/tech firms. Tech is more meritocratic but Harvard brand still holds quite a sway, especially in algorithmic trading firms.

A student at Harvard with a 3.0 in History with no impressive extracurriculars would get invited for elite consulting/finance firms while the same student at UVA would need a 3.8+ GPA from McIntire to even get a preliminary interview. Many elite firms don't even recruit at UVA.

This is so, so true. All the finance guys I know from Harvard studied Government, History, and even Art History. One was busted cheating on a test and Harvard put him on probation for a year and made him graduate one year late. All of them went on to very well-paid careers in finance, no need to take a break for an MBA. They made partner at Goldman, became lead traders, went into buy-side, or private equity. They are now starting to retire in their mid-40s.

It's a f#cking racket.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If they are smart enough to get a Jefferson Scholarship, bank the money and pay for an MBA at Harvard.

If you go into Wall Street with an undergrad from Harvard, Yale, or Wharton.....you never need to get the MBA. No wasting $200K on tuition, plus two years' of lost wages.

Further, most MBAs are ridiculed when they land on Wall Street. They really don't get a lot of respect and basically need to re-prove themselves.

That's how these guys really get ahead.

[Anonymous]

Different point of view to consider....

Map out a potential 4 yr plan for two programs.

An Economics degree at Harvard will be a different experience than a degree from a Business school program (at any university). Business schools will require pre-professional courses in Accounting, Finance, Operations, Bus Law, Marketing etc and that will include case studies and group project work. A liberal arts economics degree will focus more on topics, theories, applications and can be supplemented with quantitative analyses in econometrics etc. are will likely have more room (freed by not taking business core) for studying other liberal arts, math, or science courses.

Both are useful degrees (even if the intended career is business) but functionally they present themselves differently in the "process" of getting to the final degree.

[Anonymous]

I loved UVA but would 100% pick Harvard. Opens many more doors for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went to Boston College and Harvard.

Going to Harvard for a shorter graduate degree was a great call. For much less $$ it is at the top of my resume, which helps a lot with consulting jobs.
I almost always get an interview because people wonder what I am all about.

It is like the academic equivalent of being a super model-people are curious and wonder if there is substance.

IN BOSTON, people would skip Harvard on the resume, and tell me how much THEY loved BC. Their brother went there, their uncle was a triple eagle, etc., so THAT was the ice breaker, and I had to prove I was not pretentious.

I think your kid should go to UVA, if they want to, and I assume they will be successful there. Harvard would love to have them when they know exactly what they want to be, and it is a great place to learn as an adult.

However, please let them decide, and support them either way. You have 2 excellent choices. CONGRATS TO YOUR KID FOR WORKING SO HARD!!!

Side step.

Fellow BC grad here and can confirm the BC network is super strong. I didn't go to Harvard but have a PhD from another highly regarded school and I have had far more doors open and more meaningful interview conversations sparked due to the BC connection.

[Anonymous]

OP - did your child apply with the understanding that your family could afford to be full pay at Harvard? That's the only relevant question. DC decides.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP - did your child apply with the understanding that your family could afford to be full pay at Harvard? That's the only relevant question. DC decides.

Lol that’s not how life or money works.

[Anonymous]

I'd take Harvard

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Different point of view to consider....

Map out a potential 4 yr plan for two programs.

An Economics degree at Harvard will be a different experience than a degree from a Business school program (at any university). Business schools will require pre-professional courses in Accounting, Finance, Operations, Bus Law, Marketing etc and that will include case studies and group project work. A liberal arts economics degree will focus more on topics, theories, applications and can be supplemented with quantitative analyses in econometrics etc. are will likely have more room (freed by not taking business core) for studying other liberal arts, math, or science courses.

Both are useful degrees (even if the intended career is business) but functionally they present themselves differently in the "process" of getting to the final degree.

If the intended career is business, is it better to just go to UVA that actually has a business program? For example, if Wall Street isn't the goal, will an economics degree be as useful as a business degree?

[Anonymous]

Undergraduate business programs, particularly in courses titled ''Organizational Behavior,'' ''Principles of Management'' and ''Business Law,'' are essentially union-busting 101. I started out as a business major and switch to applied mathematics because the kids were all nuts. They were all pro-corporate types.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP - did your child apply with the understanding that your family could afford to be full pay at Harvard? That's the only relevant question. DC decides.

DC is the one weighing these options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Different point of view to consider....

Map out a potential 4 yr plan for two programs.

An Economics degree at Harvard will be a different experience than a degree from a Business school program (at any university). Business schools will require pre-professional courses in Accounting, Finance, Operations, Bus Law, Marketing etc and that will include case studies and group project work. A liberal arts economics degree will focus more on topics, theories, applications and can be supplemented with quantitative analyses in econometrics etc. are will likely have more room (freed by not taking business core) for studying other liberal arts, math, or science courses.

Both are useful degrees (even if the intended career is business) but functionally they present themselves differently in the "process" of getting to the final degree.

If the intended career is business, is it better to just go to UVA that actually has a business program? For example, if Wall Street isn't the goal, will an economics degree be as useful as a business degree?

No, Harvard Econ will be just as good if student does due diligence to get job experience along the way. There's also nothing stopping them from taking a few basic courses like accounting or organizational behavior or operations management. They will easily be able to take a finance-like course via economics or to learn very useful mathematical techniques in econometrics or data analyses courses.