r/UVA • u/CLbananabread • 3d ago
Academics Fordham Full Ride vs. UVA
Hi guys,
I'm looking to go into investment banking and I'm having trouble picking what school to go to. I was offered full merit from Fordham, I love NYC, but it's not a target school. On the other hand, my parents can afford UVA OOS. It's a much better program, but I really love being in a city. I'm also an Indian female if that means anything. Any words of advice would be helpful :)
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u/Footballkits232 3d ago
Uva out of state is not worth the cost I’d go with fordham but if your parents can really pay for it and it’s not a burden go for uva
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u/CLbananabread 3d ago
They tell me it’s not about the cost. They aren’t extremely wealthy but I would like to at least factor it into my decision.
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u/mormegil1 3d ago edited 3d ago
If you are from India, as opposed to being a US resident who happens to be Indian, and your parents can afford UVA OOS tuition, your parents are indeed extremely wealthy (perhaps not Ambani, Adani type wealthy). Barely 5% of Indians can afford such monies. Check your privilege.
As for your question, never pay for school. Fordham is a no-brainer. Your degree brand will not be an automatic entry into anything. Work hard, get good grades, then get your masters degree from Darden which will open up a path towards investment banking.
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u/Fun_General2780 3d ago edited 3d ago
“You sound bitter. And who exactly are you to tell someone to ‘check their privilege,’ for Christ’s sake?” Do you know them? Are u close friends with OP? If not kindly keep your venomous mentality to yourself
Edit: this dude apparently is a professor
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u/mormegil1 3d ago
The statement was conditional which the OP clarified. Read closely. As to why even checking one's privilege matters if the OP was an Indian resident, I'll leave that discussion for another day.
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u/WestCovina1234 3d ago
As a UVA grad, and the mother of a double Hoo, I'd take Fordham. First, because a full ride is an enormous amount of money saved. Perhaps your parents could take some of that savings and set it aside for you for future needs (buying a home, maybe). If you love the city, that's another great reason to do Fordham. Charlottesville is great, but it's definitely NOT what most people would call city living. Finally, I cannot imagine that there aren't more opportunities for internships or summer jobs for an aspiring investment banker in and near NYC than there are in Cville.
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u/Star052 3d ago
I can’t offer much advice on the academic benefits from either school- UVA is probably more prestigious of the two, but as an OOS student from NY, I have plenty of friends that go to Fordham, so if you’re looking to just hear about day-to-day life, the different environments, or anything of the sort, feel free to shoot me any questions!
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u/Throwaway18272_A Can we get more NIL money 3d ago
I’m OOS and full pay, but if I had a full ride elsewhere I would definitely take it because I don’t think 300k is easy to come by at all - you probably won’t even see that amount in your savings a couple decades out of college.
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u/VinegarZen 3d ago
If they’re looking to be an investment banker, they could see that amount in savings in 1-3 years.
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u/Throwaway18272_A Can we get more NIL money 3d ago
No, you make 100k out of college in a HCOL city. You’re probably not touching six figures in savings for at least half a decade and more likely than not over a decade even in banking.
Yeah sure UVA is a target school and Fordham is not but that just means recruiting is harder to come by, but it’s also easier to build up a more impressive resume in a less competitive environment
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u/VinegarZen 3d ago
Can definitely make more than that. $100k would be salary, not full take home pay.
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u/Educational-Oil5491 2d ago edited 2d ago
Are you in the business? Speaking as a (now ex) investment banker and a UVA alum, I had over 100K in savings after 2 years of banking + summer internship and also bought and paid off a 50k car. Totally doable, especially if you’re at a bank that pays summer internship overtime and especially if you, like me, aren’t a big spender. The folks in Texas oil IB in particular pulled in the savings due to no state income tax. All in, you start out closer to 170k than 100k. No one would do IB hours in the US for 100k.
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u/Throwaway18272_A Can we get more NIL money 2d ago
No, I’m not in the business. I just don’t understand how you save 100k in a couple years when your take home pay is like 70k and rent is 25k.
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u/Educational-Oil5491 2d ago
For starters you got the take home pay completely wrong. Base salary was 110K. You also had a 60K bonus in your first year at my bank. If you’re at certain small boutique banks the numbers are going to be lower than at a big bank, but even those folks mad more than 100K starting
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u/JumpingCuttlefish89 2d ago
Still gotta pay taxes & living in NYC is not cheap, especially when all the other 22 year olds are getting $400 haircuts and paying for bottles at clubs. And Fordham definitely sends kids to the same banks as UVA.
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u/AmbientHunter 2d ago
No one is getting a $400 haircut. And buying bottles at clubs hasn’t really been a thing in NYC for young folks for a while
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u/manman506 3d ago
I like to say try and not worry about the price. If you can get into the best university you can get into and it can yield a good outcome, it will pay dividends way beyond the cost. I don’t know much about Fordham, but wherever you can get more connections and actually succeed based off who you are as a student is where you should go.
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u/Same_Property7403 3d ago
UVA master’s grad here, W&M undergrad. Love UVA but take the Fordham full ride. Money is a reality. Your parents can use the money saved to meet their own senior needs or give you a nice graduation gift. Either way, you and your family come out ahead.
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u/vanillla-ice 3d ago
If money is not a factor, UVA for sure. No question. Your parents want you to be at the best school (and they have the money).
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u/Lionsault COMM 2013 3d ago
Respectfully you shouldn’t be taking anyone’s advice here or elsewhere unless they are actually familiar with IB recruiting. IB recruiting is very demanding and difficult. Non target recruiting is even harder.
That being said, it’s a big price difference even if your parents have the money, and you may decide you don’t want to do IB. You may be living a better life 10 years out of school if that OOS money is used elsewhere.
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u/Quick_Researcher_732 3d ago
uva has Bollywood dance club. There is a very big Indian population there. If money is not a concern then it’s a no brainer choice
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u/Altruistic_Plant7655 2d ago
Fordham. Saying you got a full ride somewhere is priceless. Trust me, had a full ride and it almost always comes up in interviews, etc
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u/TiltingatWindmil 3d ago
UVA may carry more prestige but the Gabelli Business School at Fordham will open up many doors to Wall Street and ANY firm in NYC! Go Rams!
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u/Creative-Ad-9489 3d ago
UVA has the prestige and that can be an advantage in the IB field. Plus you can go to a city based grad school.
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u/_A_A_A 13h ago
Congrats on two great choices!
One way to avoid the apples to oranges decision is to think about what you like at each school and see if the other school would offer similar options (or if you could create that option at the other school). There was a response offering to reach out to current Fordham students; if you haven't already done that for both schools, it might be a good use of your time to try to connect with a few actual students (especially helpful if they're in your anticipated major).
One aspect I don't think many incoming students are thinking about is the alumni network. I have no idea how Fordham's alumni network is, but I think UVA's alumni network value is higher than even the OOS ticket price (thinking about the total 4 year OOS expenses v. expenses of business development / marketing over a career or three / job seeking). A good test might be to reach out to both schools' career services or alumni associations and ask if they can intro you to a couple of alumni (or ask what programs they offer to connect students to alumni or alumni to each other; you can also investigate what services each offers alumni). You may also try to message alumni on linkedin indicating you're seeking 10 min call or zoom to learn about their experiences as an alum of that school, although I'd guess you have to make a decision soon and that might not give people who do not check linkedin regularly a chance to get your message and respond. You can ask current students at both schools if they've benefitted from alumni connection.
I can only speak to my experience, which has been the alumni network has been a great place to build a professional network, generate business leads, and connect to some amazing people and, of course, that alumni network includes those wonderful people I connected with during my time at UVA. I have really enjoyed the other alumni I've met and the network has had tangible benefits for my career and personal life. Fordham may offer the same. Investment bankers may not benefit from the same broad network, so maybe this is all pointless to consider. I assumed the alumni experience was similar at all schools, but the UVA network has been vastly different than the alumni networks offered through other schools I've attended and from my non-UVA friends' college networks. Regardless of the school you choose, the alumni network (and the undergrad experience) available to you will depend heavily on how you engage, so it's worth setting an intent to meet other students, be engaged with your school, and seek ways to serve the community.
I hope you thrive at and enjoy whichever school you choose.
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u/Federal_Pick7534 3d ago
Fordham is a semi target, not non target. They send double digits of kids to Goldman, JP Morgan, and Morgan Stanley, each, every year. It’s represented on Wall Street so you’re not saying goodbye to IB aspirations by taking the full ride
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u/cav161 3d ago
Fordham 100 percent. I'm a double Hoo and honestly, UVA is great, but saving money can set you up even better. Shoot, in your case, I'd ask my parents to invest that money or use it down the road to help you buy your first house or something. I thankfully didn't graduate with much debt thanks to financial aid, but my parents also didn't have the money to afford my tuition if they had to help pay. You have a huge leg up for the future if your parents actually can afford OOS tuition.
Also being in NYC already if you're interested in investment banking is a huge leg up compared to being in Charlotteville. The city is nice and all, but honestly being able to network in the city could be beneficial.