Fuqua vs. Stern - Social Enterprise (TFA)

[devineme]

NYU vs. Duke! Help!

I am a Teach For America alumna living in New Orleans who has applied to business schools to launch a career in Social Enterprise/Non-profit management. I am interested in either public sector or non-profit based consulting a few years out of college, but would like to get into leadership within a national non-profit in education (TFA, KIPP, etc). I am really looking forward to great coursework in the related field, but am more excited about opportunities outside of the classroom.

I am deciding between NYU, Duke, UNC, UVA, Emory and Georgetown, but my top choices come down to NYU and Duke. Emory isn't out of the picture because of the tremendous sum of money they offered, but in all likelihood I will choose school caliber > scholarship.

To be clear, debt is something that worries me. Coming from and heading towards an industry with little promise of making loads of money. Waiting to hear on scholarships from the other schools. The major drawback (and upsides) for both Duke and NYC is the location - NYC expensive but in the middle of everything. Duke - cheap but in the middle of nothing?

Thoughts?

[Stacey Oyler]

Congrats on so many wonderful schools to choose from. This is a tough decision, and I certainly understand your concerns around debt. I suggest two things, 1. Visit each school in person if you haven't already, this is a great way to test "fit" and 2. If you don't get a scholarship from Stern tell them you have $$ from other schools, they may be willing to match it to get you to come.

Best of luck!

Stacey