Blog #3 with a twist

In the fall, I will be a wolverine at the the University of Michigan. I intend to major in finance at the Ross School of Business, which is ranked #3 in the country. Upon graduation I will have to make a crucial decision that will alter the pathway for my future: whether or not I attend graduate school. 

This choice has definite pros and cons, similar to everything else in life. Perhaps I do decide to go to graduate school, but where? Do I stay at the University of Michigan or do I try to get accepted to the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania (#1 in the country)? These would be my top two choices without a doubt, but both of which are incredibly expensive and would require two more years of education nearing an additional cost of $120,000. Deciding on this route would likely yield a better job in the future, but the first couple years of salary would be spent repaying my parents for graduate school. Yet after repayment, I would have had a higher education and more financial success. The opportunity cost to this decision, which is an economics term for the next best alternative, would be trying to get a finance position straight out of undergrad. This is becoming more and more of a natural phenomenon when attending top ranked business schools, but I would have to work my way up and learn things through work that I would have learned at graduate school. As I continue my education throughout the next four years, this decision will hopefully become more clear and palpable. 

Of course, if I go to graduate school, I would be living in either Michigan or Pennsylvania in a nearby apartment with a paid internship. However, if I decided to look for work with an undergraduate business degree, I would love to start in an enticing city like New York. It would be quite amazing to work at the New York Stock Exchange or something along those lines. If that didn't work out, traveling to Europe and doing international business would be debatably an even more incredible experience. My father has urged me to take this route, for he said this is becoming a better option gearing towards success. He has been in finance his entire life and has a very expansive network, so I would likely use his allies to help steer my own path. The future is full of veiled possibilities, so as I thrive in my education I yearn to discover what it has in store for me.