posted
I have to decide very soon if I'm staying in Chicago or returning to New Orleans. If I had to go on my gut reaction at this moment, I'd go back down South. My parents, however, want me to stay up here because "it's a mess down there."
I don't know what to do.
New Orleans
PROS I know the city. I have friends there. I (maybe possibly sort of) have an internship there. I like the professors as a whole. I will most likely graduate with an Honors Certificate. I have the possibility of going to Tulane for grad school and thus will not have to move for a few years. I could go to Loyola for a JD/MBA. The people are much more ridiculously friendly. I found an apartment with a grad student that's only a few blocks from school and not that expensive. If I don't take said apartment, I still have a single room on-campus. I have a very amazing advisor. I can keep my music industry minor. School in New Orleans is LE FREE.
CONS Internships will probably be hard to come by. My old internship may have washed away. My single room on-campus is in a freshman dorm. If I don't get into Tulane for grad school, I will most likely have to move again.
Chicago
PROS Better internship opportunities. Public transportation. JD/MBA is a possibility. Hatrackers to hang out with.
CONS Everything is 21+ (though I'll be 21 in March). The people are a lot more rude. Professors are more difficult to work with. I don't feel as though I'm getting as much out of my classes. I can't find a school aside from Loyola in Chicago that will accept me into its MBA program without at least two years of work experience. I'll lose my scholarship. Rent is a lot higher downtown, which is where all of my classes are.
What do you guys think? I'm sure there are plenty of pros and cons for both cities that I've missed. I'll think about this some more during my next class.
EDIT: I admit that I'm probably not being fair to Chicago. I heard some students on the bus this morning bitching about how people who live in the South are obviously stupid and why should OUR tax dollars go to such idiots? As one said, "If you live in a tree house and break your arm, I shouldn't be the one to have to pay for it." Let's not live in the Midwest either because of tornadoes, or California because of hurricanes, or New England because of blizzards.
posted
Based solely on the pros and cons you listed, I say go. That said, go with your gut. If the idea of going makes you feel kinda sick, stay.
Posts: 7954 | Registered: Mar 2004
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This would be very important to many people. The question is, can you afford to do this without a scholarship?
Posts: 2064 | Registered: Dec 2003
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posted
If you think that your life would be close enough to normal in NO that you wouldn't feel like you were in a totally new place, go, but if if it's nto going to be any more like home, stay.
Posts: 5362 | Registered: Apr 2004
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posted
If it was me, I'd go. But I was a scholarship girl, so it would have been moot for me, anyway. Posts: 9293 | Registered: Aug 2000
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posted
kmbboots: I agree. We should absolutely hang out.
And as to the money part, I have been instructed by my parents not to worry about the tuition or the cost-of-living increase or a possible increase in the time it would take to get my degree.
But I feel bad because they're paying for my brother until he finishes med school, and he's only a freshman now.
Also, my mother apparently thinks that I will do less drinking in Chicago. Not only is this not necessarily true, but it is also (in my opinion) a silly reason to decide where I'm going to live and continue school
Of course, as for my opinions on my classes, this is the first year in which I've taken entirely upper-level marketing classes (except for one upper-level philosophy class I'm also taking that I actually really enjoy). It's possible that all upper-level marketing/business classes are like this, and I just haven't noticed before.
posted
I think that there will most likely be tremendous work opportunities in NO once the city gets back on its feet - tons and tons of work and money with very few permanent qualified workers. I mean that for all fields.
Also - I hate to say this - there will be more hurricanes, which isn't on your cons list. As long as the water in the Gulf keeps getting warmer (and people can argue about why it's doing that somewhere else), there will be more frequent and worse hurricanes, which makes having valuables there or a lack of a swift escape plan very sketchy.
I agree with other posters that your heart seems to be with NO.
Posts: 471 | Registered: Jul 2005
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posted
I'd say go back to NO, but that's because I am a cheapskate and I can't stand being around a ton of rude people. Also, having to absolutely depend on the parents for college would make me nervous. Heard too many horror stories where that's become a real sore issue.
Posts: 13123 | Registered: Feb 2002
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posted
Well, I'm going to have to depend completely on my parents for college no matter what.
I really don't know. I like New Orleans, but I'm just not sure.
I'm not worried about more hurricanes for me personally, though; I generally leave at the first sign of trouble. Although I doubt I'd ever go through with getting a house there. And being uprooted like this again would be bad.
posted
As a random aside (though you didn't ask about it): About jumping immediately into an MBA... There's a reason most schools require/recommend 2+ years work experience before applying. Coming from someone who has a brother with an MBA, and a step-father who has a Ph.D. in marketing, work experience provides a concrete foundation for the abstract lessons of an MBA. You find out first-hand about office politics and the like.
MBAs are very popular these days, so you need an edge on top of the diploma. Work experience gives one that edge, IMO.
posted
pH, not that I agree with teh people who said that, but I lived in NE for years and never saw bail out, paid for with Federal monies, for a blizzard.
We had other programs, usuall paid for with state dollars, but none even comes CLOSE to the yearly expendature of dollars NO needed per year....even before this hurricaine season.
I don't completely agree wiht what they had to say (and completely disagree with their opinions of southerners, of course), but it isn't quite the same thing.
Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
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posted
Isn't that the name of a song? Anywho, on topic, perhaps you should stay in Chicago until more of New Orleans is accesible.
Posts: 6026 | Registered: Dec 2004
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And it's not a matter of "until New Orleans is more accessible." Wherever I choose to go is where I'm going to finish my undergraduate degree, which could be anywere from six to eighteen months from now. Since I don't have access to my advisor at the moment, I couldn't tell you.
Although from what I understand, the city actually is very accessible right now. From my conversations with friends who are there now, I think the only major difference is that businesses are required to close at 2am for now instead of being open 24 hours. Actually, I think there's also a curfew.
I really have no idea what to expect from New Orleans come January. Augh.
EDIT: Actually, it is a matter of New Orleans being accessible. But I don't know how much of a problem that is.
quote: EDIT: Actually, it is a matter of New Orleans being accessible. But I don't know how much of a problem that is.
Aha! *happy dance*
I said something useful! I'm not just a pointless poster who doesn't having anything good to say, which is what I've been trying to convince myself!
*happy dance*
Sorry 'bout that.
Anywho, is it possible to start your whatever degree thing somewhere and finish it someplace else. Or is that considered a "no no?" Because if it isn't, perhaps you could go that route. Or just wait it out and move back after you finish school.
The pros for returning to New Orleans greatly outweigh those of staying in Chicago. But the real question is, is it logical to return to New Orleans. And if you do return, would it be safe?
I have a friend who skipped a week of school to go clean-up in that area. He had to get a lot of vaccanations because of all the possible diseases floating around. And if it flooded once, isn't it possible that it might happen again? Those are all important things to ponder when making a decision.
Posts: 6026 | Registered: Dec 2004
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posted
So switching schools is out of the question? Well......I think I'd choose to just stay in Chicago. You said it would only be a year and a half tops to finish your undergrad? The time will fly by. And you'll be able to return to a fully accesible New Orleans.....maybe.
Posts: 6026 | Registered: Dec 2004
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posted
Bah. I don't even know if the transfer to Chicago is possible with so many credits. I'm not technically a degree-seeking student at Loyola Chicago.
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Let's not live in the Midwest either because of tornadoes, or California because of hurricanes, or New England because of blizzards.
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