College decisions
Based on your post, it sounds like your intentions for a college education is as a bridge to get to RE land. Is that correct?
If so, then the most logical course of action is to get the degree with the broadest appeal and highest pay within the time frame you envision, i.e. 5-7 years, and come out of college with the smallest debt load possible, ideally $0.
That precludes some of the other stuff which isn't really relative to getting to RE land, i.e. "having a lot of friends" at the school. And of course, it doesn't take into account the possibility that you go into a job you completely hate, and never make it to RE land in the first place.
If I were forced to vote based on your limited post, I would vote for U of H and the finance degree.
Jd Martin you are correct that I want it to bridge to my RE business.
I totally agree, that I want to make as much money possible within the 5-7 years to scale my business. Luckily, my college will be paid for if I go to one of these schools so I won't have loans out for college.
I'm also trying to look at this decision as which choice would make me a happier person, with great relationships, in the long run. Because after all everyone on BP is trying to become financially free to... Become a happier person. If I look at it in a sense of which school would make me happier it would obviously be A&M. However, I do have to factor many more things then just that.
Thanks so much for the great feedback. It is greatly appreciated.
-Anthony
@Anthony Colonnetta, In my opinion (I have an engineering undergrad as well as an M.B.A.), I think getting a Finance degree is overkill for real estate investing. Learning how to do Time Value of Money Calculations and IRR is the bulk of what you will need for real estate. Much of the Finance curriculum is corporate finance, and while that wouldn't hurt you, not much of it will apply if you end up as a real estate investor.
What you did not disclose in your post is the type of job you are looking for for that 5-7 year period. Were I in your shoes, I would focus on what I really wanted to do for that time (passion about your work makes it way easier to go to work every day!) and get the degree that will support that. If you want to work in Finance, then it is probably the degree in Finance. Also, your plan may change during that period. Please don't end up like one of my college roommates. His dream was to be an airline pilot, so he took General Studies in college and Air Force ROTC. When he graduated, the Air Force had a surplus of pilots, so were bringing in almost zero new pilots that year. So with his dream crushed, he ended up working for a food manufacturer, setting up displays in grocery stores. No disrespect to that as a profession, but I know he would have pursued a different degree had he known that. So pursue something you think you will enjoy, become really good at it, and in most cases, the money will follow!
Tom Cooper I agree 100% with you when it comes to do what you love and the money will follow. The jobs I would be interested would be looking for finance or business majors. I believe that it some cases, if you know someone, have a good network, and have good internship experience, then those things are just as valuable than a specific major when getting a job. Maybe that is naive of me to say. But I believe that if I went to A&M I could build a better network and attend a stronger school. However, if I went to U of H I would have the exact degree I want but with a weaker net work and alumni.
Thanks so much for the feedback!
-Anthony
@Anthony Colonnetta, Yes, you are correct, the network is important. Work experience in the field, if you have that at graduation, could very well set you apart. Again, my degrees are from quite a while ago, and I do not know if the pedigree of the degree or network or intern experience is more important to employers of new college grads. I suspect the best answer is "it depends". The fact that you are even thinking 10 years down the road sets you miles apart from most people in general, much less most college underclassmen!
Just to add one other thing to this mix: I have a doctorate, and most of my networking contacts have been professionally generated. In other words, the two different state universities that I attended to get my undergraduate, masters and doctorate degrees have equaled very little in the way of money-generating network contacts.