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My friend asked me today about my thoughts on a tough choice he is currently facing. He must decide between going to Columbia's business school or to UCLA's--the latter coming with a fellowship. I know, what a terrible dilemma. It may be a fortunate problem to have, but it's still a problem nonetheless. After writing my response I realized that it contained much of my general philosophy, especially in regards to decision making, so I'm posting it here.

Some Context: My friend sent me one of his acquaintances' advice to him that recommended UCLA. I didn't get permission to publish it, but my response directly references some arguments in that advice, so I'll try to summarize the relevant points made to give some context to my writing.

• UCLA is cheaper, a lot cheaper. That means less debt after graduating.
• The fellowship makes it even cheaper.
• All the high paid financial jobs are gone, so it will take longer to repay any debt.
• With the current state of the economy it will be harder to get an internship or a job, especially in the financial field, and especially in New York, where Columbia is.
• My friend already has an established professional network in LA, going to NYC would essentially be starting over.
• The relative ranking between the schools are not great enough to make a difference. Columbia is ranked in the 5-10 range for MBA and UCLA is in the 10-15.

I'm sure I'm not doing justice to the actual source, but it'll have to do.

My response: While your associate's argument is very compelling, I find it way too rational. We tend to fool ourselves into thinking our decisions are made from some sort of reason or logic, but it rarely works like that. In the end it's comes down what simply "feels" right. If you have to constantly debate yourself about your decision, you might be condemning yourself to misery.

Let's take a step back and think about why you're doing all this in the first place. What's your end game? What's [name withheld]'s mission statement?

Perhaps you do see business school as simply a business transaction, and if what your associate says is true, UCLA does sound like the way to go. If it's just dollar signs you're thinking about then that choice seems clear.

But if you see this opportunity as anything more than a monetary investment, then you'll have to ask yourself what do you see it as and how important are those factors.

How important is it for you live in a new and exciting place? Would you have another opportunity to do so in the future? How much is this aspect worth to you?

Also hard to put in terms of money is how comfortable are you being a Bruin? Does UCLA really live up to your personal standards? Is "pretty good" good enough? Do you care about the quality of the education itself at all, or just what you can get out of it? I argue there's a distinction there. And maybe you don't really care about the actual education itself, but that's something you should ask yourself.

Another thing that I might put on the "priceless" list is the relatively legitimate ability to be a condescending asshole. I enjoy this benefit all the time. Some might say that rankings and names don't mean much, but they certainly do. At the very least for your own self esteem. With a Columbia degree you can say, "excuse me, I don't know what they taught you at, pfft, UCLA, but my way is the right way." Coming from USC, I'm sure you know the feeling to some extent. On a subconscious, psychological level, people are going to treat you differently simply because of the name and title on your diploma You want to try to swing that in your favor. This is a reward you will benefit from almost every day and in a myriad of situations.

When considering the debt factor, how big a deal is that to you? Many people seem to be happy being in perpetual debt. Or how important is money to you? Since you are going into business, obviously it is pretty important, but to what degree?

I also think that if you're looking at it from the ROI/debt aspect, however practical it may be, it sounds like you're betting against yourself. You should be thinking: "It don't matter where I go or how much it costs, 'cause I'm gonna be a rich mothafucka no matter what. All you haters can fuck off." This can swing either way in terms of which route to take, but I wanted to mention it as something to think about.

In a similar light about internships and jobs, you're setting yourself up for mediocrity if you're not already thinking you'll be a bad-ass. Again, you should be thinking something like "Fuck the competition, they can bring it, and I'll piss on 'em and get away with it like R. Kelly."

If you're not thinking like a winner, then you're setting yourself up to lose.

And finally, my thoughts and suggestions stem from the idea that you should do what you think will make you happy, or perhaps, do whatever you feel you will regret less. Obviously not an easy task, but I say don't over think it, just feel it.