I want to be someone who evaluates the profitability of the business, how they are spending money and how they could reduce costs, what investments they should make, financial plans Ext.

I can either go to UIUC for around $120k at the most for living + education without any scholarships and major in Accounting/Finance and minor in Econ. Then go get a MBA at a top 10 school for $120k without any scholarships and not accounting for living expenses.

Or go to a more competitive school like Northwestern/Berkeley/New York for Undergrad and major in economics and finance for $300k.

I have no idea which choice would provide the better overall education for my career choice which is probably most important. But also the former would take 6 years while the latter would only take 4. Although I could get a MBA at a later point in my life I would be losing 2 years of salary at some point.

Hmm, I would say this depends on what you are aiming for. Of course, 2 years should not be disregarded, as master programs are usually really intense, so you are right in concluding this will affect your income for the time being. However, I think you need to be looking at the bigger picture - choose a university with a name if you will be depending on your education rather than your experience when you apply for a job. Because you will be submitting CVs with plenty of other candidates - you do want to stand out in some way. Here (https://www.accessmasterstour.com/masters-info/rankings-accreditation) is a list of top universities in different fields and an article on why they matter for you - this may give you a different perspective in resolving this dilemma. Good luck!

In my opinion, the only finance job you need to get an MBA for is investment banking. If you just want to do FP&A (which sounds like what you're describing), an MBA doesn't really help you at all. Investment banking is different because the only times you can get hired into investment banking is 1) when you get hired as an analyst after graduating college, 2) when you get hired as an associate after graduating from your MBA, or 3) when you get hired as a senior banker after having been a senior executive with a useful rolodex that can generate revenue for the firm. For most people, #3 is not possible, so if you didn't get hired as a college student, your only chance of breaking in is through a MBA.

The high pay in investment banking also makes it a lot more worthwhile to invest in a MBA education. Instead of the average low six figure salary most MBAs make, you would make $220k+ on average as someone who just finished business school and is starting in investment banking. The ROI is much, much better.

To see what MBA programs are the best for getting into investment banking, you can look at the attached efinancial article.

If you are looking for more general recruiting advice on how to break into investment banking as an analyst or associate, check out this Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/wallstreetmastermind/. The members in there are all interested in investment banking as a career and you will often find useful recruiting tips/advice in there.

Good luck!