Is going to a top tier university worth the price for going into IB? (Canada)
Hey all,
I’m currently a grade 11 student in Canada, and I’d like to preface this by saying that I’m fairly confident I could be accepted into any one of these institutions, not to sound braggadocious.
I hope to get into the Investment Banking field (Toronto) but I’m struggling with the cost of tuition relative to the prestige and recruiting opportunities of the university.
According to my calculations, a degree from the following would cost as stated (Without savings):
Ivey: 135k (Includes living expenses)
Schulich: 40k (Commuting)
Rotman: 65k (Commuting)
Queens: 120k (Includes living expenses)
Generally, for investment banking I’ve heard that it goes Ivey > Queens > Rotman > Schulich.
Does it really matter that much? I don’t know if putting myself in astronomical debt is worth the opportunities it will present. I will have about 45 thousand dollars saved up by the end of grade 12 from working if that changes anything.
Thanks in advance!
When debating between a top school and a mid-tier school it’s usually worth it to pay up. Especially if your goal is finance after.
I suggest trying to learn more about what you want to do and where. (Although hard to know in high school) Then find people on LinkedIn in that role and see what schools they went to on average.
Supposedly 90% of investment banking slots in Toronto go to Ivey and Queens. That being said its competitive even at those schools so you'd need to hustle. But from Ivey and Queens its very doable
I'm assuming this is CAD not USD? So about 100k USD for Ivey all in. Honestly not bad (compared to the US at least). Chances are ridiculously higher at Ivey (1) and Queens (2). Look on linkedin and you'll see virtually every analyst comes from those 2 schools. Banking salaries are high, 100k of debt sucks, but the greater chances of getting a job that pays significantly higher than anything else will make it worth it. Also commuting to school sucks. Live on campus and have fun. Half the college experience is being away and not living with your parents.
It would be CAD. Average Ivey grad who goes into finance makes about 90k so I guess it would be doable to pay it off in 2-3 years?
If you do banking though you'll make more than 90k. Especially including bonus.
Yes, Ivey/Queens far surpasses any other school. Would also recommend Ivey over Queens'.
Yes that's correct. With that said, I would really recommend going to the US for school and pursuing a career there. IB is tiny in Canada relative to the US and there isn't much of a benefit if any to being in Canada.
This is coming from a Canadian by the way.
Yes, agree with this if you can afford it. If you want to risk it, you can also try to "transfer" after a year to cut down on total costs but that may be quite hard.
I mean 10% of Ivey grads work in the States anyway so I don't really think there would be too many reasons to put myself in in the US for school. The prospect of working in NYC does appeal to me though.
There are less Ivey grads going to the US given that less firms are sponsoring since Trump entered office. If you really want to work in the US go to an American school.
This is coming from an Ivey grad.
As a current Queen's student I can say you are on a great track already with the 45k in savings. I'm on loans to cover my tuition and I entered first year with only 3k in my bank account. I'd say its well worth it to make Queen's/Ivey a priority application for you if you want to work on Bay St and will hopefully be worth the debt for both of us. The schools both place tons students into Finance and have unparalleled alumni associations to help people in any stage of recruiting. Schulich doesn't have much of a finance footprint and all my friends who attended Rotman dropped out or transferred because they hated the program and culture there.
IMO, Ivey is worth every dollar. Both for finance and for the potential to recruit to the US.
The other three aren't; if you are truly IB or die, it's a no brainer to do Ivey.
If you aren't then save your money and go for the best bang for your buck, as all the schools you mentioned are quality - if your plan is to stay in Canada.
Good luck!
Rotman and Schulich are not the best for placing into IB. Replace those with Waterloo or Waterloo + Laurier double degree.
If we are talking only about Canadian opportunities, you will have access to the EXACT same set of opportunities whether you go to any of those schools. Sure, Ivey in particular is quite good at prepping students for interviews and have a tight knit community where seniors help out quite a bit so there's definitely value there, but I really don't think it's worth 100K, especially if you have to borrow. Ultimately, a school doesn't make the candidate and all else being equal, I don't think going to Ivey vs Schulich is going to have a material impact on your job placement (FYI, I ran recruiting for one of the big 5 banks when I was still in banking).
Ivey -> Queens -> Rotman/Schulich.
Reasons why Ivey and Queens are so highly touted is because they simply have the best on campus recruiting, best alumni network, and best clubs to facilitate student needs. Check out Western Investment Club and QUIC, all the execs are placing in elite boutiques (evercore moelis) or BB. That being said, amongst the 600~ students at both these school, only around 10%~ actually get these lofty positions, whereas the rest are delegated to your average job. In addition, it depends on what you want to do with IB, are you trying to work in the states? Are you aiming for big 5? Depending on what you want, you have to prioritize your decisions for the greatest ROI. For a job like IBD at RBC or BMO, Schulich sends a decent amount and same with Rotmans. If you're aiming for JP Morgan or Goldman Sachs, there are far fewer in comparison to Ivey and Queens. I wouldn't even suggest going to Schulich/Rotman and then transferring to Ivey in your third year because recruitments will be done before then, and the whole value proposition is to build rapport with the upper years and have them assist you in the recruitment process, which you will thoroughly miss with a transfer.
To answer your question whether the price of Ivey and Queens are worth it? Yes, quite easily it is. The people you meet there will be far more forward thinking and passionate about finance, the opportunities you will encounter will be fulfilling, and the campus experience of being in college will be far more enjoyable living on res at those schools. Schulich and Rotman are both great schools, but for IB, quite easily will Ivey and Queens take the cake in that regard.
If your a risk taker go Ivey, if you prefer stability and a 4 year program go Queens. Worth the money, if you save properly you can easily pay off that debt.
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