Is DePaul worth the investment as an undergraduate ?

I have received an undergraduate offer of admission from DePaul University for the fall of 2016 in Finance. Can you please advice me on whether I should go this fall 2016 at DePaul in Chicago or take a gap year in order to aim for a better university afterwards for fall 2017.

I had a quite low SAT due to the fact that I was not able to properly prepare for the test. I have a choice to go for a gap year and prepare correctly for the exam while perhaps doing some internships in the finance industry. I am not sure if it is worth the risk of going such a thing (going for the gap year) since I am not sure to have a better university for finance in USA.

 
Best Response

I go to DePaul, and despite not being a target, I genuinely think it's a quality school. If you're trying to break into Ibanking, it definitely won't be the easiest route, but I have networked with alumni who work in the industry. Big 4 recruit every year, and BB banks also recruit, but not specifically for roles in Ibanking.

If I were you, here's I would structure it:

3.8-4.0 GPA freshman year; general Finance summer internship after freshman year anywhere in the city just to get your feet wet; keep GPA up Sophomore year; Sophomore summer internship in Wealth Management, Investment Management, Investment Research, etc.; Keep GPA up Junior year and apply for Finance Honors cohort program; get IB internship junior summer. And continue working at it through Senior year.

What I think is great about DePaul, specifically the College of Business since you'll be a Finance major, is that it's in the heart of downtown Chicago just steps from the financial district. If you network with someone who works at, say, JPM, you have the abilitity to just chat and grab coffee with them cause their office is literally a 5 minute walk away from campus. You have the freedom to find an internship during the academic year. DePaul likes to iterate that the city is their classroom, but I can't stress enough on how true that is.

Sure, you can take a gap year or transfer out after freshman year, but there's definitely quality opportunity at DePaul. It's an expensive investment and scholarship/financial aid packages definitely help with that, but I think the investment is well worth it if you're willing to put in the effort to make it work.

 

Above advice is spot on. I am a DePaul class of 2008 Finance major alum. I believe I have posted before about the pros/cons of DePaul in regards to breaking into finance, so try searching. But basically what FinancialMathematics is 100% accurate.

If you make the most of it (i.e. strong GPA, internships, network) I think your chances of landing a sought after finance job are almost on par with the strong Midwest targets (UChicago, Northwestern, Indiana Kelley).

I do have to say that after 8-ish years of working in the industry, your college really does not matter. All that matters now when trying to land a job (and I just went through a job search) is your experience and crafting a story that resonates with the hiring manager/company.

Good luck and happy to answer any additional questions.

 

Having talked to other alumni, though, I don't even think it takes 8 years for your school name to become irrelevant.

I talked to one alumnus and they said it may be difficult to get your foot into the IB door, but once you do and work even only a couple of years in IB, questions transition from "Where did you go to school?" to "Where have you worked?" and "What have you done/what experience do you have?" After having gotten into IB, no one was ever really concerned with where he went to school because they knew he could do the work.

 

Thanks for answering this fast, I really appreciate it. I have not received any other offers for this fall but I have some other questions on which I hope you can help me. Regarding the possibility of transfering to another university, should I transfer after 1 year or 2 ? I was also wondering if it was possible for me to transfer to big business schools such as Wharton, Mendoza, Booth, NYU Stern, Georgetown etc... even though my SAT is really low. During the transfer procedure, do they take my SAT into account ? If this is the case, then wouldn't it be better for me to take a half gap year to do the SAT again and hopefully achieve a much higher score and then apply for spring 2017 at target business schools ?

 

If you're really sure on transferring out to enroll elsewhere, then I suggest you not go to DePaul at all. Including living costs, attending DePaul will probably run you around 50k. That's part of the investment of attending DePaul and having access to the city and the school's network. But if you have plans of leaving after freshman year, then that 50k spent just goes to waste.

If you really wanna go to those schools you mentioned (except Booth cause they dont have an undergrad business program), go to community college or a local state school to just get your gen eds done. Kick ass there, and then apply and transfer to the school of your choice. At most schools you mentioned about transferring to, they will look at your college grades + high school grades + standardized test scores, while others (like NYU), don't need standardized test scores. I think it'd be wise that you do your own additional research on these other schools to see what you need to attend where.

Best of luck to you.

 

From what I have seen, it is quite difficult, but not impossible, to transfer into one of these types of business programs from a different school. Those programs definitely take into account the SAT/ACT as well as your GPA... They want to see you pull an outstanding freshman year GPA. I do not believe UChicago has an undergrad business school, but I would assume it would be difficult to transfer and get an econ major.

I don't mean to sound like a downer, but it might be difficult to raise your score by the amount needed to be competitive at one of these schools. I don't know your background or what you scored previously, but the schools mentioned above are all quite difficult to get into even with stellar SAT scores... Some people with solid SAT scores will not get into the school when applying out of high school. There would be a lot of uncertainty around a) doing better on the SAT to score in the range and b) even if you score in the range there is uncertainty as to whether you will be admitted as a transfer. Again, I don't mean to dissuade you from pursuing this, but I think Depaul would be a great option. I personally know and have heard of people from Depaul going to the Big 4, IB, PE, etc.

Bottom line, as a lot of people have said, Depaul isn't a bad school by any stretch and you should be able to get opportunities as long as you network and work hard to be successful there. Just thought I would offer my 2 cents based on my experience at one of the listed schools and having friends and colleagues from the others.

 

Id provident enim est dolores. Incidunt repellat non animi nostrum doloremque et placeat officiis. Excepturi recusandae voluptate ut temporibus neque. Eum iure et perferendis explicabo voluptatibus saepe temporibus.

Velit est libero quod modi sint repellat vel. Optio atque a ut perferendis est voluptas labore.

Consequatur soluta aut inventore laudantium. Aut tempore ullam maiores culpa doloremque nihil. Quisquam iusto nobis ut corporis odio rerum dolorem. Pariatur omnis fugiat possimus doloribus dolorem.

"Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there" - Will Rogers

Career Advancement Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. (++) 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (86) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (13) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (202) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (144) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”