Need help in making choice for undergrad school (Yale, Princeton, Columbia with scholarship)
Hello,
I'm an international high school student who got admitted to Yale, Princeton and Columbia for the undergraduate program. I'm having a tough time choosing between these universities. I'd like to work in HFs or PEs after graduation if that's possible (I'm not counting on it bc I know it's vv tough) or else I'd go down the regular IB -> MBA -> HF/PE path.
Yale: Love the residential college system. I'll probably double major in economics and mathematics
Princeton: Would probably major in either math and take a certificate course in finance or major in ORFE.
Columbia: They named me a scholar (top 1% of the applicant pool). I'll probably major in financial engineering or applied math. The scholar program gives me guaranteed research opportunities, thousands of dollars in research grants, dedicated faculty mentor and so on. Their core curriculum is very enticing atm.
Now from the look of it, going to Columbia seems to be the correct option. However, I've always heard that for finance, HYP are regarded on a different level and the rest on another. So I'm a bit confused about that.
All the places are going to cost me the same, so cost is not an issue. My main factor would be internships/job opportunities.
Thanks in advance!
If the scholars program you are mentioning is the Rabi Scholar program at Columbia that is definitely a good program but keep in mind that it requires doing research for the summer. If you are trying to do internships in finance, which presumably you are, then that might not be the best route for you.
You can't really go wrong with any of the three though
Hey, thanks for replying. It's not the rabi scholars program but the Redacted. It gives me year round guaranteed opportunities. I'm thinking of researching during the school year and interning in the summer
Go to Yale. PM me for more details.
Hands down Yale. Major in something easy and have a balling four years. Don't fuck with that STEM shit at Columbia or that grade deflation crap at Princeton.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but Yale and Princeton are in a different tier than Columbia. Plus, Columbia won't give you a real college experience. Congrats on the fantastic admissions, by the way.
Thanks for replying everybody. I guess that if it were only Yale and Columbia without the scholarship, I would have chosen Yale hands down. At Columbia I'm one of the 15-20 Redacted and probably in the 100 total named scholars in all. They're basically handing me everything on a silver plate.
Is Yale still a better option? (The slight difference in prestige not withstanding?) Because someone there told me that DE Shaw/AQR and almost everyone else recruits from CU.
Still open to suggestions though.
Ah it's the Egleston not Rabi, got it. Columbia has a lot of different scholars programs iirc. I have a friend who is an Egleston scholar there. It's definitely a great thing, but I would also look @ the bios of the scholars there. Most of them are still doing STEM research, so while it's a great opportunity and all, just be aware that your peers will likely not be in the same mindset as you.
It's also not the case that being a scholar will help you get into IB - that's still more determined by your networking and overall profile. In this case, it seems I would echo what others are saying about Yale.
I'm still unclear about Columbia myself (I'm deciding between it and Wharton undergrad). Can you make it to PE via Columbia by say going down this path: Columbia––> boutique (Evercore, Moelis, etc.) ––>MBA at HBS/Wharton––> PE? What would you major in at Columbia saladass? I think financial engineering is more of the quant route, so something more appropriate would be econ-math or financial engineering, no?
You should go to Wharton if you're set on finance. Recruiters don't care about the college rankings - the top feeder schools for IBD are Wharton / Penn and Harvard. It's actually incestual
OP, all good schools. I don't know about the Columbia program enough but sounds like you can't go wrong. Congrats.
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Dude, you are in the top 1% of the applicant pool at a top IVY league school AND you're an international student, so the odds were already stacked against you from the start. Don't get all cocky, but you were basically one of the most talented students in the entire world for this admissions cycle. No matter where you go, you will excel and be successful. I would actually recommend princeton/yale, since they are on a tier above Columbia. While the scholarship is nice, it will have little/no impact on an eventual career in finance, and given that you will likely be at the top of your class regardless of where you go, I would argue that a top student at Yale will have more opportunities than a top student at Columbia (the difference would be quite minimal though). Princeton has severe grade deflation which would be a bummer (you'd probably put in the same amount of work for a 3.4/3.5 at Princeton as a 3.7/3.8 at Yale), so unless you love princeton for some other reasons I wouldn't recommend it. Yale will give you some decent odds at HF/PE right out of undergrad, but as you already know, it would be tough and you'd have to be at the top of your class, which is why i'd recommend going to yale given the grade inflation. Just curious, were you rejected anywhere?
Thank you for the elaborate answer. Yeah haha I did get rejected from Harvard, Stanford, Penn M&T and MIT.
Yale.
Whether you're dead set on finance or not, if you decide to not go finance you're going to have the name of Yale to help carry you anywhere you want to go. Princeton has too big of grade deflation, and Columbia will be hit and miss with the top tier finance/business related jobs.
Yale --> BB IBD --> PE --> HBS/GBS --> Whatever --> President
Thanks a ton for the opinions everybody. Seems like there's only one clear choice now.
Go to Yale.
Fuck Princeton's grade deflation. It's not worth it. Assuming same effort, you'll end up with a 3.4 at Princeton compared to a 3.7 at Yale.
With Yale, you're still going to the Holy Trinity of the undergraduate realm (HYP).
Regarding the culture/student experience at these colleges I would probably recommend Y/P over C. New York as an undergrad is not necessarily as fun as a "true" campus experience.
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